Dive Brief:
- Twelve drugs approved in 2017 are set to reach blockbuster levels — revenues of more than $1 billion — within the next five years, according to a new report from information services firm Clarivate Analytics.
- More than half of the drugs were granted Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track or Priority Review designations from the Food and Drug Administration. Four of the drugs on the list treat orphan diseases and five are first-in-class.
- Roche AG's hemophilia drug Hemlibra, Gilead Sciences Inc.'s HIV treatment Biktarvy and Novo Nordisk' A/S's once-weekly diabetes treatment are all expected to exceed $3 billion in revenues by 2022.
Dive Insight:
Unlike 2017, when just eight drugs were forecast to reach blockbuster status, the pace of new blockbusters is expected to accelerate with 2018 launches, according to the report.
The new class of drugs differs in another way; only one of this year's offerings is a cancer drug — Johnson & Johnson's Erleada (apalutamide).
The year will be marked by launches of some closely watched compounds, including the CGRP inhibitor from Amgen Inc. and Novartis AG. Aimovig (erenumab), which is currently awaiting approval, is expected to be the first of a new class of migraine preventions to hit the market. Clarivate puts Aimovig at number eight on the list and expects the drug to reach $1.1 billion in sales by 2022.
The RNA interference treatment patisiran from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi SA's Genzyme unit is expected to become the new standard of care for the orphan disease it treats. Sitting at sixth on the list, it's projected to reach $1.2 billion in revenue by 2022.
Despite the waning fortunes of many diabetes-focused companies, two diabetes compounds made the list: The weekly glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 agonist from Novo Nordisk and the sodium glucose co-transporter (SGLT)-2 inhibitor Steglatro (ertugliflozin) from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co.
The report was compiled using Clarivate's Cortellis database, which compiled the list through a search of annual filings, company pipelines, conferences, deals, patents, clinical trials and phase of development. The results of the search were then manually researched and sorted to create the final list of 12.