FROST & SULLIVAN : L'industrie pharmaceutique affronte de multiples d?fis; son avenir r?side dans la p?rennit? de nouvelles lignes de produits

Pharmaceutical Industry Faces Multiple Challenges; Future Lies in Drug Pipeline Sustainability

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2005--High clinical development costs coupled with declining drug discovery success rates are causing productivity levels to fall in the global pharmaceuticals industry

The imminent patent expiry of several major blockbuster drugs and the related rise of cheaper generic alternatives is further exacerbating the situation.

Despite this, the global pharmaceutical industry offers significant growth opportunity for participants that can build new strategic business models

Estimated at USD 554.00 billion in 2004, the global pharmaceuticals market is forecast to register an annual growth rate of 8.2 per cent from 2004 to 2011 to reach USD 967.00 billion.

Such expansion is expected, however, to be based on the ability of pharmaceuticals companies to adapt to changes in patient population, and target diseases of unmet medical need to maximise revenue potential

For instance, an aging global population is poised to drive pharmaceutical drugs for indications such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer's disease.

Drugs that address rising multifactorial disorders such as cancer as well as lifestyle disorders such as obesity are also likely to experience strong revenue growth

Moreover, as patient groups become more fragmented and diagnostic methods improve, the demand for evidence-based personalised treatments is likely to increase

"It is essential for major pharmaceuticals companies to move from the blockbuster model and adopt new strategies that cater to specific diseases areas and populations," notes Frost & Sullivan (http://healthcare.frost.com) Healthcare Analyst Phil Webster.

"To grow in this new era of evidence-based personalised medicine, companies should generate a sustainable product pipeline characterised by improved productivity and diversity." Market participants need to replace their dependence on a limited number of highly lucrative drug candidates with a more comprehensive and diverse product portfolio.

Innovative products that focus on areas of unmet medical need and cover a broad range of disease indications are likely to underpin a strong, sustainable product pipeline

Furthermore, companies need to examine reformulations and investigate new indications for existing blockbuster drugs

At the same time, the use of computer modelling and biomarker discovery to aid the discovery of promising drug candidates is likely to facilitate an enhanced understanding of the clinical development process and help them to make more informed investment decisions

"Less investment will be lost through late stage drug candidate failures as more compounds succeed in the clinical development process," elaborates Mr. Webster.

"More novel techniques to identify toxic or ineffective drugs early in the development process such as the use of biological models, bioinformatics and biomarkers will drive down development costs, increase revenues and improve overall industry productivity." As large pharmaceuticals companies try to enhance their drug development pipelines, mergers, acquisitions and licensing agreements for individual compounds are likely to gain appeal.

Mergers and strategic collaborations to invest in existing leads are also likely to diffuse the cost of potential failures, thereby preventing the draining of company resources

If you are interested in an analysis overview providing an introduction into the World Clinical Development Pipelines in the Pharmaceuticals Industry - then send an email to Katja Feick -Corporate Communications at [email protected] with the following information: Full name, Company Name, Title, Contact Tel Number, Email.

Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be emailed to you

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World Clinical Development Pipelines in the Pharmaceuticals Industry

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List of keywords in this press release: clinical development, pharmaceuticals industry, sustainable drug pipelines, drug discovery, patent expiry, blockbuster drugs, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, obesity, evidence-based treatments, personalised medicine, drug candidates, computer modelling, molecular biomarking, biological models, bioinformatics, biomarkers, high throughput screening, gene therapy, generics, generic pharmaceuticals, broad-spectrum antibiotics List of key industry participants: Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Inc., Astra-Zeneca Plc, Roche Molecular Systems, Bayer Diagnostics, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Cirion Biopharma Research Inc, Life Sciences Research Inc, MDS Pharma Services, aai Development Inc, Inc, Vivometrics Inc, Omnicare Inc, Parexel International, ABC R.O., Evidence Clinical and Pharmaceutical Research, www.clinicalresearch.de, CTS Europe, Clinical Trial Operations (CTO) B.V., Aster Cephac Group, Biotrial S.A., IFE Baltic, INC Research Europe

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