According to different sources of drugs in development, the global drugs in development can be divided into chemical synthetic drugs, biological products and three types of sources of natural drugs, and these categories can be further subdivided.

There is no doubt that the chemical synthetic drug are still the main source of candidate drugs, over the years these drugs accounted for more than 50%. But, at present the growth rate was reduced year by year, in 2017 the number of chemical synthetic small molecule drugs for 7855 kinds of growth is only 4.2%, far below the global number of drugs in development of the overall growth rate (8.4%).

Ranking second in the drug category for antibody protein biological medicine, the increase of up to 15.1% in 2017. Other biological drugs also performed well in 2017, protein, cell therapy and peptide biological drugs increase 24.1%, 67.1% and 27.0%, respectively. In the biological drugs more specific category, also observed a similar increase obviously.

Balance to biological medicine

For the pharmaceutical industry in the macro level is small molecules tend to chemical drugs and biological drugs development this problem, the industry has been discussed for many years. As we have seen, chemical small-molecule drugs still dominant, but the biological growth also cannot small gaze.

Will be divided into biotech drugs and drugs in development of biotech drugs two broad categories, based on the related research data from 1995 to 2017 were analyzed and found that the biotech drugs, especially the status of traditional new chemical entity drugs are shaken. Biotech drugs since the 1990 s, after has maintained steady growth, since 2010, to some extent, the development of biological products get a boost, but growth is still slow. Since 2016, the biotech drugs in the acceleration of the relatively rapid development momentum.

Biotech drugs in global, so far the overall proportion of drugs in development has been increased to 37.8%, while the proportion was 33% in 2016.

Biotech drugs is particularly notable jumped by nearly two years, the data change also show that the balance of the whole drug development industry seems to be leaning to biotech drugs.

Overcome the dosing method, biological medicine will be those of chemical medicine

Products although has better efficacy and specificity, but its means of dosing relative inconvenience, and the cost is relatively higher. So, biotech drugs and chemical in the future competition, small drug molecules chemical small-molecule drugs will still has its place.

Currently existing in research of plant cell abroad express oral biological drugs, believe in the near future, with the development of biotechnology and the development of preparation technology, low cost of oral listed will be possible, until then, biological medicine will win chemical medicine.