Endocrinology, a medicinal
branch that deals with endocrine and metabolic disorders, is witnessing
cutting-edge drug research to develop advanced drugs that can treat
diabetes, obesity, hypoparathyroidism and other
disorders.The endocrinology market is witnessing impressive growth — it is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.82 percent. Between 2023 and 2027, the market is poised to increase by US$ 36.5 billion. It includes treatments for various medical conditions, such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypogonadism (a condition where the body’s sex glands produce little or no hormones), dwarfism, hypo or hyperparathyroidism, acromegaly (abnormal growth of the hands, feet, and face, caused by the overproduction of growth hormone by the pituitary gland) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (a genetic disorder that affects the adrenal glands).The market is dominated by diabetes treatment drugs — valued at around US$ 48.7 billion in 2018, these are expected to generate US$ 78.3 billion by the end of 2026. The
market for obesity drugs is also expected to reach US$ 50 billion by 2030.The top companies in this
segment include Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Merck, Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim. Several biotech companies
have joined the race to capture a share of the lucrative market for diabetes
and obesity drugs.Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel)Lilly’s Mounjaro, Novo’s Wegovy gear up for larger share of obesity pieIn May 2022, Lilly’s potential blockbuster Mounjaro (tirzepatide) was approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection to treat adults with type 2 diabetes. Mounjaro is the first and only dual targeted glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist on the market, and has helped patients achieve a body weight loss of over 20 percent in clinical trials. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide), the first and only once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management in people with obesity, has been found to help patients lose up to 15 percent of their body weight in over 68 weeks. In late 2022, the drug received FDA approval to treat obesity in pediatric patients aged 12 years and older.Last October, FDA granted fast track review designation to Mounjaro as a treatment for obesity. Lilly plans to go to the FDA soon and expects to get approval for the drug this year. Once approved, Mounjaro will give Wegovy a tough fight in the obesity market. Analysts predict Mounjaro to generate around US$ 8.1 billion in annual sales by 2028, while Wegovy is expected to bring in US$ 7 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, Amgen’s AMG 133 is also in early-stage trials for obesity. Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel) ‘Skinny shot’ diabetes drugs face supply shortages; Lilly plans to double capacityFollowing its approval in the US in mid-2021, Wegovy quickly became the go-to “skinny shot” drug in Hollywood, thanks to its
impressive weight reduction data. But the drug hit a supply shortage in late 2021 due to manufacturing issues, which the manufacturer managed to fix in the second half of 2022. Novo’s blockbuster type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic is also in limited supply,
but the drugmaker expects the availability to return to normal around
mid-March.The supply constraints of Wegovy and Ozempic, coupled with the craze around using diabetes drugs for weight loss, sparked interest in Lilly’s Mounjaro. But Mounjaro, along with another Lilly drug Trulicity, began facing supply issues last December. While Lilly has fixed Mounjaro’s supply issues for the time being, it plans to double its manufacturing capacity by the year end to avoid any such shortages in the future.Meanwhile, the American Diabetes Association and Mutual Aid Diabetes have sounded an alarm, saying the off-label use of diabetes drugs for weight loss may cause shortages and affect diabetes patients.Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel)Provention launches treatment for type 1 diabetes; Novo retains market dominanceIn November, Provention Bio’s Tzield (teplizumab) bagged FDA approval as a preventive treatment for type 1 diabetes in individuals eight years or older who are in stage 2 of the disease. The injectable drug is the first treatment in the US to delay progression of the autoimmune disease.Novo remained the dominant player in the diabetes and obesity market, clocking sales of US$ 22.8 billion (DKK 156.4 billion) in 2022 in this segment. Ozempic’s sales increased by 77 percent to US$ 8.6 billion (DKK 59.8 billion). The Danish company consolidated its position further by
purchasing Dicerna Pharma for US$ 3.3 billion in 2021 for its RNA interference (RNAi) technology.Novo is planning to file for approval of its once-weekly insulin icodec for type 2 diabetes in the US, the EU and China in the first half of 2023. It is also running a phase 1 trial of Ozempic as a once-weekly oral treatment.In 2022, sales of Lilly’s blockbuster drug Trulicity (dulaglutide) touched US$ 7.4 billion. Two other drugs, Humalog and Jardiance, generated US$ 2.1 billion each in sales. In addition, Lilly’s partner Boehringer Ingelheim also reported US$ 2.55 billion (€ 2.5 billion) sales of Jardiance in the first half of 2022.Biosimilar drugmaker Biocon Biologics acquired Viatris’ biosimilars business for a total of US$ 3.34 billion, strengthening its presence in the diabetes, tumors and autoimmune diseases market. Viatris’ portfolio is expected to generate sales of over US$ 1 billion for Biocon in 2023.Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel)Drugmakers work on triple agonist therapies to
treat diabetes, obesitySeveral drugmakers are working on triple agonist therapies that target multiple receptors, such as GLP-1, GIP and glucagon (GCG). These drugs, such as Novo and partner Marcadia’s MAR423, Hanmi’s HM1521, Sanofi’s SAR441255, and Eli Lilly’s retatrutide, are currently in early- to mid-stage trials. Studies have shown that these triple agonists are more effective in reducing body
weight and improving glucose control compared to mono- or
dual-incretin receptor agonists.In addition, a few triple drug combinations containing metformin, DPP4 inhibitors and SGLT2 inhibitors have recently been approved. Treatments such as Astra’s Qternmet XR and Lilly-BI’s Trijardy XR have shown
significant improvement in glycemic control and are generally well tolerated by
patients.Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel)TheracosBio’s oral med for diabetes approved; gene therapies gather interest Recently, TheracosBio’s Brenzavvy was approved by the agency as an oral
medication for type 2 diabetes. And Marinus Pharmaceuticals’ oral testosterone replacement therapy Kyzatrex received FDA’s nod last year for a range of diseases in men that arise from deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone. New York-based Oramed is currently conducting a phase 1 trial of its oral GLP-1 drug – ORMD-0901 – as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.Meanwhile, Vertex and Arbor Biotechnologies are working on a gene therapy
(VX-880) for type 1 diabetes. BridgeBio Pharma’s BBP-631 adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy for congenital adrenal
hyperplasia is in phase 1/2 trials. And
Swedish biotech Diamyd is carrying out phase 3 trials of its type 1 diabetes vaccine.In other medical conditions, Ascendis Pharma’s TransCon PTH, a long-acting prodrug of parathyroid hormone, has a PDUFA date in April
2023. If approved, it would become the first hormone replacement therapy to
address the underlying cause of hypoparathyroidism. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’ Paltusotine, a non-peptide
somatostatin type 2 (SST2) receptor agonist, is currently in phase 3 trials for
acromegaly, representing a new class of oral once-daily medication.Access the Endocrinology Newsmakers Dashboard (Free Excel)Our viewDiabetes and obesity have
reached epidemic proportions in the recent decades, while other endocrine
disorders such as hypoparathyroidism are also growing rapidly the world over.According to the World Health Organization, around 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year.While factors
such as long working hours, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy eating and
drinking habits are contributing to the rise of these diseases, drugmakers are
doing some cutting edge research for these conditions. Given this scenario,
endocrinology should see a lot of pathbreaking drugs in the coming years.
Impressions: 2095
Acquisitions and spin-offs dominated headlines in 2019 and the tone was set very early with Bristol-Myers Squibb acquiring
New Jersey-based cancer drug company Celgene in a US$ 74 billion deal announced on
January 3, 2019. After factoring
in debt, the deal value ballooned to about US$ 95 billion, which according
to data compiled by Refinitiv, made it the largest healthcare deal on
record.
In the summer, AbbVie Inc,
which sells the world’s best-selling drug Humira, announced its acquisition of Allergan Plc, known for Botox and other cosmetic
treatments, for US$ 63 billion. While the companies are still awaiting
regulatory approval for their deal, with US$ 49 billion in combined 2019
revenues, the merged entity would rank amongst the biggest in the industry.
View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2019 (Free Excel Available)
The big five by pharmaceutical sales — Pfizer,
Roche, J&J, Novartis and Merck
Pfizer
continued
to lead companies by pharmaceutical sales by reporting annual 2019 revenues of
US$ 51.8 billion, a decrease of US$ 1.9 billion, or 4 percent, compared to
2018. The decline was primarily attributed to the loss of exclusivity of Lyrica in 2019,
which witnessed its sales drop from US$ 5 billion in 2018 to US$ 3.3 billion in
2019.
In 2018, Pfizer’s then incoming CEO Albert Bourla had mentioned that the company did not see the need for any large-scale M&A activity as Pfizer had “the best pipeline” in its history, which needed the company to focus on deploying its capital to keep its pipeline flowing and execute on its drug launches.
Bourla stayed true to his word and barring the acquisition of Array Biopharma for US$ 11.4 billion and a spin-off to merge Upjohn, Pfizer’s off-patent branded and generic established medicines business with
Mylan, there weren’t any other big ticket deals which were announced.
The
Upjohn-Mylan merged entity will be called Viatris and is expected to have 2020
revenues between US$ 19 and US$ 20 billion
and could outpace Teva to
become the largest generic company in the world, in term of revenues.
Novartis, which had
followed Pfizer with the second largest revenues in the pharmaceutical industry
in 2018, reported its first full year earnings after spinning off its Alcon eye
care devices business division that
had US$ 7.15 billion in 2018 sales.
In 2019,
Novartis slipped two spots in the ranking after reporting total sales of US$
47.4 billion and its CEO Vas Narasimhan continued his deal-making spree by buying New
Jersey-headquartered The Medicines Company (MedCo) for US$ 9.7
billion to acquire a late-stage cholesterol-lowering
therapy named inclisiran.
As Takeda Pharmaceutical Co was
busy in 2019 on working to reduce its debt burden incurred due to its US$ 62
billion purchase of Shire Plc, which was announced in 2018, Novartis also purchased
the eye-disease medicine, Xiidra, from the Japanese drugmaker for US$ 5.3 billion.
Novartis’ management also spent a considerable part of 2019 dealing with data-integrity concerns which emerged from its 2018 buyout of AveXis, the
gene-therapy maker Novartis had acquired for US$ 8.7 billion.
The deal gave Novartis rights to Zolgensma,
a novel treatment intended for children less than two years of age with the
most severe form of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Priced at US$ 2.1 million,
Zolgensma is currently the world’s most expensive drug.
However,
in a shocking announcement, a month after approving the drug, the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) issued a press release on
data accuracy issues as the agency was informed by AveXis that
its personnel had manipulated data which
the FDA used to evaluate product comparability and nonclinical (animal)
pharmacology as part of the biologics license application (BLA), which was
submitted and reviewed by the FDA.
With US$
50.0 billion (CHF 48.5 billion) in annual pharmaceutical sales, Swiss drugmaker
Roche came in at number two position in 2019
as its sales grew 11 percent driven by
its multiple sclerosis medicine Ocrevus, haemophilia drug Hemlibra and cancer medicines Tecentriq and Perjeta.
Roche’s newly introduced medicines generated US$ 5.53 billion (CHF 5.4 billion) in growth, helping offset the impact of the competition from biosimilars for its three best-selling drugs MabThera/Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin.
In late 2019, after months of increased
antitrust scrutiny, Roche completed
its US$ 5.1 billion acquisition of Spark Therapeutics to strengthen its presence in
gene therapy.
Last year, J&J reported almost flat worldwide sales of US$ 82.1 billion. J&J’s pharmaceutical division generated US$ 42.20 billion and its medical devices and consumer health divisions brought in US$ 25.96 billion and US$ 13.89 billion respectively.
Since J&J’s consumer health division sells analgesics, digestive health along with beauty and oral care products, the US$ 5.43 billion in consumer health sales from over-the-counter drugs and women’s health products was only used in our assessment of J&J’s total pharmaceutical revenues. With combined pharmaceutical sales of US$ 47.63 billion, J&J made it to number three on our list.
While the sales of products like Stelara, Darzalex, Imbruvica, Invega Sustenna drove J&J’s pharmaceutical business to grow by 4 percent over 2018, the firm had to contend with generic competition against key revenue contributors Remicade and Zytiga.
US-headquartered Merck, which is known as
MSD (short for Merck Sharp & Dohme) outside the United States and
Canada, is set to significantly move up the rankings next year fueled by its
cancer drug Keytruda, which witnessed a 55
percent increase in sales to US$ 11.1 billion.
Merck reported total revenues of US$ 41.75 billion and also
announced it will spin off its women’s health drugs,
biosimilar drugs and older products to create a new pharmaceutical
company with US$ 6.5 billion in annual revenues.
The firm had anticipated 2020 sales between US$ 48.8 billion and US$ 50.3 billion however this week it announced that the coronavirus pandemic will reduce 2020 sales by more than $2 billion.
View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2019 (Free Excel Available)
Humira holds on to remain world’s best-selling drug
AbbVie’s acquisition of Allergan comes as the firm faces the expiration of patent protection for Humira, which brought in a staggering US$ 19.2 billion in sales last year for
the company. AbbVie has failed to successfully acquire or develop a major new
product to replace the sales generated by its flagship drug.
In 2019, Humira’s US revenues increased 8.6 percent to US$ 14.86 billion while internationally, due
to biosimilar competition, the sales dropped 31.1 percent to US$ 4.30 billion.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis, which is also marketed by Pfizer, maintained its number two position
and posted total sales of US$ 12.1 billion, a 23 percent increase over 2018.
While Bristol Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy treatment Opdivo, sold in partnership with Ono in Japan, saw sales increase from US$ 7.57 billion to US$ 8.0 billion, the growth paled in comparison to the US$ 3.9
billion revenue increase of Opdivo’s key immunotherapy competitor Merck’s Keytruda.
Keytruda took the number three spot in drug sales that
previously belonged to Celgene’s Revlimid, which witnessed a sales decline from US$ 9.69 billion to US$ 9.4 billion.
Cancer treatment Imbruvica, which is marketed
by J&J and AbbVie, witnessed a 30 percent increase in sales. With US$ 8.1
billion in 2019 revenues, it took the number five position.
View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2019 (Free Excel Available)
Vaccines – Covid-19 turns competitors into partners
This year has been dominated by the single biggest health emergency in years — the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. As drugs continue to fail to meet expectations, vaccine development has received a lot of attention.
GSK reported the highest vaccine sales of all drugmakers with
total sales of US$ 8.4 billion (GBP 7.16 billion), a significant portion of its
total sales of US$ 41.8 billion (GBP 33.754 billion).
US-based Merck’s vaccine division also reported a significant increase in sales to US$ 8.0 billion and in 2019 received FDA and EU approval to market its Ebola vaccine Ervebo.
This is the first FDA-authorized vaccine against the deadly virus which causes
hemorrhagic fever and spreads from person to person through direct contact with
body fluids.
Pfizer and Sanofi also reported an increase in their vaccine sales to US$ 6.4
billion and US$ 6.2 billion respectively and the Covid-19 pandemic has recently
pushed drugmakers to move faster than ever before and has also converted
competitors into partners.
In a rare move, drug behemoths — Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) —joined hands to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
The two companies plan to start human trials
in the second half of this year, and if things go right, they will file
for potential approvals by the second half of 2021.
View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2019 (Free Excel Available)
Our view
Covid-19 has brought the world economy to a grinding halt and shifted the global attention to the pharmaceutical industry’s capability to deliver solutions to address this pandemic.
Our compilation shows that vaccines and drugs
for infectious diseases currently form a tiny fraction of the total sales of
pharmaceutical companies and few drugs against infectious diseases rank high on
the sales list.
This could well explain the limited range of
options currently available to fight Covid-19. With the pandemic currently infecting
over 3 million people spread across more than 200 countries, we can safely
conclude that the scenario in 2020 will change substantially. And so should our
compilation of top drugs for the year.
View Our Interactive Dashboard on Top drugs by sales in 2019 (Free Excel Available)
Impressions: 54752