The April 2024 full U.S. FDA approval of Pfizer Inc. and Genmab A/S’ tissue factor-targeting antibody-drug conjugate Tivdak (tisotumab vedotin) for cervical cancer sparked interest from drug developers in the strategy, which has been known about for a while.

Biopharma financing values have shown quarterly volatility over the past decade, with surges often concentrated in specific quarters rather than evenly distributed throughout the year.

Biopharma financing values have shown quarterly volatility over the past decade, with surges often concentrated in specific quarters rather than evenly distributed throughout the year. The pandemic era marked a clear inflection point, and more recently, financing patterns have normalized with outsized quarters driving annual totals. In 2025, total financings accelerated as the year progressed, rising from $13.12 billion in the first quarter (Q1) to $18.92 billion in Q3 to a peak of $33.16 billion in Q4, the strongest quarter since early 2024.

Targeted therapies and immunotherapies continue to show better results than chemotherapy in investigator-initiated and company-sponsored cancer trials, and newer options demonstrate improvements over older ones, supporting potential shifts in how patients are treated.

Genmab A/S is paying $8 billion to acquire Merus NV, gaining rights to the latter’s phase III-stage petosemtamab, a bispecific antibody initially in development for head and neck cancer, and continuing the firm’s strategy to transition from a royalty-based operation to a fully integrated biopharma.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index underperformed both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) throughout February and March. However, it showed some recovery by the end of April, finishing the month down 4.67%, slightly worse than the DJIA’s 4.41% decline. The NBI ended April slightly up from both, with a year-to-date drop of 1.16%.

Already hot for years, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) continued to hold charm for the industry, sparking a number of sizable deals starting early in 2024, when Johnson & Johnson (J&J) put $2 billion on the table to take over Ambrx Biopharma Inc.

The U.S. FDA approved Janssen Biotech Inc.’s Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw) plus a new oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor called Lazcluze (lazertinib) as a first-line combination treatment to treat select non-small-cell lung cancers.

Genmab A/S, in collaboration with Biontech SE, has presented data on a novel OX40 agonist antibody –Hexabody-OX40 (GEN-1055/BNT-315), developed using Genmab’s proprietary Hexabody platform, which promotes the formation of antibody hexamers upon target binding to cell surfaces.