Page 183 - CW E-Magazine (9-1-2024)

Special Report

YEAR IN REVIEW

The Top 10 news stories from the bio/pharma industry

in 2023

s we begin to look back at market, grew by 5% in 2022, reaching PATRICIA VAN ARNUM
2023, what were the top news a total value of $429-bn on a net price Editorial Director
Adevelopments from the bio/ basis, according to a recent analysis by Drug, Chemical & Associated
pharma industry, which impacted the the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Technologies Association,Inc. (DCAT)
industry? Science. This was driven by a range of
factors, including an increase in health $76-bn in the fi rst nine months of 2022
Innovation uptick services utilisation, which is now back to $44-bn for the fi rst months of 2023.
2023 saw a sizable uptick in new to pre-pandemic levels, and the entry of
drug approvals compared to 2022, new medicines into the market. Balanc- Its changing fortunes lead Pfi zer
when new drug approvals were down ing these drivers of growth, was a lack to launch an enterprise-wide cost re-
comparative to recent years. As of of net price increases for branded drugs alignment program earlier in 2023 that
December 1, 2023, the US Food and and patient out-of-pocket costs per is expected to deliver annual net cost
Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center retail prescription remaining under $10. savings of at least $3.5-bn, of which
for Drug Evaluation and Research approximately $1.0-bn is expected to be
(CDER) had approved 52 new mole- Total net medicine spending is pro- realised in 2023 and at least an addi-
cular entities (NMEs) and new thera- jected to remain unchanged over the tional $2.5-bn to be realised in 2024.
peutic biological products, compared to next fi ve years, refl ecting structural Still, in its third-quarter 2023 fi nancial
just 31 approvals at this time in 2022, market dynamics and competition, as results released on October 31, 2023,
which saw only 37 new drug approvals well as the effects of new policies and Pfi zer reaffi rmed in its full-year 2023
for the full-year 2022. legislation. US market growth will re- non-COVID operational revenue
turn to pre-pandemic projections by growth expectation of 6% to 8% com-
The 52 approvals thus far in 2023 2024, but embeds new pressures on net pared to 2022 and revenues projected at
are on par with recent years, excluding growth in later years, according to the $58.0-bn to $61.0-bn for the full-year
2022, when new drug approvals were IQVIA analysis. 2023, which would keep the company
down. In 2021, 46 NMEs and new thera- the number bio/pharma company based
peutic biologics had been approved by Growth from oncology, obesity and on revenues.
early December en route to a total of neuroscience medicines will be signifi -
50 new drug approvals (NMEs and new cant, but will be offset by declines in Off the charts for Lilly and Novo
therapeutic biological products) in the immunology and other areas, result- Nordisk
full-year 2021. A similar strong pace of ing in a compound annual growth rate On a product basis, two companies –
new drug approvals by FDA’s CDER of between -2% and +1% for the total Eli Lilly and Company and Novo
was seen in 2020, when 47 new drugs market through 2027. Nordisk – have seen dramatic growth
were approved in early December en thus far in 2023 for their diabetes and
route to a total of 53 NMEs approved Changing fortunes for Pfi zer weight-management drugs, respec-
for the full-year 2020. The 53 new A key issue for Pfi zer in 2023 tively Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide)
drugs approved in 2020 represented the has been the drop in revenues for its and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic (sema-
second highest level of approvals in the COVID-19 products – its COVID-19 glutide) for diabetes, Wegovy (sema-
past decade, except for 2018 when 59 vaccine, Comirnaty, and oral treatment glutide) for weight-management, and
new drugs were approved. for COVID-19, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ Saxenda (liraglutide).
ritonavir) – which drove a 41% opera-
Slowing growth for the US bio/ tional decrease in third-quarter 2023 Revenues for Lilly’s Mounjaro
pharmaceutical market revenues. The decline in these products soared in the fi rst nine months of 2023
The US market for medicines, the contributed to an overall revenue dec- to $2.96-bn from only $203-mn in the
largest national market globally, repre- line of 42% for the fi rst nine months year-ago period. Mounjaro launched in
senting approximately 40% of the global of 2023, which saw revenues fall from the US for the treatment of Type-2 dia-

Chemical Weekly January 9, 2024 183

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