While the $118.3 billion raised by biopharma companies in 2021 through public and private transactions is 12% lower than the amount raised the prior year, it still represents an impressive financings record, led primarily by IPOs and venture capital rounds.

Just as the world appeared to be winning the battle against COVID-19, the rules of the game changed. Omicron and concerns about future variants flipped the board. Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies are attracting fresh scrutiny as SARS-CoV-2 evolves. Cases are climbing closer to the highest levels recorded since the pandemic began. Antivirals are aiming to fill treatment gaps, but whether they will or not is about as clear as the virus’ next move.

In what is undeniably one of the busiest years for governmental agencies across the globe, 2021 churned out a 12% increase in regulatory news over the previous record year of 2020.

While most of the 30 stocks that comprise BioWorld’s Drug Developers Index (BDDI) are trading down for the year, the three showing the most upward movement in 2021 include a company at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine development, an RNAi therapeutics firm that became a multibillion-dollar acquisition target, and a neurological disease company with one marketed product.

Similar to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated both biopharma deals with nonprofit entities and grants in 2021. Combined, pandemic deals and grants account for 87% of the total value, but only 22% of the volume, for the year. Through the week of Christmas, BioWorld has recorded 388 grants for the industry, valued at $2.94 billion, and 845 bio/nonprofit deals worth $21.44 billion. Of those, 82 grants worth $1.4 billion and 194 deals worth $19.8 billion involved therapeutic and vaccine development or supply agreements for COVID-19.

The largest swings in stock price in 2021 can partly, or mostly, be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, as biopharma solutions either saved the world or fell short, depending on the newest emerging variant. Those ups and downs have led the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index to a nearly flat position in comparison with the beginning of the year. It is up by only 0.33%. The Nasdaq Biotech Index, however, is up 4.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, representing the broader markets, is up by 14.13%.