The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) saw its highest point of the year from April through July, when it had a run above 30%, before falling to 23.5% at the end of August. It closed Q3 up 22.96% for the year, a sharp divergence from the more extensive Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average, which are tracking down 6.16% and up 1.09%, respectively.

Clinical trial data from January-September 2023 was up 1.79% compared to the same time period last year. In the first three quarters of this year, BioWorld reported on 2,611 drugs in phase I-III, compared to 2,565 in Q1-Q3 2022. The number of trial updates is down 13.74% from 3,027 in 2021 and also down from the 2,738 in 2020, but up from 2,251 updates noted in 2019.

The public markets have hammered biopharma companies conducting IPOs in the past four years, with the number of debuts dwindling and the amounts raised falling dramatically as well. But one of the more telling measures is price performance, which is significantly down for all IPOs completed since 2020. The stock prices of 13 firms that entered the U.S. markets in 2023 are currently at a decline of 26.8% on average, with only two companies trading above their offering price.

While biopharma dealmaking remains active, a strong third quarter (Q3) was not enough to bring it to the same level seen during each of the last three years, although values are coming close. At the same time, M&As appear to be rising above 2022, but even with the increase, they still lag behind other years. If the Pfizer Inc./Seagen Inc. merger, worth $43 billion, closes before the end of 2023, for example, M&As will still not come close to the overall value seen in 2019 and 2020.

Out of the 30 companies comprising BioWorld’s Drug Developers Index (BDDI), 22 stocks saw a decrease in their stock prices in September, while two remained stable, and six showed positive gains. At the end of the third quarter, 80% of companies on BDDI experienced a decline in their stock values, with only six recording an increase.