Venture investors: biotech's preppers?
A handful of huge financings helped start-ups raise a record $5.4bn in the second quarter as investors brace for tougher times.
Biopharma shares shake off the pandemic
Global drug stocks enthusiastically joined the recovery on the financial markets in the second quarter, more than offsetting earlier declines.
Smaller device makers put in a muted performance
Mid- and small-cap medtechs find themselves at the mercy of government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
What pandemic? Biotech floats break records
After a brief pause in the first quarter flotations have come flooding back, with drug developers raising almost $5bn so far this year.
Novavax shares enter Warp Speed with cash injection
The biotech has been singled out for a $1.6bn payment for US Covid-19 vaccine development.
Covid-19 divides the biggest medtechs
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.
Covid-19 vaccines remain hot – in spite of Inovio
Biontech and Pfizer come roaring back with the first human data on BNT162, a day after Inovio’s effort disappointed.
Go or no go? Pandemic looms over FDA timelines
Approval decisions are due for Jazz, Gilead and Galapagos in July, while Glaxo is preparing for a panel.
Gilead finally prices its Covid-19 drug
By pricing remdesivir at $2,340 for a five-day course Gilead has kept investors on side, but others will be disappointed.
Curevac muddies the Moderna/Arbutus waters further
The markets try to figure out who really benefits from last week’s patent decision over a key mRNA technology.
The Covid-19 vaccine battle just got interesting
A patent claim against Arbutus is thrown out, threatening parts of Moderna’s mRNA technology – including its Covid-19 vaccine.
A poor quarter for Roche leads to muted expectations
Launching a suite of Covid-19 diagnostics could not prevent Roche’s first-half profits sliding 5%.
Covid-19 vaccine contest turns to T-cell responses
The coronavirus vaccine race now features three front runners with clinical data, and at least one boasts impressive T-cell responses.
Synairgen joins the 2020 coronavirus winners club
A small trial of inhaled interferon marks a 30-fold increase in Synairgen stock since January, but the endpoints warrant scrutiny.
US pursues pooled testing for Covid-19, and Quest benefits
Batch testing could allow large numbers of people to be ruled out as having Covid-19, but accuracy concerns remain.
