2016 Digital highlights
To satisfy his inner geek, our editor Dave Gray takes a dive into the world of web traffic analytics to see which EPM online stories you were reading over the past 12 months.
December 2015
Sanofi and Boehringer make a trade
As last year drew to a close, our online readers were monitoring Sanofi’s plans to acquire Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer healthcare business as part of a swap for its own animal health business.
Olivier Brandicourt, chief executive officer, Sanofi, said: "In entering into exclusive negotiations with Boehringer Ingelheim, we have acted swiftly to meet one of the key strategic objectives of our roadmap 2020, namely to build competitive positions in areas where we can achieve leadership.”
By August 2016 it was announced that European regulators had approved the detail, subject to Sanofi divesting certain products.
January 2016
GSK goes digital
Perhaps one of GSK’s New Year’s resolutions was to pursue the digital dream? It would certainly explain why in January we reported that the firm was said to have engaged technology player Qualcomm in negotiating the terms of a joint venture. Speculation was driven by multiple media outlets that the discussions between GSK and Qualcomm could be geared towards the development of a digital device for pharmaceuticals.
In March, the group confirmed a strong drive into technology. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, GSK executive Moncef Slaoui told the magazine that the company expects to begin clinical trials with ‘bioelectric treatments’ as early as 2017.
February 2016
Martin Shkreli lays into Pfizer
Nicknamed “pharma bro” and “the bad boy of pharma” in the press, Martin Shkreli became something like the Donald Trump of our industry. Responsible for disproportionate price hikes of an HIV drug his company acquired, the controversial character enjoyed courting the mainstream media with his outrageous statements.
In February he spoke out against Pfizer, and our readers tuned in.
Defending his own reputation, he said of the big pharma giant: “Pfizer’s clinical world headquarters they don’t have one lab in there, they don’t have any research going on, this company has cut billions of dollars of research and they raise [drug] prices all the time.”
March 2016
Pharma in 3D
In March, the first FDA-approved 3D printed drug was made available for the treatment of epilepsy.
Aprecia Pharmaceuticals’ Spritam (levetiracetam) tablets, for oral suspension, entered the marketplace as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of certain seizures.
Don Wetherhold, CEO of Aprecia, said: "Spritam is designed to transform what it is like to take epilepsy medication, and is the first in a line of products we are developing to provide patients and their caregivers with additional treatment options."
Spritam is formulated with Aprecia's proprietary ZipDose Technology, which combines the 3D printing and formulation science to produce rapidly disintegrating formulations of medications.
April 2016
Pfizer drops Allergan plans
Back in April the top story amongst online readers was related to the US issuing new plans to limit tax inversions – deals in which US firms seek to merge overseas companies and take profits abroad, side-stepping US tax rates.
As a result, Pfizer’s long-discussed deal to buy botox maker Allergan, which was described as the biggest pharmaceuticals deal in history, was scrapped.
Predicting that the deal would fall through, Professor John Colley of Warwick Business School had said: "The move to limit tax inversions by the US government has wiped $20 billion off the share price of Allergan which broadly equates to the tax benefit arising from Pfizer merging with Allergan.”
May 2016
Things get personal
In May readers were engaged in a thoughtful piece authored by Dr Hakim Yadi, CEO of the Northern Health Science Alliance. Dr Yadi spoke to EPM online about personalised digital medicine and the behaviourome – some of the most debated buzzwords around in 2016.
He explained: “In the future having information on the genome, proteome and metabolome will not be enough, we are going to need a way of understanding a patient’s behaviourome if we are to prescribe the most effective drug, device and digital solution to help manage or treat a patients condition.”
June 2016
One word: Brexit
Just like pretty much every other media outlet in Europe, our news in June was dominated by Brexit. On the 23rd Britain voted to leave the European Union. Our coverage focused on the opportunities and risks for the sector.
As we reported, one key study from research firm GlobalData found that the vote to leave will have significant consequences for the pharma sector in regulatory impacts, R&D, access to talent, IP rights, and market access.
We also covered the reaction from the industry across social media, with one user tweeting: “Terrible day for Britain. Can't believe it: #EUreferendum #Brexit has won. Who will house European Medicines Agency? Hello Denmark?”
July 2016
Brexit, Brexit and more Brexit
I’m afraid to say that by July, neither our content team nor our readership were quite finished discussing Brexit. But for readers in the UK, one story in particular heralded some good news.
In July GSK announced £275 million of new investments at three of its manufacturing sites in the UK to boost production.
In a clear effort to soothe some post-referendum anxieties, the UK's business and energy secretary, Greg Clark welcomed the new: "An investment of this scale is a clear vote of confidence in Britain and underlines our position as a global business leader."
August 2016
Back to business
And, breathe. We made it through June and July, and whilst uncertainty rages on, so does innovation. In August, we brought you news of Check-Cap, a clinical stage medical diagnostics company developing an ingestible capsule for preparation-free, colorectal cancer screening.
It wasn’t just the novel idea that made this group worth writing about. In August it announced that it has entered into an agreement with GE Healthcare to develop and validate high-volume manufacturing for X-ray source production and assembly into Check-Cap's capsule.
It may look like a pill, but a drug it ain’t. This company is being backed by one of healthcare’s major players to develop technology for prevention.
September 2016
Switched on
Another contribution from a member of the EPM online community. In September, Christian Hebenstreit from Medidata Solutions told us about the huge interest in digital health in Europe and outlined ways for the pharma sector to make the most of the opportunity.
His advice? It’s simple: “Companies need to go the extra step with strong feasibility studies to promote adoption by patients, healthcare providers and government payers in each country and prove that these sensors and apps are not only safe but effective tools for understanding disease and treatment.”
October 2016
Doctors without borders
In October non-profit organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) rejected Pfizer’s offer to a donate a significant number of pneumonia vaccines (PCV) to aid the children they serve.
Jason Cone, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States argued that donations can involve multiple rules and conditions that can negatively affect vaccination campaigns. Donations from pharmaceutical companies can often include restrictions on which patient populations and what geographic areas are allowed to receive the benefits. Cone further stated that donations can undermine efforts to increase access to affordable vaccines and also deter new manufacturers from entering the market.
November 2016
The Trump card
At time of writing, we’re right up to date, so what has our online family been reading in November? It’s not hard to guess, as we saw with Brexit in the summer, once again politics has overtaken innovation, for better or worse. Trump has been critical of the pharma sector, and blamed Medicare in the US for failing to negotiate on prices. "We don’t do it. Why?" Trump said. "Because of the drug companies."
It’s a little early to say what the long-term impact of the new US administration will be on the industry, however one thing is for sure: innovation will trump politics in the race for better healthcare.