SPECIAL REPORT: Riding the Biotech Economic Tsunami - Surfing to Safety or Wipeout?

Introduction

In 2008, the global financial crisis radically altered the dynamics of the biotech industry; many weaker companies will fail. However, private investment in biotech continued, and pharmaceutical companies invested significant sums in acquiring and partnering with biotech companies offering innovative products and technologies for drug discovery.

Questions Answered in This Report

• Although the state of the economy is the dominant parameter that affects all industries, the biotech industry is especially sensitive to economic fluctuations. How are declines in capital markets affecting the biotech industry? What are the current trends in biotech IPO activity?
• Despite the economic downturn, venture capital (VC) firms continued to invest in biotechnology in 2008. What types of biotech companies are attracting VC investments? Which technology areas attracted the most investment? What types of start-up companies are able to obtain early-stage financing?
• Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have long been a litmus test of the strategic objectives of pharmaceutical companies. M&As also have become an important instrument for biotech companies that are seeking to survive or become stronger. What are the current trends in pharma-biotech and biotech-biotech M&As? What factors drove M&A activity in 2008?
• Corporate partnerships with pharmaceutical companies have become supremely important to biotech companies as one of the few remaining sources of reliable capital. What technology areas are attracting the interest of pharmaceutical companies? What deal structures characterize current partnering trends?

Scope

• Public equity financing: IPO downturn, focus of companies going public in 2008.
• Private equity financing: VC investment, focus of companies, Series A financings.
• Mergers and acquisitions: trends in recent high-value, strategic pharma-biotech and biotech-biotech M&As, factors driving M&As, technologies of acquired companies.
• Corporate partnerships: deal structure and value, target and lead discovery, academic alliances, lead identification and optimization, lead profiling, protein optimization, molecular diagnostics, therapeutic platforms.
• Outlook for biotech investment and trends: VC activity and focus, areas of interest to Big Pharma, megadeals, profi tability of biotech companies.

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