Abstract
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.
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