Investors will shortly be casting a keen eye on the progress of cancer biopharma companies given that the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, scheduled to take place in Chicago, is only about a month away. Prior to the release of the meeting abstracts, the presenting public companies will also be reporting their first-quarter earnings and business updates. That means there's no shortage of potential stock valuation-moving events in the near term.

Investors will shortly be casting a keen eye on the progress of cancer biopharma companies given that the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, scheduled to take place in Chicago, is only about a month away. Prior to the release of the meeting abstracts, the presenting public companies will also be reporting their first-quarter earnings and business updates. That means there's no shortage of potential stock valuation-moving events in the near term.

Therapeutic options have remained limited for the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD) where, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 2.6% of the U.S. population is diagnosed with the condition and nearly 83% of those cases classified as severe. Historically, there has been a lack of biopharma industry investment in neurology/psychiatric conditions. 

The U.S. government shutdown was a contributing factor why no biopharma companies graduated to the public ranks in January. However, it was a hectic period after that, with a total of 11 companies completing their IPOs in the U.S. by the end of the first quarter, collectively raising about $1.07 billion. That figure was down 10.3% from the $1.2 billion raised by 14 companies listing on U.S. exchanges in the first quarter last year.

Although the number of biopharma licensing deals signed in 2018 reached 1,364 with a projected value of $119.5 billion, a four-year high, it appears that number has not satisfied the industry's appetite for dealmaking just yet. According to data from BioWorld and Cortellis Deals Intelligence, there were 418 deals signed in the first quarter of 2019, a whopping 48% higher than the first quarter transactions completed last year. 

The U.S. government shutdown was a contributing factor why no biopharma companies graduated to the public ranks in January. However, it was a hectic period after that, with a total of 11 companies completing their IPOs in the U.S. by the end of the first quarter, collectively raising about $1.07 billion. That figure was down 10.3% from the $1.2 billion raised by 14 companies listing on U.S. exchanges in the first quarter last year.

Although the number of biopharma licensing deals signed in 2018 reached 1,364 with a projected value of $119.5 billion, a four-year high, it appears that number has not satisfied the industry's appetite for dealmaking just yet. According to data from BioWorld and Cortellis Deals Intelligence, there were 418 deals signed in the first quarter of 2019, a whopping 48% higher than the first quarter transactions completed last year. 

Although the number of biopharma licensing deals signed in 2018 reached 1,364 with a projected value of $119.5 billion, a four-year high, it appears that number has not satisfied the industry's appetite for dealmaking just yet. According to data from BioWorld and Cortellis Deals Intelligence, there were 418 deals signed in the first quarter of 2019, a whopping 48% higher than the first quarter transactions completed last year. 

Global private companies have started out the year in record fashion, attracting more than $4.4 billion in the first quarter, 10 percent more than the $4 billion generated in the first quarter last year. In fact, it is also the highest amount raised in this period in the past decade.