Drug Development by Indication

STACY LAWRENCE

Drug therapies that address either cardiovascular or central nervous system disorders were among the top sellers worldwide last year, and both of these therapeutic areas are generating considerable attention throughout the research pipeline. Nonetheless, cancer drugs outnumber by far all other drugs now in research and development, both preclinically and in Phase iii. Infectious diseases are also among the therapeutic classes most frequently investigated in these stages. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical companies dominate Phase iii, accounting for two-thirds of the more than 800 drugs currently in testing. Among biotech companies, efforts in this phase are heavily concentrated in a few treatment areas; more than half of these drugs, 160, are devoted to cancer, central nervous system disorders, or infectious diseases. Conversely, in early research, biotech companies have a strong hold, representing almost two-thirds of the more than 2,000 preclinical and discovery-phase drugs. And in these early stages, drugs in development by biotech companies are relatively evenly distributed among a wide variety of therapeutic areas.

Charts accompanying text include:

Drug Sales for the Top Ten Therapy Classes

Preclinical and Discovery Pipeline, by Therapeutic Area

Phase III Pipeline, by Therapeutic Area