Pharmaceutical Research Is Focusing on the Elderly
By: Vivian Marino
NY Times, June 28, 2002
Pharmaceutical companies may be steadily losing the patent protection
on their established drugs in the United States, but sales from new
medications that cater to an aging population could more than make up for
any lost revenue. And there are plenty of these drugs in the pipeline.
Some 135 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are now developing
294 medicines aimed at diseases that disproportionately affect older
people, along with 402 medicines for cancer and 122 for heart disease and
stroke, according to study results that were released last week by the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group based
in Washington.
The drugs now in development for older Americans include 17 medicines
for Alzheimer's disease, which is expected to more than triple in number
of cases by the middle of the century, and 14 medicines for chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, which is a major cause of hospitalization
among the elderly.
Others drugs include 30 for diabetes, which affects 1 in 5 Americans 65
and older; 20 for osteoporosis, which is expected to affect more than 61
million Americans by 2020; and 14 for Parkinson's disease, of which some
60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
"With an elderly population that is growing daily, millions of
people will be counting on the fruits of the pharmaceutical industry's
research into diseases of aging," said Alan F. Holmer, who is
president of the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers group.
Baby boomers ≈ those born from 1946 to 1964 ≈ will begin
turning 65 in 2011. From then until 2030, the number of elderly people
will rise from 40 million to 70 million, or 20 percent of the population,
according to the Census Bureau.
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