Fewer Drug Launches In 2022, But Standouts Among Them

 
• By Jessica Merrill
  
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Lilly's Mounjaro and Roche's Vabysmo appear on track to be fast blockbusters in a year that saw the fewest drug launches since 2016.

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A few new drugs got off to a fast start in 2022 • Source: Shutterstock

Fewer new drugs launched in the US in 2022 than in recent years, but the year's new launches included some stellar commercial performers, such as Pfizer Inc.'s Paxlovid (nirmarelvir/ritonavir), Roche Holding AG's Vabysmo (faricimab) and Eli Lilly and Company's Mounjaro (tirzepatide). The year's class also included some promising scientific advances including three new gene therapies and a new drug in the notoriously challenging area of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s Relyvrio (sodium phenylbutyrate/taurusodiol).

Around 40 new drugs launched in the US in 2022, the lowest number since 2016. ([A#3SC098446]) Not all of the...

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