In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended life globally and yet not only did research and development activities largely continue – albeit with disruption – they also resulted in the development of vaccines that are already reaching more than 600 million people. The key drivers of these unprecedented results are visible in benchmarks and trends of various aspects of R&D, providing insight into what other improvements are already underway or could be possible.
Total Number of Clinical Trials by Phase 2010-2020
The composite Clinical Development Productivity Index rose in 2020 after having declined since 2015
Drugs from China-headquartered companies have risen to 12% of the early-stage pipeline from 2% a decade ago.
Emerging biopharma companies originated and launched 40% of all new drugs in 2020, reflecting greater independence in development activities