PHA-Exch> Drug companies: Big Pharma besieged from all sides

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: "anwar fazal" <anwarfazal2004 at yahoo.com>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/30/pharmaceuticals.medicalresearch
>> <anwarfazal2004 at yahoo.com>http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/30/pharmaceuticals.medicalresearch>>>>> Drug companies: Big Pharma besieged from all sides
>> Blockbusters are expiring, pipelines are emptying and
>> watchdogs are growling
>> Julia Kollewe
>> Saturday August 30 2008
>> The Guardian
>>EXCERPTS
>>
>> The pharmaceutical industry is under siege with the looming
>> end of blockbuster drugs, imminent patent expiries on
>> top-selling medicines and government pressure to lower
>> prices amid accusations of profiteering.
>>
>> GlaxoSmithKline's new boss, Andrew Witty, has likened
>> discovering a blockbuster - with annual revenues of at least
>> $1bn - to finding a needle in a haystack. Many of the
>> big-selling medicines launched in the 1990s are about to
>> come off patent, allowing generic drugmakers to make cheaper
>> versions. Only four of the 10 major companies have enough
>> products in their pipeline to plug the looming revenue
>> shortfall.
>>
>> "We've seen the end of the very big blockbuster,
>> the likes of Lipitor," said Kate Moss at
>> PricewaterhouseCoopers. "There's not enough time
>> for a product to become a massive blockbuster. There's
>> so much competition in the market."
>>
>> The world's top-selling drug, Lipitor, will lose its
>> patent in 2011, threatening Pfizer's $12.7bn
>> (£7bn) annual sales from the anti-cholesterol
>> drug.
>>
>> Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, who chairs health watchdog
>> Nice, infuriated the industry last week when he accused it
>> of overpricing vital new medicines. But drugs companies
>> reject the charge, pointing to initiatives on pricing. The
>> Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
>> says UK drug prices have fallen by 21% in real terms over
>> the past decade.
>>
>> "It takes £550m - and 10-12 years - to bring
>> a new drug to the patient," said a spokeswoman.
>> "It's an investment in public health. It's only
>> natural that the companies need to make a return on this
>> initial investment."
>>
>> Nice refused to approve expensive new kidney drugs  saying they are not cost effective - despite an offer
>> from Pfizer to pay for the first round of treatments.
>>
The chances of discovering a blockbuster have halved
>> from 10-1 to 20-1. due to competition, pricing, safety
>> concerns and fewer unmet clinical needs.
>> In response, companies are targeting niche drugs for
>> cancers and neurological diseases - expensive treatments for
>> relatively small numbers of patients.
>>
"New drugs for niche conditions are likely to
>> be fantastically expensive. In many cases, it will seem like
>> blackmail. Without government assistance or insurance,
>> treatment will simply not be affordable for many."
>>
>> The outcome of the US election could have a significant
>> impact. Senator Barack Obama wants Medicare to negotiate
>> directly with companies to drive down drug prices that are
>> on average twice as high as those in Britain.
>>
>> As blockbusters become rarer, drugmakers such as GSK have
>> switched their focus to developing a range of "middle
>> earners" with annual revenues of £200-300m.
>> Witty declared in July: "GSK must change if it is to be
>> successful in the future." There is a new focus on
>> vaccines - which are hard to copy.

>> Biologics and generics
> Companies are also investing heavily in developing
>> biological medicines, which can often be used to treat
>> several conditions and are harder to replicate than
>> conventional chemical drugs. Roche offered more than $40bn
>> to take full control of US biotech partner Genentech in
>> July. AstraZeneca, the UK's second-largest drugmaker,
>> has acquired biotech firms Cambridge Antibody Technology and
>> MedImmune, and aims to derive 25% of its new drugs from
>> biologics by 2010.
>>
>>
>> Companies are organising R&D into smaller groups of
>> scientists, to operate more like speciality pharmaceuticals.
>>
>> To boost revenues, Big Pharma is also venturing into the
>> generics market. Global generic medicines are now worth
>> $71.7bn, a tenth of the entire world drug market valued at
>> $712bn.
>>
>> As companies focus more on producing costly treatments for
>> rare diseases or benefiting certain patient groups,health services
>> will face new spending dilemmas.
>> (Patents typically expire 10-15 years after marketing
>> approval is granted)
>>
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