More than 100 biopharma executives and experts told Scrip their predictions for therapeutic area advances in the coming year. The recent commercial success of GLP-1s in diabetes and obesity and their potential in further disease areas fuelled excitement around the metabolic space. Expectations were also positive in neurology following the launch of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease in 2023, while the multiple opportunities to improve cancer treatment kept oncology top of the pile overall.

Safety signals were the most common cause of discontinued candidates in the breakthrough therapy designation program in 2023.

FDA action is expected on a handful of novel agents, including Daiichi Sankyo’s quizartinib, and conversion to full approval for Eisai/Biogen’s Leqembi.

The US regulatory agency asked for more data and analyses for olorofim, which F2G hopes to provide from an ongoing Phase IIb study.