10 Most Promising New Drugs

By Arthur Wong From Standard & Poor's RatingsDirect

The pharmaceutical industry continues to march toward the patent cliff in 2010-2012, when a record amount of drug sales will lose patent protection in the U.S. This means some of the best-selling drugs, including Pfizer's (PFE) Lipitor, Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Plavix and Avapro, Eli Lilly's (LLY) Zyprexa, Wyeth's (WYE) Effexor, and Merck's (MRK) Cozaar/Hyzaar and Singulair will be exposed to generic competition.

The industry has gone through previous waves of patent expirations over the past 10 years, and it has largely been able to generate sales and earnings growth via a combination of volume growth, pricing increases, and new product launches. However, research-and-development productivity has fallen off, and as each successive wave of patent expirations washes over the industry, the pressure mounts on the industry's R&D pipelines to produce new, significant products.

01. Denosumab (Osteoporosis) Amgen (S&P credit rating, A+)

02.Brilinta (AZD6140; Arterial Thrombosis) AstraZeneca (S&P credit rating, AA-)

03.Onglyza (Saxagliptin; Diabetes) AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb (S&P credit rating, A+)

04.Belatacept (Organ Transplants) Bristol-Myers Squibb (S&P credit rating, A+)

05.Effient (Prasugrel, Platelet Inhibitor) Eli Lilly (S&P credit rating, AA)

06.Embeda/Remoxy (Morphine/Oxycodone, For Pain) King Pharmaceuticals (S&P credit rating, BB)

07.Cordaptive (Atherosclerosis) Merck (S&P credit rating, AA-)

08.Afinitor (Everolimus; Oncology) Novartis (S&P credit rating, AA-)

09.Liraglutide (Diabetes, Obesity) Novo Nordisk (S&P credit rating, A)

10.Multaq (Dronedarone; Atrial Fibrillation) Sanofi-Aventis (S&P credit rating, AA-)

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