2020 Sees Sharp Rise In EU New Drug Approvals

Products Include COVID-19 Vaccine & Remdesivir, Plus Three Gene Therapies

The number of new drugs containing new active substances approved in the EU rose significantly in 2020, underpinned by a strong showing for orphan-designated products and a string of novel medicines for cancer and infectious diseases. Notable among the new clutch of approvals was the first ever COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty.

Pills with euro union flag, medicine
The EU approved a range of novel drugs last year • Source: Shutterstock

In 2020, 42 products containing a total of 41 new active substances received an EU marketing authorization, a sharp increase on the 28 NAS-containing products that were cleared in 2019, and just short of the three-year peak of 45 seen in 2018.

Among the most high-profile products to be approved last year were Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SE’s Comirnaty, the first vaccine...

More from Europe

‘Unprecedented Story’: Revoked EU Marketing Authorization Fails To Thwart Translarna Sales

 

PTC Therapeutics is continuing to supply its Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment, Translarna, in some European markets, despite EU revocation of the drug’s conditional marketing authorization earlier this year.

UK HRA Sets Targets For Digital Overhaul, Trial Transparency And Trust

 
• By 

The UK Health Research Authority’s latest three-year strategy sets ambitious targets to make research more transparent. One World Health Organization official believes the authority can go further by setting equally high standards for the timely reporting of clinical trial results.

Valneva Expects UK And France to Lift Ixchiq Age Restriction Following EMA Decision

 

Other authorities are expected to mirror the European Medicines Agency’s decision to lift the temporary restriction it placed on using Valneva’s chikungunya vaccine in people aged 65 years and older.

UK’s Plan To Become World’s Third Top Life Sciences Economy Falls Short, Says ABPI

 

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry says that while the government’s newly published Life Sciences Sector Plan includes many positive commitments, they are not enough.

More from Geography

Otsuka/Lundbeck’s Rexulti PTSD Claim Will Test US FDA AdComm’s Supportive Evidence Flexibility

 

Rexulti’s post-traumatic stress disorder sNDA tries to make up for a failed Phase III study by placing a Phase II study into a key evidentiary role, raising questions for the July 18 advisory committee meeting about assessing discordant results and post-hoc analyses.

Organ-On-A-Chip: Upcoming US FDA Guidance Could Help Flesh Out ‘Roadmap’

 

The FDA is pushing the use of novel alternatives to animal models, but the Government Accountability Office said sponsors need more clarity and hopes an upcoming guidance will help.

UK’s Plan To Become World’s Third Top Life Sciences Economy Falls Short, Says ABPI

 

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry says that while the government’s newly published Life Sciences Sector Plan includes many positive commitments, they are not enough.