2017 brought a bumper crop of new drugs, including groundbreaking treatments in cell and gene therapy — all of which boost confidence in the industry's ability to deliver needed medicines.
But the year also saw its fair share of restructurings, pipeline culls and clinical trials gone bust. Alzheimer's disease remains as intractable as ever, and concerns linger about development productivity despite the uptick in approvals. Debates over drug pricing, an overhang for the industry for several years, aren't helped by companies pouring investment into replicating similar types of drugs that carry different brand names.
Shifts appear underway though. Experimentation with AI, though nascent, could in time improve drug discovery and management of clinical trials. Market competition might just lead to downward pressure on pricing in oncology. And an improving understanding of the brain should lead to greater clinical achievements in neuroscience down the road.
Not all of these predictions may come true in 2018. But the forces that led our editors to pick them look likely to have an impact on how the industry operates in drug development, oncology and neuroscience.
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Pharma gets serious about AI
The technology is playing its part to change the way pharma interacts with patients. Read More >>
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Price competition to hit oncology next
Cancer drugs routinely command a premium price. A crowded pipeline of me-too rivals could change that. Read More >>
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CNS drugs take center stage
Move over oncology, neuroscience is ready for the spotlight in 2018 as drugmakers delve deeper into pain and neurodegenerative disorders. Read More >>