Posted by Michael Wonder on 21 Dec 2017
Diabetes is officially the messiest drug market
22 December 2017 - A crowded space gets more so as the FDA approves Pfizer/Merck's Steglujan.
The market for diabetes drugs is one of the most competitive in all of pharma.
There are frequently many similar treatments available to treat a very large patient population, which gives insurers and pharmacy benefit managers method and motive to work hard to drive down prices. They've been succeeding, and will get more ammunition in the year to come.
The FDA on Wednesday approved Steglatro, a diabetes medicine from Pfizer and Merck. It is reaching the market behind Bristol-Myers Squibb & Co. and AstraZeneca's Farxiga; Johnson & Johnson's Invokana; and Eli Lilly's Jardiance. And it will hit the market three or more years behind each of those medicines. Payers have already gotten huge discounts on those older drugs; Steglujan's entry will likely make them bigger. Sanofi plans to file for approval of yet another drug in the class next year.
