Overview life style drug

According to a recent article in Nature Medicine,1 the market for lifestyle drugs is forecast to rise
from its current $20 billion to over $29 billion by 2007. As a result of this booming market,
companies have invested over $20 billion in research on such drugs since the 1990s. Obviously,
lifestyle drugs have important financial implications, but what exactly is a lifestyle drug? The
above-mentioned article defines lifestyle drugs as medicines that treat conditions associated with
lifestyle; examples include drugs to treat weight loss, smoking, impotence, baldness and the effects
of aging, as well as medications that improve mental agility. This definition is not satisfactory,
however. An antipsychotic medication will certainly improve the lifestyle of a patient with
schizophrenia and therefore fits the definition, but the term lifestyle drug obviously has a somewhat
different meaning.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC161729/

lifestyle drug
Popular health A prescription agent that allows its user to perform an activity 'on demand' or withoutc
onsequences, ameliorate an imprudent binge, or modify effects of aging

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. 2002 by The McGraw-Hill

Companies, Inc.

Why the world spent more money on life style drugs

http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/abraham.drug.html

Why do life-style drug receive more attention from

pharmareuthical company than other drugs
Lifestyle has changed from being an indicator of the overall well being of an individual to a cause of
disease and now, lifestyle has itself become an object of medical attention. Lifestyle drugs are drugs
used for non-health problems or for conditions that lie at the boundary between a health need and a
lifestyle wish. These drugs threaten the financial sustainability of current health systems. Traditional
approaches to regulating medicines are not effective for lifestyle drugs; coordinated action is needed
to manage pharmaceutical policy nationally and locally. To do this, local and national regulatory
agencies, politicians, healthcare providers, insurers and patients need to formulate broad areas of
consensus. Greater public involvement and scientific research is essential in establishing priorities.
There is a need to study this concept deeply and the impact of these drugs on Indian health care
system.

http://www.ijppsjournal.com/Vol4Suppl5/6030.pdf

Give example on how the money has been spent on life style drugs compared
to other

Examples of Lifestyle Drugs

 Drugs for Erectile Dysfunction: Viagra (sildenafil citrate), Levitra (vardenafil HCl) and
Cialis (tadalafil). These are multi-billion dollar per year drugs for their manufacturers.
Drugs that Prevent Balding: Propecia (finasteride), Rogaine (minoxidil) for examples.
Drugs used for Weight Loss: Meridia and other weight loss aids.
Cosmetic-Related Drugs: Latisse and Botox that may improve your appearance, but don't
necessarily improve your health.
Drugs for Focus and Energy: Provigil (modafinil) has therapeutic uses for narcolepsy and
sleep apnea but some people seek it for general use.
Drugs for Birth Control: Yaz, Levora and others may be considered lifestyle drugs. FDA-
approved contraceptive methods are required to be covered in plans by the Affordable
Care Act of 2010, but there are exemptions for religious employers and non-profit
religious organizations.
Smoking Cessation Drugs: Zyban, Chantix and others. The Affordable Care Act of 2010
expanded coverage of FDA-approved smoking cessation medications. It is now
considered a preventive service and covers 90 days and two quit attempts per year.

Mee too drug

The key problem with me-too drugs is that, to the extent that they are similar to pre-existing drugs,
they diminish the incentives for innovation in pioneering drugs without adding therapeutic value. Me-
too drugs also absorb R&D resources, which is wasteful if they are undifferentiated from pre-existing
drugs. On the other hand, the more differentiated me-too drugs are from pioneering drugs, the
greater their potential benefits, and the less they harm the incentives for pioneering research. Defined
very narrowly as drugs which have more or less identical clinical outcomes to pre-existing drugs, me-
too drugs are likely of little value indeed in this case they effectively undermine the intent of patent
protection, without even providing much benefit from price competition. But drugs which are more
differentiated in clinical outcomes are also sometimes described as me-too drugs, and such drugs may
create value without substantially harming incentives for pioneering innovation indeed, to the
extent that a drug is differentiated, it becomes more of a pioneer and less of a me-too.