The coronavirus outbreak that has been spreading around the world hasn’t caused serious immediate damage to the clinical development plans for most biotech execs. But many are deeply concerned that it will eventually derail key projects — and the vast majority are busily hatching and executing plans to keep their staff as safe as possible as the contagion spreads in key hubs.
That’s the bottom line from Endpoints News’ latest survey of industry executives, which covers the thinking of 70 biotech execs during the worst pandemic they’ve seen in their lifetimes.
We’ve been gathering their responses over the past week, and some distinct trends are clear.
This is a fluid, fast-changing situation, and these execs know it. And with confirmed cases still on the low side — a situation likely to change fast as testing becomes widely available — the initial impact has been slight. But there are some early effects being registered in viral hot spots, with fears that they will grow with the global contagion now underway.
The highlights of our E100 survey:
— 86% of them reported no immediate impact on development efforts, but 72% are clearly worried that it’s coming.
Keep reading Endpoints with a free subscription
Unlock this story instantly and join 74,800+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily — and it’s free.
