Firms' new drugs haven't got quick fix for sceptical investors

EUROPE'S three biggest drug companies will showcase new products at three keenly-awaited research and development presentations in the coming weeks, but none has a quick fix for sceptical investors, analysts say.

Product pipelines have never been more critical in the $400-billion-a-year global drug industry, which faces mounting pressure on patents and prices. Yet many research labs are coming up dry. Last year, the number of new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration slumped to just 26 from 53 in 1996, despite a near doubling in R&D spending to $32 billion.

Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc, first off the blocks with its business update on October 2, has been one of the luckier ones and is expected to focus heavily on take-up of its recently launched cholesterol fighter Crestor.