Where are the new drugs?
You would think that pharma could have foreseen that an aging baby boomer population would begin to put on weight as age kicks in and metabolisms decrease. The only drug that has received any attention is one that can cause loose stools and gas. Meridia is a controlled drug and although there are rumors of drugs in development unless one is approved within the next 5 years it might be too late. By then more and more people will get diabetes, be treated for high cholesterol and high blood pressure and probably need knee and hip replacements because the stress on the body from carrying the extra weight will necessitate it.
Obesity in the US 2006 by state
Of course pharma is
not to blame for an obese population, that is due to
aging, huge portion sizes and lack of exercise, but
can you imagine the potential sales of a weight loss
drug that could curb appetite and help us burn fat
with a minimum of side effects? Sales of such a
product could make Lipitors $12 billion sales look
like a small dot on the radar screen.
The development of such a drug is indicative of just
how hard it is to develop new medications and bring
them to market. Cancer death rates are declining
because of early detection not new blockbusters that
fight the disease. Most cancer drugs only prolong
life they don't "cure the patient". It will probably
take a small biotech firm funded by venture capitol
dollars to develop a potential new drug for weight
loss. Even in early development the chances of making
it through to approval are less than 30%. One has to
ask though is it the "development process" that is
causing these issues or is pharma running out of
people who could possibly create these products. The
biggest complaint I here from people in R&D is
that the bureaucracy of working in big companies
leads to more paperwork and less time to work on
things that they really enjoy such as asking "what
if..."
Do we really need a new statin, a new blood thinner,
a new antidepressant medication or is this just the
safest path to follow to ensure that the people on
the Street are happy. Ask yourself this questions
though..."when was the last time the introduction of
a new drug made national headlines?". The only one I
can remember was Gleevec but it seems like that was a
long long time ago.