Frost & Sullivan releases drug launch and Phase III trial watch list for top therapeutic areas

Oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases/vaccines are areas for novel therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics in 2015

Frost & Sullivan examined promising therapeutics for 2015 finding that oncology, cardiovascular, autoimmune/anti-inflammatories,and infectious diseases will be the top areas of investments in 2015.

A Frost & Sullivan Healthcare analyst said that in addition, pharmaceutical companies will be keen to invest in in-vitro diagnostics such as biomarkers; molecular, tissue, companion diagnostics; predisposition disease; and predictive testing. This is because drugs with companion diagnostics are expected to increase two- to three-fold over the next five years with increased focus on areas such as cardiology and inflammatory diseases.

Frost & Sullivan’s therapeutics’ watch list for 2015 includes Puma Biotechnology’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, neratinib, for breast cancer adjuvant therapy; Bristol-Myers Squibb’s PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab, for previously treated advanced melanoma patients; Novartis’ selective IL-17A inhibitor, secukinumab, for the treatment of plaque psoriasis; Novartis’ angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi), LCZ696, for the treatment of heart failure; AbbVie’s ABT-450/ritonavir co-formulated with ombitasvir (ABT-267), and dasabuvir (ABT-333) with or without ribavirin for the treatment of hepatitis C; GlaxoSmithKline’s RTS,S vaccine, which is expected to be the first malaria vaccine in the market; Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengue Vaccine is also expected to have a first-mover advantage, with FDA approval in 2015; Ebola virus vaccines consisting of cAd3-ZEBOV by GlaxoSmithKline, PSC-1001 by Newlink Genetics Corporation, and potentially an unnamed vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson are anticipated to be entering phase III trials in 2015.

In addition to new molecular entity (NME) product launches, there are abundant opportunities for generic and biosimilar drugs due to the patent expiry of several blockbuster drugs in 2014 and 2015. They are Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Abilify (anti-psychotic), Teva Pharmaceutical’s Copaxone (relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis), Novartis’ Gleevec (chronic myeloid leukemia), Forest Laboratories’ Namenda (Alzheimer’s disease), Pfizer’s Zyvox (anti-viral) and, GlaxoSmithKline’s Avodart (benign prostatic hyperplasia).

The report also mentions that technology developers could expedite the identification of biomarkers and targets for novel therapeutics. Additionally, pharma/biotech and ICT companies could enhance patient awareness of product launches.