Industry news

• In another record year for pharma TV ads, spending soars to $3.7B in 2018

  11 January 2019 Beth Snyder Bulik / FiercePharma

  If you thought the $3.45 billion pharma spent on 2017 TV adds was a lot, check out what the industry did in 2018. Drugmakers kept spending big—and, in fact, went even bigger, dropping more than $3.73 billion on national TV commercials last year, according to data from real-time TV ad tracker iSpot.tv. That’s an increase of almost $300 million over the 2017 tally.

• FDA creating innovation office to speed drug development

  10 January 2019 Nick Paul Taylor / FierceBiotech

  The FDA is creating an office of drug development science to cut the cost of bringing new medicines to patients, BioCentury reports. Staff at the office will create tools that sponsors and the FDA can use to streamline the development and regulatory assessment of drugs.

• Give it to us straight, doctors tell pharma advertisers—but being funny is OK, too

  10 January 2019 Beth Snyder Bulik / FiercePharma

  Want to catch doctors’ attention with flashy advertising and intellectual jargon? Don’t bother. A new study finds that physicians prefer simple and clear messages, with more than half (51%) admitting they don’t always understand what’s being communicated in pharma advertising.

• Expect more transparency around pharma's advocacy group partnerships in 2019

  09 January 2019 Beth Snyder Bulik / FiercePharma

  Advocacy groups and pharma companies often work hand in hand, especially in rare diseases. This year, however, saw some of the shine wear off of those close relationships as politicians and the media raised red flags over payments from pharma companies.

• Innovation challenges multiply: Will pharma seeking tech entrepreneurs drain the brain pool?

  09 January 2019 Beth Snyder Bulik / FiercePharma

  Innovation challenges had already shaped up as a trend last year, but this trend really has legs. Not only did even more drugmakers launch their own challenges this year, but those already involved added more.

• After New Year's, expect more drug pricing fireworks in 2019

  29 December 2018 Eric Sagonowsky / FiercePharma

  For several years, pharma watchers have witnessed drug pricing grow into a top issue facing the industry, dominating discussion almost daily. The conversation isn’t likely to subside next year, either. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle—including the newly Democratic House—and the Trump administration are promising even more action to lower prices. Indeed, drug pricing is among the few issues Republicans and Democrats tend to agree on.

• FiercePharma's annual look ahead, when the past really does predict the future

  28 December 2018 Tracy Staton / FiercePharma

  In my files I have two sets of stapled pages listing every medication my parents took last year. They’re long lists. Blood pressure drugs, statins for cholesterol, painkillers. My father took methotrexate for his rheumatoid arthritis for decades and lived with heart failure far longer than most, thanks to his drugs and an implanted cardioverter defibrillator. An oral multiple sclerosis medication keeps my mother’s relapses at bay.

• Scientists propose to treat cancer with nanoparticles

  27 December 2018 Invest Foresight

  Scientists from the Far Eastern Federal University proposed a new treatment for brain cancer. They believe that nanoparticles could be efficient. The scientists claim that for the treatment to be effective, cancer stem cells need to be ‘rebooted’ or activated artificially and then destroyed with chemotherapy. This will prevent them from multiplying.

• GSK and Pfizer Merge Consumer Healthcare Businesses

  26 December 2018 BioPharm International

  Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on Dec. 19, 2018 that the companies will merge their consumer healthcare products businesses and form a separate consumer-focused company with an estimated $12.7 billion in sales. GSK will have a 68% stake in the joint venture; Pfizer will hold 32%.

• Will pharma's exodus from consumer health continue into 2019? It sure looks that way

  26 December 2018 Angus Liu / FiercePharma

  The year 2018 might be remembered by the pharma world for a deluge of consumer health castoffs. And one doesn’t really need a crystal ball to see the trend continue into the near future as drugmakers turn their focus to higher-margin, innovative medicines.