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2021 Global Biopharma R&D Productivity And Growth Ranking

Including First Ever Small- To Mid-Size Pharma Ranking

 
• By Markus Thunecke and Erika Kuchen

A turbulent 2021: we are now in our eighth year of reviewing R&D productivity and corporate growth of the top 30 biopharma companies. While 2021 was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, biopharma as a whole had a good but not great year.

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• Source: Alamy

With 50 in 2021, the number of FDA approvals has stabilized at a high level in recent years and compares favorably to an average of 43 approvals over the last 10 years. The Dow Pharma index went up but has lagged behind the S&P 500 whereas biotech stocks took a beating in 2021, especially the small caps. (By the end of 2021 XBI was down ca. 20% compared to the beginning of the year and down by 33% versus its peak in February 2021, a trend that has continued in early 2022.)

In our survey the R&D productivity of the top 30 biopharma companies has remained relatively stable since 2018. The largest...

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Financing Quarterly Statistics, Q2 2025

 
• By Deanna Kamienski and Maureen Riordan

During Q2, biopharmas brought in an aggregate $17.5bn in financing and device company fundraising totaled $2.7bn; while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players raised $1.7bn

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.

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.

Strategic Surprises: The Drugs That Rewrote The Forecasts

 
• By Edwin Elmhirst

Many assets do not meet their pre-launch predictions, either exceeding or falling short of their forecast sales. In this article, In Vivo highlights several historic examples and the factors that influenced their unexpected performance.

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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: Inside MoonLake’s Fast-Track Vision And $500m Deal

 
• By Jo Shorthouse

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics is racing ahead in the biotech space with its innovative nanobody SLK and a transformative $500m non-dilutive financing deal. In this episode, its CEO and CFO discuss the company’s rapid clinical progress, financial strategy and ambitions to reshape inflammatory disease.

When Simple Is Best: A Pre-Term Birth Device To End The ‘Silent Emergency’

 
• By Ashley Yeo

The Lioness non-surgical silicon ring implant is designed to put an end to pre-term births, sparing maternal anguish and saving health system costs. PregnanTech won the Biomed Israel 2025 medtech start-up award, and Limor Sandach told In Vivo how a non-digital technology beat off stiff competition.