Although not a common disease, bronchiectasis has been in the spotlight of research as no therapies have been approved for its treatment. Bronchiectasis is a disease characterised by the abnormal enlargement of the bronchi in the lungs and the overproduction of mucus, which results in a poor quality of life, with physicians urging for improved management approaches. Although the current pipeline is promising, addressing the unmet needs identified by physicians can provide better outcomes to patients, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Filippos Maniatis, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “It is now widely understood that bronchiectasis can lead to a poor quality of life for patients, acknowledging that no advanced therapies have been marketed for this disease. By understanding the current unmet needs in the management and treatment landscape of bronchiectasis, the disease burden can be minimized if stakeholders focus on them.”

The current treatment landscape is governed by antibiotics, bronchodilators, and mucolytics, which, although they provide symptom relief, do lack long-term efficacy. However, some market players have included multiple agents in their pipeline, including Joincare’s tobramycin, Insmed’s brensocatib, and Zambon’s colistimethate sodium, which are currently in Phase III clinical trials, highlighting the high competition in the treatment development landscape.

Maniatis continues: “Pharmaceutical companies are currently competing to advance their pipeline agents to the market for bronchiectasis. With the urgent need for an approved therapy, the current late-stage pipeline agents that are in development for this indication have the potential to capitalize on the opportunity to become the first-to-market therapy.’’

Nevertheless, competitors in the market need to acknowledge that to develop effective therapies, unmet needs identified by multiple physicians need to be addressed. Specifically, physicians report that the earlier diagnosis of patients as well as the development of effective pharmacological agents that can promote airway clearance and reduce inflammation will be key for the future of bronchiectasis treatment landscape.

Maniatis adds: “In addition, the identification of new clinical endpoints for the investigation of treatment benefit in bronchiectasis patients and the need for improved trial designs that include the classification of patients through phenotypes and endotypes can further uncover significant opportunities in the treatment development.”

Other changes in the trial design, including the re-evaluation of the inclusion and exclusion criteria in trials, will also contribute to the clinical trial accuracy for bronchiectasis. Consequently, stakeholders must take into consideration the aforementioned unmet needs when attempting to develop and evaluate treatments against bronchiectasis, as there is a significant gap in the treatment landscape that needs to be bridged.

Maniatis concludes: “Future players in the market need to understand the significance of addressing the unmet needs identified by researchers and clinicians. This understanding will be a key factor for drug developers to address the existing gaps in the market and develop a therapy that will benefit patients with bronchiectasis.”