FierceBiotech | John Caroll
Drug R&D is a tough business. The odds are almost always against success,
and the price to be paid for being wrong is cruelly high.
That said, it did seem a little harder than usual this year to come up with
the big disasters that always afflict biopharma's pipeline, perhaps indicating
a more coherent overall approach to drug development. But there were still
plenty of cautionary tales to choose from.
Eli Lilly ($LLY), a perennial pipeline disaster player, came up with the single biggest
flop, proving again that CETP inhibition is a poor way to go about controlling cholesterol. Now that new PCSK9 drugs have come along, there's one big Phase III CETP play left at Merck ($MRK). And then Amgen ($AMGN) will likely have some explaining to do as it proceeds with the drug it
obtained recently in the Dezima buyout.
GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK), which can ill afford R&D setbacks these days, also makes a repeat
appearance as the pharma giant continues to flounder in the face of a serious
generic threat to its Advair franchise. And then AstraZeneca ($AZN), which has been lining up multiple shots on goal, also still has to
explain the big reversal on brodalumab just as it was seeking out major regulatory approvals.