The year's new drugs.

Inaugurated 16 years ago, this annual article provides the opportunity to present from both a historical and a research perspective those molecular entities and biologic drugs that were launched or approved in various countries for the first time during the past year. According to our records, 30 new chemical entities and biologic drugs and two diagnostic agents reached their first markets in 2003. Another six new products were approved for the first time in 2003 but were not launched before year-end. During the past year, Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs was the most active therapeutic group in terms of new launches, with six market introductions. The United States was again the most active market for new products, with a total of 20 new launches in 2003, constituting 66.6% of the total of new introductions for the year.