In the second half of 2020 medtech began a tentative – and possibly short-lived – recovery.
The pandemic remains the dominant storyline for drug stocks at the nine-month mark, with Vertex and Horizon rare non-Covid-related risers.
Global drug stocks enthusiastically joined the recovery on the financial markets in the second quarter, more than offsetting earlier declines.
Mid- and small-cap medtechs find themselves at the mercy of government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Success or failure on the stock markets this year depended almost entirely on whether a company’s devices could be used to treat coronavirus patients.
US drug stocks were shielded from bigger falls in the first quarter by leading coronavirus researchers, leaving groups listed in Japan and Europe to tumble harder.
The coronavirus pandemic wiped billions from global drug stock valuations in the first quarter, with the few gainers failing to offset huge losses elsewhere.
New products and strategic execution buoyed mid and small-cap medtechs, while safety worries took down one former high-flier.
Drug makers from across the globe feature in 2019’s list of best performing small biotech stocks, from Galapagos to Daiichi Sankyo to Arrowhead.