The IMS 2008 Global Biotech Perspective report published on June 17 by IMS Health says that global prescription sales of biotech drugs increased 12.5% in 2007 to more than $75 billion.
The report also noted that the global biotech market grew at nearly double the rate of the global pharmaceutical market, which increased 6.4% in 2007.
Murray Aitken, senior vice president, Healthcare Insight, IMS, observed that recent innovations, the continued expansion of approved indications for existing products, and the gradual uptake of biotech products outside the US have fuelled the growth.
However he conceded that loss of exclusivity, competition from biosimilars, crowded therapy areas with weaker sales growth and payers being more reluctant to fund innovative drugs without compelling value propositions will contribute to a more moderate growth environment until 2012.
"After 20 years of what some would call a charmed life, biotech is now facing a new reality," said Aitken.
The report also noted that 22 biotech products generated sales exceeding $1 billion in 2007, compared with just six products in 2002.
Patent and law firm Marks & Clerk also published a biotechnology report coinciding with the opening of the 2008 BIO International Convention. The report warned that funding pressures pose a serious threat to the biotech industry and argued that more should be done to improve patent protection.
The report suggests that drug modification or late-stage development will become increasingly popular - at the expense of genuine innovation.
According to the report, 73% of respondents called for extensions to the existing patent term to promote more R&D investment, while 88% said they would like to see a faster patent approval process.
Gareth Williams, a partner of the firm and co-author of the report said that, in the long term, generic competition might deter investors from backing the biotech sector: "Some modifications to the patent system would now be a practical way of boosting sentiment and encouraging investment in the fragile biotech industry."
