Final rules the U.S. SEC adopted Jan. 24 to beef up disclosure requirements and investor protection in initial public offerings by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and de-SPAC transactions could be the death knell for the SPAC market. They also could open the door for the SEC to regulate companies like biopharma and med-tech startups as investment companies.
A catastrophe was averted over the weekend of March 11-12, 2023, when the U.K. government and the Bank of England orchestrated the rescue of the U.K. arm of Silicon Valley Bank, after its U.S. parent was shut down by the receiver. While that saved dozens of small biotechs with large deposits at the bank, it signified the fragile economic environment during the year, compounded by wider geopolitical frictions, with a market described by Chris Hollowood, CEO of Syncona Investment Management, as “the worst in my career.”
Doubling efforts to thaw the global biotech capital freeze, the U.S. branch of Shanghai-based Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. will ramp up investment into U.S. clinical-stage assets through a new joint investment vehicle with American health care advisory firm Treehill Partners.
Investment in life sciences in the U.K. in 2022 was 47% lower than in 2021, new figures from the government show, a decline the British pharma industry believes is down to the high clawback rates imposed on drug manufacturers deterring global investors.
Swiss biotech firms raised CHF1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) in equity and debt financing in 2022, a fall of 60% from the previous year’s total of over CHF3.3 billion. But it’s still ahead of historic pre-pandemic levels of funding.
For European biotech, the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 could hardly be described as the best of times – but the period did not represent the worst of times either. European firms engaged in drug discovery and development collectively raised $1.88 billion during this period. The tally is 4% less than the total raised in the comparable period last year, and it represents just 32% of the total raised during the COVID-19-fueled biotech boom during 2021. But it’s still the third highest Q1 raise during the last six years.
Early-stage venture capital firm Karista SAS reported the third edition of its European digital health funds mapping report. This mapping included all funds with global headquarters in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the U.K., Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Nordics.
Europe is losing its innovative edge in biopharma, especially when it comes to advanced therapy medicinal products, including tissue, gene and cell therapies used to prevent, treat and cure rare conditions and some cancers.
Oxford Science Enterprises, an independent investor specializing in building companies through its relationship with the U.K.’s University of Oxford, has raised a further £250 million (US$300 million) to translate academic research into commercial products and businesses.
Qiming Venture Partners has closed funds worth a total $3.2 billion for health care-related investments, with funds spread across the five areas of biopharmaceuticals, med tech, diagnostics, health care services and IT.
