FDA’s 2023 approvals — a lull in innovation

It was another tough year for biopharma fundraising in 2023, but the financing environment has yet to dent the pace of new drug approvals, with the year marking the second-largest on record.

Most of these drugs were in development before the market downturn, suggesting a slowing of approvals, if one occurs, won’t be felt until later. This also suggests the risk-off environment created by the down market doesn’t explain an observation in the 2023 approvals data — by several metrics, last year’s approvals are light on innovation...