Pharmaceutical innovation market analysis
Our analysis of the pharmaceutical innovation market showed that breakthroughs in medicine are linked, among other things, to the development of new drugs. New drugs make previously incurable diseases curable and turn fatal diseases into chronic ones. A drug can be regarded as an innovation in the pharmaceutical market if it addresses unmet or inadequately met health needs in a new way.
GSK Commercial spent years working on a drug to support the treatment of HIV infection. The new therapy developed by the company is based on a two-drug regimen, which is a real breakthrough. Until then, patients with HIV had used three-drug therapies. The drug Dovato was presented in October 2020. GSK Commercial received the Innowator award for it.
Bristol Myers Squibb developed the drug Luspatercept, intended for people with chronic bone marrow cancers. Such patients need blood transfusions, but by taking Luspatercept they can avoid them. Instead of visiting hospital for transfusions, patients with myelodysplastic syndromes receive an injection. In this way the drug "saves lives twice": the blood that is not needed for transfusions can be used to save other patients.
What is nanomedicine?
Nanomedicine is, put simply, nanotechnology with medical and pharmacological applications. The sector is attracting growing interest from private companies and public institutions. The EU, for example, co-finances numerous projects and has also launched a technology platform for companies and institutions in the nanomedicine industry.
Modern medicine also uses antibiotics widely, which leads to the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. The development of nanotechnology has led to alternative antibacterial agents, for example silver, gold and copper nanoparticles, which appear to be free of the drawbacks of traditional antibiotics. In addition, nanoparticles make drug administration less invasive and less of a burden on the body, and the dose can be tailored precisely to the individual patient.
Why is the pharmaceutical industry looking for new dosage forms?
The pharmaceutical industry is looking for new ways of administering active substances to ensure precise dosing, modify the API release rate and deliver the drug to the target site of action.
The global pharmaceutical industry is currently looking for new ways of administering active substances to meet the need for precise dosing. It is equally important to modify the release rate of the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) and deliver the drug to the target site of action. Well-known dosage forms such as tablets, capsules and pellets are no longer the only ways of taking medicines.
What are examples of modern dosage forms?
Examples of modern dosage forms include a lollipop delivering a strong painkiller, minitablets 2–3 millimetres in diameter, organogels and nanocarriers.
The drug Actiq, which contains fentanyl citrate, uses a lollipop to deliver a strong painkiller. This substance is an opioid used to relieve severe pain. The lollipop is placed between the cheek and the gum so that as much of the API as possible passes through the mucous membrane and then into the bloodstream.
A minitablet is a tablet produced in the standard way by direct compression or by dry or wet granulation. What sets it apart is its size: a minitablet usually has a diameter of 2–3 millimetres. This property seems particularly useful for patients who have difficulty swallowing. Minitablets also have an advantage for the manufacturer, as there is no need to produce different strengths of the drug. One minitablet is one dose, so the patient takes as many minitablets as individually prescribed.
An organogel is a non-crystalline system in which an organic liquid, for example a vegetable or mineral oil or an organic solvent, is gelled by a suitably selected substance. The greatest advantage of an organogel is its thermoreversibility. This means that the gel is solid before use but turns semi-liquid after being administered to the patient. This makes it possible to achieve the desired adhesiveness, biocompatibility, solubility or release of the active substance.
Nanocarriers are taken up by cells more easily than large molecules. This means they can be used successfully in targeted therapies involving known bioactive ingredients. The most widely used and tested nanocarriers include liposomes, dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles and polymers.
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This text is not a full market analysis of the kind we carry out for our clients. This publication contains only selected information about the market, which we can explore in more depth and expand on as a custom project.
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