Fitch: Weakening Market Forcing Global Pharma Industry to Rein in R&D

The global pharmaceutical industry continues to rein in research and development (R&D) budgets to mitigate lower profitability due to relatively weak market dynamics, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.

As of end-November, 2013, the U.S. FDA cleared 25 novel medicines for U.S. marketing, compared to 31 in the same timeframe in 2012. The moderation of new drug approvals is within Fitch's expectation of lower drug clearances in 2013 and 2014. By comparison, the FDA authorized a total of 39 new pharmaceutical products in 2012.

Fitch expects this trend to continue in the intermediate term as companies prioritize the timing of late-stage development projects, collaborate with other pharmaceutical companies, or scale-back certain pipeline candidates. The industry also is cutting selling, manufacturing, and general administrative expenses.

The full 'Global Pharmaceutical R&D Pipeline' is available at 'www.fitchratings.com.' The report provides specific analysis on the R&D pipelines at 13 global pharmaceutical companies, as well as yearly and YTD statistics for U.S. and Europe.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Global Pharmaceutical R&D Pipeline

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