The latest immuno-oncology newcomers from Lee’s Pharma and Jiangsu Hengrui will further choke an already crowded field in China if they are approved following recent filings.

The largest-ever rise in the number of active R&D companies, particularly in China, helped propel an unprecedented increase in the size of the biopharma pipeline in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of new active substances launched in their first market last year dropped as 2018’s superlative performance gave way to something more usual.

Public Company Edition: The usual mid-January surge in public offerings hasn't happened this year, since the SEC can't process new filings, but Alnylam, Acceleron and others apparently were prepared for a lengthy shutdown. Also, ARM reports cell and gene therapy financing data.

2019 could be a monumental year for the South Korean pharma industry, as several new drug assets await the green light from the US FDA.