What Comes After the Top Trends? The Real Questions Biotech Teams Should Be Asking in 2025

May 14

By Jenna Levenson, PhD, RN, MS

Yesterday, I shared the Top 3 Biotech Trends Everyone’s Watching in 2025—and clearly, it struck a chord. It’s clear that the biotech community is paying attention.

So let’s take it one step further.

If you're tracking AI-powered drug discovery, decentralized trials, and patient-centered protocol design (and you should be), the question isn’t “what’s hot?” anymore.

It’s: “What do we do about it?” “Where do we place our bets?” “How do we stay competitive—without burning out our teams or our budgets?”

1. Don’t Just Adopt AI—Operationalize It

Everyone says they're “using AI,” but very few teams have figured out how to embed it into their clinical workflows, regulatory strategy, or data review processes.

Start asking:

Can this automate decision-making, or just generate noise?
Who owns AI integration—clinical ops, IT, or both?

2. Patient-Centered ≠ Patient-Invisible

You can’t just tack on a PRO form and call it patient engagement. The FDA is watching, funders are watching, and—most importantly—patients are watching.

Challenge your protocol:

Does it reflect lived experience?
Are we capturing endpoints that matter to real people?

3. Think Smaller to Scale Smarter

Everyone wants to go global, but the startups that win in 2025 are the ones that master micro-pilot strategies—small, fast, data-rich studies that validate your science and your strategy.

Before your next Series A pitch:

Have you validated your protocol design in the real world?

Can you show feasibility and retention—not just endpoints?

What’s Next?

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing:

Real-world examples from the field
Common mistakes biotech teams still make (and how to fix them)
Tools from my Let’s Build BioTech workbook series to help your team implement—not just observe—the future of biotech

Let’s Keep the Momentum Going

If your team is trying to move from “buzzword-compliant” to “funded and FDA-ready”—I’d love to hear what you're working on. Let’s Talk.

Jenna Brager