The pharmaceutical companies have announced new strategies to increase

The pharmaceutical companies have announced new strategies to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines in that they will create strategic partnerships with small biotechnology firms.

A. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines in that they will create Incorrect

in that - sounds bad

B. to increase in their development pipelines the number of new drugs by the creation of Incorrect

misplaced - the number of new drugs
by the creation of - wrong

C. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines by creating Correct

D. for increasing the number of new drugs in their development pipelines, and creating Incorrect

strategies to - correct

E. for increasing the number of new development pipeline drugs in the creation of Incorrect

strategies to - correct

Meaning:
1. The pharma companies have announced new strategies
2. The strategies are meant to increase the number of drugs in the pipeline
3. The new strategies are then explained.


1. in that is a conjunction which appropriately starts a clause. It also does a good job linking the two clauses - The second explains the strategies talked about in the first clause.
2. Here to increase is a way better idiom when compared to for increasing, since it indicates purpose (infinitive of purpose). GMAT always prefers an infintive phrase to a 'for + [gerund]' construction when expressing intent.
3. 'They' is the subject pronoun in the second clause and therefore unambiguously refers back to the subject of the first clause.


1. In one interpretation of the sentence, by the creation of is horribly stating that it was the announcement that was done by doing the creation of the partnerships. "The companies have announced .... by the creation of ..."
2. 'to increase in their development pipelines the number of new drugs' construction is awful sounding.


1. Rejected for the same reason as option B Pt 1 - 'by creating'


1. for increasing is always less preferred to to increase, when one is stating the purpose of something.
2. and creating has broken the link between the two clauses, and hence there is no way to tell whether the partnerships had anything to do with the new strategies.

E.
1. Same reason as option D - for increasing
2. 'Increase in number of new development pipeline drugs' is not as clear meaning wise as 'Increase in the number of new drugs in development pipelines'.
3. in the creation of - No good reason justifying usage of this phrase.

IMO Option A is correct.

A. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines in that they will create
"In that they" sounds funny to me

B. to increase in their development pipelines the number of new drugs by the creation of
I think it needs "commas" , "comma"in their development pipelines, "comma"

C. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines by creating
Good

D. for increasing the number of new drugs in their development pipelines, and creating
", and creating" -> changes the meaning

E. for increasing the number of new development pipeline drugs in the creation of[/quote]
"in the creation of" -> sounds strange to me

The pharmaceutical companies have announced new strategies to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines in that they will create strategic partnerships with small biotechnology firms.

A. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines in that they will create -> "their" refers back to "The pharmaceutical companies" and they refers back to "The pharmaceutical companies". If we read it now, "...to increase the number of new drugs in The pharmaceutical companies' development pipelines in that The pharmaceutical companies will create..." It doesn't make sense. Incorrect

B. to increase in their development pipelines the number of new drugs by the creation of ->Incorrect. we are not talking about increase in companies' development pipelines.

C. to increase the number of new drugs in their development pipelines by creating -> It is precise. let's keep it.

D. for increasing the number of new drugs in their development pipelines, and creating -> now, meaning is changed. we have increasing and creating makes different strategies.

E. for increasing the number of new development pipeline drugs in the creation of -> we have meaning changed again "the number of new development pipeline drugs". Incorrect.

So, I think C.

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