DUBLIN – European biotechnology firms engaged in drug discovery and development raised an aggregate $3.172 billion in equity investment during the first half of 2019, down 19% on the same period last year. Unless there is a substantial pickup in the third and fourth quarters, the sector's record-breaking 2018 total of $7.715 billion looks to be out of reach. 

IPOs in the United States may be lagging overall, but in med-tech we have seen a flurry of IPO activity, sparking some long overdue optimism regarding the health of the industry. Most recently, Natera, a California-based company, began trading (NASDAQ: NTRA) this past Thursday at $22.10 after pricing 10 million shares of its common stock at $18, the high end of the expected $17 to $18 range. Natera is a genetic testing company that develops non-invasive methods for analyzing DNA. ConforMIS, a Massachusetts-based company, also received a warm welcome from investors when it began trading last Wednesday (NASDAQ: CFMS) at...