2016 leaves pharma facing stormy waters

EP Vantage Releases its Annual Pharma and Medtech Sector Review Reports for 2016.

For the world’s drug makers 2016 was a year of two halves. Dealmaking and venture funding held up over the first two quarters, buoyed by the retreating bull market. However, as the US presidential election loomed ever closer, companies went into lockdown. Meanwhile, the medtech sector demonstrated that greater efforts are needed to foster innovation if it is to thrive. These findings and more have been released as part of the Pharma & Biotech 2016 in Review and Medtech 2016 in Review reports by EP Vantage, the editorial arm of life science market intelligence firm Evaluate.

"In terms of pharma & biotech share prices, the volatility of 2016 and the unpredictability President Trump has so far displayed will do little to calm industry nerves. Investors and companies might want to brace themselves for these stormy waters to become the new normal this year. Alongside the political landscape, high drug prices will remain the sector’s gremlin in 2017," said Amy Brown, Pharma & Biotech report author.

"In the medtech sphere, the venture funding climate is getting deeper into an endless winter," said report author Elizabeth Cairns. "While there are some rich rounds, even in the early stages, most companies are struggling to find growth capital."

Other key findings include

• The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index ended in the red for the first time since 2008.
• The $98.7 billion spent on pharma & biotech acquisitions in 2016 was less than half that of the biotech boom’s peak in 2014.
• The fourth quarter saw three venture rounds breaking the $200 million barrier; with Moderna Therapeutics exceeding $1. billion
• In medtech, the total value of M&A deals fell to $42 billion, far below 2015’s total of $128 billion.
• Medtech companies raised a total of $3.7 billion in 2016, down slightly from the year before, and the number of rounds continued to decline steeply.
• The 38 premarket approvals and humanitarian device exemptions in 2016 represented a 25% decline from 2015; but de novo clearances were up, with 24 last year compared with 18 in 2015.

The two reports offer analysis and expert commentary on M&A deals venture financing, initial public offerings and FDA approvals in the pharma and medtech sectors during 2016. The reports are based on EvaluatePharma and EvaluateMedTech data.