[Last updated, July 13, 2024] The biotech industry is witnessing a stark paradox in 2024. On one hand, there’s a group of biotech startups that are thriving, attracting nearly $3 billion in funding in Q1 2024 alone. Job openings in the sector are also considerable in several parts of the U.S., especially in the Greater…
Moving the needle on diversity in clinical trials: Where do we go from here?
Enhancing patient diversity in clinical trials has become a key priority in drug development. The main concern is that critical data that includes underrepresented patient populations is being left out as many clinical trials do not reflect all populations that may eventually take a therapy. These underrepresented groups consist of women, including those who are…
Pharma M&A activity primed for another high-flying year in 2024
Despite challenging interest rates and regulatory environment, pharma M&A activity surged in 2023 with deal volume up more than 30% from the prior year based on a review of more than 200 acquisitions since 2018. The total disclosed deal value in 2023 also more than doubled the prior year’s tally to surpass $100 billion. While…
Harnessing the untapped potential of legacy data in pharma R&D
Clinical trials for a new therapy cost a median of $41,117 per patient. Costs like this are no surprise to pharma leaders. But during an age of increasing budgetary pressures, drug developers are under pressure to do more with less money and staff. While there are no “simple” answers to this challenge, there is one strategy that offers…
How Seer aims to remove technological barriers to studying the proteome
Founded in 2017, the proteomics company Seer (Nasdaq:SEER) is building up a growing roster of customers, including pharma and biotech companies, translational and academic labs and CROs. Applications of its technology include biomarker discovery, target identification and multiomics research for cancer or other complex disease detection. Recently, Weill Cornell Medicine and privately-held SpaceX used Seer’s…
FTC and DOJ staff eyes new ways to enforce antitrust laws in pharma
A two-day virtual workshop from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) mulled the current state of antitrust law enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry, discussing the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in driving up prices for consumers. “A competitively vibrant market protects access to existing drugs and promotes new…
Startup vies to get blockchain adoption in pharma off the ground
Blockchain may be arguably one of the most hyped technologies in recent memory, but the distributed ledger technology better known for its role in cryptocurrency may have significant potential in the pharma supply chain, clinical trials and beyond. A blockchain-based initiative known as PharmaLedger has won support from prominent companies like Pfizer, Novartis, Merck &…
How pharma firms stack up in terms of innovation
The pharma industry has ramped up its ability to innovate in the past couple of years. Many firms in the sector have retooled operations, rethought clinical trials and accelerated the ability to commercialize new drugs. Clarivate’s Top 100 Global Innovators 2022 report, however, cited only two pharma companies. Clarivate also projects that the level of innovation…
9 predictions for pharma in 2022
The pharma industry has been slower to embrace technologies such as AI and digital technology than many less-regulated sectors. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the equation, forcing pharma companies to become more agile and open-minded in approaching drug discovery and development, including managing evolving clinical trials. In this article, several experts offered their predictions of…
What’s driving the natural language processing revolution in pharma and life sciences
Pharmaceutical and life sciences companies are faced with a constant stream of new data flowing into often siloed information systems. About 80% of that information exists in unstructured text that is difficult to extract and use, despite its paramount importance in driving clinical and commercial outcomes. As a result, these organizations find themselves increasingly overwhelmed…