The BioWorld Cancer Index closed the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 with a 24.15% gain, marking its highest level of the year. The climb reversed earlier declines, including a 12.81% drop at the end of Q1, and half-year performance of 2.21%. Broader markets showed a similar rebound, with the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index up 13.21% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 9.06%, both finishing Q3 at their highest points of 2025.

In August 2025, BioWorld logged 95 clinical trial updates across phases I to III, compared to 140 tracked in July and 254 in June. Among them, 15 phase III studies delivered positive results, while one trial each reported a failure and mixed outcome.

In August 2025, BioWorld logged 95 clinical trial updates across phases I to III, compared to 140 tracked in July and 254 in June. Among them, 15 phase III studies delivered positive results, while one trial each reported a failure and mixed outcome.

The U.S. FDA cleared 18 drugs in August, comparable to July’s 17 but down from June’s 23 approvals. That brings the 2025 U.S. total through August to 143, matching 2020 as the second-highest count on record for BioWorld for the period, after 2024’s high of 159.

Drug developer stocks rebounded over July and August, with 23 companies on the BioWorld Drug Developers Index posting gains and only seven declining. The two-month upswing marks a reversal from the February-through-June period, when the index remained in the negative.

Through the first eight months of 2025, med-tech M&A deal value reached $30.74 billion, a modest rebound from $34.77 billion during the same period in 2024. August contributed $2.42 billion, down from July’s $6.21 billion, yet still ahead of several earlier months in 2025.

Drug developer stocks rebounded over July and August, with 23 companies on the BioWorld Drug Developers Index posting gains and only seven declining. The two-month upswing marks a reversal from the February-through-June period, when the index remained in the negative.

Biopharma dealmaking remained robust through August 2025, with total disclosed deal value reaching $185.28 billion for the first eight months of the year, the highest January-to-August total in BioWorld’s records, and up nearly 36% over the same period in 2024.

Med-tech financings reached $20.21 billion in the first eight months of 2025, on par with the same period last year ($20.26 billion) and showing a strong recovery from the sector’s recent low in 2023 ($13.71 billion). The 2025 total is still well below the record-setting levels of 2020 ($41.83 billion) and 2021 ($38.72 billion).

Biopharma financing activity has continued to remain low compared to the highs seen in recent years, with a total of $39.83 billion raised across IPOs, follow-on offerings, public/other and private financings in the first eight months of 2025.