According to a report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), more than 900 new medicines are now in the research and development pipeline to treat the diseases of aging.
The new medicines include 146 medicines for heart disease and stroke and 399 for cancer. Alzheimer’s disease alone could afflict 16 million people by the middle of this century; America’s research-based pharmaceutical companies are currently developing 27 medicines to treat it. Other medicines now being researched include:
• 48 for diabetes, of which half of all cases occur in people over age 55. A new, first-in-class medicine in development has been shown in clinical trials to significantly improve long-term glycemic control;
• 20 for osteoporosis, a major health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans age 50 and older; and
• 19 to treat depression, which affects an estimated 6.5 million Americans 65 and older;
• 17 for Parkinson’s disease, 60,000 new cases of which are diagnosed each year. A nervous system growth factor gene therapy being studied aims to deliver the growth factor,...