At one time the industry would congratulate itself if it managed to raise $20 billion in a single year. Now companies appear to have no difficulty capturing that amount over a three-month period whether the financial markets are favorable or not.

AMSTERDAM - The journey for JAK1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor filgotinib has been a bumpy one, advancing among three partners in a dozen years, to find its current place in phase III development for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn's disease and other autoimmune indications.

AMSTERDAM - A new report published Wednesday by the European Investment Bank (EIB), titled "Financing the next wave of medical breakthroughs – What works and what needs fixing," found that lack of funding limits the growth of the European life sciences industry, particularly companies working in research and development.

AMSTERDAM – As the Chinese ecosystem continues to evolve with an increasing focus on innovative drugs and a rapidly changing regulatory environment, American and European biopharma executives have kept a keen but wary eye on the possibilities.

AMSTERDAM – A growing epidemic of antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) has cast a heavy load on the laps of antibiotic drug developers. They face challenges in identifying new targets and the particular organism causing the infection, in finding patients to treat at the right time, and in understanding variability in response. If that isn't enough, the money is scarce, costing the same in development as many other drugs, but lacking the blockbuster potential.

AMSTERDAM – As the Chinese ecosystem continues to evolve with an increasing focus on innovative drugs and a rapidly changing regulatory environment, American and European biopharma executives have kept a keen but wary eye on the possibilities.

2017 was recorded as the second highest financings year for the biopharmaceutical industry. High enthusiasm was demonstrated among investors who funneled about two-thirds of the money through public offerings.

Drug pricing pressures, regulatory uncertainty and sizeable financings opportunities all may have contributed to an M&A slowdown in 2017 that left the biopharmaceutical industry with the lowest value of completed deals in four years and the lowest number of deals in three.

January set a new record for biopharmaceutical public financings tracked over the last 18 years, with a more than 20 percent increase in the value of follow-on offerings over the second highest January three years ago.