Depression now in Top Five most studied diseases in clinical development
23 Jul 2023
Phesi’s mid-year global analysis of all clinical trials conducted to date in 2023 confirms a shift in disease focus but also a decline in clinical development productivity.
The study of 13,490 trial records, indicates Covid-19 is no longer among the top five most studied disease areas, while depression has seen increased trial activity, rising to the fourth most studied disease globally.
Oncology dominates the list, with solid tumours leading as the most studied disease indication, followed by breast cancer in second place, stroke in third, and prostate cancer in fifth (see image).
President of Phesi Dr. Gen Li, remarked on the growing awareness of the global mental health crisis, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic's aftermath. Now, with an estimated 5% of adults affected by depression worldwide, the need for new therapies to combat the condition has increased.
Dr. Li highlighted that the last major class of antidepressants, SSRIs, was introduced over forty years ago. Investment into depression therapies can be attributed to heightened awareness, better understanding of the disease's underlying causes, and growing interest in novel approaches such as psychedelics.
However, with clinical trials presenting unique challenges, requiring careful protocol design to ensure efficient and timely delivery of newly approved treatments to patients.
Analysis also revealed a concerning trend in Phase II study attrition, a situation previously identified in Phesi's end-of-year 2022 analysis. In 2023, 31% of Phase II trials have been cancelled, reflecting a 55% increase compared to pre-Covid levels. These high cancellation rates substantially raise the overall costs of clinical development and result in delayed market access for new therapies, potentially preventing viable treatments from reaching patients.
Li stateded that the clinical development industry is still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic, and the effects will linger for some time. Phesi predicts two more years of high Phase II attrition rates, suggesting the industry must focus on improving productivity and trial efficiency.
Identifying inadequate protocol design as a key source of unnecessary protocol amendments and cancellations, Li emphasised the importance of using data-driven predictive analytics to enhance this for clinical trials.
Phesi's analysis also studied age-related trial amendments for the current year, highlighting the disease indications most susceptible to such amendments. These include Crohn's Disease, Sickle Cell Disease, and ALS.
