Biopharma financings for the first quarter of 2022 are at a five-year low, with 65.8% less money and 53% fewer transactions than a year ago. The industry raised $13.1 billion through 249 financings, compared with $38.3 billion from 529 transactions in 2021.

After COVID-19 reached a pandemic peak in January due to the omicron variant, infections in the U.S. are now hitting the lowest levels since March of 2020. During the past week, there were 195,963 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That is 5.5% fewer infections than the same week two years ago and 56% fewer than last year. Deaths are also down to 5,602 for the week, although there were lower points in the spring and summer months of 2020 and 2021.

After hitting a low in late February, BioWorld’s Neurological Diseases Index is rebounding, although it is still down by 8.9% this year, following the same path of the broader markets.

For the first time this year, BioWorld’s Biopharmaceutical Index has entered positive territory, now showing a modest rise of 3.2% as the world limps further away from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation, and skyrocketing gas prices, the biopharma industry remains center-stage when it comes to preparing for another unexpected health crisis and for harnessing the knowledge of the last two years to fight stubborn diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.