Biopharma companies focused on infectious disease extended their stock recoveries through the third quarter (Q3), with the BioWorld Infectious Disease Index closing October up 28.98%. The gain marks a strong turnaround from earlier in the year, when the index had fallen 17.83% by the end of April before rebounding to a 4.34% gain by July’s close.

Biopharma partnerships involving nonprofits have declined sharply since peaking during the pandemic. Deal value surged from $5.18 billion in 2019 to $21.44 billion in 2021, driven by COVID-19 collaborations and vaccine-related funding, before falling to $7.99 billion in 2022 and $754.6 million in 2024. So far in 2025, nonprofit deal value totals $126 million through the third quarter.

Biopharma partnerships involving nonprofits have declined sharply since peaking during the pandemic. Deal value surged from $5.18 billion in 2019 to $21.44 billion in 2021, driven by COVID-19 collaborations and vaccine-related funding, before falling to $7.99 billion in 2022 and $754.6 million in 2024. So far in 2025, nonprofit deal value totals $126 million through the third quarter.

Artificial intelligence recently roiled the regulatory world, but the U.S. Congress has yet to dive into the task of legislating on the concept. Barrett Tenbarge, general counsel for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told an audience here in the nation’s capital that while the Senate is considering several legislative proposals, the desire to avoid legislation that will create as many problems as it solves suggest that legislative development “is a long-term process.”

Bavarian Nordic A/S plans to buy two travel vaccines plus a phase III chikungunya vaccine candidate from Emergent Biosolutions Inc. for about $380 million. Emergent will receive a $270 million up-front payment and perhaps as much as $110 million in future milestone payments. The vaccines are Vivotif, for preventing typhoid fever, and Vaxchora, for preventing cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1. Both oral vaccines have U.S. FDA and European approvals.

The U.S. FDA has posted or updated several recalls in the second half of January 2023, such as the class I recall of Mahurkar hemodialysis catheters distributed by Medtronic plc., reported Jan. 30. This recall is associated with two injuries but no fatalities to date, but the potential for mixing of venous and arterial blood has forced Medtronic to request that its customers quarantine any unused catheter kits, which could be a substantial amount of product given the nearly 23,000 units are affected by the recall.