In its new report, Technavio says the the global restless legs syndrome (RLS) market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% from 2015-2019.
The analysis draws attention towards the high unmet medical needs for patients suffering from this syndrome. The unknown etiology of the disease prevents the introduction of drugs that treat the exact cause of the disease, and currently marketed drugs offer only symptomatic relief. “Adverse effects caused by the use of available drugs creates unmet needs in the market. Any drug that can provide a complete cure with minimal side effects would experience widespread adoption,” says Faisal Ghaus, vice president of Technavio, in a release.
The report also emphasizes the expected entry of drugs with multiple mechanisms and novel techniques. The drugs marketed for RLS such as safinamide by Newron Pharmaceuticals appear to reduce the symptoms by novel mechanisms of action. “Serina’s drug SER-214 involves a water-soluble polymer based drug delivery technology that can be connected to the polymer and delivered to target specific receptors,” says Ghaus.
Darn right the needs are not being met for RLS SUFFERERS. The meds that are on the market now that are approved for RLS, after being studied since the 1940’s, were approved for RLS after VERY SMALL studies. The largest study was done on men only, and it is proven that more women have RLS than men do when you count in the pregnant women who develop RLS during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. We NEED drugs designed specifically for RLS. The Parkinson’s meds are a nightmare, because of augmentation, plus a good percentage of doctors are not up on the dosages that should be for RLS. They tend to prescribe Parkinson’s doses which are WAY higher than what is needed to treat RLS, IF they work at all. And, then there is the off label uses of meds that are designed for use in Fibromyalgia or Epilepsy. We only have meds to use that are designed for other diseases, and that is obviously not working! I do not know what this “new” med you are talking about, but I sincerely hope it IS a NEW drug and not a rehash of the same old meds they keep trying to treat us with. I have several online support groups for RLS, since 1996, and we are having all the same old conversations now that we had back then, so LOTS of new research has to be done. Severe sleep deprivation can cause actual physical brain damage that shows up on brain scans, similar to the way Alzheimer’s lights up a brain scan.