Our focus was on the 2024 Preview, our annual report that looks at the top drugs, companies, potential launches and much more for the year ahead. In the webinar, our team talked through some of the highlights and discussed some of the stories behind the data, with a view to what it means for pharma and biotech in 2024. Our line-up featured Melody Marden as moderator, Principal Consultant, Tsz Tsang and our webinar regular, Director of Thought Leadership, Daniel Chancellor.
You can check out all the data in the report, so what did we learn from the panel during the session?
- The pharma market is pretty dynamic right now
Looking at the top 10 lists for both biggest selling drugs and the top companies by 2024 revenues, there was more change at the top than we’re used to seeing. Daniel noted that we are in an era where drugs can launch incredibly quickly (for example, the Covid-19 vaccines and the recent GLP-1 drugs), but that they can also fall away faster too. Biosimilars are becoming more effective at capturing market share, cutting into blockbuster sales much faster once exclusivity is lost. On the company front, 2024 sees GSK dropping out of the top 10, replaced by Novo Nordisk and we expect Eli Lilly to join them in the near future – potentially straight into the top five. - Expect some big drugs for big diseases
In our list of the most anticipated launches of the year, there are some really big indications that represent huge unmet need and thus potential demand. Schizophrenia, NASH and Alzheimer’s have been the subjects of enormous amounts of R&D for many years, and it seems we are finally close to seeing some success. This bucks the trend of the more targeted therapies we’ve been seeing in many areas, particularly oncology. If these treatments do hit the market, there are potentially blockbuster years ahead. - Innovation is strong
We looked at the biggest new sales generators for the year, and it was interesting to note the exciting new modalities represented in the list. There were plenty of biologics and complex drugs, but for the first time we’re seeing a bispecific antibody (Roche’s Vabysmo) and an antibody drug conjugate (Daiichi Sankyo/AstraZeneca’s Enhertu). These are great examples of really sophisticated new drugs that not only build upon the clinical science, but which are likely to have a significant commercial impact.
If that’s not enough, the panel also covered how Keytruda continues to be a huge new sales generator despite already being the biggest selling drug in the world, and how companies need to manage a more fragmented market as precision medicines become more widespread. It’s all in the on-demand version of the webinar available here, and if you can spare an hour to listen in, you’ll find it time very well spent!
