More progress for vaccines and oral antivirals in Asia as South Korea issues an approval for Novavax's vaccine, Pfizer files for Japanese approval of Paxlovid, and SK bio progresses late-stage trials of its recombinant vaccine. 

Expected return on investment for pharma firms jumped sharply to 7% in 2021, driven largely by COVID-19 R&D but even when the pandemic's impact was stripped out, there was an increase in core R&D productivity compared with 2020, a new report from Deloitte has found. The average cost of developing a drug also declined from 2020 to 2021.

While an mRNA vaccine is still missing, 2021 saw Indian companies strike alliances, battle legal action and gain funding while the regulator played a crucial enabling role in the run up to the approval of eight COVID-19 vaccines from zero in 2020.

An oral vaccine candidate from Hong Kong and domestically-developed antivirals and antibodies join the ongoing development fight as Tianjin city reports new Omicron outbreak.

A relatively large outbreak in another major Chinese city after original epicenter Wuhan heightens the urgency for a more effective mRNA vaccine.

Evidence that the new variant dulls drugs and vaccines’ efficacy creates uncertainty for 2022, but new products are in the wings.

The companies’ third vaccine-development deal shows how COVID cash has also led mRNA-focused companies to beef up their organic pipelines amid talk of a merger wave.

The FDA authorized Comirnaty as a booster shot for 12- to 15-year-olds, as J&J's vaccine has shown effectiveness as a booster in Omicron-dominant settings. Meanwhile, Pfizer's Paxlovid won approval in the UK, and Novavax submitted the final data for its vaccine to the FDA.

The vaccines segment continues to draw the interest of participants beyond those firms with a traditional core presence, with new players largely building partnered capabilities around COVID-19 inoculations. Are these merely opportunistic forays or will the competitive landscape for vaccines stand altered more widely?.

Bangladesh’s Beximco signed off 2021 on a high launching the first generic version of Pfizer’s Paxlovid at about $186 for a five-day treatment course and claimed that it has ‘adequate capacities' for exports as well.

The firm’s anti GM-CSF candidate has underwhelmed in a study in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, triggering renewed focus on its recently launched product Arcalyst for recurrent pericarditis.

AbbVie’s Humira has been the world’s best-selling drug since 2012, and if it hadn’t been for COVID-19 it would most likely have been on track to retain its position for the 10th year in row.

India has issued emergency approvals for a number of new vaccines and extended eligible age groups for others, while developers of potential drug therapies in China see both gains and setbacks. 

India authorizes molnupiravir for restricted emergency use in COVID-19, marking the arrival of around a dozen “affordable” generics of  Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics' oral antiviral. Physicians say data are “pretty compelling” notwithstanding the narrow FDA nod.

Oral antivirals make progress in Asia as Japan issues emergency approval to Merck's Lagevrio in a matter of weeks and South Korea clears Pfizer's contender Paxlovid. Vaccines also move forward in both countries with deals for boosters, new supply agreements and the advancement of home-grown candidates.  

US regulators have granted emergency authorization to the antiviral molnupiravir but only for use when "alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate."