Biopharma financings have done it again. Breaking all kinds of records in January, the year appears to be off to an extraordinary start. The industry raised $10.15 billion during the month through a total of 158 financings. This represents a significant climb above the previous records, according to BioWorld data going back to the year 2000.
As solid efficacy data are reported for at least four more front-runner vaccines, and while biopharma companies join arms with combination antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to spread and countries are racing to vaccinate. None of the research is slowing, and governments are determined to make sure another COVID-19 pandemic never again takes the world by surprise. Global deaths are up to 2.2 million, with 102.9 million confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization. At least 865 therapeutics and vaccines to fight the virus have entered development in the last year.
With the FDA approval of Keytruda (pembrolizumab, Merck & Co. Inc.) in the front-line setting of metastatic or unresectable, recurrent head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinoma, the space has become a race to develop drugs using a variety of mechanisms of action to improve the efficacy of the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody.
While the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research met all action dates for the 53 new molecular entities approved in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, developers of at least 8 drugs continue to wait for a decision beyond their expected timelines.
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