This was supposed to be the year of biotech’s comeback.
At least that was the hope of many in the sector who started 2025 pointing to scientific advances and falling interest rates. Some foresaw a pickup in buyouts and initial public offerings, rewarding investors in the highly risky and cyclical business of bringing drugs to market.
But three months into the new year, the mood has soured and the outlook has clouded as a cyclone of threats and unknowns gathers speed. Despite some notable successes, including U.S. approval in January of a nonopioid painkiller by Boston biotech Vertex, there are few signs the industry — responsible for more than 115,000 Massachusetts jobs — is pulling out of its four-year slump.
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