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...
