With the prevalence of central nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and stroke increasing annually, the need for novel therapeutics to treat neurologic and psychiatric disorders has never been greater. Unfortunately, even though there is a significant unmet medical need, because of the high risk and low approval rates of drugs targeting those devastating diseases, in the past decade big pharma companies have been dramatically reducing their R&D spending on CNS disorders, noted Naheed Kurji, president and CEO of Toronto-based Cyclica Inc.

A quick look back at top stories.

Biopharma money raised to-date and by month in 2021, including public, private and other financings.

The top 10 biopharma stock gainers and losers for the week.

Entering 2021 with a strong reputation following a year of intense pandemic-related research, the biopharma industry is drawing enormous investor interest as financings continue to shoot skyward.

According to an analysis conducted by BioWorld of the 2020 financial reports filed by public biopharmaceutical companies with market caps greater than $1 billion, and excluding big pharma companies, the amount that was invested in research and development (R&D) during the year increased by 23% compared to the same period last year.