Biotech Startup Companies Are To Brace For Harsher Investment Climate

By Staff Writer

Jan 23, 2016 04:09 AM EST

In recent years, biotech companies were enjoying easy access to capital as a result of innovation and rising interest in the treatment of diseases like cancer. In the last 5 years, share prices of biotechnology companies soared and attracted capital monies easily.

The Wall Street Journal, referring  to report by Brian Gormley of Dow Jones' VentureWire states that run is ending. Investors attending the recent JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco hoped news from the event would lift share prices. But instead, Nasdaq Biotechnology Index continued its slide that began in late July 2015 and now falling to 2933 as of Wednesday, 13 Jan 2016 -its lowest level since Nov 2014.

This fall is expected leading entrepreneurs to prepare for a tighter fundraising market after years of capital flooding into biotech. Notwithstanding, several biotech venture firms have raised funds recently, and investors say industry fundamentals remain strong.

According to a CNN report in September 2015, the impending 2016 presidential election delivered the death knell to the biggest bull market in biotech stocks ever. Innovation and quick profits fuelled the S&P500 Biotechnology Index to skyrocket to more than 400% between July 2010 and July 2015. The biotechs collapsed after a tweet from Hillary Clinton made in September 2015 expressing her outrage about the unbelievable price hikes by a drug maker run by Martin Shkrelli - a former hedge fund manager - who's since been dubbed as the most hated man in America.

Following that tweet in September 2015 S&P Biotechnology Index went down 23% below its July peak. It was a signal that stocks had moved to the bear territory which meant that stock had fallen 20% from a recent high. It was the end of the best and second longest bull market in the group's history since 1992 according to Bespoke Investment Group. The real trigger for the biotech bust was the threat that Washington would act to curb dramatic price hikes that help pad drug makers' profits.

John Schroer, manager of healthcare funds at Allianz Global Investors, believes there's little actual risk of price control imposed by the Democrats after the 2016 election because the chances that they will control the White House and also both houses of Congress is low.

According to PEVC the latest slide in the Biotechnology Index can be attributed to  global economic slowdown. It is also attributed to concerns  over drug pricing. Both causes have combined to exert pressure on the biotech stocks.

Notwithstanding slide in Biotechnology index, in a latest report from Wisconsin State Journal, the startup community involving tech and biotech in Madison, Wisconsin is thriving. They have provided more than 800 jobs and brought in $66 mln from investors in 2015. The two biotech companies that managed to raise capital are Centrose and Kiio.

Although the slide in the Biotech Index has not stopped biotech startups from raising funds, leading entrepreneurs are expected to brace for a tighter fundraising market. Biotech startups would have to wait for global economy to be more stable and concerned over drug pricing to be cleared. 

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