Amid a tightened fundraising environment, life sciences companies should double down on basics like focusing on key projects and getting out data, and look at creative ways to raise capital.
Those were some of the take-home messages from venture capitalists and other investors at a panel discussion at the 2023 Life Science Innovation Northwest meeting last week. “Capital isn’t going to flow like it was anytime soon,” said panelist Monica Beam, senior vice president for science & technology at Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
After reaching record highs during 2020 and 2021, venture capital funding for life sciences funding is now closer to pre-pandemic levels, and the IPO market has chilled. At the same time, the long-anticipated upswing in merger and acquisition deals is starting to happen, led by the $43 billion planned purchase of Seattle-area biopharma company Seagen by Pfizer. The XBI biotech index is up slightly since the Seagen acquisition announcement, but still about 50% down from an all-time high in February 2021.