LAUSR

Innovation has a crucial role in developing breakthrough drugs and vaccines that can change patients' lives. To better understand this role, we evaluated recent outcomes for assets developed using different types of innovation. Although all approaches have delivered breakthroughs, assets that modulate established biological targets with innovative scientific or technological designs provide a unique combination of reduced development risk, high patient impact, and high commercial value. This type of asset currently represents a relatively small proportion of approved drugs and vaccines, but we anticipate that an increasing body of scientific knowledge and ongoing technological advancements could offer opportunities to grow this category in the future. Teaser: While drug developers remain highly focused on novel targets, we show that innovative approaches to designing medicines that modulate established targets can offer a compelling combination of reduced development risk and high patient impact.