Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Big Pharma and the blockbuster mentality Like movie studios, the prescription drug oligopoly ("Big Pharma") has loss interest in producing anything but blockbusters. That's the viewpoint of a recent Wall Street Journal article (August 11, 2003; "How Small Firms Sometimes Hit Big With Drug Discards." The article shows how quickly the big drug companies abandon drugs that don't promise maximum profits, including developing antibiotics. New antibiotics are critically needed, as, thanks to overuse of the old ones, a number of diseases are getting dangerously resistant. But the trouble with antibiotics is that, unlike anti-cholesterol or anti-depressant drugs, they are used in a single series, not used perpetually like some other drugs. The money return, though good, was not sufficient when "the industry's giants are increasing focusing on billion dollar blockbusters to drive profits." As in the movie industry, big boys are interested only risking big sums on major profit streams from drugs, the next Lipitor or Zoloft, rather than risking moderate money on more moderate successes. Ironically, one  drug, called Factive, was developed and tested in the labs of giant GlaxoSmithKline. But when the FDA about a side-effect (rashes) that showed up in some subjects, GlaxoSmithKline pulled the plug and optioned the drug back to its original developers in South Korea. It took a small U.S. company called Genesoft Pharmaceuticals to march it through FDA acceptance, which it recently received. Factive will soon be released for treating drug-resistant pneumonia and bronchitis, What would have been a bunt single for the big company turns out to be a home run for the small one. Thus, the article implies, many real advances in medicine are neglected because they can't can't meet the inflated profit expectations of the industry's megalith. The final Irony is that Genetech has a new problem; it will have to partner with one of the big companies to get distribution and sales services. It's one thing to get FDA approval, another to sell the products across the U.S. and the world. 3:26:49 PM

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