Every year, Dr Martin Hall, Head of life Sciences at Hardman & Co analyses the 50 or so companies in the Life Sciences sector, and has done since 2009. In an interview with London South East he revealed that the index of 52 life sciences companies had risen by 'an exceptional 19.9%'.

The main function of the Hardman & Co Healthcare Index (HHI) is to highlight the attractions of life sciences investments over the long term.

2020 was an exceptional year, with the index rising 19.9% to 590.6, broadly in line with the FTSE AIM All-Share Index (+20.7%), but in complete contrast to the performances of the FTSE 100 (-14.3%) and FTSE All-Share (-12.5%) indices.

Of the 52 companies included in the HHI, 36 recorded an increase in their share prices in 2020, whereas 14 saw a fall, with two companies simply marking time.

The variance between the best- and worst-performing stocks was exceptional, at 2,370% – Synairgen (LSE:SNG) rising 2,306% and Shield Therapeutics (LSE:STX) falling 65% – and ca.10x greater than usual; the median share price change was 27%.

55% of companies took the opportunity to raise funds, with almost £900M raised.