CEO Paul Hudson says that the French major will continue to progress early-stage cancer projects despite jettisoning some oncology programs in favor of reallocating much of its research budget to immunology.

The French drugmaker has not abandoned oncology but has made it very clear that immunology and inflammation is the priority for its R&D euros.

The US firm’s multi-billion dollar buyout of the rare disease biotech Reata was not so straightforward according to a recent security filing that detailed a back-and-forth bidding process between Biogen and a rival company that initiated first contact, believed to be Sanofi.

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.