Despite significant and growing market risk – including a Presidential election, the COVID crisis and a resulting downturn in economic output, and protests – biotech and pharma venture capital is experiencing a record year, driven partially by a renewed interest among high net worth investors and generalist funds in biotech as a result of COVID, as well as continued strong capital raising by life science venture funds.
Both biotech/pharma deal flow and total capital invested in private biotech/pharma deals is on pace to well exceed 2019, and any prior year, according to Pitchbook data. Graph 1 shows pharma/biotech performance from January 1, 2020 – July 31, 2020, relative to the complete fiscal years 2009-2019. According to Pitchbook, 2Q2020 was a historical record for biotech/pharma funding.
The record investment has been driven by continued strength among life science venture funds in raising and closing new capital. According to Pitchbook, next to 2018, 2020 has exceeded every other year in biotech, private fund raising. viral genomic RNA and reduces viremia in murine models.