The year's new drugs & biologics, 2013: Part II.

The demise of the pharmaceutical industry, so pessimistically predicted by many in recent years, has not come to pass and in fact the patient is alive and well. New programs enacted by drug regulators have been enthusiastically taken up by the industry, including the FDA's breakthrough therapy and qualified infectious disease product (QIDP) designations, as well as the now-consolidated orphan drug programs in many countries. Pharma companies pragmatically wean nonperformers from the pipeline in an efficient manner, resulting in somewhat leaner but higher-quality pipelines. Mergers and acquisitions also continue to drive consolidation and efficiency in the industry, a trend that continued during 2013. This article provides an updated review of these and other trends in the pharmaceutical industry in the year just passed.