The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting will be closely watched by analysts and investors alike. There is no doubt that favorable data presented at the event will advance a company's stock valuation significantly. Equally, candidate cancer therapies that do not live up to expectations will see their developers face the ire of investors.

The pandemic hasn't kept biotechs from going public. In fact, through the first five or so months of the year, the industry has raised more than $3.3 billion through IPOs, more capital than biotechs have raised during the first five months of any of the previous 20 years.

Of the 160 biopharma deals tracked by BioWorld during the month of April, 36% are for collaborations focusing on the development of therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19.