Cancer treatments represented 33 per cent of medicines in all phases of clinical trials in 2023, followed by treatments for infectious diseases (13 per cent) and central nervous system diseases (12 per cent), according to a new report by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.
It found more than 12,000 new medicines were undergoing clinical trials in 2023, compared to 9,000 the year before. The number of drugs in the pipeline is increasing by an average of 19 per cent per year since 2019.
On average, 20 per cent of medicines in Phase III clinical trials or pre-registration had an early orphan designation approved through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, representing a roughly 33 per cent decrease from previous years.
Read: PMPRB report shows increased plan costs, promising pharmaceutical innovation: expert
Twenty new medicines were selected for the 2023 new medicines list based on their potential to impact the Canadian health-care system and 14 of the medicines listed in this year’s report have forecasted global annual revenues of more than US$1 billion by 2029.
Of the 51 new and retained medicines listed in the previous edition, 15 received market authorization, 23 were retained on this year’s list as recent evidence continues to support promising clinical benefits and 13 were removed as their clinical trials were discontinued or they no longer met the selection criteria.
Notably, six new medicines under review by Health Canada were selected for the report as they have a novel mechanism of action or have demonstrated improved efficacy in clinical trials. These include three oncology drugs, two for immunological disorders and one for dry eyes.