The BioWorld Cancer Index closed 2025 up 72.35%, outpacing gains in the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (up 32.4%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 12.97%). The year featured standout gains, led by Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc., which surged 620%.

Pricing the third and largest biopharma IPO of 2026, Eikon Therapeutics Inc. raised $381 million in an upsized offering of 21.18 million shares of common stock at $18 each, the high point of its price range.

China’s State Council updated its Drug Administration Law, and the changes mark a substantive evolution in the country’s drug regulatory framework.

As the march toward a new therapy continues in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), new approaches are drawing Wall Street’s attention. Among them is Inventiva SA’s pan-PPAR approach.

BioWorld tracked 215 clinical trial readouts spanning phases I through III in December 2025, a sizeable increase from 170 updates in November, but below the 252 reported in October.

After reaching their peaks in late November, both the BioWorld Drug Developers Index and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index finished the year slightly down from those highs.

Full-year biopharma deal value in 2025 reached $292.55 billion, the highest annual total in BioWorld’s records, following $78.93 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4). The annual total is a 27% increase from the $230.53 billion recorded in 2024.