Research and development (R&D) spending by drug manufacturers flatlined in 2022, according to data released by Evaluate Vantage Friday morning.

Among the world’s largest 11 drugmakers, only AstraZeneca and Sanofi showed any “real uptick” in R&D investment, as the urgency to develop treatments for COVID-19 fell by the wayside.

The British pharma giant benefited from its acquisition of Alexion in mid-2021 as well as several late-stage trials which resulted in a 19% bump in R&D spending. The French drugmaker saw its research investments rise 10% due to increased spending on “priority” pharma assets and vaccines.

The R&D investment made by the nearly dozen companies totaled $104 billion, accounting for 42% of the global biopharma sector’s research investment in 2022. 

Leading the pack was Roche, which reclaimed its title from Pfizer, who saw its R&D bill drop 10% year-over-year, marking the most significant decline of the year. 

Just behind Roche was Eli Lilly, which invested quite heavily in its drug pipelines, followed by a distant AbbVie, which only reinvested 11% of its total prescription sales, in third. 

This analysis comes weeks after another report found that life science labs and R&D sites in the U.S. grew by 50% in the last five years, with life sciences properties expected to take up nearly 220 million square feet by 2025.

Meanwhile, notable drugmakers that had declines in R&D investment included Bristol Myers Squibb, down 5%, as well as Johnson & Johnson, down 4%.

While documenting the year-over-year shifts among some of the industry’s most significant players, Evaluate Vantage sought to provide some critical context for readers.

“The caveat to remember here is that big topline moves, caused by acquisitions or patent expiries, will influence this ratio year-to-year. So shifts up or down do not necessarily reflect any strategic shift in approach to in-house development,” the report stated.

Other important notes for medical marketers centered on some major biopharm names.

The report stated that Moderna is “clearly re-investing its COVID windfalls enthusiastically,” while Regeneron is “throwing money at its pipeline” to replace Eylea revenue. 

Additionally, Novo Nordisk’s late-stage diabetes and obesity franchise is “prompting rising R&D bills.” 

Interestingly, UCB, Vertex and Biogen “all pulled back their R&D spending last year,” but are near the top of the table in terms of investment as a proportion of sales.