In February, deals formed by biopharma firms reached $7.76 billion, down from January, which marked the sixth-highest month in BioWorld’s records going back to 2016. Meanwhile, biopharma M&As amounted to $18.22 billion for the month, positioning it among the top 10 highest-value months in the past four years.

The med-tech financing landscape in 2024 has shown remarkable improvement over last year, with $4.62 billion raised in the initial two months, an increase of 176.62% from the $1.67 billion raised during the same period in 2023.

In February, deals formed by biopharma firms reached $7.76 billion, down from January, which marked the sixth-highest month in BioWorld’s records going back to 2016. Meanwhile, biopharma M&As amounted to $18.22 billion for the month, positioning it among the top 10 highest-value months in the past four years.

In 2023, the BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index (BNDI) closed with a 4.36% increase, outperforming the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (up 3.74%) but falling short of the surge seen in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 13.7%). The rebound marked a significant turnaround from November, when BNDI recorded an 18.37% year-to-date decline.

In February, the biopharma industry sustained the positive momentum observed in January, with total financings increasing 105.94%, reaching $22.3 billion compared to $10.83 billion the first month of the year. The amount positions February as the second-highest month in BioWorld’s records, trailing only May 2020, which saw $23.98 billion in total financings.

Though down nearly 6% in January, the BioWorld Drug Developers Index (BDDI) rebounded in February, finishing the month with a 4.41% increase and outperforming both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI; up 1.33%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA; up 3.47%). In 2023, BDDI concluded the year down 11.35%, trailing behind the NBI and DJIA.

Biopharma grants maintained their upward trajectory throughout 2023, culminating in a nearly 67% increase in value compared to 2022, mirroring the trend observed in October. Conversely, nonprofit deal value witnessed a continued year-over-year decline, falling by more than 90% in value.

In 2023, the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index (BIDI) concluded with a 43.48% decline, showing improvement from the 83.57% drop observed in 2022. While an uptick was seen from October's year-to-date performance, down 47.98%, BIDI still lagged both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the year, which saw gains of 3.74% and 13.7%, respectively.

In the first month of 2024, BioWorld reported on 252 phase I-III clinical trial updates, marking a 10% decrease from the 281 updates in December 2023, as well as a decline from 354 updates in November and 416 in October. The number of trial updates is also a 10% drop compared to January 2023, which recorded 281 updates.