Major shake-ups in the ranks of the most innovative pharma

The tenth annual Pharmaceutical Innovation Index, released by IDEA Pharma, sees Swiss giant Roche (ROG: SIX) top the industry for the first time. At the same time, the second Pharmaceutical Invention Index, a ranking of the industry's best pipelines, sees UK-based AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) retain its No 1 position (see tables below).

The Pharmaceutical Invention Index introduces a ranking of the industry's best pipelines, evaluating novelty and meaningful development, across first in class development, breakthrough medicines and more. Defining innovation as "return on invention," the Pharmaceutical Innovation Index measures, scores and celebrates a company's ability to deliver innovation to patients, by objectively evaluating performance based on a rolling five year period (2014-2019), and operates on the simple premise: if you gave the same molecule to two different companies in early phase, which would make the best of it?

Roche's significant rise to No 1 on the Innovation Index can be attributed to multiple clinical data wins, a pair of novel Food and Drug Administration approvals and many path-leading immuno-oncology firsts by the company's PD-L1, Tecentriq (atezolizumab).

The Innovation Index top 10 includes new players – Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VRTX), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) and Shionogi (TYO: 4507) - as well as a significant rise for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN), suggesting that smaller companies are, more than ever, able to bring their products to patients without a traditional large pharma partner. AstraZeneca's retention of the Invention Index No 1 reveals the success of their relentless focus on pipeline diversity and novelty.

Commenting on the index, IDEA Pharma's chief executive Mike Rea said: "There is no gaming the Pharmaceutical Innovation Index – success is achieved by discovering and developing meaningfully great medicines and getting those medicines to market, and to patients. More than ever, we see that excellence is unevenly distributed across the industry – not every company is equally able to realise the value in their pipeline."

Pharmaceutical Innovation Index 2020