After having suffered a number of late-stage product disappointmentsover the course of 2001, Novartis took great pains at its R&D day, held at the the end of October, to point out that its pipeline still justified being described as one of the best in the industry. On the whole, given the reaction of analysts who attended the briefing, the company seems to have succeeded. Overall, Novartis has 69 projects in clinical development, up from 54 at its last R&D update, with a raft of new products due for launch by 2004.
The next product due for launch is Elidel (pimecrolimus), Novartis' alternative to steroids for atopic dermatitis. The US Food and Drug Administration has set an action date on the New Drug Application for Elidel of December 14, when it should receive either an approval or an approvable letter. The company is hoping for a US launch in the first quarter of 2002, providing it gains a December approval.
Analysts at Sarasin in Switzerland note that while Elidel has potential to offer clear advantages over steroids in terms of its side-effect profile, it is not a blockbuster, as the global market for atopic dermatitis drugs is valued at around 1.1 billion Swiss francs ($671.3 million). Nevertheless, in a recent report, Lehman Brothers suggested that the product has the potential to re-price a therapeutic category that has seen little growth for many years, and forecast peak sales of $500 million.
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