Small molecules still do the heavy lifting in drug development

Much of the recent conversation in biopharma has centered on complex new treatments. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), cell therapies, gene therapies, radiopharmaceuticals, RNA medicines and bispecific antibodies have drawn the capital, the partnerships and the headlines.

These areas have produced important medicines. But the attention they attract can obscure a simpler fact: small molecules, the oral pills that have long been the backbone of the industry, are still doing most of the work.