Companies such as Novartis, Roche or Takeda are heavily invested in the advanced therapeutics field, usually spreading their bets across multiple modalities. The remaining challenges offer opportunities for the next wave of innovation to transform the field once again and make a dent in the larger market of common diseases and solid tumors.

Evolving challenges will keep the COVID-19 pipeline active, while oncology, immunology and CNS are areas also expected to see much progress in 2022. Industry executives look forward to the year in therapeutic R&D.

Celyad has been in the CAR-T field for many years, but hopes that a new focus on allogeneic platforms and new targets will put it ahead of competitors. 

Coaching and mentoring are important tools for the leaders of today to be able to foster the next generation of talent in the biopharma sector. While the routes into industry have not changed dramatically – most leaders hold a master’s degree and/or PhD – the expectations of rising leaders have altered and the industry itself has become more collaborative.