Top 5 healthcare moments of 2023
From a healthcare perspective, 2023 was all about a changing of the guard after years of operating in a pandemic mindset.
COVID-19 transitioned from pandemicity to endemicity and as such, industry leaders were able to shift their focus to other healthcare priorities.
This coincided with the unprecedented rise of GLP-1 drugs for treating diabetes and obesity, numerous major pharma and biotech deals as well as the historic approval of an Alzheimer’s disease treatment.
Below are the top five healthcare moments of 2023.
1. GLP-1 drugs take over
Weight loss drugs enjoyed more than a moment in the sun throughout the year.
Whether it was Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy or Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, the GLP-1 class of weight loss drugs captured the attention of the general public.
These medicines also boosted the bottom lines of drugmakers.
According to Lilly’s most recent earnings report, the pharma giant recorded a quarterly revenue increase of 37% thanks to the success of Mounjaro, which generated more than $1.4 billion in revenue during the period.
Similar to Lilly, Novo enjoyed an exceptionally strong quarter thanks to its weight-loss drugs, with the sale of GLP-1 diabetes drugs rising 49% while obesity care products grew 174%. Currently, Novo has a higher market capitalization than the gross domestic product of its home country of Denmark.
The financial success of these drugs has prompted other drugmakers to try to get in on the action, with AstraZeneca buying the rights to a once-daily oral GLP-1 drug candidate from Eccogene for $185 million upfront.
However, not everyone has been successful making inroads in this space, with Pfizer discontinuing a twice-daily version of its obesity drug danuglipron and, more recently, Structure Therapeutics acknowledging that the efficacy of its oral GLP-1 receptor agonist among patients with type 2 diabetes fell below that of a rival pill being developed by Lilly.
Still, despite this flurry of activity, some industry observers have wondered whether diabesity drugmakers have maxed out on their opportunities and should shift from magnitude to quality of weight loss.
2. FDA grants Leqembi full approval
The first six months of 2023 marked significant progress on the Alzheimer’s treatment front.
Leqembi, developed by Eisai and Biogen, received an accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration on January 6.
Later that month, the drug had its initial recorded sales and first prescription written, followed by the first patient infusion on February 3.
In early June, external advisors to the FDA unanimously recommended Leqembi for full approval. On July 6, the FDA granted traditional approval to Leqembi in a watershed moment for the Alzheimer’s patient population.
The drug is on track to be a blockbuster, with one analysis projecting nearly $13 billion in global sales by 2028.
3. Major pharma deals close
Big Pharma went full tilt when it came to dealmaking this year.
The biggest transaction was Pfizer’s $43 billion acquisition of oncology company Seagen, a deal which gave insights into what organizational direction the pharma giant is heading as well as how healthy the biotech space is.
Another major deal was Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, which closed months after the Federal Trade Commission challenged the merger as a sign of rampant consolidation in the pharma space.
Ultimately, the agency signed off on the the California-based pharma giant’s purchase of the rare disease Irish biotech by prohibiting Amgen from bundling its products with either Horizon’s Tepezza, Krystexxa, or medications used to treat thyroid eye disease and chronic refractory gout.
Additionally, Amgen “may not condition any product rebate or contract terms” related to products on sale or position either one of these drugs. The company is also prohibited from using any product rebate or contract term to “exclude or disadvantage” any product that would compete with Tepezza or Krystexxa.
Finally, AbbVie kept itself busy with a series of major transactions.
Earlier this month, the company bought Cerevel, a biotech focused on developing treatments for central nervous system disorders, for $8.7 billion. This came one week after AbbVie announced a $10.1 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen, a clinical-stage biotech that manufactures antibody-drug conjugates.
AbbVie also struck a deal to acquire neurodegenerative disease specialist Mitokinin, paying shareholders $110 million at closing for the purchase. The deal could grow by another $545 million depending on hitting certain developmental and commercial milestones
4. The COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase ends
After the deaths of more than 1.1 million Americans, the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. ended in May. The World Health Organization also declared an end to the pandemic’s emergency status.
In early April, President Biden signed an end to the public health emergency but the last provisions lapsed, including coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests and vaccine requirements for federal jobs.
At the time, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra released a statement acknowledging the end of the COVID-19 emergency phase but also emphasizing that the virus remains a “public health priority” for the agency.
The virus is still lingering across the U.S., albeit it is not spreading or killing as many Americans as it did in years prior, but has raised the concern over the seasonal spread of other respiratory illnesses like the flu and RSV.
One unanswered question following three years of public health crisis, widespread death, societal upheaval and rampant medical misinformation is where the healthcare industry goes from here.
5. The Syneos saga
A 2023 MM+M Agency honoree went from publicly-traded to private in the course of a few months.
In May, a cohort of private equity firms announced a $7.1 billion deal to take Syneos Health private, citing unanimous approval of the board of directors and receiving approval from shareholders in early August.
The company had been in search of a buyer since initiating a comprehensive review in early 2020 that was ultimately put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In late September, Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital closed the deal and changes were quickly made days later.
Syneos named Colin Shannon as CEO in early October, taking over the role from Michelle Keefe, who remained on the executive leadership team as well as the board of directors.
