New Pharmaceutical Product Launches Reach Record Levels in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts were numerous and far-reaching, creating disruptions across the world. However, new pharmaceutical product launches continued, leading to the development of vaccines and many other products.
How have Clinical Trials Been Impacted by the Pandemic?
Clinical trials have faced a lot of disruption since the beginning of the pandemic, however, activity levels have remained extremely high. The commencement of clinical trials increased by 8% with the advent of remote, virtual or decentralized trials helping to maintain the numbers. Clinical trials in some areas did decrease, however this is likely to have been due to a rearrangement of priorities in response to the pandemic.
Overall Effects on R&D
Research and development for new pharmaceutical product launches currently have around 9,000 drugs in the pipeline, spread across early and late stages. Growth in the early stage pipeline halted in 2020, however the late stage pipeline increased by 3%.
Despite this, the funding for the pharmaceutical product research and development increased significantly throughout 2020.
Drug Approvals and New Product Launches
The total number of new pharmaceutical product launches reached an all-time high in novel active substances (NAS) with 66 in 2020, with over 50 coming from the USA. New pharmaceutical product launches have taken place across neurology, oncology and infectious diseases were responsible for 73% of new product launches in 2020 and the time for new drugs to be used to treat patients is significantly decreasing.
New Product Launches for Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19
A significant amount of resource has been put into the research of the COVID-19 disease, creating 866 studies which have produced 12 vaccines and four novel therapeutics. All of these new product launches have been approved through emergency use authorizations, showing that regulations can be flexible in order to respond to global crises.
How Matrix Healthcare Solutions can Assist New Pharmaceutical Product Launches
At Matrix Healthcare, we have a team of experts who have a global sourcing network in over 50 countries. Our customers benefit from the insurance that all prices are secured at the best market rates, our supply chain is subjected to the highest level of scrutiny, and we increase the likelihood of approval in new pharmaceutical product launches by delivering on time, and under budget. To find out more about our offering and complementary services, contact us today for more information.