With three to four years in the books, Big Pharma’s updated tie-ups with academia have started to progress – some have even reached first-in-human stages, but these updated models have yet to produce any radical results that show they are an improvement over old-style partnerships.

The superior R&D and growth performance of mid-sized companies like Celgene, Gilead, or Biogen can be attributed to a number of factors such as the size of the R&D budget, portfolio focus, a good mix of internal and external innovation sourcing, but most importantly a strong culture, leadership, and the ability to attract the right people. Part 3 of Catenion’s review of pharma R&D productivity.

If J&J’s gamble on a single dose pays off, it could rapidly advance the fight against SARS-CoV2 – but a second study will provide a safety net.