Biotechnology Industry

Biopharmaceutical industry

This is an exciting time for the biotechnology sector. It is growing at an enormous rate - almost 17% per annum. And no wonder: Big Pharma is suffering from poor R & D productivity and is looking to smaller biotech companies to fill the gap. There were 70 deals between Big Pharma and biotech companies in 1993. Last year there were 500.

There are many large therapeutic areas with unmet medical needs - cancer and autoimmune diseases to name but two. Biotech companies are, by their very nature, risk-taking ventures focussed on innovation and they are very active in these and in most other therapeutic areas. The challenges to biotechnology business, investors and operational management teams are great.

Risk... Only 1 in 10 biotech companies is profitable.

Drug development is a risky game with only 1 in 100 candidates succeeding at the pre-clinical stage and only 1 in 10 candidates succeeding at the clinical stage. The costs of bringing a new drug to market are immense and many biotechs’ are facing a looming cash crunch: 20% of European biotechs’, for instance, have less than 12 months cash remaining at their current burn rates.

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Industry   Key Questions   Strong Track Record