By any measure, pharma is better off today than it was five years ago. Theoretical advances are being turned into biomedical research and then into products that transform patients’ lives. But ideas can take as long as 15 years to play out because most advances—genomics, mass-produced antibodies, new drug platforms, and clinical insights—are highly iterative. For those excited about mRNA therapy or the next new thing, it’s a reminder that we need to invest wisely and be confident. The past three or four years have been very good, but they reflect effort over a long period.
