This Market Spotlight report covers the Cachexia market, comprising epidemiology, key marketed and pipeline drugs, clinical trials, probability of success, and licensing and acquisition deals.

Key Takeaways

• Adlumiz, an oral synthetic small molecule ghrelin mimetic, and Oxandrin, an orally active formulation of the anabolic steroid oxandrolone, are the only marketed drugs available for cachexia. • The majority of industry-sponsored drugs in active clinical development for cachexia are in Phase I, with only one drug in Phase III.
• Therapies in active clinical development for cachexia focus on targets such as ghrelin receptor, growth differentiation factor 15, and GDNF receptor alpha-like (GFRAL). These drugs are administered via the oral and subcutaneous routes.
• The overall likelihood of approval of a Phase I metabolic-other asset is 8.5%, and the average probability a drug advances from Phase III is 72.2%. Drugs, on average, take 9.1 years from Phase I to approval, compared to 9.7 years in the overall metabolic space.
• The distribution of clinical trials across Phase I–IV indicates that the majority of trials for cachexia have been in the early and midphases of development, with 67% of trials in Phase I–II, and only 33% in Phase III–IV.
• The US has a substantial lead in the number of cachexia clinical trials globally, while the UK leads the major European markets. Clinical trial activity in the cachexia space is dominated by completed trials. Helsinn and Bristol Myers Squibb have the highest number of completed clinical trials for cachexia, with six trials each.
• Helsinn leads industry sponsors with the highest overall number of clinical trials for cachexia, followed by Bristol Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline.