Every year at this time we take a moment to assess the year we've seen in biotechnology and make some forecasts about what lies ahead. And for now, the view in both directions looks pretty good.
Biotechnology is coming off of a year when its reputation for innovation has been met by a hungry pharma industry desperate for new products. The resulting bidding war has raised valuations and rewarded good science like never before. Political paralysis in science has been replaced by new forces in Washington D.C. and it even looks like the FDA may finally get a permanent chief the industry can live with. Whether he can make good on some longstanding promises to "streamline" the drug approval process, though, has yet to be seen. The tug of war between risks and benefits continues.
Regulators and politicians in the U.S., though, should also be aware that the biotech industry isn't limited to the United States. The industry has spread to new places around the globe, a process that can disrupt well-established businesses as it breeds new ones or forces existing companies to revamp. Globalization will continue to have a growing effect on every company in the industry, as even the smallest drug discovery outfit starts the New Year with an international strategy to ponder.
We'll be back on January 2nd to start a new year of reports. This past year has been good for us as well. We've started a new weekly report on drug research--FierceBioResearcher--and seen subscriptions surge more than 40 percent to a combined total of almost 57,000. Next year we'll be adding a full lineup of regular webinars as well as special content including Q&As and trend reports, all while executing our fifth annual Fierce 15 and a new special report on economic development.
There's a lot to look forward to. Happy holidays! - John Carroll