Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive fatal neurological disorder and the most common cause of dementia primarily affecting the elderly population, with AD-associated dementia accounting for two-thirds of dementia cases in Japan. Against this backdrop, novel therapy approvals will enrich the present digital marketing space for AD in Japan, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

According to GlobalData’s ‘Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center’, Japan has the highest total prevalence of AD, with 23.88% in women and 11.93% in men, with the total prevalent cases in those 60 years and older forecast to increase from 4.1 million in 2022 to 4.9 million in 2028, at an annual growth rate of 3.5%.

In Japan, the current AD therapeutic market is dominated by drugs that treat AD symptoms such as cholinesterase inhibitors – donepezil (Eisai’s Aricept), galantamine (Takeda’s Reminyl), and rivastigmine (Ono’s Rivastach), which are currently approved for use in mild-to-moderate AD, with rivastigmine also available as a transdermal patch (Novartis’s Exelon Patch); and NMDA receptor antagonist – Memantine (Memary) for moderate-to-severe stages of AD.

GlobalData’s ‘Digital Marketing Intelligence’ identified digital assets in AD from Eisai, Biogen, Daiichi Sankyo, Ono, Takeda and Novartis. Further analysis of the digital space found branded HCP websites for Reminyl, Aricept, and Rivastach. Eisai leads the digital space with branded and unbranded websites (Aricept.jp, sodan.e-65.net, nouknow.jp) and a mobile app (Easiit), followed by Biogen with its unbranded Notestoremember.jp website and Facebook page.

Atulana Dey, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “In the present scenario, the fact that current medications do not modify the course of disease but only improve or slow down progression of symptoms, there is a high unmet need for information about prognosis, diagnosis, and disease management in Japan given the rapidly increasing elderly population.”

A growing understanding of disease pathology and its effect on brain has propelled the development of potential AD treatments that target the basic disease process.  Pharmaceutical giants like Biogen, Eisai, Eli Lilly, and Genentech/Roche have late-stage pipeline drugs in Japan for AD and are majorly focusing on novel β-amyloid targeting therapies.

While Biogen/Eisai’s most anticipated Aduhelm (aducanumab) may not receive regulatory approval in Japan, there are several other promising pipeline drugs in development, including Biogen/Eisai’s lecanemab, Roche’s gantenerumab, and Eli Lilly’s solanezumab.

Dey concludes: “Considering the increasing prevalence of AD with age, Japan will see a fast growth in cases due to its high elderly population. With several promising future approvals on the horizon and a strong presence in the unbranded digital space, pharma can strengthen its branded presence by using multi-channel digital platforms to provide information on disease awareness and lifestyle management supporting its therapies.”