With phase III vaccine trials nearly enrolled and data expected soon, a half-year of expedited development efforts, plus massive government funding may soon provide the ammunition needed to effectively stop the SARS-CoV-2 scourge of 2020.

The aging portfolios of drug companies and the emergence of China as it moves to develop more innovative therapies are two signposts from an industry in flux, according to the newly released 2020 Centre for Medicines Research (CMR) International Pharmaceutical R&D Factbook.

The BioWorld Artificial Intelligence price-weighted index, which includes biopharmaceutical companies, medical devices and health care services companies, has climbed in value and is currently up almost 37% year-to-date.

As biopharma deal values continue to rise above recent years, a growing percentage of the funds are coming through partnerships with companies headquartered in Asia and nearby countries. The $48.5 billion reported so far in 2020, for deals in which at least one party is based in either Asia, Australia or New Zealand, represents 37% of the global deal value.

A first half of the year progress report from the international advocacy group Alliance for Regenerative Medicine finds that the regenerative medicine and advanced therapy sector is in very good shape and has performed well in terms of both clinical development and fundraising.

Out of 922 biopharma financings so far in 2020, nearly a quarter of them – 211 – were done by companies working on a COVID-19 therapeutic or vaccine.

Research focused on finding viable solutions to counter the COVID-19 pandemic continues at an explosive pace with a total of 588 potential therapeutics and vaccines at the forefront of scientific efforts launched by industry, academia and government.

The biotech industry's rapid response to COVID-19, a pivot of global scope, is driving a broad array of approaches to tackling the infection. On Monday, the first day of BIO's virtual convention, the trade group gathered some of the effort's leading voices to take stock of how those efforts are shaping up.

Swept up into a coronavirus whirlwind, the biopharma industry has ramped up development of therapeutics and vaccines and altered business plans to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a way that nobody could have imagined only months ago.

In order to redirect health care resources and protect patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, many drug companies have paused enrollment in some or all of their ongoing clinical trials.