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The New Drug Modalities 2025 report builds on the 2023 and 2024 analyses to offer an up-to-date perspective on the evolving biopharmaceutical landscape. As in prior years, we tracked the progress in six major novel modalities in terms of the number of products, pipeline revenue, and deal activity. Our goal was to determine which modalities industry analysts consider to be progressing most rapidly, which hold the greatest promise, and what these findings imply for patients as well as biopharma sponsors.

This year’s report includes a new feature: an assessment of the clinical pipeline of Chinese companies. These firms now have more than 4,000 clinical-stage new-modality drugs in their pipelines, second only to the US. Furthermore, large pharma deals increasingly feature assets originating from China.

New Modalities Experiencing Accelerated Growth

After remaining relatively stable for the past three years, projected new-modality pipeline value has risen to $197 billion in 2025, a 17% increase from 2024, far outpacing conventional modalities. This growth, the greatest in any year since 2021, is not consistent across modalities. It is driven primarily by antibodies, proteins and peptides (specifically GLP-1 therapies), and nucleic acids. (See Exhibit 1.)

New Modalities Continue to Outpace Conventional Ones in Revenue Growth

Eight of the ten best-selling biopharma products in 2025 are new-modality drugs. (See Exhibit 2.) Three of the top ten are newcomers to the list: GLP-1 agonists Mounjaro, Zepbound (both from Lilly), and Wegovy (Novo Nordisk). These three recombinant proteins have replaced conventional drug Jardiance (Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly) as well as two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), Stelara (Johnson & Johnson) and Opdivo (Bristol Myers Squibb). Analysts project that nine of the top ten products by revenue in 2030 will be new-modality therapies, including five GLP-1 agonists.

The Top Ten Biopharma Products by Sales Globally

Where the Industry Is Betting Big—and Small

As in our previous reports, the 2025 analysis tracks the growth of six modality categories by focusing on the number of pipeline products and pipeline revenue. (See Exhibits 3 and 4, respectively.) The projected growth reflects an underlying belief in the modality’s economic potential and products’ ability to progress through the pipeline.

Definition and Pipeline Snapshot by Modality and Phase
The Projected Growth in Pipeline Value by Modality, 2020 to 2025

Antibodies: Strong, Stable Growth

Even though antibodies are the oldest of the new-modality categories, pipeline progress, revenue growth, and industry interest remain robust with continued launch of blockbuster drugs and expansion into therapeutic areas beyond oncology:

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Proteins and Peptides: Rapid Growth of Recombinant Drugs Driven by GLP-1s

Over the past year, products leveraging the recombinant platform have seen an 18% revenue increase, fueled by GLP-1 agonists. Several evolving dynamics could impact the growth of GLP-1 agonists, particularly in the US:

Cell Therapies: Quickly Evolving, with Mixed Results

The chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) pipeline continues to grow rapidly. Other emerging cell therapies have encountered challenges including clinical delays and failures, high manufacturing costs, and limited adoption:

Gene Therapies: Stagnating Growth amid Safety Issues

The gene therapy space has had its share of challenges. Recent safety incidents involving gene augmentation therapies have led to halted trials and regulatory scrutiny. In 2025, for example, the FDA temporarily paused shipments of Elevidys (Sarepta) because of safety concerns, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended against the product’s marketing authorization owing to efficacy concerns. Gene augmentation therapies have also faced commercialization issues. Pfizer halted the launch of hemophilia gene therapy Beqvez, citing limited interest from patients and physicians.

On the gene-editing front, Casgevy (Vertex and CRISPR) remains the only approved CRISPR-based product, and forecasted revenue for the treatment has been stable. But there is also evidence of progress for this modality. In 2025, Sarepta received the first FDA platform designation for its vector technology, China approved its first hemophilia B gene therapy, and Durveqtix (Pfizer) secured a positive Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommendation in Europe.

Nucleic Acids: New Sources of Growth After COVID-19

DNA and RNA therapies and RNAi are growing quickly, while mRNA continues to decline significantly as the pandemic wanes:

Other New Modalities: Continued Slow Growth

Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) and other new modalities remain nascent, with clinical pipelines growing slowly or stagnating:

Significant Deal Activity in the New-Modality Space

Acquisition and licensing deals are a good barometer for where large biopharma companies see the most value and are placing their bets. We assessed acquisitions and licensing deals for early-stage (defined as preclinical or Phase 1) and late-stage (Phase 2 or later) assets over the past three years. Our analysis did not include deals for research projects.

From 2023 through 2025 year-to-date, the top 20 biopharma companies spent approximately $170 billion on new-modality deals. (See Exhibit 5.) This is likely an underestimation of total deal value, since not all deals or deal values are disclosed. The 2023 Pfizer/Seagen acquisition remains the largest deal during this period. Deal value dropped by about 75% in 2024 but has shown signs of recovery in 2025.

Big Pharma Deals by Modality, 2023 to 2025 YTD

M&A and early-stage licensing accounted for most big-pharma new-modality deals from 2023 to 2025. (See Exhibit 6.) Approximately $70 billion of the $170 billion was spent on 37 acquisitions. The rest was spent on 81 licensing deals, with early-stage deals outnumbering late-stage deals two to one.

Big Pharma Deals by Modality and Stage, 2023 to 2025 YTD

Deal activity during this three-year period was disproportionately concentrated in antibodies, accounting for more than half of large biopharma deals and over 75% of total deal value. So far this year, big pharma companies have struck a total of seven antibody deals valued at more than $1 billion: AstraZeneca/Harbour BioMed, AbbVie/Xilio, Novartis/Anthos, and AbbVie/Simcere in mAbs; Boehringer Ingelheim/Lonza and Roche/Innovent in ADCs; and Sanofi/Dren Bio in BsAbs. This concentration indicates sustained industry confidence in validated biologic modalities with a well-understood MoA, strong regulatory precedents, and scalable commercial potential.

For other modalities, deal activity in 2025 has been lower than in previous years. Still, signs suggest that the industry believes in their potential. The recombinant, gene editing, and DNA and RNA areas have witnessed notable deals including Novo Nordisk/United Laboratories, Lilly/Verve Therapeutics, Novartis/Regulus Therapeutics, and Sarepta/Arrowhead.

China, a Growing Force in New Modalities

Recent clinical advances and pharma deals increasingly feature products originated by companies based in China. The growing number of assets in the Chinese pipeline has made China a hub for new-modality innovation. More than 30% of assets in global antibody and cell therapy pipelines originate there. (See Exhibit 7.)

Percentage of Clinical-Stage Assets Originated by Chinese Companies

China’s leadership in drug innovation is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, Chinese-originated therapies were concentrated in a small number of validated MoAs and marketed for the domestic population. Today, Chinese companies are originating innovative assets with unique targets or combinations of targets. Nearly half of Chinese clinical-pipeline assets have novel MoAs that so far do not have competing products in Phase 3 or on the market globally.

Chinese assets have attracted the interest of global biopharma companies. This year, more than 40% of the top 20 biopharmas’ deal expenditures—higher than in any other year in our analysis—involved assets originating in China.

Several new-modality products with Chinese origins have already been approved and commercialized in the global market. Carvykti (Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech), an innovative CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma, has been a commercial success, and mAbs Anniko (Akeso and Chia Tai-Tinquing Pharmaceutical) and Tevimbra (BeOne) recently received FDA approval. We expect to see a continued increase in products developed in China reaching global markets and in large biopharma companies looking to China for inorganic assets.


We have seen substantial growth this year in large and established new modalities such as antibodies, proteins and peptides, and CAR-T therapies. Emerging modalities have progressed more slowly, hindered by safety concerns, clinical setbacks, and commercialization barriers. Still, areas like gene therapy and nucleic acids notched notable advances and high-value deals, reflecting sustained industry interest and confidence in these platforms.


The authors thank BCG colleagues Martin Macias, Sofia de la Morena, Lea R’Bibo, and Yifei Weng for their contributions to this report.