1. In Vivo
  2. >>Growth

Commercializing Rare Disease Therapies Is Getting Tougher

 
• By Jane Barlow, Roger Longman, and Rob O'Brien

For an industry increasingly dominated by these drugs, commercial programs need to take on the risk once reserved for development.  

Things are getting tougher
Rare disease therapies are becoming more difficult to commercialize • Source: Shutterstock

Historically, if you were to pick a symbolic hero of the drug industry’s rise to prominence it might be Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin; Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine; or maybe the Nobel prize winners James Black, who developed the first beta-blocker and H2 antagonist; or Gertrude Elion, who catalyzed the development of antivirals. Their discoveries, after all, resulted in medicines that successfully treated millions of heretofore untreatable patients.

Today’s hero, on the other hand, would be Henri Termeer, the late CEO of Sanofi Genzyme and the...

More from Growth

More from In Vivo

Podcast: Brain+ CEO Discusses “Groundbreaking” Potential Of CST Assistant For Dementia Patients

 
• By Anabel Costa-Ferreira

Devika Wood, CEO of Brain+, explains the importance of developing health tech solutions for dementia and the growing need to both raise awareness and improve overall access to nondrug interventions like CST.

Behind The Buyout: Dispatches From The Dealmaking Table

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

In a challenging funding environment for biopharma, strategic dealmaking has become a critical growth engine. In Vivo explores what it truly takes to navigate high-stakes acquisitions and partnerships, drawing on insights from seasoned industry leaders.

Crisis Or Opportunity? US MFN Policy Could Test Japan’s Appetite For Reforms

 
• By Lisa Takagi

While the adoption of most favored nation drug pricing in the US stands to affect Japanese biopharma firms now heavily reliant on this market, it might also present an opportunity for pricing and policy reforms at home.