The US biotech’s DB-OTO has made headlines worldwide after a baby with profound genetic deafness experienced improved hearing to normal levels within 24 weeks after a single intracochlear injection.

The rate of growth of the pharma pipeline slowed last year as oncology and rare diseases tightened their grip on R&D. There are also further signs of China’s rise in importance in the industry.

During Q4, biopharma merger and acquisition value reached $35.7bn and drew in $62.1bn in potential deal value from alliances. Device company M&A values reached $19.2bn, while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players completed M&A activity that totaled $4.8bn.

With only weeks to go in 2022, the three major pharmas each had inked between 16 and 20 deals. Meanwhile, Pfizer has been less busy with 12 deals, but those include M&A totaling $18.2bn.