The total size of the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) market across the 7MM* is set to grow from $138.4M in 2016 to $18.3bn in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63%, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s latest report: ‘Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH): Dynamic Market Forecast to 2026’ states that a high level of unmet need for drugs in NASH, coupled with the expected launch of many new products across the 7MM, will drive huge levels of growth in the NASH market.

Thomas Moore, PhD, Senior Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, says: “There are currently no therapeutic options approved to treat patients with NASH, meaning there is high unmet need for drugs which are able to manage this potentially life-threatening condition. As a result, any new drug which is proven to help patients with NASH is expected to see rapid uptake, and generate significant market growth.”

GlobalData’s report also finds that drugs which are proven to benefit NASH patients with cirrhosis will account for the largest segment of the NASH market. The company expects these drugs to account for 62% of the NASH market in 2026, with total sales of $11.3bn.

Moore continues: “NASH patients who have cirrhosis are most at risk of life-threatening conditions, including becoming decompensated and requiring a liver transplant. Furthermore, unlike in non-cirrhotic NASH patients, the current treatment guidelines for NASH do not recommend the use of any off label therapies in patients with cirrhosis. Consequently, this patient segment carries the greatest unmet need for new treatments, which will drive rapid uptake of any drug which launches targeting these patients.”

GlobalData found that there is opportunity in the NASH space for companies which can develop combination therapies for the disease.

Moore concludes: “Key opinion leaders spoken to by GlobalData believed that using combination therapies to tackle NASH was a viable strategy and would be well received by physicians and payers across the 7MM. Theoretically, many of the drugs currently in development for NASH have complementary mechanisms of action, and would work well when used concomitantly with each other. However, for many companies in the NASH space, producing a combination therapy would require collaboration with competitors, which could be a major barrier to this strategy.”

*7MM = US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Japan.