The largest-ever rise in the number of active R&D companies, particularly in China, helped propel an unprecedented increase in the size of the biopharma pipeline in 2019.

Biopharma companies struggle with which trials, if any, to pause or delay. Lilly said it wants to ease the burden on health care facilities, while Galapagos said its choice is related to patient safety.

Charting the development history and evolution of monoclonal antibodies as a therapeutic class reveals industry was slow to recognize their potential. The first 50 approvals took place over three decades, although the subsequent 50 were condensed into just five years as MAbs firmly revolutionized the treatment of a huge number of diseases. In Vivo asks whether RNA therapies, similarly underappreciated in the early days of development but now firmly in our collective conscience owing to their role in the pandemic response, are on the cusp of entering mainstream R&D?