PharmExecBlog | By Julian Upton
Teva’s accession to the exclusive group that is
the Pharma Top 10 is further proof, according to IMS Health, that branded
pharma needs to renounce its product-protected past and embrace the
patient-led, specialty-focused future.
As the first non-western, non-innovative-core company to enter pharma’s
global Top 10, according to IMS Health research, Teva’s rise to prominence is
not only contributing to “changing the face” of this exalted group, but
confirms that the sector as a whole is heading for a “more level playing
field”.
Aside from Teva’s recent accession, the Top 10 appears outwardly to have
changed very little in the last decade. But the megamergers and changes of
strategy that we all know have taken place behind the scenes have failed to
stem Big Pharma’s inexorable decline.
While the last 10 years have seen Abbott, AstraZeneca (AZ) and Roche all
exit consumer health, and Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, Merck and Co., and AZ all
enter biologics, Big Pharma has failed to increase its share of the
$330-billion patent protected market, and still holds only around 40% of the
industry. (In comparison, the top ten players in the mobile phone industry hold
two thirds of that market.)
What’s more, of the four products to achieve billion-dollar sales in last
three years — Victoza, Gilenya, Incivek, Prolia — only one (Gilenya) is from a
Top 10 company (Novartis). And only one Top 10 company (Roche) has managed to
secure a place in IMS’s list of the Top 10 fastest-growing pharma companies of
the last ten years. (The Swiss drugmaker makes number 10; the top three spots
are taken by Vertex, Actelion, and Reckitt Benckiser, respectively).
These changes confirm, explains Carolyn Gauntlett, Senior Consultant,
Thought Leadership, IMS Health, that innovation is shifting towards specialty
medicines and more ‘sub-blockbusters’ focused on specific patient segments.
Most of the fastest-growing pharma companies have remained committed to one
specialist-led area — for example, Actelion (cardiovascular), Celgene
(oncology), and Gilead (HIV). Indeed, says Gauntlett, who was co-presenting an
IMS webcast on Tuesday, “the more you launch, the less likely you are to be
excellent”.
The findings may present a further erosion of the industry as we knew it,
but according to Gauntlett’s co-presenter, IMS Health’s Sarah Rickwood, there
is a positive takeaway. For pharma companies that can take heed of other
industries and explore areas such as multiple revenue streams, flexible price
offerings, and increased customer centricity, this new environment can offer
“more opportunities and options to be a Top 10 player than ever before”, she
says.