Public Company Edition: The pace of US initial public offerings slowed a bit in April and May but could ramp back up in June as biopharma investor sentiment rebounds. Also, drug developers continue to go public via SPAC mergers, most recently Valo Health with a $2.8bn post-deal valuation.

After manufacturing issues disrupted a Phase III study for its lead pipeline candidate, Pharnext believes it is back on track with new management, a fresh clinical trial and strong guidance from regulators. New CEO David Horn Solomon has blockbuster expectations for the company’s rare disease drug. 

Executives expect the changes wrought by necessity in the face of a global pandemic to have lasting effects, both positive and negative, on the biopharma sector. Here they share their predictions for the coming year.

Pandemic-related collaborations between Hoth/VCU; Sorrento/Mt. Sinai Health; Audax/Northeastern U.; Alkido/U. of Maryland, Baltimore; Active Motif/Hisun BioRay/Fudan U. and more.