april, 2020 | The healTh
Nine pharma
trends for 2020
SARAH Rickwood of IQVIA looks back
at how pharma changed over the last
decade and what this might mean for
the industry in 2020.
Years with a nought at the end
prompt reflection not only on what the
next year will bring, but the next decade.
For the pharmaceutical industry, 10
years can simultaneously see very slow
and very rapid change.
Let’s start with slow: prescription
medicines generally take over a decade
from patent filing to launch. IQVIA's
recent study quoted 13.8 years as the
median time that New Active Substances
launched in 2018 took to reach the market
from patent filing, a figure that has been
slowly rising since the 1990s.
The New Active Substances launched
in the early 2020s will likely have their
origins in basic research of the 2010s.
On some metrics the shape of the
pharmaceutical industry has changed
little in a decade: the US was 41% of the
global market in 2010, by the end of the
decade it remained number 1 with 46%
of the market.
In other ways, however, pharmaceutical
industry change in a decade has been
significant, and is accelerating. Up until
2010 the pharmaceutical industry paradigm
was, almost entirely, that prescription
medicines were either small molecules or
biologics.
The Chinese market
comes into its own
China started the 2010s as the world’s
third largest pharmaceutical market
by value rank, moving to the second
slot behind the US by 2019. However,
on another vital metric the 2010s saw
China remain stubbornly in the third
division: on its contribution to the
global sales of New Active Substance,
the innovation driver for the global
industry, China currently ranks not
second, but 31st.
The rise of digital
The rise of digital technologies in
funding hub over London (which it was
tied with last year), and we expect this
trend to continue. Mumbai, Bangalore,
Shanghai, Singapore, Guangzhou and
Delhi also made the top 10 list.
6. 2020 will be a banner year for
digital health commercialization and
distribution
As more digital health products hit
the prime time, we see a splintering
in the path each is taking to market —
especially within the realm of digital
therapeutics. Among many of the
other major takeaways following last
fall’s digital-pharma breakups is an
understanding that these products
are unlikely to follow the traditional
drug development and distribution
model.
The takeaway here is that 2020 in
particular is poised for a convergence
of contrasting go-to-market strategies.
The success of one won’t necessarily
disqualify another, but expect the digital
health players of tomorrow to follow the
most successful examples on display
throughout the year. — The Health
Nurturing
biosimilars
for success
Biosimilars are expected
to trim healthcare costs
Biosimilars are
expensive to make,
they are not like
generic drugs.”
— Kashyap Patel
healthcare is a phenomenon so broad
and diverse in nature, it’s impossible
to define into a few specific metrics.
However, digital technologies will be
the most transformative force for
healthcare and pharma in the 2020s. In
2020 the first “digital natives”, widely
quoted as individuals born in 1980 or
later, turn 40.
One of the most powerful sources
of patient insight data will be genomic
data, as understanding of the genetic
basis of diseases and the ability to treat
genetically driven diseases with a range
of gene-based therapies grows. IQVIA’s
research has identified 171 current or
planned genomics/BioBank initiatives
around the world – the 2020s will see the
quantity and quality of genomics data
generated by these initiatives explode,
and with that, the potential for powerful
medical research.
The changing company
landscape
The increasingly speciality
focused launch environment of
the 2010s also facilitated the rise
of smaller biotech companies
developing and launching their
own assets. IQVIA predicts
the 2020s will be the decade
in which mid-sized pharma,
especially those based in
Europe, move to the next level.
What’s the theme of the 2020?
If I were to summarise into a single
word, I would say it is “diversity”
– increasingly diverse launches
in terms of their nature (small
molecule, biologic, cell therapy,
gene therapy, digital therapy),
increasing geographic diversity
in terms of sources of innovation
and also, perhaps, where
they realise their commercial
opportunity, and increasingly
diverse companies, top 20
pharma, Biotech, and mid-sized
players. All in all, the 2020s look to
be an exciting ride for pharma. —
The Health
H
ERalDED as the next great chapter in pharmaceutical history,
biosimilars are expected to trim healthcare costs while giving
patients more access at lower prices. adopted with open arms
in the European market, the move to biosimilars in the U.s.
has been a slog.
Despite hindrances such as a paucity of distribution
models, litigation and legislative challenges and
misperceptions about their effi cacy and safety, biosimilars
are poised to gain ground, and quickly. according to a 2019 iQVia report,
biosimilar share of the accessible market has been on the rise and now
averages 31%.
Many brand drugs are on schedule to lose patent exclusivity over the
next fi ve years, likely generating $78 billion in savings over the same time
frame and soaring to as much as $150 billion in savings by 2026.
“i’d say that it was a slow start but if we fast forward to today, we’re
starting to see some momentum,” sean McGowan, senior Director of
Biosimilars at amerisourceBergen, was quoted as saying.
Learning from Europe
Though lagging the European markets embrace of biosimilars, McGowan
believes U.s. manufacturers and amerisourceBergen stakeholders can glean
some lessons from that success.
The momentum of increased market share will be infl uenced by the
recent launch of three biosimilars and the expected launch of seven
biosimilars throughout this year. Those launches would double the number
of biosimilar therapies available. Many of those new biosimilars will
be available across all distribution channels that include full-line and
wholesale distribution, which has the potential of opening up an untapped
market in the hospital and health system space.
The FDa released its guidance on biosimilar interchangeability that
allows for biosimilars to be substituted for originator biologic therapies
without requiring intervention or approval of the prescribing healthcare
provider. The regulatory guidance opens the door for more development of
biosimilars, access, and importantly, competition.
A unique opportunity for manufacturers
a thriving biosimilars market off ers a unique opportunity for
manufacturers to take on accessibility and aff ordability issues facing
patients and providers in today’s tumultuous healthcare landscape. To seize
that opportunity, manufacturers will need the right commercialization
strategy coupled with the best approach to payers and providers that
includes strategic support from policymakers.
The linchpins to success for manufacturers drawing up their
commercialization strategies are in developing provider education and
support programs that help those audiences understand the benefi ts of
their biosimilar products; mapping out a channel strategy that guarantees
their product is available where patients need them; keeping a close watch
on legislative actions and ever-changing payer strategies that could impact
products.
Providing education for providers
not surprisingly, physicians are a key target for education programs on
biosimilars. They need to know about patient services, the hub services that
are provided by their originator and that they have, at the minimum, the
same services that support a patient. additionally, physicians need to know
that biosimilar products are safe, pure and eff ective.
“Biosimilars are expensive to make, they are not like generic drugs,”
Kashyap Patel, M.D., Chief Executive Offi cer of Carolina Blood and Cancer
Care, said. “so, my biggest request to manufacturers is that they should use
every possible avenue to bring awareness to providers and also ensure that
the product is covered and provide access programs for patients who are not
insured. Based on those, i think physicians will be ready, open and happy to take
biosimilars into their regimen.”
“safety and effi cacy have already been established,” he said. “The
question is how intensive education can be done in the U.s. where it could
help address the overall product drug price that, in my opinion, has the
potential of saving tens of billions of dollars. — The Health
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