Immuno-oncology will remain a major force at both FDA’s drugs and biologics centers, but watch for psychiatry and antibiotics to make some noise; rare pediatric diseases will remain prominent as the priority review voucher program heads into the sunset.

Biotech entrepreneurs tend to be an optimistic group, and there were many pockets of hope for 2024. However, the consensus remains that depressed valuations and paucity of fresh funds will continue to pose a challenge for the sector, and companies will need to prioritize carefully and work even harder to demonstrate and create value.

Plus deals involving Fujimoto/Egetis, Chugai/Cheplapharm, Celest/Senti, Shionogi/Apnimed, Jiangsu Hengrui/Merck KGaA, Jiangsu Hengrui/Elevar, Sun/Zydus, C4U/Healiva, Shanghai Henlius/Intas, Ono/Turbine, EpimAB/Almirall and Alar/Indivior.

South Korea’s HLB has begun a new growth phase by taking over US-based clinical stage biotech firm Immunomic Therapeutics. Through the acquisition, it is poised to add new pipeline assets including a Phase II vaccine therapy for glioblastoma and proprietary lysosomal targeting technology.