Meds Pipeline Monitor 2020

Meds Pipeline Monitor (MPM) is a horizon scanning report that features a selection of new medicines in the late stages of clinical evaluation that may have a significant impact on future clinical practice and drug spending in Canada.

Medicines in Phase III clinical trials or pre-registration are considered as candidates if they have the potential to address an unmet therapeutic need, offer a novel mechanism of action or therapeutic benefit over existing therapies, or treat a serious condition. The final selection features medicines that treat a broad range of therapeutic areas. In addition to identifying new medicines for inclusion in the list, medicines featured in the 2019 Meds Pipeline Monitor are also reviewed to report on changes to their status in the pipeline. A section focused on Canada highlights potentially significant medicines currently under review by Health Canada.

This edition of the report includes a new section on COVID-19, which provides an overview of medicines undergoing Phase I, II, and III clinical trials or in pre-registration for the treatment and prevention of the novel coronavirus disease.

The report collects data from two main sources: GlobalData’s Healthcare database is used to identify medicines currently undergoing clinical evaluation, while Health Canada’s Drug and Health Product Submissions Under Review list provides information on new medicines under review in Canada.

Together with its companion publication Meds Entry Watch, this report series monitors the continuum of new and emerging medicines in Canada and internationally, providing key information to decision makers, researchers, patients, and clinicians, among other stakeholders.

Highlights of the Meds Pipeline 2020

• In 2020, the pipeline contained 6,946 new medicines in various stages of evaluation, of which 13% were in Phase III clinical trials and pre-registration, representing a wide range of therapeutic areas.
• Oncology continued to dominate the therapeutic mix in 2020, with cancer treatments representing one third (35%) of medicines in all phases of clinical trials. Treatments for infectious diseases held the second largest share of the pipeline, at 13%, and are expected to grow in importance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Over one third of medicines in Phase III clinical trials or pre-registration had an early orphan designation approved through the FDA or EMA, which is consistent with the increasing trend in the prevalence of orphan-designated medicines entering the pharmaceutical market.
• Sixteen late-stage new medicines, including five gene therapies, were selected for addition to the 2020 MPM based on their potential impact on the Canadian healthcare system. Some of these medicines may offer breakthroughs in treating previously unmet needs or may have the potential to treat large patient populations.
• Of the 24 new medicines featured in the 2019 edition of the MPM, 11 were retained on the list as they continued to satisfy the selection criteria.
• The report also highlights six of the new medicines currently under review by Health Canada. Four of these medicines have forecasted global revenues of over US $1 billion annually by 2026.
• As of November 2020, 427 vaccines and therapies were undergoing evaluation for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Full report