Pharma revolution: Record investments, but study figures in a descent!

Pharma revolution: Record investments, but study figures in a descent!

The pharmaceutical industry in Europe reached record investments in research and development in 2023, with an amount of around 50 billion euros. However, these investments can be seen in the context of a significant decline in clinical studies in Europe. In Austria in particular, there was a decline in over 10% of the studies carried out, while the USA and China are massive funds in clinical research to ensure its innovative strength. FOPI President Leif Moll emphasizes the urgency of a comprehensive Austrian life science and pharmaceutical strategy.

This year 38 new drugs with new active ingredients were approved in Europe, a gratifying result in the middle of the challenges. These new therapies contain significant developments, including a third of the active ingredients that are used in oncology. The other categories include immunomodulating therapeutic agents (13%), new vaccines (5%) and medicines for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, hemophilia, ulcerative colitis and myasthenia gravis.

The role of drug development

The development of a new drug is a lengthy process that runs in several phases. The first phase, phase I, examines the safety and tolerance of the active ingredient in healthy volunteers. During this phase, the active ingredient is tested under strict medical supervision and a risk analysis is carried out in order to recognize potential toxic properties. It is important to emphasize that the simultaneous administration of several subjects has been prohibited since 2007, which leads to close-meshed monitoring pharmig reports

In phase II, larger groups of patients, typically between 100 and 500, are included in the test in order to examine the treatment effects and the side effects. Finally, phase III tests the effectiveness and harmlessness of the drug at thousands of patients vfa . A comparison between the new medication and existing therapy approaches or placebos is often carried out here.

challenges in research

Despite the high investments, the researchers face major challenges. The increasing antibiotic resistance are considered one of the greatest threats to public health and are now considered "silent pandemic". It is estimated that 35,800 people in Europe die every year in the consequences of resistant bacteria, and it is even 1.27 million worldwide. Forecasts show that the number of deaths could increase to 10 million by 2050, which illustrates the urgent need to develop new, effective antibiotics.

Another important aspect is the outstanding participation of the AGES (agency for health and nutritional security) in European approval procedures. In 2024, the AGE was active 19 times as a report and 4 times as a co-proporter, which underlines its role in drug approval.

Overall, it can be seen that the combination of high investments and a profound decline in clinical studies is a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. The need for a strategic realignment, as it demands Leif Moll, seems more urgent than ever Vienna . The future of drug development and the associated technologies will decisively depend on how successfully the industry manages to master these challenges.