Pharmaceutical Trends 2024: Revolutionising Concepts, Clinic and Compounds
In 2024, we saw 36 approvals at the end of December. Pharmaceutical trends 2024 are varying and broad, as each aspect of the sector works to keep up with a slurry of innovative therapeutic approvals. Various drugs were welcomed by the current pharmaceutical market, from Itovebi which treats metastatic breast cancer to Vafseo which teats anemia caused by chronic kidney disease.
With the ever-evolving landscape and transformative nature of the pharmaceutical industry, we highlight the new wave of innovative progressions. Drawing on current trends and challenges within the current pharmaceutical market, we’ve compiled a list of top pharmaceutical trends observed across 2024:
AI innovations and integrations
It wouldn’t be a top-trends blog without a mention of the two letters that no industry can escape: AI. Welcomed with mixed reviews, AI not only dominated 2023 but has permeated countless pillar industries, with pharma being no exception.
In 2024, generative AI has been embraced by the drug development market as a transformative discovery tool. Acting as a human analyst, AI has proven its ability to significantly reduce the lengthy timeframes required for manual dataset evaluation – a validation process necessary for drug-candidate identification.
Pioneers like DeepMind are accelerating the drug discovery phase by generating AI algorithms that analyse large portfolios of potential molecules, predicting their efficacy and safety and presenting the most promising candidates for laboratory research.
As a favoured, fast-tracked solution for accelerated therapeutic development and subsequent market release, the shift towards generative AI has shown no signs of slowing. Market growth is now predicted to reach $4.03 billion by 2026, with certain research this year indicating that as many as 95% of pharmaceutical companies are investing in AI technologies.
A diversity and decentralised focus for clinical trials
In 1992, the sleep aid medication Ambien received approval for its therapeutic use. Amidst a number of fatal incidents attributed to drug-induced side effects, it wasn’t until many years later that it was discovered, women required a lower dosage of the medication.
Mismanagement during the clinical trial period resulted in the use of predominately male clinical trial participants, so the continuous and overt effects of the drug on women’s health was not demonstrated.
Despite previous commitments to diversify, females are still strongly under-represented in clinical research. The same can also be said for various minority groups including Black, Asian and Hispanic populations. In 2023, the FDA announced a new requirement for clinical stakeholders to submit diversity plans, designed to combat the issue.
Since then, the HRA and MHRA have made their own diversity plans, detailing the inclusion of their own supporting criteria for clinical researchers to consider when designing clinical investigations. In 2024, the new MESSAGE sex and gender policy framework launched online to ensure that sex and gender are fully accounted for in UK biomedical, health and care research.
A popular option many researchers have taken to improve accessibility in clinical research is to decentralise the traditional clinical trial. The market growth in this area has reached $9.2 billion in 2024.
Trials with a virtual or decentralised component increase focus on comprehensive research, allowing for a better understanding of therapeutic potential across diverse populations. The DCT approach will continue to grow as both research data volume and diversity in the research data both improve.
Vaccination innovations
Following the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, mRNA-based therapies have surged in popularity, with researchers exploring the promising capabilities of this treatment pathway in the field of infectious diseases.
The next wave of scientific innovation includes promising research into an HIV vaccine, which has already shown promising results. The continuation of personalised cancer vaccine trials is also underway, with leading pioneers such as Penn Medicine conducting additional mRNA research on malaria, tuberculosis and many more infectious diseases.
As it stands, the COVID-19 vaccines are the only authorised mRNA vaccines on the market, but we anticipate further expansion in this space as a top pharmaceutical trend for 2025.
A new war against antibiotic resistance
As we near the end of 2024, it’s becoming harder to ignore the alarming rates of antibiotic resistance and the significant effects of antibiotic overuse. Did you know that onlyfive new antibiotics have entered the market in the past five years?
Although some movement has been noted, novel antibiotic development efforts have been undeniably slower than the resistant rates reported in the current market. In 2023, there were currently 27 drugs in development, only two of which were targeting highly drug-resistant pathogens.
With antibiotic resistance now a public health threat, access to new funding, as well as new government incentives, will likely push further research into innovative antibiotic profiles.
A growing shift to curative therapies
Throughout its history, traditional healthcare practice has centred primarily around symptom-based management. We’re continuing to see a shift in this approach, from disease management solutions to the complete curability of diseases.
One pharmaceutical trend for 2024 includes a target for rare genetic disorders. Closely linked to the recent mRNA developments, curative therapies involve cell conversion and gene therapy techniques to introduce genetic materials that counteract defective genes within the body.
Innovators such as Sanofi are using RNA-based therapeutics and mRNA therapy to deliver protein-making instructions directly into patient cells. In turn, this is expected to encourage healthy protein production and ultimately cure a host of genetic diseases.
With several FDA approvals for cell and gene therapies in 2023, including Sarepta’s gene therapy for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), 2024 places us on the cusp of transforming the curative therapeutic market.
Testing and validating innovations with HMR Labs
As specialists in cGMP-compliant analytical testing services, we test countless novel therapies within our 15 state-of-the-art laboratories. As we look forward to discovering innovative therapeutics within our labs, these top pharmaceutical market trends seen in 2024 are met with eager anticipation for the new year. What will 2025 bring us? We can’t wait to find out!
For expert method development and validation of your dosage forms, to extensive batch release or finished product testing, you can contact HMR labs.