Life sciences companies raised record amounts of capital during 2010, a year that saw change in many parts of the world as global economies continued to recover, or be bailed out, from the devastating financial crisis of recent years. Venture financings more than doubled to $9 billion in 2010 from just over $4 billion in 2009, with most of the money raised during the first half of the year.
As the IPO market got into full swing, however, it was evident that investors were not interested in high-risk companies without revenues. Most of the U.S. IPOs were completed at significant discounts to companies' initial expectations. Still, they raised hopes for many other venture backed companies that the public markets could be a viable source of much needed capital. Some 19 life science companies raised almost $1.6 billion through initial offerings.
On the other side of the world, China's IPO market was hot, as investors rushed to own a piece of the country's fast-growing healthcare market. And Japan's Otsuka Pharmaceuticals' decided to go public to fund its global expansion, raising $2.4 billion in the largest healthcare IPO to date.
Public financing was also strong during the year, with $64.4 billion raised globally, and $44.3 billion raised in the United States alone. Most of the money came from debt issues, while money raised from secondary offerings dropped from $6 billion in 2009 to $4.1 billion in 2010. U.S. companies raised $30.5 billion through debt issues in 2010.
Global dealmaking activity was also strong, with $148 billion in disclosed M&A transactions and $63 billion in partnering activity. The January edition of The Burrill Report will have a full tally of the life sciences financial picture in 2010.
Deals for the Week Ending December 31, 2010
| Global Venture Financings | |||
| Company | Location | Amount Raised (USD M) | Principal Focus |
| Bonovo Orthopedics | Beijing, China | 10.0 | Orthopedics |
| Aarden Pharmaceuticals | Indianapolis, IN | 0.3 | Improved drugs |
| Total Raised U.S. | 0.3 | ||
| Total Raised Non-U.S. | 10.0 | ||
| PUBLIC FINANCINGS | |||
| Company | Ticker | Amount Raised (USD M) |
Financing Type |
| Cambridge Heart | OTC:CAMH | 0.8 | PIPE |
| Transgenomic | OTC:TBIO | 6.0 | PIPE |
| BioSante Pharmaceuticals | BPAX | 18.0 | PIPE-RDO |
| DARA BioSciences | DARA | 4.8 | PIPE-RDO |
| Lannett Company | LCI | 15.0 | PIPE-RDO |
| Cleveland Biolabs | CBLI | 8.4 | PIPE-RDO |
| Pyng Medical (Canada) | TSX-V:PYT | 0.6 | PIPE |
| Kangmei Pharma (China) | SHEX:600518 | 529.0 | Follow on |
| DiaMedica (Canada) | TSX-V:DMA | 2.7 | Warrant exercise |
| Provectus Pharmaceuticals | Private | 1.0 | CEFF--$30 million commitment |
| Compugen (Israel) | CGEN | 5.0 | R&D funding agreement |
| TOTAL PUBLIC FINANCINGS-US | 537.3 | ||
| NON-US | 54.0 | ||
| M&A | |||
| Acquirer | Target | Deal Value (USD M) |
Focus |
| Warburg Pincus | ReSearch Pharmaceutical Services | 227.3 | Contract Research Organization |
| Sucampo Pharmaceuticals | Sucampo AG (Switzerland) | 80.0 | Intellectual property |
| Pfizer | Akorn | 35.0 | Generics |
| Kelun Pharmaceutical (China) | Guangdong Zingfa Pharmaceutical (China) | 22.3 | Pharmaceuitcals |
| Surya Pharmaceuticals (India) | ActivOn | 22.0 | Over-the-counter |
| Pfizer Animal Health | Synbiotics | N/A | Veterinary diagnostics |
| Pathfinder | SyntheMed | N/A | Cell therapies |
| Roche (Switzerland) | Marcada Biotech | N/A | Metabolic |
| Alliances | |||
| Company/Licensee | Company/Licenser | Deal Value (USD M) |
Focus |
| Elan Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) | Transition Therapeutics (Canada) | 20.0 | Alzheimers Deal Amendment |
| Chindex International | Fosun Pharma (China) | N/A | Medical Device Joint Venture |
| Merial (France) | GenVec | N/A | Animal Vaccine Collaboration |
December 31, 2010
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-life_sciences_companies_raise_record_amounts_of_capital.html