The TOP list of R&D investment is released!

In the past two years, stimulated by COVID-19, the entire pharmaceutical industry has performed strongly and achieved rapid development
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Recently, FierceBiotech released the list of the top ten pharmaceutical companies with the most R&D investment in 2021
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From the list, Roche is still the pharmaceutical company with the largest R&D investment, with its R&D investment reaching US$16.
1 billion
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How terrifying this data is, we can pull out the R&D investment of Hengrui Medicine and make a simple comparison with it.
From 2018 to 2020, the R&D investment of Hengrui Medicine is 2.
670 billion yuan, 3.
896 billion yuan, 4.
989 billion yuan, respectively.
In 2021 In the first three quarters of this year, Hengrui Medicine invested a total of 4.
142 billion yuan in research and development funds, accounting for 20.
5% of its operating income
.
Although the proportion of R&D in revenue is comparable to that of Roche, Hengrui Medicine is still far behind in terms of the absolute value of R&D amount
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We should also clearly realize that China's innovative drugs are just in their infancy compared with foreign countries, and there is still a lot of room for growth in the future
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The other two companies in the top three on the list are Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.
They have invested heavily in new coronary pneumonia virus vaccines and therapeutic drugs, and have received handsome returns
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Pfizer's R&D spending rose 47% in 2021 to $13.
8 billion, and it's likely to see the same increase this year
.
Correspondingly, Pfizer's 2021 sales hit $81.
3 billion, with $37 billion coming from the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty
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TOP 01 Roche's R&D investment of US$16.
1 billion in 2021 Roche has ranked first in the R&D investment TOP list for many times
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In 2021, Roche will increase R&D investment in advanced oncology and neuroscience programs
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According to Roche's most recent annual report, there are 11 projects in Phase 3 clinical trials, of which 6 are potential cancer treatments and 4 are innovative treatments in the field of neuroscience
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Among these therapies, the anti-TIGIT antibody tiragolumab, the selective estrogen receptor degrader giredestrant, the anti-amyloid beta antibody gantenerumab and the BTK inhibitor fenebrutinib have received much attention
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Of course, Roche's investment in research and development has also ushered in a good return
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In 2021, Roche received six FDA approvals (half of them in oncology) and 27 major authorizations in China, Europe and Japan
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In 2022, Roche's Vabysmo was approved by the FDA for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration
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In addition, Roche has also increased investment in diagnostics, digital projects, COVID-19, blood screening and Alzheimer's disease
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TOP 02 Johnson & Johnson invests $14.
7 billion in R&D in 2021 Johnson & Johnson has moved up one place this year
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Although J&J's R&D spending increased by 21% compared to 2020, J&J's R&D spending increased by only one percentage point as a percentage of revenue due to higher revenue from sales of the COVID-19 vaccine and the company's other products
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Johnson & Johnson is on track to launch another vaccine, with a Phase 2 clinical trial of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine showing 80 percent effectiveness in preventing RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease in adults 65 and older
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In addition to vaccines, Johnson & Johnson has also deployed tumor-related treatment programs
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In December 2021, Janssen submitted an application to the FDA for an off-the-shelf T-cell therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma
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In March of this year, the BCMA CAR-T therapy Carvykti (cilta-cel) jointly developed by Janssen and Legend Bio was approved by the FDA
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But it was not all smooth sailing.
Johnson & Johnson experienced a lot of ups and downs in the development of bermekimab.

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J&J acquired the drug from XBiotech in 2019 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa, but research on the former indication has been halted, costing the company more than $600 million
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TOP 03 Pfizer will invest US$13.
8 billion in R&D in 2021.
In 2021, Pfizer's total sales of COVID-19 related products will reach US$36.
857 billion, accounting for 45.
34% of the company's annual revenue, and it will have the largest share (42.
87%) in global sales of COVID-19-related products.
Among them, the sales of mRNA new crown vaccine reached US$36.
781 billion, making it the product with the largest sales in 2021
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Benefiting from the new crown vaccine Comirnaty and the new crown oral drug Paxlovid, Pfizer is expected to remain the biggest winner in 2022
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Elsewhere, Pfizer is expanding its pipeline through acquisitions, with the company prioritizing programs already in late-stage clinical trials so it can quickly bring those products to market for profit
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Pfizer is also working on next-generation CDK inhibitors for cancer therapy, aimed at overcoming drug resistance in breast cancer treatments
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Pfizer currently has four programs targeting different stages of breast cancer, three of which are new molecules and one is a combination of Ibrance and ARV-471
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In addition, Pfizer and Valneva are working together to develop a Lyme disease vaccine, and the interim data of the vaccine are also very optimistic
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TOP 04 Merck's R&D investment of $12.
2 billion in 2021 In the last days of 2021, Merck's new crown oral drug molnupiravir received emergency authorization from the FDA.
Merck expects the drug's sales this year to be between $5 billion and $6 billion, which is about the Half of the company's R&D investment in 2021
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In addition, Merck's blockbuster anti-tumor drug Keytruda occupies half of the PD-1/PD-L1 drug market, with sales revenue of US$17.
186 billion in 2021, achieving a strong growth of 18%
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At present, there are more than 40 approved indications, covering a wide range of first-line, second-line and later-line therapies for multiple cancer types, and the scope of application is still expanding
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But Merck has encountered many setbacks in the development of HIV drugs
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In November, Merck suspended development of MK-8507, and three weeks later Merck halted enrollment in two Phase 3 clinical trials of islatravir
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To make matters worse, Merck and Gilead suspended the Phase 2 clinical trial of the once-weekly oral regimen of lenacapavir + islatravir
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Merck also doesn't seem to be going well in 2022.
Although gefapixant was approved in Japan for the treatment of chronic cough, it was rejected by the FDA
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TOP 05 Bristol-Myers Squibb’s R&D investment of US$11.
3 billion in 2021 Compared with 2020, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s ranking on the R&D investment list has dropped by one place, but the company has made two major advances in R&D in 2021
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The FDA approved Breyanzi in February 2021 for certain types of large B-cell lymphoma
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A month later the FDA approved Abecma for multiple myeloma patients who had received at least four lines of therapy
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In contrast to some of the big pharma companies with COVID-19 antibodies and vaccines, Bristol-Myers Squibb has yet to receive approvals for SARS-CoV-2-related programs
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The oncology business is still the pillar of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s revenue.
Since the acquisition of Celgene at the end of 2019, Revlimid (lenalidomide), Opdivo (nivolumab), and Pomalyst (pomalidomide) have become BMS’ anti-tumor drug business Three pillars with combined sales of more than $23.
6 billion, accounting for 78.
4% of total BMS oncology-related business revenue
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At present, BMS is doubling its investment in cell therapy.
The two CAR-T products Breyanzi (anti-CD19 CAR-T) and Abecma (anti-BCMA CAR-T) have achieved revenue of 87 million and 164 million US dollars respectively, or will become the company's new growth engine
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TOP 06 AstraZeneca's R&D investment of US$9.
7 billion in 2021 AstraZeneca ranks sixth in R&D investment in 2021.
After falling out of the top ten on the list last year, AstraZeneca increased its R&D investment by 62%
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These investments are primarily focused on COVID-19 drug development and advanced oncology clinical trials
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In 2021, AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody combination Evusheld, made $4 billion in sales
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AstraZeneca also has late-stage studies in place for a series of new molecules, including the selective estrogen receptor degrader camizestrant, the checkpoint inhibitor Imfinzi and the antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu and datopotamab deruxtecan
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AstraZeneca now has 17 Phase 3 oncology trials in its pipeline, up from 13 a year ago
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TOP 07 Novartis invests US$9 billion in research and development in 2021 Novartis has a wide variety of anti-tumor drugs, but there is no blockbuster product yet
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Classic products show a steady growth trend.
The top three varieties by sales in 2021 are Taslgna (nilotinib), with revenue of $2.
060 billion; Tafinlar+mekinist (dabrafenib + trametinib) with sales of $1.
693 billion ; Jakavi (ruxolitinib phosphate) revenue of $1.
595 billion
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Novartis is currently developing a one-time gene therapy, GT005, for the treatment of geographic atrophy, and has conducted three clinical trials, including two Phase 2 trials
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Novartis acquired Gyroscope Therapeutics with an upfront payment of $800 million last year, and also cooperated with Chinese biotechnology company BeiGene to obtain the authorization of the TIGIT protein inhibitor program, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for lung cancer
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In December last year, it collaborated with UCB, a large Belgian pharmaceutical company, to jointly develop and commercialize UCB's Parkinson's disease drug candidate, which is currently in clinical phase 2
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TOP 08 GlaxoSmithKline will invest US$7.
2 billion in research and development in 2021.
GlaxoSmithKline has two new drugs approved in 2021, namely the PD-1 drug Jemperli (for the treatment of patients with mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer) and the HIV treatment Cabenuva
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Cabenuva is the world's first approved long-acting, injectable HIV treatment
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However, GSK has fallen behind Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine
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As one of the world's largest vaccine makers, the new crown vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline will not reach a key milestone until 2022
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The Phase 3 clinical trial disclosed on February 23, 2022 showed that the COVID-19 vaccine omicron, in collaboration with Sanofi, had a protective efficiency of 58%, and is currently in communication with regulators in the United States and Europe
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TOP 09 AbbVie's R&D investment of $7.
1 billion in 2021 AbbVie remains in the ninth position as last year, and its R&D expenditure as a percentage of total revenue is the smallest in the list, only 12%
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In 2021, AbbVie has carried out a number of cooperations and mergers and acquisitions
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Among them, the acquisition of TeneoOne enabled AbbVie to enter the track for the treatment of multiple myeloma, and obtained the BCMA/CD3 bispecific antibody TNB-383B, which achieved a 79% objective response rate (ORR) in the interim results, and a 29% Complete remission (CR)
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The partnership with Regenxbio is another key deal for AbbVie, which focuses on one-time gene therapy for chronic retinal diseases, including diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration
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In addition, AbbVie has expanded its collaboration with Calico to develop treatments for diseases of the elderly, such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer
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TOP ⑩ Eli Lilly will invest US$7 billion in R&D in 2021.
Currently, Eli Lilly has two blockbuster potential drugs, namely donanemab (for Alzheimer's disease) and tirzepatide (for type 2 diabetes)
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Donanemab, a monoclonal antibody targeting amyloid beta, has met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 clinical trial
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In addition to donanemab, Eli Lilly is also developing solanezumab for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but the drug's progress has been slow and its prospects are uncertain
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Eli Lilly's next-generation non-covalent BTK inhibitor, pirtobrutinib, has also shown good prospects and is currently undergoing several clinical studies
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On the immunology side, Eli Lilly is preparing to submit an application to the FDA for mirikizumab to treat ulcerative colitis
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