Record-Setting Pace for New Drug Approvals in 2018

The pharmaceutical industry is on a record-setting pace for approvals of new molecular entities (NMEs) in 2018. Through early November, the FDA had approved 48 NMEs, already outpacing 2017’s recent high of 46 NME approvals and nearing the high mark of 53 NME approvals set in 1996. So which companies have made the regulatory cut, and what is the mix between small molecules and biologics?

Small molecules are dominating thus far, with 35 small-molecule NME approvals and 13 biologic-based NME approvals. Approximately 40% of the approvals are from the pharmaceutical majors with small to mid-sized companies showing the NME muscle thus far. DCAT Value Chain Insights takes an inside look.

Inside NME approvals thus far in 2018

As of November 1, 2018, The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved 48 NMEs (see Table I at the end of article), already surpassing the 46 NMEs approved in 2017, which was second only to the 53 NMEs approved in 1996. Although NME approvals do not necessarily follow a chronological track with more than one month remaining in calendar year 2018 and withadditional approvals often made at the end of year, 2018 has the potential to be a record-setting year for NME approvals.

The uptick in NME approvals in 2017 and now again in 2018 resumes an upward trajectory beginning in 2011 (with the exception of 2013 and 2016) for NME approvals with 30 NMEs approved in 2011 and 39 in 2012. The exceptions were in 2013, which had a decline to 27 NMEs, and 2016, which had 22 NME approvals, but levels jumped again to 41 NMEs approved in 2014 and in 2015 when 45 NMEs were approved.

Table I at the end of the article enumerates the NME approvals thus far in 2018. Small molecules are dominating thus far, with 35-small molecule NME approvals and 13 biologic-based NME approvals, which includes one antibody drug conjugate (ADC). This product mix in 2018 is consistent with NME approvals in 2017. The 35 small molecules approved thus far in 2018 represents 73% of NME approvals; in 2017, small-molecule NME approvals accounted for 75% of new drug approvals (see Table II at end of article). Biologic-based drugs have accounted for 17% of NMEs approvals thus far in 2018 compared to 15% for all of 2017.

The large pharmaceutical companies with biologic-based drug approvals thus far in 2018 include: Amgen’s Aimovig (erenumab-aooe), a drug to prevent migraines in adults; AstraZeneca’s Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk), an ADC for treating hairy cell leukemia; Eli Lilly and Company’s Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults; Merck & Co.’s and Sun Pharmaceutical’s Ilumya (tildrakizumab) for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ Ajovy (fremanezumab-vfrm) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. Table I at the end of the article summarizes all biologic and small-molecule NME approvals thus far in 2018.

Big Pharma and NME approvals

Of the 48 NME approvals thus far in 2018, 19, or 40%, were from the pharmaceutical majors (see Table I). Pfizer led all companies with three NME approvals. AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., and Shionogi each had two NME approvals. AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutical, Novartis (through its acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications in January 2018), and Teva each had one (see Table I).

Table I: Approvals of New Molecular Entities, New Drug Applications (NDAs) and Original Biologics License Applications (BLAs) by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research as of November 2, 2018.
Company Brand name (active ingredient); application type Indication
AbbVie Orilissa (elagolix sodium); NDA Moderate-to-severe pain associated with endometriosis
Advanced Accelerator Applications (Novartis company) Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate); NDA Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, a type of cancer that affects the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract
Achaogen Zemdri (plazomicin); NDA Adults with complicated urinary tract infections
Agios Pharmaceuticals Tibsovo (ivosidenib); NDA Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia
AkaRx Doptelet (avatrombopag); NDA Low blood platelet count (thrombocytopenia) in adults with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a medical or dental procedure
Allergan Seysara (sarecycline); NDA Inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients 9 years of age and older
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Onpattro (patisiran); NDA Polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adult patients
Amgen Aimovig (erenumab-aooe); BLA Preventive treatment of migraines in adults
Amicus Therapeutics Galafold (migalastat); NDA Adults with Fabry disease
Array BioPharma Braftovi (encorafenib); NDA Unresectable or metastatic melanoma
Array BioPharma Mektovi (binimetinib); NDA Unresectable or metastatic melanoma
AstraZeneca Lumoxiti (moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk); BLA Hairy cell leukemia
AstraZeneca Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate); NDA Hyperkalemia (high potassium levels)
Biocodex SA Diacomit (stiripentol); NDA Seizures associated with Dravet syndrome in patients 2 years of age and older taking clobazam
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Palynziq (pegvaliase-pqpz); BLA Phenylketonuria (inherited disorder that increases the levels of phenylalanine in the blood)
Dompe Farmaceutici Oxervate (cenegermin-bkbj); BLA Neurotrophic keratitis
Dyax Corp. Takhzyro (lanadelumab); BLA Types I and II hereditary angioedema
Eli Lilly and Company Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm); BLA For the preventive treatment of migraines in adults
Eli Lilly and Company Olumiant (baricitinib); NDA Moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis
Fresenius Kabi Omegaven (fish oil triglycerides); NDA A source of calories and fatty acids in pediatric patients with parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis
Gilead Sciences Biktarvy (bictegravir, embitcitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide); NDA HIV-1 infection in adults who have no antiretroviral treatment history or to replace the current antiretroviral regimen
GlaxoSmithKline Krintafel (tafenoquine); NDA Radical cure (prevention of relapse) of Plasmodium vivax malaria
GW Research Epidiolex (cannabidiol); NDA Seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome
Helsinn Healthcare Akynzeo (fosnetupitant and palonosetron); NDA To prevent acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy
Ionis Pharmaceuticals Tegsedi (inotersen); NDA Polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adults
Janssen Pharmaceutical (Johnson & Johnson) Erleada (apalutamid); NDA Non-metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer
Kyowa Kirin Poteligeo (mogamulizumab-kpkc); BLA Two rare types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Leadiant Biosciences Revcovi (elapegademase-lvlr); BLA Adenosine deaminase-severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID)
Medicines Development for Global Health Moxidectin (moxidectin); NDA Onchocerciasis due to Onchocerca volvulus in patients aged 12 years and older
Merck & Co. Pifeltro (doravirine); NDA HIV-1 infection in adult patients
Merck & Co. and Sun Pharmaceutical Ilumya (tildrakizumab); BLA Adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy
Paratek Pharmaceuticals Nuzyra (omadacycline); NDA Community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections
Pfizer Lorbrena (loratinib); NDA Patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer
Pfizer Talzenna (talazoparib); NDA Locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer patients with a germline BRCA mutation
Pfizer Vizimpro (dacomitinib); NDA Metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Libtayo (cemiplimab-rwlc); BLA Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
Rigel Pharmaceuticals Tavalisse (fostamatinib); NDA Thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count) in adult patients with persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia
Shionogi Mulpleta (lusutrombopag); NDA Thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a procedure
Shionogi Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil); NDA Acute uncomplicated influenza in patients who have been symptomatic for no more than 48 hours
Siga Technologies Tpoxx(tecovirimat); NDA Smallpox
TaiMed Biologics USA Trogarzo (ibalizumab-uiyk); BLA HIV
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Xerava (eravacycline); NDA Complicated intra-abdominal infections in patients 18 years of age and older
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ajovy (fremanezumab-vfrm); BLA For the preventive treatment of migraines in adults
TherapeuticsMD Annovera (segesterone acetate and ethinyl estradiol vaginal system); NDA New vaginal ring used to prevent pregnancy for an entire year
Verastem Copiktra (duvelisib); NDA Relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma and follicular lymphoma
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Crysvita (burosumab-twza); BLA To treat adults and children ages 1 year and older with x-linked hypophosphatemia, a rare, inherited form of rickets
US WorldMeds Lucemyra (lofexidine); NDA Non-opioid treatment for management of opioid withdrawal symptoms in adults
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Symdeko (tezacaftor and ivacaftor); NDA Cystic fibrosis in patients age 12 years and older

Novartis acquired Advanced Accelerator Applications in January 2018.

In August 2015, Amgen entered into a global collaboration with Novartis to jointly develop and commercialize treatments in the fields of migraine and Alzheimer’s disease. The collaboration focuses on investigational Amgen drugs in the migraine field, including Aimovig. In April 2017, the collaboration was expanded to include co-commercialization of Aimovig in the US. For the migraine program, Amgen retains exclusive rights in Japan, and Novartis has exclusive rights in Europe, Canada, and rest of the world.

Array BioPharma has exclusive rights to Braftovi (encorafenib) and Mektovi (binimetinib) in the US and Canada. Array has granted Ono Pharmaceutical exclusive rights to commercialize both products in Japan and South Korea and Pierre Fabre exclusive rights to commercialize both products in all other countries, including in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s wholly owned subsidiary licensed worldwide rights to Ilumya (tildrakizumab) from a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. in 2014. Funded by a Sun Pharma subsidiary, Merck & Co., Inc. was responsible for the completion of Phase-III trials and submission of a biologics license application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as manufacturing finished goods to support Sun Pharma’s initial product launch. Sun Pharma is responsible for all post-approval regulatory activities, including subsequent submissions, pharmacovigilance, post approval studies, manufacturing, and commercialization of the approved product. Sun Pharma is also responsible for all regulatory, pharmacovigilance, post approval studies, manufacturing, and commercialization of approved products for all non-U.S. markets. Merck & Co is eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties on sales of Ilumya.

Source: US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and company information.

Table II: Small Molecule and Biologics New Molecular Entities Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 2010 to 2017.
Year Number of New Molecular Entities (NMEs) Approved Percentage relative to total NME approvals and number of small molecules and biologics approved as NMEs
2010 21 NMEs approved 71% small molecules (15 NMEs)
29% biologics (6 NMEs)
2011 30 NMEs approved 77% small molecules (23 NMEs)
20% biologics (6 NMEs)
Plus 1 NME radioactive diagnostic imaging agent*
2012 39 NMEs approved

79% small molecules (31 NMEs)
15% biologics (6 NMEs)
Plus 2 NME radioactive diagnostic imaging agents**

2013 27 NMEs approved 81% small molecules (22 NMEs)
11% biologics (3 NMEs)
Plus 2 NME radioactive imaging agents***
2014 41 NMEs approved 71% small molecules (29 NMEs)
27% biologics (11 NMEs)
Plus 1 NME radioactive diagnostic imaging agent****
2015 45 NMEs approved* 71% small molecules (32 NMEs) and 1 insulin analog NME approved as a new drug application*****
27% biologics (12 NMEs)
2016 22 NMEs approved** 59% small molecules (13 NMEs)
32% biologics (7 NMEs)
Plus 2 NME radioactive diagnostic imaging agents******
2017 46 NMEs approved 74% small molecules (34 NMEs)
26% biologics (12 NMEs)

*In 2011, 23 small-molecule drugs and 1 radioactive diagnostic imaging were approved as new drug applications (NDAs).

**In 2012, 31 small-molecule drugs and 2 radioactive diagnostic imaging agents were approved as NDAs.

***In 2013, 22 small-molecule drugs and 2 radioactive diagnostic imaging agents were approved as NDAs.

****In 2014, 29 small-molecule drugs and 1 radioactive diagnostic imaging agent were approved as NDAs .

*****In 2015, 32 small-molecule drugs were approved as NDAs and one insulin analog, Novo Nordisk’s Tresiba (insulin degludec injection), a long-acting basal human insulin analog produced by a process that includes expression of recombinant DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae followed by chemical modification was approved as a NDA, not as a biologics license application.

******In 2016, 13 small-molecule drugs and 2 diagnostic imaging agents were approved as NDAs.

Source: US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and company information.

 

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