 DR Reports --
May 2005
 In This Issue...
The current hospital antibiotics
(HA) market has seen many of the large pharmaceutical companies divest from
antibiotics drug development. Most of these companies have reduced their
investment in early-stage drug development (Phases I and II clinical trials)
and appear to be outlicensing preclinical antibiotics candidates and strategically
inlicensing late-stage development antibiotics. Although the HA market is
saturated, competitive, and somewhat restrictive to novel antibiotics, numerous
opportunities remain. The growing threat of antibiotic resistance is the
primary factor driving market development. As the large pharmaceutical
companies have reduced their efforts in antibiotics development, the market
space has opened for biotechnology companies that can focus their development
on a particular strategy or therapeutic indication. In this report, we briefly
discuss prominent hospital-based infections (HBIs) and the current and emerging
antibiotics used to treat them, and we profile the development pipelines of
significant companies in the HA market.
Trends to Watch
Currently, many large
pharmaceutical companies are divesting their antibiotics development pipelines.
Most of the current blockbusters will go off patent by the end of the decade,
and few large companies have potential blockbusters in development to replace them.
A few large pharmaceutical companies recently spun off their antibiotics units,
and some of the new biotechnology companies have been established with strong
drug candidates.
Key Market Players
In 2003, Pfizer led the
antibiotics market. The company's merger with Pharmacia expanded its HA
portfolio, ensuring that Pfizer will be a presence in the HA market for the
near future. For now, Pfizer appears to be focusing on a collaboration with
Vicuron Pharmaceuticals for drug development. In 2003, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) ranked
second in total sales in the HA market, but many GSK products are mature and face
intense generic erosion. Although GSK has been one of the most innovative and
productive companies in the antibiotics market, it does not have any HA
candidates in advanced stages of development.
On the other hand, smaller
companies are emerging that possess strong portfolios of drug candidates. Among
the most promising are Vicuron Pharmaceuticals and Basilea Pharmaceutica. Basilea
has a rich pipeline of preclinical antibiotic candidates in development, and Vicuron
Pharmaceuticals has a strong research and development pipeline, experienced
staff, and solid financial backing.
Why Buy This Report?
- Learn what the current leading players in the HA market are doing
through detailed analyses of their HA pipelines.
- Gain valuable insight regarding emerging companies and the agents
in their hospital antibiotics pipelines.
- Explore key trends in the HA market and their potential impact on
the commercial outlook for this market.
- Assess marketed and pipeline drugs with respect to development
phase and peak-year sales potential.
- Analyze antibiotics alliance activity presented in comprehensive
company profiles and evaluate company financial information.
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