The first half of May 2026 shows one clear pattern. Clinical development is moving into sharper, more competitive territory.
The strongest signals include Merck advancing INTerpath 014 in resected high risk Stage 1 NSCLC, AbbVie and EMD Serono moving ADC programs into refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, and Novartis expanding Pelacarsen through a large Lp(a)HORIZON OLE program.
Novo Nordisk and Pfizer continue building the next wave of obesity and cardiometabolic trials, while neurology is also showing renewed late stage conviction through Phase 3 studies focused on late window thrombolysis and neuroprotection.