LONDON – Medical research charities that form an integral part of the U.K. health research system are still reeling from the impact of COVID-19 and now expect it will be three years before funding returns to pre-pandemic levels.
As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020 and med-tech companies stepped up with numerous diagnostic and telehealth solutions, the availability of funding sources began to soar. The med-tech industry has raised a total of $46.9 billion so far in 2021 through 636 financings.
After Moderna Inc. lowered its revenue expectations earlier this month, the company’s swollen stock price plunged over the next two weeks by more than 32%, signifying that BioWorld’s Drug Developers Index can no longer rely solely on one company to keep industry stocks in positive territory.
Continuing its downward trend, BioWorld’s Cancer Index (BCI) has fallen by 19.16% this year, a stark contrast with the broader Nasdaq Biopharmaceutical Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, both of which are tracking up by 4.49% and 19.03%, respectively. Two-thirds of the 21 stocks that make up BCI are showing losses so far this year, and everything from disappointing sales, strong competition, clinical holds and safety issues are to blame.