Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty toppled after recording the highest ever annual sales for a pharmaceutical in 2022, while Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic climbed rapidly. But Merck & Co’s immuno-oncology blockbuster Keytruda was secure in the number one spot in 2023 as COVID-19 receded.

The highs of the COVID-19 era, and the lows that supplanted it, are beginning to fade.

A year is a long time in biopharma. Pharmaprojects’ annual pipeline review finds changes in the therapeutic spread of drug candidates and a reordering of the top R&D companies, as Chinese firms made their presence felt all the more over the past 12 months.

A look at the depth of clinical responses seen with various MASH therapies suggests that Madrigal could eventually face serious competition.

An infographic looking at the status and origins of 39 psychedelic drug development programs being pursued by 26 sponsors. 

INFOGRAPHIC: This overview of the obesity market shows the biggest money-spinners in terms of products and mechanisms, the biggest investors and dealmakers – and looks at how some of the notable current and potential future therapies stack up in the clinic.

Funding for UK biotechs shrank again last year but sector leaders see hope of green shoots in 2024.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly kickstarted an obesity drug revolution in 2023, just as investors cooled on biopharma’s vaccine saviors as the world looked to move on from COVID-19.

As Merck & Co’s checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda further cemented its position at the top of the best-selling drugs list, biosimilar-challenged Humira sales fell once again. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk’s diabetes injection Ozempic continued its ascent.

C-suite remuneration at leading listed foreign and domestic drug firms in India rose in double digits for the most part in 2022-23, data compiled by Scrip show. While MDs/CEOs at domestic firms continue to take home sizeably higher earnings, the arrival of women leaders at the helm in some foreign firms puts the spotlight on gender pay parity.

The investment wings of big biopharma are taking part in a larger proportion of VC deals than ever before.

The first $1bn quarter since 2021 suggests that biotech’s IPO window is opening once more. But times remain tough, and many recently listed groups have seen their valuations fall.

Among the newer modalities to tackle cancer, antibody-drug conjugates are fast emerging to rival targeted antibodies and China is fast emerging as a world class source of innovation in the field, as evidenced by a string of recent deals.

After a multi-year lull, NASH R&D has picked up this past year with key data readouts, several programs advancing toward Phase III and Madrigal's resmetirom under FDA review with a March 2024 action. This graphic provides a look at the overall status of NASH drug R&D.

The Merck & Co vaccine for human papillomavirus Gardasil, along with Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex for multiple myeloma, entered the ranks of the top 10 best-selling drugs globally in the second quarter. There was no product for COVID-19 in the line-up for the first time since 2020.

An infographic looking at commercial factors for the 10 drugs chosen for Medicare price negotiation in 2026 under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The graphics below review the valuations of these drugs, both past and forecast, as well as their relative contributions to the top-lines of the companies that own them.