The July/August issue of Drug Development and Delivery has an extensive report on the business and science of formulation and drug delivery. The report is based on the data in the PharmaCircle database.
The report is divided into various “Top Ten” categories, such as Ten Notable Drug Delivery Technologies of 2014, Transactions, etc., etc.
The report is rather lengthy, and we recommend a closer read (a free PDF version is available if you are not already a subscriber).
Based on our read, here are few items are of interest:
Just Because You Can…: Drug delivery and reformulation is like a pallet of innumerable colors. Give a good drug delivery expert a drug and he can come up with any number of ways to deliver that drug, or to enhance its PK profile.
However, just because something like this can be done does not mean that it should be done. In other words, not every reformulation or drug delivery play has a solid commercial rationale behind it.
The authors of this report note a few examples where it will be a challenge for some companies to generate significant sales, even with an approved product in hand.
Big Pharma Is Here To Stay: While our industry’s press is obsessed with the success and “flops” of new chemical entities, Big Pharma is very well represented in this report.
Scanning the pages, companies such as Roche, GSK, Biogen, and many others are represented.
In many cases, these multinational companies are using drug delivery technologies as line extensions. But for some, technologies represent new, novel ways to develop new products that fit specific markets.
Conversely, the authors note that small companies who develop products without market experience do so at their own peril.
Convenience…With PE Benefits: One of the criticisms of drug delivery and reformulation is that the only benefit is patient convenience.
This may be true in some cases, but we should also consider that convenience can increase compliance, and hence improve therapeutic benefits.
The authors have found several instances where delivery technologies provide an economic benefit as well, such as Amgen’s Neulasta Delivery Kit.
Again, the report makes for some interesting reading, and is a reminder of the benefits (and challenges) faced by companies in the drug delivery sector of our industry.