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.

While the volume of clinical data in July dipped below previous pandemic months, the amount of news focused on therapeutics or vaccines for COVID-19 is climbing, representing about 16% of BioWorld’s database entries during the month.