Homerun success of Novo Nordisk A/S’ semaglutide, which recently became the U.S.’s biggest blockbuster drug, is serving as an “inflection point” for obesity therapeutics and fueling the drive for new and improved therapies, speakers said at Bio Korea 2024 on May 8.
Although the $6.03 billion in biopharma financings raised in April is down from $13.84 billion in financings in March and $22.3 billion in February, the monthly average of $13.29 billion for all financings is up 125% from the average of $5.91 billion a month in 2023.
By now, the story of last year’s dismal U.S. capital markets is hardly news. But when combined with increasing regulatory stresses, especially for biopharma and med-tech startups, there are elements of that story giving some Street-watchers pause, even as the market begins to show a few signs of recovery.
The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) closed out the first quarter of 2024 with a 4.66% increase, slightly down from its 11.07% rise at the end of February. This comes after an outstanding performance in 2023, when it finished the year up by 76.26%. Despite outperforming the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which rose by 1.36% in Q1, BCI lagged behind the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which saw a 5.62% increase in the first three months of the year. In contrast, BCI experienced a decline of 41.98% in 2022 and a 36.34% decrease in 1021.
After concluding 2023 up 11.62%, the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index (BBI) extended its upward trajectory into the first quarter (Q1), posting a 6.4% increase at the close of March. BBI outperformed both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 5.62%) and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (up 1.36%) by the end of Q1.