BOSTON – In recent years there has been a significant shift in the research and development focus of large biopharmaceutical companies. They have become much more outward looking in order to source drug development projects that will help boost their existing product pipeline. It is not just late-stage programs that are on their radar screens because, according to Cortellis Deals Intelligence and BioWorld data, among the partnership deals entered into by the top companies last year, over half of them involved discovery stage assets.