The recent FDA approval of Ibsrela (tenapanor), Ardelyx Inc.’s treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adults, brings, according to the agency’s data, the number of new molecular entities (NMEs) to 27 this year. With just three months remaining, it appears that the biopharma sector is on pace with the five-year average of about 43 NMEs approved annually. 

This year there has been a significant resurgence of interest in public biopharmaceutical companies that are focused on developing therapies to treat neurological diseases. As a result, the sector got out of the gate quickly and, by the end of June, the BioWorld Neurological Diseases index, a price-weighted index of representative companies operating in that therapeutic area, had climbed in value to over 26%, well ahead of the performance of the general markets and blue-chip biopharma companies.