2007: A year in review

Loyal readers of FierceBiotech are well aware of just how big a year the industry has just posted. Deals were up as new licensing pacts, venture rounds and mergers dominated the news. The restructuring of Big Pharma focused a spotlight on the emerging role of biotechnology in the discovery of important new therapies. Asia and Europe took steps to play a leading role in pipeline work. And scientists the world over made significant strides in often controversial fields.

The globalization of biotechnology and the increasing importance of biologics in drug discovery are not short-term phenomena. These are trends that will continue to dominate an industry that is moving steadily in a new direction. And we'll be here in 2008 to chronicle it all.

Which makes this a good time to take a break. We'll be back on January 2 to pick up where we left off. Nearly 100,000 subscribers around the world have signed up for FierceBiotech, FiercePharma, FierceBioResearcher and our new pub, FierceVaccines. And we're expecting another notable year in '08. - John Carroll