Biotech financing

Summary
Financing
For the second year in a row, the biotechnology sector’s
financing total reached unprecedented heights. Biotechnology
companies raised nearly US$71 billion in 2015, easily
surpassing the record-setting US$56 billion amassed
the year prior.
Fueling this best-ever financial picture were record capital raises
in three categories: follow-on public financing rounds, debt and
venture capital. It was also another stellar year for initial public
offerings (IPO), with more than US$5.2 billion raised in IPOs, the
third-highest total on record.
Whether large or small, public or private, biotech companies
across the industry have been able to take advantage
of the free-flowing capital over the past two years. During
this period, they have filled (or refilled) their coffers with
cash to drive future research and development and business
development agendas.
Biotech is an industry known for cycling between booms and
busts. Despite its record financial harvest, its inevitable winter
is coming, and numerous signs suggest that public capital is
becoming more scarce. The biotech indices have relinquished
the past years’ enormous gains, and the queue of companies
lining up for public offerings has dwindled. In this environment,
the question to ask isn’t whether the climate is changing, but
just how long this winter will last.
4 Beyond borders 2016 — Biotech financing