The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 4, 2024, closed at 4.005.40 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 0.62% (or 24.71 basis points). Eight RDWI members gained value last week from 1.07% (Eli Lilly & Co.) to 6.71% (Alibaba). Seventeen RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.19% (Astra Zeneca PLC) to -17.06% (Stellantis NV).
This week’s R&D highlights include the second Vulcan Centaur rocket, which was launched last week by ULA carrying a payload that mimicked the mass of a satellite; Microsoft to set up cloud and AI services in Italy; Eli Lilly will build a drug manufacturing and development center; and Indian and U.S. officials meet to discuss technical and R&D collaborations in various sectors.
Aerospace R&D
Image courtesy of ULA.
ULA launches second Vulcan Centaur rocket
United Launch Alliance (ULA), Centennial, Colorado, which is jointly owned by Boeing, Arlington, Virginia, and Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Maryland, launched the second of its new Vulcan Centaur rockets last week carrying a payload that mimicked the mass of a satellite. ULA is contracted to use Vulcan to complete missions for the Pentagon and U.S. spy agencies. The Pentagon’s other major launch operator is not flying its Falcon 9 vehicle as it conducts a government-required investigation into a NASA mission in September. Once certified, ULA plans to use Vulcan for two national security missions in 2024 and is looking to fly it 20 times in 2025.
AI R&D:
Microsoft to invest in Italy’s cloud and AI infrastructure
RDW Index member Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, announced last week that it plans to invest about $4.75 billion in Italy’s cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure over the next two years. The company said the investment would grow its hyperscale cloud and AI data center infrastructures in Italy and provide more than one million people with digital skills training by the end of 2025. Microsoft stated that expanding access to AI technologies would benefit the Italian government, businesses, and the broader workforce in an AI-driven economy.</3>
Pharmaceutical R&D:
Johnson & Johnson discontinues study of dengue prevention pill
RDW Index member Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey, announced last week that it would discontinue a phase two clinical study of its experimental pill to prevent dengue as the company reprioritized its communicable diseases R&D portfolio. The company stated that it will “explore opportunities to advance the clinical development of mosnodenvir outside the company so that others may build on our research.” According to the company, no safety issues were identified for the drug. Efficacy data will be available once the final data analyses are complete.
Eli Lilly & Company to build a drug manufacturing and development center
RDW Index member Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, announced last week that it plans to build a drug manufacturing and development center in Lebanon, Indiana, for $4.5 billion. Named the Lilly Medicine Foundry, the new site will be located in Indiana’s LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon, where the companies have already exceeded $13 billion. The new site is expected to open in late 2027 and, once fully operational, will add 400 full-time employees to the company’s global workforce. In the last four years, Lilly has invested over $23 billion in its U.S. infrastructure.
Global R&D and economic trends:
India and U.S. officials discuss R&D collaborations
India’s Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal, announced last week that it has held talks with U.S. government officials (U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo) concerning the prospect of technical and R&D collaborations in various sectors. The discussions focused on R&D collaborations in defense, space, semiconductors, telecom, AI and clean energy. The principals also discussed opportunities for U.S. investments in India’s upcoming 20 industrial cities to foster mutual growth. These talks followed up earlier 2024 discussions in New York City, with young CEOs and entrepreneurs of Indian origin organized by the Consulate General of India.
Russian scientists arrested for suspected
A report in the Wall Street Journal last week noted that numerous scientists in Russia, most of whom conducted research in high-speed aerodynamics or hypersonics, have been arrested on suspicion of handing over scientific data to Moscow’s rivals. The latest were sentenced to 15 years in prison. Several have been detained after participation in research with other countries, with the approval of the Russian state. Some have been working on projects related to the defense sector. Others were working on basic scientific studies. “Spy mania reigns in Russia right now, a sort of besieged fortress concept,” according to the report. Some of those detained worked at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Siberia. The bar for what Russia will tolerate has become much lower than it used to be in the more open pre-Putin era.
The EU to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs
The European Union (EU), Brussels, Belgium, announced last week that it will move ahead with tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicles (EVs) made in China. This action was taken despite pleas from European automakers that retaliation from China could escalate a trade war. The import duties would apply for the next five years to protect European carmakers amid rising competition from Chinese-made EVs. China has cited the imposition of tariffs on exports of European brandy, dairy, and pork products and large-engine European vehicle exports as reprisals it may impose. Chinese EV imports into the EU rose to 27.2% in the second quarter of 2024 from 3.5% in 2020.
The R&D World Index
R&D World’s R&D Index is a weekly stock market summary of the top international companies involved in R&D. The top 25 industrial R&D spenders in 2020 were selected based on the latest listings from Schonfeld & Associates’ June 2020 R&D Ratios & Budgets. These 25 companies include pharmaceutical (10 companies), automotive (6 companies), and ICT (9 companies), which invested a cumulative total of nearly 260 billion dollars in R&D in 2019, or approximately 10% of all the R&D spending in the world by government, industries, and academia combined, according to R&D World’s 2021 Global R&D Funding Forecast. The stock prices used in the R&D World Index are tabulated from NASDAQ, NYSE, and OTC everyday stock prices for the companies selected at the close of stock trading business on the Friday preceding the online publication of the R&D World Index.
| Company | Ticker | Exchange | 2020 R&D billions$ | 09/27/24 | 10/04/24 | 9/27/24 to 10/4/24 | 1/1/22 to 10/4/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphabet/Google | GOOGL | NASDAQ | 27.303 | 165.29 | 168.56 | 1.98% | 16.37% |
| Microsoft | MSFT | NASDAQ | 17.198 | 428.02 | 416.06 | -2.79% | 23.71% |
| Volkswagen AG | VWAGY | OTC | 17.259 | 11.44 | 10.78 | -5.77% | -63.08% |
| Apple | AAPL | NASDAQ | 18.667 | 227.72 | 226.80 | -0.40% | 27.72% |
| Facebook/Meta | META | NASDAQ | 13.874 | 567.36 | 595.94 | 5.04% | 77.18% |
| Intel | INTC | NASDAQ | 14.503 | 23.88 | 22.59 | -5.40% | -56.14% |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | NYSE | 13.750 | 161.40 | 160.29 | -0.69% | -6.30% |
| Roche Holdings AG | RHHBY | OTC | 14.143 | 40.14 | 37.77 | -5.90% | -26.93% |
| Merck & Co. | MRK | NYSE | 11.381 | 113.69 | 109.77 | -3.45% | 43.23% |
| Novartis | NVS | NYSE | 9.387 | 115.61 | 113.95 | -1.44% | 30.27% |
| Toyota | TM | NYSE | 10.724 | 182.82 | 180.02 | -1.53% | -2.85% |
| Pfizer | PFE | NYSE | 8.336 | 29.09 | 28.58 | -1.75% | -51.60% |
| Alibaba | BABA | NYSE | 6.006 | 107.33 | 114.53 | 6.71% | -3.59% |
| GM | GM | NYSE | 6.727 | 46.48 | 45.68 | -1.72% | -22.09% |
| Honda | HMC | NYSE | 8.806 | 32.22 | 32.62 | 1.24% | 14.66% |
| Ford | F | NYSE | 9.340 | 10.78 | 10.57 | -1.95% | -49.11% |
| AbbVie | ABBV | NYSE | 13.949 | 194.79 | 193.90 | -0.46% | 43.21% |
| Sanofi SA | SNY | NYSE | 7.750 | 57.65 | 55.47 | -3.78% | 10.72% |
| Cisco | CSCO | NASDAQ | 6.331 | 53.02 | 52.75 | -0.51% | -16.76% |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | BMY | NYSE | 7.130 | 50.91 | 53.96 | 5.99% | -13.46% |
| Astra Zeneca PLC | AZN | NYSE | 6.056 | 77.62 | 77.47 | -0.19% | 33.00% |
| IBM | IBM | NYSE | 5.368 | 220.84 | 226.00 | 2.34% | 69.09% |
| Oracle | ORCL | NYSE | 6.928 | 168.74 | 170.86 | 1.26% | 95.92% |
| Eli Lilly & Co. | LLY | NYSE | 8.606 | 877.79 | 887.16 | 1.07% | 221.18% |
| Stellantis NV | STLA | NYSE | 5.309 | 16.06 | 13.32 | -17.06% | -31.83% |
| Total | 269.522 | 4006.95 | 3980.69 | -0.66% | 41.17% | ||
| ICT | 115.6 | 1962.20 | 1994.09 | 1.63% | 37.56% | ||
| Automotive | 59.80 | 299.80 | 292.99 | -2.27% | -14.30% | ||
| Biopharmaceutical | 83.6 | 1718.69 | 1718.69 | -0.02% | 67.11% |
