The BioWorld Cancer Index ended the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 down 4.74%, retreating after a promising start that saw the index rise 5.78% by the end of January. In the first quarter, 20 stocks declined in value while just nine posted gains.

After gaining 5.78% in January, the BioWorld Cancer Index reversed course, falling 4.74% year-to-date by the end of March. The index’s movement has closely tracked broader market trends. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index climbed to 5.15% at the end of January but ended the first quarter down 1.54%. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.7% in the first month of the year before slipping to a 1.28% loss through March.

Biopharma companies secured $3.82 billion across 81 public and private financings in March 2025, marking a 28% increase from the $2.98 billion raised through 59 transactions in February.

Last October, having chalked another trial failure with E-selectin antagonist uproleselan, Glycomimetics Inc. made known its acquisition plan for privately held, solid tumor-focused Crescent Biopharma Inc. – backed by $200 million from a syndicate of investors who liked the odds of success with CR-001, a preclinical VEGFxPD-1 bispecific antibody.

Biomedical research seems like it should be the ultimate bipartisan issue. But under the Trump administration, unless and until Congress regains its will to make use of its constitutional powers, bipartisan support for research seems to be a thing of the past. On March 3, members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine warned that the second Trump administration has been waging a “wholesale assault” on American research.