Matthew Herper and Erin Carlyle at Forbes magazine recently put together a wonderful picture, showing what kinds of diseases pharmaceutical companies are targeting now in developing new drugs. The bigger the bubble, the larger the number of drugs under development. Further to the right, the deadlier the disease. Makes for fascinating picture:
Several things strike me about these emphases on oncology and central nervous system drugs. First, it’s exciting that they are targeting diseases that have been so difficult to treat for so long. Second, looks like the heydays of cardiovascular treatment might be behind us. Third, almost no emphasis on antibiotics. That really troubles me. Antibiotic resistance is growing at an alarming rate, and we do not have a new generation of drugs coming down the pipeline to take over when our previous therapies stop working.
(Click here to view comments)