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%.

Although 2021 med-tech deal volume is 13% higher than last year, the deals represent less than half the value recorded in 2020. The industry has completed 1,576 deals, including licensings, collaborations and joint ventures, through mid-December of 2021. They are valued at $2.13 billion. A total of 573 M&As, on the other hand, have reached $144.75 billion, a 282% rise over 2020.