In a relatively light news flow for the group last month, the gainers and decliners in the BioWorld Neurological Diseases index canceled themselves out during August, with the result that the price-weighted index closed relatively flat and, despite briefly moving into positive territory in July, its value is down 4% for the year.
The biopharma industry has raised a total of about $88 billion so far in 2020, the most ever for a single year, with four months to go. It hit the record in July when it surpassed the $68.4 billion raised in 2015.
As 2020 approaches its last quarter, scientists around the globe continue their all-consuming efforts to find effective therapeutics and vaccines to fight the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, which currently has a 3.35% fatality rate and has been plaguing the world for more than half a year. While the fight rages on, people are growing weary of political posturing and community debates. They face a serious conundrum of how to best protect those vulnerable to the virus, while still considering the psychological and economic impacts of societal lockdowns.