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.

Public Company Edition: 2020 started with two $200m-plus initial public offerings plus five health care-focused special purpose acquisition corporations IPOs. Also, a Pfizer initiative backs three public companies, Fate’s $432m offering led recent FOPOs and Biocon Biologics receives more investment. 

Public Company Edition: Three companies postponed or withdrew their offerings, but drug developers continue to pursue IPOs. Also, Biocon, BMS and Epizyme raised money through new debt, Five Prime capitalized on positive data and Synthetic Biologic engaged a strategic advisor.

Biopharma companies raised $12.4bn in Q2, largely from follow-on public offerings. In the latest mega-merger of the year, AbbVie spent $63bn on Allergan and its established portfolio. Many of the higher-valued alliances focused on the area of protein degradation.