Despite the sector coming off a terrible fourth quarter when investors shied away from biopharmaceutical company equities big time, the start to 2019 hasn't followed the same trend, thanks to an easing of capital market volatility. The BioWorld Biopharmaceutical index, a price-weighted index comprising 21 of the leading biotech and big pharma companies by market cap, has risen in value by an impressive 7 percent so far this month, ahead of the performances of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite at 5 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.