2. >>Business Strategy

Global Biopharma R&D Productivity And Growth Ranking

Overall Decline In R&D Productivity Continued In 2019

 
• By Markus Thunecke and Erika Kuchen

An analysis of the R&D productivity of the world’s 30 largest public pharmaceutical companies reveals an overall drop in R&D productivity, but this should not hide the fact that some companies are still performing extremely well.

Market_Crash
• Source: Shutterstock

The top companies in Catenion’s annual survey have traditionally been emerging and mid-size players rather than big pharma. The same is true in 2019 as 6/10 qualify as mid-sized in the R&D ranking and 7/10 in the company ranking (that includes historical and forecast growth in sales, profit and market cap). Emerging mid-size pharma company Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (a first-time entrant) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. top the company performance ranking, but only Regeneron is in the top 10 in the R&D ranking (#8, Alexion #13). Both companies are now enjoying the fruits of their strong R&D from previous years, at the same time both are struggling to replenish their pipelines with high value assets.

Alexion is feeling the heat as activist investor Elliott Management has a different view of the outlook than management, and...

More from Business Strategy

When VC Steps Back: Finding Alternative Biotech Funding

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

The biotech funding landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift. With traditional VC becoming increasingly cautious and selective, industry executives are exploring new avenues for capital. Conversely, this evolution may ultimately benefit the sector's long-term sustainability.

Podcast: “They Are Able To Keep Their Body”: Medipost On Its Stem Cell Therapy Vision

 
• By Anabel Costa-Ferreira

In Vivo spoke with Edward Ahn, CEO of Medipost, a Korean company that has developed stem cell therapies from cord blood, on how they are working across regulatory markets to provide a novel treatment for degenerative diseases.

Can Italy Shake Off Its Reputation And Become A Premier Hub For Biotech?

 
• By Barnaby Pickering

Leading industry experts have spoken to In Vivo about how investment, a change in mindset and a fresh approach to policy may allow Italy to kick-start its biotech ecosystem.

Rising Leaders 2025: Abbas Kazimi’s Vision For Nimbus Therapeutics

 
• By David Wild

Rising Leader Abbas Kazimi's leadership at Nimbus Therapeutics combines immigrant resilience, patient-first partnerships, contrarian strategic bets and a deeply personal mission driving breakthrough drug discovery innovation.

More from In Vivo

Rising leaders 2025: Aneesh Karatt-Vellatt On Maxion Therapeutics’ Antibody Revolution

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

Aneesh Karatt-Vellatt is leading the charge to redefine how ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are targeted with antibody therapies, one of the most notoriously challenging classes of drug targets.

Podcast: Scancell’s Cancer Vaccine Progress With NHS Partnership

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

In the latest podcast interview, Phil L'Huillier, CEO of Scancell, discussed the company's work in cancer vaccine development, and its selection as the first British biotech to be a part of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad.

Geopolitical Volatility Not Dimming A Healthy Mid-Term Outlook For Life Sciences Deals

 
• By Ashley Yeo

New report by global law firm Taylor Wessing and Bayes Business School forecasts a steadily increasing volume of major life sciences M&A in the coming five years, but highlights concerns over cybersecurity and unrealistic valuations. Taylor Wessing partner Andrew Edge spoke to In Vivo.