2023: The Year in Medicine
Time|December 25, 2023
Drugs for obesity, Alzheimer's, and infectious diseases herald a new era of innovation in the pharma business
By Alice Park
2023: The Year in Medicine

It's been a while since the pharmaceutical industry last saw a year like 2023, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a slew of groundbreaking and life-changing medications that represent a surge in innovation-and a potential boon to the drugmakers' bottom lines.

Eisai and Biogen kicked off the year with the approval of lecanemab (Leqembi) for Alzheimer's disease, which is the second medication designed to treat the root causes of the memory-robbing condition, but appears to be the most effective. GSK and Pfizer dropped the first-ever vaccines for RSV in adults, giving older and pregnant people a way to protect themselves and, in the case of expectant mothers, their newborns as well-from a potentially deadly respiratory disease. Biogen and Sage Therapeutics received approval for a first-ever oral treatment for postpartum depression, zuranolone (Zurzuvae), and the FDA also allowed biotech companies Intellia Therapeutics and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to start late-stage testing of the first gene-editing treatment, using CRISPR technology, inside patients.

This story is from the December 25, 2023 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 25, 2023 edition of Time.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM TIMEView All
The World According to Biden
Time

The World According to Biden

Inside the President’s efforts to sustain the American century

time-read
10+ mins  |
June 24, 2024
Claudia Sheinbaum
Time

Claudia Sheinbaum

A first for Mexico

time-read
1 min  |
June 24, 2024
The future is in Judge Merchan's hands
Time

The future is in Judge Merchan's hands

Now that a jury has found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony charges, nearly everything about what happens next is up to Judge Juan Merchan.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 24, 2024
Guilty on All Counts
Time

Guilty on All Counts

A historic verdict for Donald Trump

time-read
4 mins  |
June 24, 2024
As employers embrace Al, workers fret-and seek input
Time

As employers embrace Al, workers fret-and seek input

THE SWEDISH BUY-NOW-PAY-LATER COMPANY KLARNA has become something of a poster child for the potential benefits of generative artificial intelligence.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 24, 2024
Afghan women defying the Taliban
Time

Afghan women defying the Taliban

WHEN KABUL FELL TO THE TALIBAN, RETURNING Afghanistan to the fundamentalist group's control, women who did not flee faced a reality in which they could no longer be who they are: journalists deleted evidence of their work, artists destroyed their creations, and graduates set fire to their degrees.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 24, 2024
The way to a truly restful vacation
Time

The way to a truly restful vacation

TRAVEL CAN DO WONDERS FOR YOUR well-being: expanding your mind, bonding you to loved ones, and connecting you with nature.

time-read
1 min  |
June 24, 2024
SHARING GRIEF AMID WAR
Time

SHARING GRIEF AMID WAR

Spring and early summer are difficult times for both Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli Jews move from Passover, the holiday of freedom, to Holocaust Memorial Day, to Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror, to the triumphant celebrations of Independence Day. The days pass with rituals intended to give us a shared meaning as a society and to inculcate and frame Israel's official narrative.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 24, 2024
WESTWARD HO, AGAIN
Time

WESTWARD HO, AGAIN

Kevin Costner's risky western epic, Horizon, celebrates the height of the genre without quite getting there itself

time-read
6 mins  |
June 24, 2024
DO LESS. IT'S GOOD FOR YOU
Time

DO LESS. IT'S GOOD FOR YOU

Unproductive moments can boost health and happiness

time-read
4 mins  |
June 24, 2024