Brady Huggett

Public biotech 2012—the numbers

At a glance Figures View all figures Figure 1: NASDAQ biotech index over time. The data cover the year ending December 31. Full size image View in article Figure 2: Global biotech industry financing. (a) Partnering data for 2004–2009 includes only US companies. PIPEs, private investments in public entities. (b) Partnering data for 2009–2012 includes global deals. Sources: BCIQ BioCentury Online Intelligence. Partnership figures from Burrill & Company. BioCentury updates its financing data on an ongoing basis. Full size image View in article Figure 3: Global biotech IPOs through the years. Full size image View in article Figure 4: Public biotech barometers. (a) Public biotech company revenue, RD mid-cap,

Biotech's wellspring: a survey of the health of the private sector

1 billion to <

Public biotech 2009—the numbers

5 billion; small cap,

Public biotech 2011—the numbers

250 million to <

Public biotech 2010[mdash]the numbers

1 billion; microcap, <

Public biotech 2008—the numbers

250 million. Full size image View in article Figure 5: Public biotech companies by geographical location. ROW, rest of world. Full size image View in article

Biotech's wellspring: the health of private biotech in 2012.

An examination of the private biotech industry reveals shrinking financial resources and higher hurdles to obtain funding, but new models are evolving to meet the challenge.

Reinventing tech transfer

T whooshing sound at the end of 2009 was the biotech sector letting out its collective breath. The year began as a hard slog, so when it came to a close on an upward swing, the industry rightfully felt a measure of relief. That’s not to say there weren’t casualties: a distressingly large number of companies departed the scene last year. But it was not as bad as some pundits had estimated, and the industry proved itself to be strong and creative. It was helped by a recovering economy in the second half of the year. Overall, counting the vast financial potential of collaborations, the industry recorded one of its best years for fundraising. That has left the sector brightly looking ahead again—a far cry from how things appeared at the end of 2008.The public biotech sector sustained more losses in 2009, but the year ended on a positive note, and the industry has regained its footing.

Geron's quixotic fate

The financial performance of the public biotech sector was remarkably buoyant last year, but a few worrying clouds hover on the horizon.

Biotech's wellspring[mdash]a survey of the health of the private sector in 2015

585 Brady Huggett is Business Editor and John Hodgson is Editor-at-Large at Nature Biotechnology. Riku Lähteenmäki is a freelance writer in Turku, Finland. increased 141% to 1,393 deals last year, which raised