After reaching their peaks in late November, both the BioWorld Drug Developers Index and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index finished the year slightly down from those highs.

Drug developer stocks strengthened further through September and October, with the BioWorld Drug Developers Index (BDDI) rising from a 7.69% gain at the end of August, to 24.91% through the third quarter and 28.96% at October’s close. The BDDI outperformed both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which finished October up 24.49% and 11.8%, respectively.

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.

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.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index (BDDI) rebounded in the second quarter, ending the first half (H1) of 2025 up 1.23% after being down 7.36% at the end of March and 5.52% at April’s close. The BDDI continued to track just below the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which gained 3.64% in H1, and outperformed the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, which ended June down 1.92%.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index underperformed both the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) throughout February and March. However, it showed some recovery by the end of April, finishing the month down 4.67%, slightly worse than the DJIA’s 4.41% decline. The NBI ended April slightly up from both, with a year-to-date drop of 1.16%.

After finishing 2024 with a 15.25% decline, the BioWorld Drug Developers Index rebounded 6.93% in January, only to fall back to a modest 1.06% gain by the end of February. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average followed a similar pattern, each rising about 5% by the end of January, before closing February at 3.13% and -2.48%, respectively.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index extended its decline through year-end, closing 2024 down 15.25%. After dropping 11.3% by October, the index briefly rebounded, narrowing losses to 5.36% in November, before slipping again.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index (BDDI) continued its downward spiral through the fall, going from a modest 1.11% decline at the end of August to a 6.2% dip in September and an 11.3% loss by October’s close.

The BioWorld Drug Developers Index (BDDI) declined in August, ending the month down 1.11% for the year and diverging from its previous trend of mirroring the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). By the close of August, the BDDI had slipped, while the NBI gained 11.7% year-to-date and the DJIA rose 7.05%.