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.
Recovering from a complete response letter (CRL) in 2018, Trevena Inc. resubmitted its NDA for oliceridine, branded Olinvyk. On Aug. 7, the drug received agency approval for managing moderate to severe acute pain in adults when the pain is severe enough to require an I.V. opioid and for patients whose alternative treatments are inadequate. The FDA has now approved a total of 34 new molecular entities (NMEs) so far this year. That total is well ahead of the 18 NMEs that were approved at this time in 2019 even though the FDA suggested back in May that it might have trouble meeting PDUFA dates due to the resources it needed to devote to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the money keeps rolling in, 2020 is certainly a year for the biopharma record books. With a total of $81.26 billion raised through Aug. 6, it is a standout year in every type of financing, hitting all kinds of record highs.
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