The rate of growth of the pharma pipeline slowed last year as oncology and rare diseases tightened their grip on R&D. There are also further signs of China’s rise in importance in the industry.

The UK major is acquiring CinCor in a deal that could be worth up to $1.8bn, in return getting hold of its Phase II hypertension candidate, baxdrostat, which offers combination potential with Farxiga.

During Q3, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $15.4bn and drew in $37.6bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $550m, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $1.9bn.

One of the architects of AstraZeneca’s burgeoning cancer portfolio, oncology R&D head Susan Galbraith is making sure the firm does not rest on its laurels. She talked to Scrip about what’s coming next from the UK major’s cancer pipeline.