The Big Red Biotech Blog

Titantic, Challenger, Bapineuzumab

How do you spell disaster?  BMS-094 maybe?

In 2012, we've seen our share of big Phase III flame outs, as high profile drug programs have failed utterly in meeting their clinical endpoints.  Many of these were being conducted by companies counting on the success of these projects to fill in flagging sales due to recent patent expiration of blockbusters. They also were trying to make their mark in lucrative therapeutic categories that have few good alternatives now.

Fierce Biotech lays out its TOP 5 failures in 2012:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb's BMS-094 for hepatitis C
• J&J and Pfizer's Bapineuzumab for Alzheimer's
• Eli Lilly's Solanezumab for Alzheimer's
• Roche's Dalcetrib for cholesterol management
• AstraZeneca's TC-5214 for depression

In 2012, all of these hit an ice berg.  Fierce listed them in descending order of magnitude of disaster but maybe you have additional nominees or a different order?  Feel free to comment or reorder to your desire.  Drug development though remains a tough business.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Oct 4th 2012.

 

20 Major Pharma-Academic Alliances in 2012

Fierce Biotech reminds us of 20 major alliances that were established between pharma companies and academic institutions in 2012.  This reflected a shift towards down-sizing R&D groups in pharma companies -- particularly those with steep patent cliffs over the past 3 years -- and more investment with outsource partners.  In this case, those partners were academic institutions.

20 Major Pharma-Academic Alliances in 2012.

Check out the list and learn where Big Pharma is placing its bets and seeding projects that could yield big-time products in the future --- at least that is the strong desire.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Oct 3rd 2012.

New Biopharma Industry Report from GBI Research

According to a new report by GBI on the global biopharm market, we can expect it to grow from $138 B in 2011 to more than $320 B by 2020 upping biopharmaceutical's percentage of market from its current 15.6%.

PharmTech Talk » Biopharma Industry Set to See New Technologies and New Therapies.

The report says more companies will incorporate disposables into their manufacturing to become more efficient and will use more microbial systems too. I'd like to see the data supporting the latter and what products that are expected to be made using microbial systems -- instead of say CHO cells.

Biosimilars are expected to boom (surprise, surprise).  GBI is projecting biosimilar sales in the US to reach $9B by 2020.  India, China and Korea are also expected to have very active biosimilar programs. India alone has more than 20 active biosimilar companies now with 55 products on the market -- including products like Enbrel and Rituxan that are still on patent in many Western countries.  The South Korean government is heavily backing the biosimilars industry and has a goal of taking 22% global market share by 2020.

Posted by Bruce Lehr Oct 3rd 2012.