While biopharma mergers and acquisitions are at an all-time low, a company that stood in the front battle lines fighting the COVID-19 pandemic not only completed the top M&A so far in 2022, but it also announced plans for another mega-merger shortly thereafter.
Signs of hope at the end of March were quickly dashed in the last several weeks as BioWorld’s Biopharmaceutical Index (BBI) plunged once again, albeit not as dramatically as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. The BBI is down by 4.4% for the year, as of May 11, while NBI has fallen 28.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by 12.4%. It is a situation that several analysts say could provide an opportunity for investors.
For the first time since the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, global deaths caused by the disease have fallen to their lowest point, as immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants continues to build. Infections and deaths appear to be decelerating, an optimistic sign that the pandemic may be nearing an end.
Cybersecurity remains a pressing issue for medical technology, in part because there are new, small companies jumping into this space seemingly every day. However, there is a shortage of talent in cybersecurity, something that Dan Lyon, director of cybersecurity at Boston Scientific Corp., of Marlborough, Mass., said will not ease soon due to a lack of interest among colleges and universities in providing curriculum and degrees in this area.
With 47% fewer biopharma financings than last year, investors who were once enthused over the industry’s potential in combatting the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to be taking a step back. So far in 2022, the industry has raised $18 billion across 346 financings through the first week of May. By the same time in 2021, it had raised three times that amount, $53.9 billion through 651 transactions.
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