A beefy market calls for non-stimulant ADHD treatments

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental psychiatric disease. It is also an indication for commercially successful drugs. The major ADHD drugs posted 2008 sales of US$ 3.9 bln. The current generation of ADHD treatments are mostly CNS stimulants. Although the major classes such as amphetamine/lisdexamfetamine, methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate have lost patent protection for the substance, the use of extended release or topical drug delivery formulations have maintained a rich source of revenues for major players J&J, Shire, Eli Lilly and Novartis. As many parents are concerned about the use of CNS stimulants for treatment of their kids due to their addictive properties, research is focused on new non-stimulant drug targets. Most of them are in clinical phase I and II evaluation and include reuptake inhibitors, glutaminerigic substances, histamine antagonists and nicotinic receptor agonists

A beefy market calls for non-stimulant ADHD treatments