Vagelos: Cut prices to cure 'black eye'

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Pharma needs to slap some raw steak on its black eye, Dr. Roy Vagelos said during a speech last week. Pharma's elder statesman--and ex-Merck CEO--says the drug industry has lost goodwill and credibility, and needs to get to work to repair its reputation.

Most drugs are a "bargain," he said; even pricey meds can be a good value. But some products are too expensive, their prices out of step with their value. Those price tags will bring government price controls crashing down on the industry, he predicts. If the feds don't step in, market forces will. He wasn't sympathetic to the "drugs are expensive because R&D is expensive" argument, either. "I don't care what the cost is, it's inappropriate. The industry has a black eye. And the market will correct that."

Drug companies could regain a lot of goodwill by lowering prices themselves, Vagelos predicted. Pharma should focus especially on getting new, life-saving meds to the developing world posthaste. The humanitarian gesture would boost drug companies' images in emerging markets, which are poised to become huge growth areas for the industry. It would also help Big Pharma recover its "credibility," he said.

- see the coverage at Mike Huckman's CNBC blog

Emerging markets drive global growth

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Without emerging healthcare markets like China and India, global pharma would be in a world of hurt. The global market for meds reached $712 billion last year, according to a new report from IMS Health, up $178 billion over five years before. But the rate of growth is slowing--6.4 percent compared with 11.8 percent in 2001. And without the big engines in Asia, that figure would be lower still. China, South Korea, and India grew by 25.7 percent, 10.7 percent, and 13 percent respectively. Russia and Turkey, 20.2 percent and 17.2 percent. The U.S.? Just 3.8 percent.

The IMS report also included the top 10 sellers worldwide (drum roll, please):

Lipitor, $13.5 billion, Pfizer
Plavix, $7.3 billion, Sanofi-Aventis
Nexium, $7.2 billion, AstraZeneca
Seretide/Advair, $7.1 billion, GlaxoSmithKline
Enbrel, $5.3 billion, Amgen and Wyeth
Zyprexa, $5 billion, Eli Lilly
Risperdal, $4.9 billion, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
Seroquel, $4.6 billion, AstraZeneca
Singulair, $4.5 billion, Merck
Aranesp, $4.4 billion, Amgen

Note that Aranesp made the top 10 despite a 12.9 percent drop in sales on safety worries. And the biggest gainer of the year was Plavix, the anti-clotting med; it racked up a 20.5 percent increase in sales.

- see the item at Pharmalot

ALSO: In response to the growing overseas market, DIA is opening an office in India. Release

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