Neuroscience and oncology fuel high hopes for therapeutic R&D progress among 90-plus surveyed biopharma industry leaders.

Deal-making between big pharma and biotech looks set to rise with a looming patent cliff increasing the need for the former to replenish its pipelines. Meanwhile, biotechs need partners to help them advance amid the ongoing big freeze on raising cash on public markets.

The US biotech has out-licensed a preclinical candidate to GSK as the firms pair up to discover and develop multiple oligonucleotide assets.

When the German major bought AskBio a couple of years ago, one of its assets was a gene therapy for Huntington’s, a devastating disease that leads to complete physical and mental deterioration. That asset, BV-101, is about to enter the clinic.