Skip to main content

Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Neurology
8
Pipeline Programs
13
Companies
22
Clinical Trials
0
Approved Products

Pipeline by Development Stage

Preclinical
Phase 1
Phase 1/2
Phase 2
Phase 2/3
Phase 3
On Market
0
2
1
2
0
1
2
Early DiscoveryClinical DevelopmentMarket

Drug Modality Breakdown

Gene Therapy
1100%
+ 24 programs with unclassified modality

Neurology is a $26.9B market dominated by a single blockbuster anticoagulant (ELIQUIS), representing a mature but consolidating therapeutic area.

$26.9B marketMature→ Stable30 products15 companies

Key Trends

  • Extreme market concentration: 68% of spending driven by one FXa inhibitor product
  • Psychiatric and migraine therapies emerging as secondary growth drivers
  • High clinical trial activity (8,279 trials) signals continued pipeline development

Career Verdict

Neurology offers solid career stability with good hiring demand, but limited upside growth—best suited for professionals seeking established market positions rather than emerging-area innovation.

AI-generated market analysis based on FDA, CMS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and hiring data

Market Leaders

#1ELIQUISStable
$18.3B
Bristol Myers Squibb·Launch15.0yr
$1.8B
#3BRILINTAStable
$692M
AstraZeneca·Peak10.2yr
#4NUPLAZIDStable
$596M
$530M
Johnson & Johnson·Peak15.6yr

Drug Class Breakdown

FXa Inhibitors (anticoagulant)
$18.3B(68%)

market-defining single product

Dopamine/Serotonin Antagonists (psychiatric)
$2.4B(9%)

stable mature class

P2Y12 Receptor Antagonists (antiplatelet)
$692M(3%)

niche but stable

5-HT2A Inverse Agonists (psychiatric)
$596M(2%)

specialty indication focus

CGRP Receptor Antagonists (migraine)
$931M(3%)

emerging growth segment

Immunomodulators (MS)
$747M(3%)

stable with LOE risk

Other mechanisms
$2.6B(10%)

diverse small products

Career Outlook

Stable

Neurology represents a mature, cash-generative market with limited growth tailwinds but strong hiring stability. The dominance of ELIQUIS creates a bifurcated career landscape: high-opportunity positions in emerging segments (CGRP antagonists, psychiatric therapeutics) and commoditized roles in anticoagulant franchises. Job availability is solid but growth expectations should be tempered relative to oncology or immunology.

Breaking In

Entry-level professionals should target clinical operations or commercial support roles at J&J, AstraZeneca, or Sanofi to build domain expertise in neurology disease states and competitive dynamics.

For Experienced Professionals

Experienced professionals should prioritize emerging mechanism roles (CGRP, tau-targeting programs) or pivot to medtech/neurotech (Stryker, Medtronic) to capture higher growth and salary potential than traditional pharma incumbents.

In-Demand Skills

Medical Science Liaisons (MSL) for specialist engagementClinical trial operations expertisePsychiatric/neurodegenerative disease educationRegulatory affairs (given patent cliff activity)Commercial strategy around branded/generic transitions

Best For

Medical Science LiaisonCommercial Brand Manager (anticoagulant/psychiatric franchises)Clinical Operations ManagerRegulatory Affairs SpecialistClinical Development Manager (CGRP/immunomodulator pipelines)

Hiring Landscape

$100K-$199K

Neurology shows moderate but distributed hiring across pharma and medtech employers, with 4,186 total jobs listed. Commercial functions lead (947 roles, $169K avg), followed by clinical operations (467 roles, $132K avg), indicating bias toward commercialization over R&D. Takeda leads external hiring (762 jobs) with strong representation in contract research and CRO spaces.

4,186
Open Roles
5
Companies Hiring
5
Departments

Top Hiring Companies

762Growing
434Stable
302Stable

By Department

Commercial(23%)
$169K
Clinical Operations(11%)
$132K
Engineering(8%)
$199K
IT(4%)
$100K
Manufacturing(3%)
$170K

Commercial and clinical operations roles dominate, offering stable mid-career positions; engineering roles command premium salaries ($199K), suggesting strong device/neurotech hiring pockets.

Competitive Landscape

13 companies ranked by most advanced pipeline stage

Orion
OrionUK - Cambridge
1 program
1
StalevoPhase 41 trial
Active Trials
NCT00125567Completed223Est. Mar 2009
Orion Pharma
Orion PharmaUK - Reading
1 program
1
StalevoPhase 4
Supernus Pharmaceuticals
1 program
1
apomorphine infusionPhase 31 trial
Active Trials
NCT02339064Active Not Recruiting99Est. Dec 2025
Sangamo Therapeutics
2 programs
1
1
CERE-120Phase 21 trial
CERE-120: Adeno-Associated Virus Delivery of NeurturinPhase 1/2Gene Therapy1 trial
Active Trials
NCT00985517Completed57Est. Nov 2017
NCT00400634Completed58Est. Nov 2008
Boston Scientific
Boston ScientificCA - Valencia
1 program
1
Deep Brain StimulationPhase 21 trial
Active Trials
NCT01221948Completed53Est. Jun 2018
Pfizer
PfizerNEW YORK, NY
1 program
1
PF-06669571Phase 11 trial
Active Trials
NCT02565628Completed20Est. May 2016
Neurocrine Biosciences
1 program
1
VY-AADC01Phase 1
UCB Pharma
UCB PharmaBelgium - Brussels
7 programs
Neupro®N/A1 trial
RotigotinePHASE_31 trial
RotigotinePHASE_31 trial
RotigotinePHASE_31 trial
RotigotinePHASE_31 trial
+2 more programs
Active Trials
NCT01330290Completed148Est. Aug 2012
NCT00505687Completed186Est. Dec 2008
NCT01646268Completed249Est. May 2014
+4 more trials
Newron Pharmaceuticals
5 programs
Safinamide + LevodopaPHASE_1_21 trial
SafinamidePHASE_31 trial
SafinamidePHASE_31 trial
Safinamide, MAO-B inhibitorPHASE_31 trial
Safinimide 50-100 mg/dayPHASE_31 trial
Active Trials
NCT01026428Completed24
NCT00605683Completed679Est. Mar 2012
NCT00643045Completed269Est. Jul 2007
+2 more trials
Kyowa Hakko Kirin
Kyowa Hakko KirinCA - La Jolla
2 programs
Istradefylline 20 mg or 40 mgPHASE_31 trial
Istradefylline 40 mgPHASE_31 trial
Active Trials
NCT02610231Completed239Est. Dec 2017
NCT01968031Completed613Est. Oct 2016
Medtronic
MedtronicNJ - Phillipsburg
1 program
Safety observationN/A
Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer IngelheimINGELHEIM, Germany
1 program
pramipexoleN/A1 trial
Active Trials
NCT01470859Completed30Est. Aug 2014
Voyager Therapeutics
1 program
VY-AADC01PHASE_11 trial
Active Trials
NCT03065192Completed16Est. Aug 2021

Trial Timeline

Clinical trial activity over time

2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
UCB PharmaRotigotine
UCB PharmaRotigotine
OrionStalevo
Kyowa Hakko KirinIstradefylline 20 mg or 40 mg
Supernus Pharmaceuticalsapomorphine infusion
Kyowa Hakko KirinIstradefylline 40 mg
UCB PharmaRotigotine
UCB PharmaRotigotine
Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinamide, MAO-B inhibitor
Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinimide 50-100 mg/day
Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinamide
UCB PharmaRotigotine
UCB PharmaRotigotine
Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinamide
Boston ScientificDeep Brain Stimulation

Showing 15 of 22 trials with date data

Clinical Trials (22)

Total enrollment: 4,925 patients across 22 trials

Trial to Evaluate The Efficacy Of Rotigotine on Parkinson's Disease-Associated Motor Symptoms And Apathy

Start: Feb 2013Est. completion: Mar 2014122 patients
Phase 4Completed

Rotigotine Versus Placebo to Evaluate the Efficacy on Depressive Symptoms in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Patients

Start: Apr 2012Est. completion: Oct 2014380 patients
Phase 4Completed

Stalevo in Early Wearing-Off Patients

Start: Aug 2005Est. completion: Mar 2009223 patients
Phase 4Completed
NCT02610231Kyowa Hakko KirinIstradefylline 20 mg or 40 mg

Long Term Study of Istradefylline in Subjects With Moderate to Severe Parkinson's Disease

Start: Dec 2015Est. completion: Dec 2017239 patients
Phase 3Completed

Infusion of Apomorphine: Long-term Safety Study

Start: Feb 2015Est. completion: Dec 202599 patients
Phase 3Active Not Recruiting
NCT01968031Kyowa Hakko KirinIstradefylline 40 mg

A 12-week Randomized Study to Evaluate Oral Istradefylline in Subjects With Moderate to Severe Parkinson's Disease

Start: Oct 2013Est. completion: Oct 2016613 patients
Phase 3Completed

Rotigotine Versus Placebo As Double Blind Study To Evaluate The Efficacy In Early Stage Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Patients

Start: Jul 2012Est. completion: May 2014249 patients
Phase 3Completed

Rotigotine Versus Placebo, A Study To Evaluate The Efficacy In Advanced Stage Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Patients

Start: Jul 2012Est. completion: Oct 2014346 patients
Phase 3Completed
NCT01028586Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinamide, MAO-B inhibitor

MOTION, Safinamide in Early Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (IPD), as add-on to Dopamine Agonist (Extension of Trial 27918)

Start: Oct 2009507 patients
Phase 3Terminated
NCT00627640Newron PharmaceuticalsSafinimide 50-100 mg/day

Safinamide in Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (IPD) With Motor Fluctuations, as add-on to Levodopa

Start: Feb 2009Est. completion: Mar 2012549 patients
Phase 3Completed

MOTION, Safinamide in Early IPD, as add-on to Dopamine Agonist

Start: Nov 2007Est. completion: Mar 2012679 patients
Phase 3Completed

An Open-Label Extension Trial to Assess the Safety and Tolerability of Long Term Treatment of Rotigotine in Subjects With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Start: Feb 2005Est. completion: Dec 2008186 patients
Phase 3Completed

A Trial to Evaluate the Effects of Rotigotine Transdermal Patch on Early Morning Motor Impairment and Sleep Disorders Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Start: Dec 2004Est. completion: Jul 200558 patients
Phase 3Completed

Safinamide as Add-On Therapy in Patients With Early Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Treated With a Stable Dose of a Single Dopamine Agonist

Start: Dec 2004Est. completion: Jul 2007269 patients
Phase 3Completed
NCT01221948Boston ScientificDeep Brain Stimulation

Vercise Implantable Stimulator for Treating Parkinson's Disease

Start: Oct 2010Est. completion: Jun 201853 patients
Phase 2Completed

Double-Blind, Multicenter, Sham Surgery Controlled Study of CERE-120 in Subjects With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Start: Nov 2006Est. completion: Nov 200858 patients
Phase 2Completed
NCT00985517Sangamo TherapeuticsCERE-120: Adeno-Associated Virus Delivery of Neurturin

Safety and Efficacy of CERE-120 in Subjects With Parkinson's Disease

Start: Oct 2009Est. completion: Nov 201757 patients
Phase 1/2Completed

A Study to Assess the Effect of Safinamide on Levodopa Pharmacokinetics

Start: Sep 200924 patients
Phase 1/2Completed

Safety and Efficacy Study of VY-AADC01 for Advanced Parkinson's Disease

Start: May 2017Est. completion: Aug 202116 patients
Phase 1Completed

PF-06669571 In Subjects With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

Start: Nov 2015Est. completion: May 201620 patients
Phase 1Completed

The Effect of Pramipexole on Metabolic Network Activity Compared With Levodopa in Early Parkinson's Disease

Start: Dec 2011Est. completion: Aug 201430 patients
N/ACompleted

Caregivers' and Physicians' Treatment Preference in Parkinson Patients Treated With Neupro® Requiring Caregiver Support

Start: Mar 2011Est. completion: Aug 2012148 patients
N/ACompleted

Related Jobs in Neurology

Phase Legend

PreclinicalLab & animal studies
Phase 1Safety & dosing
Phase 2Efficacy testing
Phase 3Large-scale trials
On MarketApproved & available

Key Insights

1 late-stage (Phase 3) programs, potential near-term approvals
13 companies competing in this space

The information on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Drug information is sourced from FDA, DailyMed, and other government databases. Adverse event data from FAERS does not establish causation. Always consult a healthcare professional for medical decisions.