Idea Pharma’s annual index reveals key drivers and metrics for large companies. AstraZeneca and Pfizer remain in the top positions this year for invention and innovation, respectively.
Idea Pharma has released its 12th Pharmaceutical Innovation and Invention Index. AstraZeneca and Pfizer remain the leaders when it comes to invention and innovation, respectively.
The index ranks pharmas into two categories. Those in the top 10 for invention are ranked based on the use of novel ideas and technology for brand new treatments to address key, unmet needs. The list for innovation focuses on the top companies with successful drug approvals and launches, resulting in value creation.
Pfizer retained its spot at the top of the innovation index for the second year in a row, while moving up the ranks on the invention index to share fourth place with Eli Lilly. The pandemic taught Pfizer to deliver medicines “at the speed of science,” according to CEO Albert Bourla, and it looks like the pharma giant is carrying on that trend.
Making company history, Pfizer surpassed $100 billion in revenue for 2022. Over 60% of sales were from products launched in the last three years. A lion’s share of those were from its COVID-19 products—the Comirnaty vaccine and antiviral Paxlovid—which are losing ground as the market dries up. So, while 2023 revenues will likely be lower, Pfizer has stated that it still expects 7–9% operational revenue growth.
Bucking the adage you have to spend money to make money, Pfizer was second lowest on its 5-year R&D cost per approval average, coming in well below the top 30 average spend of $1.7 billion. The company moved up on the invention index with the approval of two novel medicines and six more regulatory approvals in 2022.
AstraZeneca secured its title as a leader of invention again with its broad pipeline, many of which target populations with unmet needs where the potential impact is high. At the end of 2022, the Cambridge biopharma had 155 pipeline projects in clinical development. Leadership has invested heavily in AI-enabled drug discovery over the last three years, a trend that appears to be driving greater invention and higher success rates.
The company’s 19% rate of R&D success snagged AstraZeneca third place on the innovation index. Two novel medicines were approved last year—a cancer treatment and RSV prevention drug—in its list of 34 approvals across the U.S., E.U., China and Japan.
While a handful of companies climbed the list this year, Boehringer Ingelheim best the rest leaping 21 spots. The German pharma tied with Eli Lilly for sixth place this year on the innovation list. BI snagged the first ever FDA approval to treat generalized pustular psoriasis, helping to lead to its $7 billion increase in revenue. Top seller Jardiance generated $6.1 billion in sales in 2022, a 39% increase from 2021, for BI and its partner Eli Lilly.
Eli Lilly also took a 13-point jump to tie with BI on the innovation list, while falling two spots to fourth on the invention index, tied with Pfizer. The company’s ranking had taken a nosedive in 2021 but is coming back strong with its company record-setting revenue of $28.5 billion in 2022.
Other notables included Johnson & Johnson, taking second on both lists. Although the company had a $5 billion decrease in net income, two multiple myeloma approvals made a welcome addition to the portfolio. On its fourth quarter 2022 earnings call, J&J CEO Joaquin Duato projected $60 billion in revenue by 2025 from its pharmaceutical business.
In 2022, the average cost of launching a new drug for the top 30 pharma companies was around $4.6 billion, according to the report. Around 18% of the $904 billion in revenue was spent on R&D.
Kate Goodwin is a freelance life science writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. She can be reached at kate.goodwin@biospace.com and on LinkedIn.
