BY NEIL EISBERG
The total number of drugs in the global R&D pipeline stands at 22,940, according to a recent analysis by Citeline, slightly lower than in 2025. This represents a 3.92% fall from 2025’s figure and nearly reverses the 4.60% increase seen from 2024 to 2025. Citeline says this is the first time there has been a fall since the mid-1990s.
However, report author Ian Lloyd, senior director, content strategy, Citeline, does point out that due to changes in the data collection and analysis during 2025, the results for the year may be anomalous. He notes that because of this, the overall pipeline size has probably been fairly flat over the past few years. However, Lloyd also points out that the list of new active substances (NASs) that made it onto the market for the first time during 2025 may be the highest ever.
During 2025, 4,488 new drug candidates were recorded, only slightly down from the 4,546 during 2024. Once again, it is the oncology field which has seen the most activity, with 1734 candidates, representing 38.6% of all newly identified drug candidates, down slightly from 2024, while drugs targeted at rare diseases were slightly down from 20.0% to 19.4% at 872 candidates. In third place, neurological therapies at 649 provided 14.4% of new candidates, up from 13.8% in 2024 and 12.7% in 2023.
AstraZeneca produced the most new candidates with 46, outstripping 2024’s chart-topper Novartis. Geographically, the US continued to top the list of drug developers, with 1,809 new drugs, increasing its lead over China, which posted 1,373.
In terms of companies with the largest pipelines, AstraZeneca ties for the top spot with Roche, which returns to the top spot, after having dropped behind Pfizer in 2025. The top 10 companies are largely the same characters as last year, with AbbVie the only newcomer, at 9th place, edging out GSK now placed 12th.
Outside the top 10, the top 25 include a number of Asian companies including three Chinese (Jiangsu Hengrui, 7th place; Sino Biopharmaceutical, 14th place; and CSPC, 15th ) and four Japanese companies (Takeda, Otsuka, Astellas, and Daiichi Sankyo) Regarding European companies, Novo Nordisk (17th place), which is currently competing with Eli Lilly (4th place) in the obesity market, has improved its position while Germany’s BioNTech enters the top 25 for the first time, effectively through its acquisition of CureVac.
In terms of the number of pharmaceutical firms reporting their drug R&D pipeline, Citeline believes globally there are 7,057 companies, an increase of 3.4%, over 2025; however, below 2025’s 11.4% increase.
In terms of global distribution of pharma R&D companies, the US has retained its top spot with 41% of all companies up from 39% in 2025, however, China now accounts for 19% of all pharma R&D companies, up from 17% in 2025. The pictures is different in Europe where the UK, France and Germany have managed to retain their shares of the global breakdown although the rest of Europe has seen its share fall from 13% to 7%.
In terms of geographic share of pharma R&D, the US has slightly increased to 50.8%, up from 48% in 2025, while China, in second place has increased its share slightly from 29.5% in 2025 to 31.1% in 2026. In terms of therapeutic areas, oncology remains the leader in terms of R&D pipelines, followed by ophthalmology, up from 5th, and neurology, which remains in 4th place. Anti-obesity treatments despite their high profile still only claim the 19th position although this has risen slightly from 21st.
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