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?
The FDA cleared Hyperfine Research Inc.’s advanced image reconstruction technology using deep learning for its portable magnetic resonance imaging device, Swoop. The bedside MRI unit’s artificial intelligence application received clearance in January and is used with deep learning to improve image quality and diagnostic value. Hyperfine and Liminal Sciences Inc., which share a founder in serial entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, are both combining with special purpose acquisition company Healthcor Catalio Acquisition Corp. to go public in a deal valued at $580 million. The companies reported on Nov. 29 that the Securities and Exchange Commission declared the registration statement on form S-4 for the combination to be effective and the SPAC’s shareholders will vote on the transaction on Dec. 21.
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been making headlines recently in the life sciences, but these entities practice a business model that leaves some observers uneasy. Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), told a Senate committee recently that the risks to investors in SPACs has prompted him to ask his staff to come up with some proposals to increase transparency to investors, potentially leading to additional compliance costs for these entities.
Better Therapeutics Inc. has closed on a $50 million debt facility that advances the company’s push into the market for digital therapeutics for type 2 diabetes, a market that seems poised to expand drastically in the next few years. The $50 million debt facility by Hercules Capital is just one of several important financial benchmarks for Better, which is also planning to go public thanks to a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that may raise well in excess of $100 million, all of which seem to promise a bright future for Better and those with type 2 diabetes.
Memic Innovative Surgery Ltd. agreed to combine with Medtech Acquisition Corp. in a transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. The deal establishes an eye-popping $1 billion pro forma valuation for the company, which received FDA clearance for its first device just four months ago.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) has taken the first step towards allowing listings on the market via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), also known as “blank check” companies. The move has left biotech companies wondering if the change could provide the next big opportunity to join the market after pre-revenue companies were first allowed to list there under a 2018 main board listing rule paved the path for them to do so.
MRNA’s the thing and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp. is following as it will merge with privately held mRNA-developer Greenlight Biosciences Inc.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) has taken the first step towards allowing listings on the market via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), also known as “blank check” companies. The move has left biotech companies wondering if the change could provide the next big opportunity to join the market after pre-revenue companies were first allowed to list there under a 2018 main board listing rule paved the path for them to do so.
Heartflow Holding Inc. is aiming to bring its noninvasive, artificial intelligence (AI)-based test for coronary heart disease to more doctors and patients via a merger with Longview Acquisition Corp. II. The deal, valued at an enterprise value of about $2.4 billion, is the latest in a steady stream of med techs queueing up to go public via a “blank check” special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) this year.
Healthcare Capital Corp. (HCC), a special purpose acquisition company, will combine with Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. to create a Nasdaq-listed company with an implied pro forma equity value of approximately $1 billion. Gross proceeds from the transaction, expected to close by year end 2021, are projected to total $367 million.
