Biopharma R&D pipeline shrinks for first time in 30 years

> Roche had the most drugs in development, 262, largely because former pace-setter Pfizer axed assets, according to the report. Pfizer fell to No. 3 in the rankings after cutting its R&D pipeline from 271 to 257 molecules. AstraZeneca leapfrogged Pfizer and Novartis, adding 20 candidates to its pipeline to climb to No. 2.

> Novartis fell to No. 5 after trimming 10 programs, overtaken by Sanofi’s expanding pipeline.

Large drugmakers typically disclose programs only after they enter the clinic, meaning the data offer an incomplete snapshot of how pipelines are changing.

> Across the 25 companies with the largest pipelines, the total number of assets in development increased by 32. However, that figure is inflated by the addition of 30 programs to BioNTech’s pipeline. Among the top 15 companies, the number of active assets fell by 10.

Notably, a lot of smaller biopharmas are going under as their runways dry up.