Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

The coronavirus pandemic has been a major focal point for the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry since it began in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. From pressure to develop vaccines and treatments for the virus, to following pandemic protocols to protects its own workers, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry worked through disruptions and challenges in 2020 to achieve much in a short period of time. As described in a McKinsey and Company report, the industry "has kept its innovation engines humming to find new treatments and cures and has taken steps to prevent drug shortages, secure supply chains, offer vital support to physicians and clinical trials, repurpose existing drug therapies, and develop highly efficacious vaccines. And it has done all that within unprecedented time frames, under enormous scrutiny, and with intense external engagement." As of March 2021, three vaccines had been emergency-use authorized by the Federal Drug Administration for the prevention of COVID-19: Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer-BioNTech.