After a slow start marked by product withdrawals and toxicity, recent deal-making activity has brought antibody-drug conjugates back from obscurity. But what has changed?

The pandemic has affected generic pharmaceutical companies more than their branded brethren but accident-prone Mallinckrodt has been hit harder than most.

Apparently positive news for two unglamorous indications – acne and allergy – should be balanced against restrictive reimbursement and market fragmentation.

The public biotech’s first foray into the microbiome started well, but a clinical trial failure followed by a success has now left Seres with both regulatory and commercial issues.

The notoriously thin margins of generic drug manufacturers, over-leveraging and pending legal cases should have been subordinated by the continuing needs for generic drugs during lockdowns.

Lilly’s diabetes and oncology franchises epitomize the effects of the pandemic on pharmaceutical sales. For much smaller companies, these effects were magnified.