After a period of growth, the pace of investment in biotech could slow, making it essential for firms seeking funds to be ready with the hard facts investors need, said experts in several sessions at the BIO CEO and Investor Conference.
By the numbers: Biopharma fundraising in the first half of 2021 nearly surpassed the total from the previous year, with $7.98 billion invested through 315 Seed/Series A deals, according to the Silicon Valley Bank midyear report. But there could be a drop in fundraising and a greater lag between investments, the bank’s Managing Director Jonathan Norris told yesterday’s opening panel, Venture Investment Trends in Biotech.
Private capital may be harder for any individual company to access, Sara Nayeem, Partner at Avoro Ventures, told the same panel.
“Contextualize and differentiate yourself,” she advised. It’s not enough to promote a company’s platform—companies must put themselves in the context of the alternative opportunities investors can see.
Many experts emphasized the importance of good numbers. “For the more traditional biotech IPOs, there will be a greater focus on real data and catalysts,” Jennifer Sheng, Managing Director at Citi, said during a session on the public market outlook.
“In tighter markets, people will be looking for more and later-stage data, more compelling data,” which will make fundraising harder for newer, developing firms, said David Weild, who helped drive The JOBS Act, which enables funding for innovation.
Investors also favor firms with quality management, said Alethia Young, Managing Director, Head of Equity Research & Senior Biotech Research Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, during the market outlook session. “Judgment matters,” especially when it comes to decisions about things like timing of clinical trials and regulatory matters.
Read more on the live blog.
