Big Pharma Productivity Frameworks

Krzysztof Potempa

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Published Oct 2, 2022

Last updated: 14 November 2022

Productivity in big pharma has been a topic of ongoing discussion for at least the past two decades (1). In this article, I highlight the most informative big pharma productivity frameworks shared by AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck and Pfizer since 2010.

AstraZeneca 5R Framework:

Since 2005, the 5R Framework has enabled AstraZeneca to achieve industry-leading R&D productivity levels of 23% – defined as molecules progressing from candidate drug nomination to phase 3 completion –compared to a current pharma industry average of 14% (2, 3)

Impact of a five-dimensional framework on R&D productivity AstraZeneca include: (i) Greater focus on disease and target validation; (ii) Expanding drug target classes to follow disease biology; and (iii) New projects more likely to use phenotypic screens

Eli Lilly Chorus Approach:

Chorus takes the programme to an earlier investment decision in a shorter time & at a substantially lower cost—28 months and $6.3 million—than the more definitive Phase IIb decision point in the conventional R&D model. For all 41 Lilly-funded Chorus programmes to date, programmes that exited did so after a median of 331, 776 and 886 days as a result of definitive toxicology, clinical Proof of Mechanism-POM (17) and clinical Proof of Concept-POC (9) data, respectively (4).

Merck's Portfolio Management and Translational Medicine Approach:

Merck's Translational Medicine (TxM) Guide condenses the drug development process to asking the right questions to develop the right evidence at the right decision point timing to achieve three actionable aspirations: Trust in Target; Trust in Therapeutic Window; and Trust in Targeted Patient Population (6)

Pfizer's 3 Pillar Framework:

In 2010, Pfizer’s end-to-end success rate was at 2%, less than half of the industry benchmark of 5% in the same year (7). By the end of 2020, Pfizer pharma had achieved an end-to-end [First-in-Human (FIH) to regulatory approval] clinical success rate of 21% (8).

In 2010, there were 139 compounds in Pfizer’s pipeline and its annual R&D investment was US$9.4 billion. By 2019, the company had reduced its pipeline to 71 compounds, approximately half the number of programs in 2010, and R&D investment declined to $8 billion (8).