Failure to launch? Half of drugs rolled out since 2004 didn't live up to sales forecasts: report

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has risen more than 600% in the last 15 years, reflecting investor enthusiasm for a flood of novel drugs that Wall Street analysts pegged as likely blockbusters.

But just how many of those drugs lived up to the Street’s high expectations?

Not nearly as many as investors—or biopharma companies—would hope. About half the drugs launched in the last 15 years underperformed analysts’ sales estimates by more than 20%, according to a recent report from L.E.K. Consulting. In fact, only one-fifth of new meds reached $1 billion in U.S. sales, and more than half failed to hit even $250 million.