The U.S. FDA approved eight drugs in January 2024, down from 10 approvals the previous January and also down from December’s 21 FDA greenlights. Approvals of new molecular entities also continued to decline, going from six in November to three in December, to one in the first month of 2024.

Despite a slowdown in the fourth quarter (Q4), med-tech deals concluded the year with the highest deal-value total in BioWorld MedTech’s records. In 2023, a total of $10.63 billion was raised from deals, a 33% increase over the $7.99 billion deal total in 2022. Meanwhile, annual M&A value dropped 58%, from $153.09 billion in 2022 to $64.8 billion in 2023.

Concluding 2023 on a strong note, the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index ended the year up 11.62%, surpassing the end of November increase of 3.37%. BBI kicked off the new year with a solid 4.77% increase by January’s end.

In 2023, med-tech firms garnered a total of $17.68 billion in funding, marking a 53.85% decline from the $38.31 billion raised in 2022 and ranking as the lowest financing year documented by BioWorld MedTech. This decrease follows a 22.3% dip from 2021’s $49.3 billion. The top-value year in med-tech financings remains 2020, recording $59.7 billion, followed by 2021’s $49.3 billion.

Biopharma deals in January reached $26.97 billion, marking the sixth-highest month in BioWorld’s records going back to 2016. It is an increase of nearly 25% from the $21.64 billion in deals in January 2023 and also is up from December. Value the first month of the year is more than 2023’s average monthly value of $18.14 billion, and likewise more than the average monthly value of any previous year.

The new year kicked off with med-tech deal value in January totaling $107.75 million. By the numbers, January’s 183 deals surpassed the 2023 monthly average of approximately 142 deals per month.

The biopharma industry started 2024 on the upswing, with all four categories of financings tracked by BioWorld up in value compared to last January, and also up from December. In comparison to January 2023, IPO value soared 262%, follow-ons surged by 247%, public/other offerings saw a 381% rise, and private financings experienced a 21% bump.

The BioWorld Cancer Index (BCI) had a stellar performance in 2023, finishing the year with an increase of 76.26%. The rise is a notable spike from the end of the third quarter, when it was up 22.96%. BCI’s performance surpassed both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and stands in contrast to 2022, when the BCI concluded the year with a decline of 41.98%, and 2021, when the index saw a decrease of 36.34% over the year.

In the first month of 2024, med-tech financings passed the $1 billion mark once more, raising a total of $1.06 billion through 46 transactions recorded by BioWorld. It was the fourth consecutive month where med-tech financings exceeded the $1 billion threshold, just slightly down from the $1.07 billion raised in December.

The biopharma industry started 2024 on the upswing, with all four categories of financings tracked by BioWorld up in value compared to last January, and also up from December. In comparison to January 2023, IPO value soared 262%, follow-ons surged by 247%, public/other offerings saw a 381% rise, and private financings experienced a 21% bump.