The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on elective and nonessential procedures, and with them the medical device companies they depend on, but early signs of recovery are encouraging, according to Raghav Tangri, of (DRG), which is part of Clarivate. That said, Tangri told BioWorld that while the second quarter is expected to be the most strongly impacted period this year, the speed of recovery will depend on a number of factors, including the possibility of a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak and how soon a vaccine is available.

The number of FDA approvals tracked by BioWorld have continued their steady incline, with a total of 129 logged through July, placing 2020 at a five-year high.

A first half of the year progress report from the international advocacy group Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), finds that the regenerative medicine and advanced therapy sector is in very good shape and has performed well in terms of both clinical development and fundraising despite the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to an analysis conducted by BioWorld of the second-quarter 2020 financial reports filed by 120 public biopharmaceutical companies with market caps greater than $1 billion, and excluding big pharma companies, the amount that was invested in research and development during the period increased by 14% compared to the same six-month period last year.