Early-stage companies need to be more flexible on the financing terms they are willing to accept and in finding ways to gather evidence to support the impact of their products or services.

Big Pharma companies are remaining ‘disciplined’ about their M&A deals, with Merck & Co apparently shying away from a $40bn gamble on Seagen, but the need for replenished pipelines remains.

A buyout of Seagen would boost Merck & Co’s goal of becoming the dominant player in oncology by 2025, but the deal is said to be far from done.

Merck's new CEO Robert Davis talked about his vision for business development and how the company might use the $9bn gained from the spinout of Organon.