Better science, better lives: the meaningful progress that defined 2025

Nowhere was that progress more visible than in oncology, where several long-anticipated advances came into view. Take examples from a year full of standout moments. In muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the combination of enfortumab vedotin – an antibody-drug conjugate – and the immunotherapy pembrolizumab has shown significant improvements in both event-free and overall survival for cisplatin-ineligible patients. And in advanced and metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer, first-line ivonescimab plus chemotherapy is significantly improving progression-free survival. The MajesTEC-3 trial shows an 83% reduction in progression for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma with the Tec-Dara combination. This novel off-the-shelf therapy, pairing a BCMA x CD3 bispecific antibody with an anti-CD38 mAb, significantly improves PFS, OS, and response depth over established regimens. It sets a new, more effective, and broadly accessible second-line standard, contrasting with the expense and manufacturing lead time of CAR-T therapy. These benefits don’t just refine standards of care; they create the conditions for new ones.

Beyond cancer, metabolic disease continued to evolve as GLP-1 medicines demonstrated far broader benefits than previously understood. New real-world data showed that these treatments not only support weight loss and blood-sugar control, they can also lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and other serious metabolic complications – especially when combined with complementary therapies such as SGLT-2 inhibitors. For people living with obesity, diabetes or related conditions, the combined effects point toward a future where long-term metabolic stability, reduced cardiovascular risk and improved everyday functioning are far more achievable.

There were also important advances in the leading causes of death worldwide. In heart disease, we saw that adding the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab to standard therapy can significantly reduce the risk of a first heart attack in high-risk individuals. In stroke care, a landmark study suggests a new oral inhibitor, asundexian, could significantly reduce the risk of secondary stroke without increasing the risk of major bleeding. And in respiratory disease, advances ranged from the first new treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in more than a decade to promising results for vapendavir, an oral antiviral that could reduce rhinovirus-triggered COPD flare-ups, a major cause of hospitalizations.Even in Alzheimer’s – where progress comes slowly – the approval of an injection formulation of Leqembi means people can now receive maintenance doses at home, making care easier, more accessible and less costly.