Competitive Intelligence for Pharmaceutical Biotech

Oncology is the most crowded and fastest-moving area of drug development, and pharmaceutical and biotech teams make expensive decisions inside it every week: which indication to pursue, which comparator to choose, when to file, how to price, and whom to partner with. Competitive intelligence (CI) for pharmaceutical and biotech companies is the discipline that turns the flood of trial, regulatory, conference and commercial information into those decisions. This guide covers what a strong program includes, who uses it, and what the last 18 months teach about which signals matter. For a service overview, see Oncology Resource Group’s page for pharmaceutical and biotech teams.

Updated October 8, 2026.

Why CI matters more in oncology than almost anywhere else

A single readout can reset a treatment algorithm, a regulator can narrow a class’s labels, and a licensing deal can create a new competitor overnight. The examples below, all from the past 18 months, show the kinds of events a CI program should catch early and interpret correctly.

• Formulation shifts reshape share. Merck’s subcutaneous Keytruda Qlex was approved by the FDA on September 19, 2025 and reached $463 million in sales in Q2 2026, with a stated goal of 30-40% subcutaneous adoption by the end of 2027 (Reuters via BNN Bloomberg). At BMS, Opdivo Qvantig sales rose to $261 million from $30 million a year earlier, while IV Opdivo declined (BMS 10-Q). See our pembrolizumab and nivolumab landscapes.
• Loss of exclusivity is a planning horizon, not a surprise. Merck’s CEO has described the 2028 loss of exclusivity for Keytruda as “more of a hill than a cliff,” and Samsung Bioepis filed a pembrolizumab biosimilar with Korea’s regulator on August 10, 2026 (PearceIP).
• Failed programs are intelligence too. Roche discontinued its anti-TIGIT antibody tiragolumab in July 2025 after Phase 3 failures (ApexOnco). AbbVie reported in June 2025 that its Phase 3 VERONA trial of venetoclax in higher-risk MDS missed its overall survival endpoint (AbbVie via Placera). And AstraZeneca decided not to file its DUO-O combination in first-line ovarian cancer in the US, Europe, China or Japan (AstraZeneca 6-K).
• Regulators can narrow a whole class. FDA authors reported that six PARP-inhibitor ovarian cancer indications were withdrawn or narrowed in 2022 and 2023 after overall survival concerns (Journal of Clinical Oncology). GSK reports that Zejula sales fell 33% in Q2 2026 and ties the US decline to the label update and prior-authorization requirements (GSK filing). See our olaparib landscape.
• Fixed-duration regimens challenge continuous therapy. FDA approved acalabrutinib plus venetoclax for previously untreated CLL on February 19, 2026 (FDA), and pirtobrutinib reached first-line CLL on October 2, 2026 (CURE). See the ibrutinib and venetoclax landscapes.
• Policy changes economics. Under Medicare price negotiation, the negotiated Part D price for Imbruvica took effect in January 2026 at $9,319 per 30-day supply, 38% below the 2023 list price (ASCO Post), and for Eliquis at $231 against a $521 list price (CMS).
• Deals move the competitive set. BMS and BioNTech announced a partnership on the PD-L1/VEGF bispecific pumitamig in June 2025, with $1.5 billion upfront and up to about $11.1 billion in potential value (DCAT). Gilead announced on February 23, 2026 that it would acquire Arcellx, at an implied equity value of $7.8 billion, alongside an FDA filing acceptance for its BCMA CAR-T anito-cel (Kite/Gilead).
• Challengers are scheduled, not hypothetical. The FDA action date for Summit’s PD-1/VEGF bispecific ivonescimab (in EGFR-mutated NSCLC after TKI therapy) is November 14, 2026, and its Phase 3 HARMONi-3 against pembrolizumab regimens did not meet an interim threshold in the squamous cohort on April 30, 2026, though it continues (Summit Q2 report; ApexOnco).

What pharmaceutical and biotech CI should cover

1. Pipeline and trial surveillance. Who is developing what, in which setting, with what design, and when data are expected. See our guide to pipeline tracking.
2. Conference intelligence. What was presented, how experts reacted, and what it means for your assets. Our guide to conference coverage explains how to do this under time pressure. Upcoming meetings include ESMO (October 23-27, 2026, Madrid) and ASH (December 12-15, 2026, New Orleans).
3. Treatment algorithms and benchmarking. Where each therapy sits in the patient journey and how products compare head to head. See treatment algorithm maps.
4. Regulatory and label intelligence. Approvals, label restrictions, companion diagnostics and the signals regulators send through their decisions.
5. Market access and pricing. Price negotiation, prior authorization and formulary changes that decide whether a clinical advantage becomes a commercial one.
6. Lifecycle and loss of exclusivity. Formulation changes, biosimilar filings and patent challenges.
7. Business development and deal flow. Licensing, acquisitions and partnerships that add or remove competitors.

Who uses it, and for what

• Commercial teams use CI for launch sequencing, positioning, pricing and competitive response.
• Medical affairs teams use it to prepare scientific exchange, brief medical science liaisons and plan congress activity.
• Research and development teams use it to choose comparators, refine endpoints and anticipate enrollment competition.
• Business development teams use it to evaluate partners, targets and white space.

Needs differ by company type. Global pharmaceutical companies often need breadth across many cancer areas and a standing process for conferences. Mid-market companies tend to need depth in a few franchises and speed. Emerging biotech teams usually have small staffs and need decision-ready summaries with clear implications, without building a department.

How to build a program that works

1. Start with decisions. List the decisions your teams must make in the next 12 months and work backward to the intelligence each one needs.
2. Define scope. Name the cancer areas, assets and competitors that are in and out. Trying to cover everything dilutes quality.
3. Separate fact from claim. A company press release reports what the company wants to emphasize. Record whether an item comes from a regulator, a peer-reviewed paper, a registry or a company, and what is still unconfirmed. Dates and numbers should come from a source you have opened.
4. Standardize the output. A short summary with an explicit “implications” section is read; a data dump is not.
5. Combine cadences. Pair continuous surveillance with event-driven coverage around major meetings and periodic landscape deep dives.
6. Set up a calendar of catalysts. FDA action dates, conferences and trial completions turn surveillance into planning.
7. Close the loop. Ask stakeholders which intelligence changed a decision, then adjust coverage.

Common pitfalls

• Reading a topline as a result. Many announcements give no numbers. Wait for the full data before drawing conclusions.
• Treating a primary completion date as a readout date. Registries estimate when data collection ends, not when results will be presented.
• Overreliance on a single secondary source. Dates and figures can differ between outlets by a day or a few points. Check the regulator or the filing.
• Ignoring negative signals. Discontinued programs and decisions not to file tell you where competitors lost confidence.

Build, buy or blend

Many pharmaceutical and biotech organizations pair a small internal CI function with an external specialist. Internal staff own strategy and stakeholder relationships. The partner supplies scientific depth, capacity across many cancer areas and coverage during peak conference periods. When evaluating a partner, ask who writes the analysis, how they verify sources, how fast they turn around conference summaries, and how clearly they state implications.

Next step

If your team is weighing how to structure oncology intelligence across commercial, medical and R&D, Oncology Resource Group describes its approach for pharmaceutical and biotech clients here: Oncology Resource Group: Pharmaceutical Biotech. You can also request information from us directly.

Keep reading: what is oncology competitive intelligence, oncology pipeline tracking and oncology conference coverage.

This article is for informational and competitive-intelligence purposes only and is not medical advice. Approvals, labels and trial results change; verify details against current prescribing information and primary sources.