Could it be that the pessimism about the biopharma pipeline is overstated. In two weeks we had the approval of two new drugs that are effective cures for Hepatitis C and reduce the need for other medicines. At the same time, a whole slew of new targeted cancer therapies were unveiled at ASCO. And two new drugs to stop the replication of HIV were approved.
Increasingly, drugs that are approved have the following qualities: they address an unmet and complex medical need; they are targeted drugs that use diagnostics to identify people who will benefit the most; and they highly effective.
Meanwhile, members of Congress cannot stop flogging the same silly issues: Herb Kohl wants all information in drug liability trials to be made public and Jo Anne Emerson and Peter Welch have launched the Congressional Affordable Medicines Caucuc in the House, designed to undermine legal and regulatory framework that still in some fashion support innovation.
Innovation will prevail but not without help. R and D productivity needs to be much higher. And given the important products that are emerging from companies large and small, it would make sense to develop policies to promote better medicine. But maybe that's too much too ask...
Increasingly, drugs that are approved have the following qualities: they address an unmet and complex medical need; they are targeted drugs that use diagnostics to identify people who will benefit the most; and they highly effective.
Meanwhile, members of Congress cannot stop flogging the same silly issues: Herb Kohl wants all information in drug liability trials to be made public and Jo Anne Emerson and Peter Welch have launched the Congressional Affordable Medicines Caucuc in the House, designed to undermine legal and regulatory framework that still in some fashion support innovation.
Innovation will prevail but not without help. R and D productivity needs to be much higher. And given the important products that are emerging from companies large and small, it would make sense to develop policies to promote better medicine. But maybe that's too much too ask...
