Pediatric Psoriasis Market: The Evolving Landscape of the Disease
Psoriasis is a systemic immune-mediated disease that negatively affects the quality of life of children and their parents. It is a life-long devitalizing disease that significantly impacts the emotional and physical aspects of children’s lives. Dermatologic conditions in pediatric populations such as psoriasis make children susceptible to low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and social isolation. Diseases like these strongly impact a person’s quality of life and thus require early recognition and treatment to decrease the patient’s risk of physical and psychological disturbances.
Across the world, the prevalence of psoriasis ranges from nearly 0–1.37% in children, with Europe recording a 0.5–2% prevalence, from birth until adolescence. Many caregivers across the world prefer topical therapies to treat moderate-to-severe psoriasis. However, they are generally not that effective and may require systemic agents to make a difference. Moderate-to-severe psoriasis may require a systemic treatment comprising traditional systemic medications, biological agents, or small molecule inhibitors. The growing need to cater to pediatric psoriasis patients’ unmet medical needs, extensive drug research and development is being carried out. The innovative product development and comprehensive research are pushing the pediatric psoriasis drug market towards an exponential growth curve. According to Emergen Research, the global Pediatric Psoriasis market is poised to attain a valuation of USD 21.38 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 10.3% during the projected timeframe.
Surging Occurrences of the Disease
The pediatric psoriasis is slowly gaining momentum due to the rising incidences of the disease among children. Pediatric psoriasis broadly covers three age groups of psoriatic patients ‒ infantile psoriasis, early-onset psoriasis, and pediatric psoriasis diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Nearly one-fourth of psoriasis cases are prevalent before the children reach 18 years.
A broad spectrum of clinical psoriasis is observed in childhood, covering plaque-type, erythrodermic, nail-based disease, guttate, and napkin. Like all other autoimmune disorders, the susceptibility to pediatric psoriasis depends on the genetic factors. However, to activate the condition, an environmental trigger is necessary. The characteristic trigger of pediatric psoriasis is the infection of the upper respiratory tract. Majority children develop plaque-type Psoriasis Vulgaris with 8.6% similarity in pattern with adult psoriasis.
Psoriasis Vulgaris is a dominant form of dermatological disorders and is roughly observed in nearly 3.5% of people. There has been a continual surge in the incidences over the last couple of decades. The major drug manufacturers are actively designing new therapeutics and drugs to improve patient outcomes.
Psoriasis Market: At a Glance
The pediatric psoriasis market is evolving at a significant pace owing to the augmenting need for innovative and better therapeutic approaches. Increasing occurrences of target diseases and the escalating need to meet the unmet clinical needs of patients are propelling the development of advanced products and expanding the scope of R&D activities worldwide.
Recent advancements in biologics that confer higher efficiency are further boosting the industry growth. Biologics are a viable option owing to their convenient dosing patterns, low frequency of laboratory monitoring, and high efficiency in adults. And while the biologics for the treatment of dermatologic conditions have augmented in the last decade, biologic options for pediatric psoriasis are still limited. This can hamper the growth of the market. However, with growing advancements in technology and comprehensive research underway, pipeline medications are designed for better clinical outcomes, circumventing the potentially restraining factors of the market growth.
The rising investment for the development of safe and effective treatment approaches is further driving the demand of the industry on a global level. The major market players are focusing on the designing and development of new therapeutics and drugs that are anticipated to create lucrative opportunities in the future.
Changing Dynamics of Therapeutic Approaches
Various therapeutic approaches are being developed to empower the clinicians to treat their patients with higher efficacy treatments. Numerous startups and well-established companies are introducing new products continually to alter the dynamics of the treatment. For instance, Netherlands-based firm Escalier Biosciences has a product portfolio comprising advanced oral and topical therapeutics to treat psoriasis.
With continuous research being carried out across the world, there has been a tremendous enhancement in the healthcare infrastructure. Moreover, new drugs and agents in the pipeline that are anticipated to exhibit promising clinical outcomes are further anticipated to propel the industry growth. For instance, the FDA granted approval to Ustekinumab in July 2020 for treating plaque psoriasis in kids. With enhanced outcomes, topical solutions are anticipated to become the benchmark treatment and can be used individually or along with other therapeutics. In August 2020, European Commission granted CE certification to Secukinumab, developed by the biopharmaceutical firm Novartis, for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in children aged 6–18 years. Novartis now plans to pursue approval for the treatment in other countries such as the United States, Japan, Canada, and Australia.
In December 2020, Innovent Biologics, Inc. a leader in the biopharmaceutical sector that develops high-quality medications for autoimmune conditions, announced that its adalimumab injection, under the name SULINNO®, received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the treatment of pediatric plaque psoriasis. The injection is a recombinant human anti-TNF- α monoclonal antibody drug.
Moreover, the major companies are also actively engaged in forming strategic alliances to advance the market’s scope. For instance, the American Academy of Dermatology and the National Psoriasis Foundation joined forces to study in-depth the physical and psychological attributes of pediatric psoriasis and their challenges. Another company, PsoHappy, offers psychological help to psoriasis patients to help them cope with the disease employing a supportive app. These new approaches to successful treatment are anticipated to bolster industry growth.
Conclusion
The pediatric psoriasis market for pediatric psoriasis is slowly gaining momentum due to the rising occurrences of pediatric psoriasis across the world. Moreover, despite the challenges faced by the industry, such as lack of awareness of the benefits of incorporating technology in research, the market is poised to create lucrative growth opportunities for the major players of the industry.
Growing government initiatives to create awareness and the augmenting investments in the research and development to encourage the emergence of safe and effective therapies is adding tremendous momentum to the market growth. With significant improvement in healthcare infrastructure and rising healthcare expenses budget, the pediatric psoriasis market forecast to expand over the projected period rapidly.
