The Pharmaceutical Industry in 2019. An Analysis of FDA Drug Approvals from the Perspective of Molecules

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 25; no. 3; p. 745
• Main Authors: de la Torre, Beatriz G, Albericio, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 09-02-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Antibodies; antibody drug conjugate; api; Biological products; biologics; chemical entities; Conjugates; drug discovery; Drugs; FDA approval; fluorine-based drugs; Natural products; oligonucleotides; Peptides; Pharmaceutical industry; Proteins; pyrazoles; R&D; Regulatory agencies; Research & development; Review; small molecules; tides; biologics; chemical entities; peptides; oligonucleotides; natural products; drug discovery; fluorine-based drugs; antibody drug conjugate; API; antibodies; pyrazoles; TIDES; small molecules
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules25030745

During 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 48 new drugs (38 New Chemical Entities and 10 Biologics). Although this figure is slightly lower than that registered in 2018 (59 divided between 42 New Chemical Entities and 17 Biologics), a year that broke a record with respect to new drugs approved by this agency, it builds on the trend initiated in 2017, when 46 drugs were approved. Of note, three antibody drug conjugates, three peptides, and two oligonucleotides were approved in 2019. This report analyzes the 48 new drugs of the class of 2019 from a strictly chemical perspective. The classification, which was carried out on the basis of chemical structure, includes the following: Biologics (antibody drug conjugates, antibodies, and proteins); TIDES (peptide and oligonucleotides); drug combinations; natural products; and small molecules.