Financings ramped up dramatically in 2015 with $68 billion collected, but the amount does not touch biopharma investment in the last two years. The industry has raised $113 billion in 2021, down from the $134.5 billion full year 2020 total, but more than every five-year combination total from the years 2000 to 2014. It is an increase of 65% over 2015, 200% over 2016, 118% over 2017, 68% over 2018 and 95% over 2019. Both IPOs ($23.7 billion) and venture capital rounds ($37.8 billion) have hit all-time records this year. But will the onslaught of money continue for the industry?
Like an overzealous Olympic runner, impressive and strong at the start of the race but dropping the pace with each subsequent lap, biopharma financings in 2021 grabbed headlines in the early months of the year, but they have significantly slowed down since then.
DUBLIN – After a COVID-19-fueled funding bonanza, European biotechnology appears to have reverted to the mean in the second half of this year. Firms engaged in drug development raised a total of $1.886 billion in disclosed transactions during the third quarter (Q3) of 2021. That represents a 44% fall on the total raised in Q2, which was itself down 46% on the Q1 total. The sector has raised a total of $11.44 billion so far this year, meaning that last year’s highwater mark of $12.682 billion is still within reach – but only just. The funding momentum appears to have stalled for now.
For the last few years, Hong Kong has been the preferred financial hub for many Chinese health care companies to go public and raise money from global investors. “Biotechnology is today the fastest-growing IPO market segment,” said Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of HKEX, during the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) Biotech Summit 2021.
Vigencell Inc., a company focused on immune cell therapy, raised ₩99.4 (US$85.17 million) through an IPO on South Korea’s Kosdaq board and plans to use the funds to drive its R&D and company operations. “We particularly want to increase the competitiveness of our pipeline by advancing our technology and clinical development,” Vigencell CEO Tai-Gyu Kim told BioWorld. “We will also expand our discovery of new candidates and R&D in general, as well as updating our facilities and hiring researchers.”
Keymed Biosciences Inc. debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) on July 8, raising HK$2.94 billion (US$378.48 million) in the process. The company will use the funds raised for the R&D and commercialization of key pipeline candidates.
Brii Biosciences Ltd. raised HK$2.482 billion (US$319 million) in its IPO in Hong Kong and will use the proceeds to support the development of its key assets, which includes programs for hepatitis B virus (HBV), HIV and drug-resistant infections.
China saw $28.5 billion invested in its life sciences sector in 2020, which was double the previous year’s amount and sets a five-year high. Partnering activities and IPOs also grew exponentially over the last five years to set records.
When uncertainty strikes, survival instincts flourish. That is exactly how the biopharma industry weathered 2020 and the global spread of the devastating SARS-CoV-2 virus. “The theme for 2020 was, ‘If the capital is there, take it. It’s an uncertain future’,” said Gabriel Cavazos, managing director in investment banking at SVB Leerink.
DUBLIN – European biopharma, like the rest of the global industry, scaled new heights in 2020 from an investment perspective. European firms collectively raised $12.682 billion from the private and public equity markets, as well as substantial levels of debt and grant funding. It was a bumper year for both venture capital investment and for Europe’s growing cadre of listed companies.
