Around 100 executives highlight the hot areas to watch on the R&D front in 2021. From cancer to CNS and from regenerative medicine to real world data, expectations are high on many fronts.

As it moves away from virology, Gilead’s signs fibrosis collaboration with Scholar Rock. Novartis seeks to acquire CMDO that manufactures Kymriah, while Intrexon regains control of CAR-T program partnered with Merck KGAA. More deals from over the holiday period… 

Biotech regains full rights to a pair of targeted therapies for heart diseases, but will bear full development costs. MyoKardia says the agreement with Sanofi ended due to differences over commercial rights, not concerns about trial data.

While arguing that US FDA overestimated inflation and fill rates when calculating annual cost of co-prescribing naloxone with opioids, Adapt Pharma opened door to pricing pledge questions that the Narcan sponsor could not answer.