Pill Counters

Pharm Exec adds up some interesting figures from recent industry news.

13, 55, 47 

The number of suspensions or program holds in Alzheimer’s disease in Phase III, Phase II or IIb, and Phase I, respectively, according to a BioMedTracker analysis by In Vivo.

1,234 

Pipeline products in active development for hematological cancers, according to GBI Research. Leukemia leads the pack with 798 products in active development.

7 years 

The extension to AstraZeneca’s market exclusivity for Crestor that the company argues it should earn under the Orphan Drug Act for gaining approval to treat rare pediatric cases of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, or HoFH, according to The New York Times.

61.5% 

The percentage of Phase I trials in oncology launched in 2014-2015 that involved more than one primary drug, according to a Trialtrove analysis in May’s In Vivo. This applied to 65% of Phase I/II trials. The numbers point to the rise of combinatorial nature of cancer solutions. Those numbers are roughly doubled from 24% and 33% in Phase I and Phase I/II trials, respectively, in the 2010-2012 timeframe.

14 million 

The number of sprays of FluMist that were projected to be dosed out next fall by MedImmune, the division of AstraZeneca, accounting for about 8% of the nation’s flu vaccine supply. However, an expert CDC panel says the nasal puff should not be used this year because there is no evidence to support that it has protected flu evaders over the last three years, writes StatNews. AZ had contradictory data and vowed to work with the CDC.

$8,700

The median monthly price of patent-protected branded cancer drugs, David Crow writes for the Financial Times in a report out of ASCO. This compares to $2,600 in the UK, $3,200 in China and $1,500 in India. However, measuring affordability based on a percentage measure of the country’s GDP/capita shows more prohibitive pricing in China and India.

10 million deaths, $100 trillion lost

Forecasts for the number of yearly deaths in 2050 and the losses in global economic production by mid-century, according to a May report commissioned by the UK government,

. The report’s chairman Jim O’Neil admits the figures could overestimate the building crisis, but considering the fact that new strains continue to pop up, the report could be overly cautious. He points to innumerable secondary factors, using examples such as the possibility that caesarian sections and hip replacements might become prohibitively risky. The industry’s unwillingness to commit capital tells the story of an unclear path to profitability. Of $38 billion of venture capital funding that was put toward pharmaceutical R&D from 2003 to 2013, only $1.8 billion was allocated for antimicrobial drugs.

A shortage of antibiotics but no shortage of apps …

43%

The portion of iOS apps of about 1,000 patient-facing health apps targeting chronic diseases that were found useful (27% for Android), according to a Commonwealth Fund funded study. The failure of such digital apps to serve patients, along with the “explosion” of health apps to the tune of 40,000, inspired AMA CEO Dr. James Madara to rail against mHealth as 21st Century “snake oil.” The sweeping statement has many looking at digital health as healthcare’s Wild West, in need of regulation, while others see the AMA as out of touch.

Casey McDonald is Pharm Exec’s Senior Editor. He can be reached at casey.mcdonald@ubm.com and on Twitter at @mcd_casey