With phase III vaccine trials nearly enrolled and data expected soon, a half-year of expedited development efforts, plus massive government funding may soon provide the ammunition needed to effectively stop the SARS-CoV-2 scourge of 2020.
More than 62% of the volume and 63% of the projected values of med-tech deals completed in 2020 are for one of two things: COVID-19 diagnostics and devices or digital health technologies that fall outside of the pandemic efforts. As of late September, BioWorld has tracked 1,012 deals this year – including licensings, collaborations and joint ventures – valued at $3.67 billion, as well as 272 completed mergers and acquisitions valued at $8.53 billion.
Without the COVID-19 pandemic, projected values of biopharma nonprofit collaborations and grants would be 72% and 30% below last year’s levels, although it is impossible to know what deals may have come to fruition in a world absent of the disruptive SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The number of biopharma deals and mergers and acquisitions completed so far within the past three months are significantly down from each of the first two quarters of 2020. But despite slumping activity and uninspiring M&A values, the projected values of licensings, collaborations and joint ventures, at about $45.4 billion, has placed the nearly complete third quarter in line with the rest of the year. That is mainly due to July and August having two of the largest deals for the year. Together, they make up 27% of the money disclosed in the third quarter, although there is still a week and a half left in September.
While COVID-19 is responsible for about 14% of the regulatory data collected by BioWorld in 2020 and even though numerous clinical trials have suffered delays, the pandemic does not appear to have slowed the pace of the FDA’s approval process.
As biopharma deal values continue to rise above recent years, a growing percentage of the funds are coming through partnerships with companies headquartered in Asia and nearby countries. The $48.5 billion reported so far in 2020, for deals in which at least one party is based in either Asia, Australia or New Zealand, represents 37% of the global deal value.
Raising more money in the first three quarters of 2020 than in each of the last three full years, the med-tech industry is mirroring that of the biopharma industry, showing an unprecedented amount of financing during what is arguably the most economically disruptive pandemic in a lifetime.
The volume of clinical data reported throughout the summer has continued to fall, with only 267 items collected in August, a drop of 10% from July and the lowest amount within the last five months.
As biopharma deal values continue to rise above recent years, a growing percentage of the funds are coming through partnerships with companies headquartered in Asia and nearby countries. The $48.5 billion reported so far in 2020, for deals in which at least one party is based in either Asia, Australia or New Zealand, represents 37% of the global deal value.
