As well as highlighting Novartis's burgeoning pipeline, the Swiss major's CEO is confident that its biggest earners will continue to growth for the next five years at least.

Potentially transformative treatments for severe asthma, COPD and osteoarthritis are among some of the below-the-radar projects the Swiss major is advancing, according to Vas Narasimhan. 

The Belgian biotech has divested its drug discovery services unit in Croatia which was making a nice profit but was not a priority as Galapagos concentrates on setting up its commercial operations in Europe.

Lexicon’s announcement of two positive cardiovascular outcome studies was tempered by the realization that its drug is not approved in the US, nor in Europe in the diabetic populations studied.

Having been under GSK's umbrella since 1985, SR One is striking out on its own, having closed the largest first-time VC fund this year.

Among big pharma there is a creeping realization that the effects of the coronavirus on revenues and prescriptions may linger. At smaller biotechs, it is patently obvious.

UCB has been looking to go deep into the gene therapy space for some time, CSO Dhaval Patel tells Scrip, saying that instead of treating symptoms, "you should be going for a cure."

The German drugmaker is seeing growing demand for its services from peers in the pharma world that are looking to develop vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It is one thing to aspire to build a rival to another company’s banner therapeutic franchise, but quite another to start from the ground up, especially when your form in that area is mixed.