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3 February 2016Africa

New drugs from Gilead and Merck set for ‘blockbuster’ status, report shows

Drugs made by pharmaceutical companies including Abbvie, Gilead, and Merck are set to achieve “blockbuster” status by 2020, according to a report.

According to the "Drugs to Watch 2016" report, published by the intellectual property & science business of Thomson Reuters, there are seven such drugs in the development pipeline.

The drugs, which should enter the market this year, are expected to surpass $1 billion in sales by 2020, according to the report.

Obeticholic acid, a liver disease treatment developed by Intercept Pharmaceuticals and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, is ranked number one in the report. The drug is set to make $2.621 billion in sales by 2020.

Gilead Sciences and Japan Tobacco (JT) rank second for anti-HIV drug Emtricitabine + tenofovir alafenamide (F/TAF), which is expected to achieve $2 billion in sales by 2020. JT has the rights to develop the drug in Japan.

Merck and Abbvie are also expected to make more than $1 billion from hepatitis C and leukaemia treatments respectively.

Richard Harrison, chief scientific officer of IP & science at Thomson Reuters, said: “The relationship between drug prices and the costs of development is expected to be a major focal point for drug companies.

“With the rise of global healthcare costs, the need to demonstrate meaningful impact will be greater than ever for pharmaceutical companies. These seven drugs are likely to figure prominently in those discussions,” he added.