Combination products are a lifeline in today' s pharmaceutical industry, but not all are created equal. Many companies use combinations late in the product life cycle to extend patent life or to maximize revenues, but more-successful combination product development addresses a market' s unmet need. Therefore, not all potential combination products will have equal value. We asked Decision Resources analysts to share their insights on combination products in various disease markets and integrated these insights into our analysis of the combination product market in this Spectrum Special Report.

Get the Answers You Need to Shape Your Strategy

Several fi xed-dose combinations were blockbusters in 2006 while others languished. Why do combination products fare well in some markets and not in others? Why do similar products for similar indications fare very differently in the market?
Successful combinations are sometimes a result of a single company combining its blockbuster agents, but several intercompany collaborations on combination products have proved very successful. Which partnerships have been most successful and why? Which markets are best suited to further intercompany development?
Combination products are becoming increasingly useful in product life-cycle management. Which combination products are in development? What do the experts think of their chances for success?

Scope

Trends in Combination Products: Synergistic partnerships that tap unmet needs in disease markets.
Emerging Combinations in Select Markets: Cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, pain.
Select Companies with Fixed Combination Blockbusters: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Schering-Plough.
Challenges: Incorporating the untapped opportunity of biologics into combination product development.
Expert Commentaries: Insights from Decision Resources analysts, consultants, and directors.

Executive Summary
- Strategic Considerations
- Stakeholder Implications
The Breadth and Scope of Combination Products
- From a Regulatory Perspective
- Recent Biologic and Device Approvals
- Drug-and-Device Combinations Going Strong
Strategic Use of Combination Products
Recent Market Success of Fixed-Dose Combinations
- Fixed-Dose Combination Blockbusters
  - GlaxoSmithKline' s Advair/Seretide
  - AstraZeneca' s Symbicort and Boehringer Ingelheim' s Combivent
  - Merck/Schering-Plough' s Vytorin/Inegy
  - Novartis' s Lotrel
  - HIV/AIDS Combination Blockbusters
  - Antibacterial Combination Blockbusters
  - Combination Blockbusters in a Contraceptive Franchise
- Signifi cant Interest in Combination-Drug Markets
- Brand Pharmaceutical Companies
- Generics Pharmaceutical Companies
Notable Trends
- More Timely Development of Combinations
- Intercompany Collaborations on Fixed-Dose Combinations
  - Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences
  - AstraZeneca and Abbott
  - Schering-Plough and Novartis
- Multiple Combinations
- Greater Acceptance of Combination Products in Japan
- Start-Up Companies Dedicated to Combinations in Novel Indications
  - CombinatoRx
  - Orexigen
  - Vicus Therapeutics
Life-Cycle Management and Market Dynamics
- Fragmented Diabetes Markets
  - Thiazolidinedione Franchises
- Renaissance in NSAID Combinations Following COX-2 Inhibitor Troubles
  - AstraZeneca/Pozen
  - GlaxoSmithKline/Pozen
Fixed-Dose Combination Drugs in Development
- Cardiovascular Combinations
  - Pfi zer' s Torcetrapib/Lipitor Combination
  - Novartis' s Exforge
  - Merck/Schering-Plough' s Lipitor and Zetia
  - Daiichi Sankyo' s CS-8663
  - Merck' s MK-0524A and MK-0524B
  - Abbott' s Simcor
  - Cross-Indication Combination Therapies
- Respiratory Combinations
  - Schering-Plough and Novartis LABA and Corticosteroid Combinations
  - Nycomed and Sanofi -Aventis' s Formoterol and Alvesco Combination
  - GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance' s Promising Fixed-Dose Combinations for COPD
Outlook
Appendix-World' s Best-Selling Combination Products by Therapeutic Category, 2006

Expert Commentary

Expert Commentary: Fixed-Dose Combinations of Antiretroviral Drugs in HIV Therapy Regimens
Expert Commentary: Patent Expirations and the Availability of Generic-and-Generic Combinations Loom Heavily Over Type 2 Diabetes Markets
Expert Commentary: Choosing the Right Drugs for the Combination Is of Paramount Importance
Expert Commentary: Opportunities for Respiratory Fixed-Dose Combinations

Tables

1. Start-Up Companies Dedicated to Drug Repurposing
2. Summary Table: Key Opportunities and Challenges in Combination Product Development According to Decision Resources Experts