Behind the Headlines: 2024 Year in Review

Behind the Headlines is a bi-weekly panel discussion examining the latest trends, readouts, and other factors that drive pharmaceutical news and innovation. Each episode features consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, and journalists discussing the prior weeks’ top news while seeking to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind the headlines.

In episode 8, we’re joined by Dr. Vanessa Almendro, PhD, MBA, VP, Head of Science & Technology Innovation at Danaher Corporation; Elliot Berger, Board of Directors and Strategic Advisor at Orientation Marketing; Benjamin McLeod, founder at Convey Bio; and Turna Ray, managing editor, Precision Medicine Online, who wrap up the year in pharmaceuticals by outlining pivotal trends in 2024, as well as discussing some of the more surprising or unpredicted outcomes that deviated from earlier expectations. 

AI was by and large considered the most pivotal trend for 2024, with its technology playing an increasing role throughout the pipeline, from novel drug discovery to reduced batch loss in manufacturing. An increasingly politicized climate, fueled by a lapse in public trust and social media, made for a contentious year, especially for the FDA. 

Upgraded vector technology was considered an important trend in the gene therapy space, as were advances in drug delivery broadly, and tissue cell type targeting more specifically. Additionally, the group called out both the Human Cell Atlas Project and also the Innovative Genome Institute, upending the traditional for-profit drug model as companies progress toward commercial-scale genomic medicines.

Law changes affecting pharma’s position of influence in the provider space were discussed as a potential obstacle, with general political uncertainty appearing to complicate this picture in hard-to-predict ways.

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