Biotech's top money raisers of 2023
26 Feb 2024
Preview
Source: FierceBiotech
2023 posed its fair share of challenges, especially for early-stage biotech companies
"Oh, the Places You'll Go!" is an all-time classic in the Bayer family. My mom gave me the book when I graduated from college, including a list of the countries and states I had visited to date—a list that I now maintain as I venture to new places. It's also filled with wisdom about life's journey, wisdom that, dare I say, may be applied to biotech investing in 2023.
“I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you,” Dr. Seuss writes.
While applying terms like "bang-ups" and "hang-ups" might be a bit hyperbolic for a down year in a still-multi-billion dollar industry, 2023 posed its fair share of challenges, especially for early-stage companies.
Nearly $23 billion in venture capital flowed to biopharma across 613 deals in 2023. The dollar total is down 21% from 2022 and 42% from 2021, according to an annual report from HSBC. The trend was worse for biotechs hunting for their first deal.
In comparison to 2022, biotech first-financings in dollars fell by 39%, and the drop was even more pronounced at over 57% when compared to 2021. Additionally, the number of deals plummeted by 42% compared to 2022. In total, HSBC found $4.2 billion in investments spread across 169 deals.
The report attributes the decline, in part, to investors slowing their investment pace to prioritize existing portfolio bets and bolster their bank accounts. This aligns with anecdotal evidence from investors who, as of late, have maintained that the name of the game is not just cash runway but reaching catalysts.
The report also highlights that first-financings tended to occur when companies were closer to the clinic than in the past. This strategy ensured they had some data to raise a subsequent round rather than being empty-handed. Notably, there were still three dozen large first-financings, defined by HSBC as having raised $40 million or more.
Despite the contraction, several biotechs raised single megarounds north of $100 million and a dozen raised at least $200 million. For the purposes of this list, we tallied individual private financing rounds as announced by the companies. We did not include companies that emerged from stealth with cash from multiple fundraises nor did we include extensions to previously announced rounds. Kriya Therapeutics, for example, tacked on $150 million to a series C first announced in May 2022, so that was left off the list.
The diversity of storylines among last year's top private fundraisers is indicative of how bumpy the markets were. At least three went through layoffs, one was just acquired and a third went public. Even when armed with substantial capital, 2023 showed that no biotech is safe from cost-cutting as priorities change or narrow. As is often the case, the clinical focus of the companies raking in 2023's largest rounds spanned disease areas and modalities. And yes, that includes platform companies.
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Organizations
Indications
-Targets
-Drugs
-Hot reports
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Leverages most recent intelligence information, enabling fullest potential.