In one of the most extraordinary years for med-tech mergers and acquisitions, 2021 is the culmination of a snowballing interest in maturing digital technologies amid mounting COVID-19 pandemic problems and uncertain futures. Societal lockdowns in 2020 boosted notice of telehealth, testing and remote monitoring devices, but that notice ramped up even more in 2021, not only as new SARs-CoV-2 variants emerged, but as businesses sought innovative ways of delivering their products.
While med-tech financings in 2021 fell about 17% below the amount raised in 2020, the industry still collected $49.26 billion, significantly more than each of the two previous years, and driven primarily by digital health and diagnostic technologies.
Although 2021 med-tech deal volume is 13% higher than last year, the deals represent less than half the value recorded in 2020. The industry has completed 1,576 deals, including licensings, collaborations and joint ventures, through mid-December of 2021. They are valued at $2.13 billion. A total of 573 M&As, on the other hand, have reached $144.75 billion, a 282% rise over 2020.
At more than $48.2 billion raised through mid-December, the med-tech industry has recorded another stellar financing year – one that is 19% below 2020, but above every other year to date.