Data for the this analysis was compiled using the DealForma database; specifically the companies and venture funding sections. We used company location data tagged with the three major U.S. biotech hubs along with primary therapeutic and technology focus areas. All data are based on publicly disclosed figures. We invite you to answer interesting questions using our data and carefully curated profiles on deals, pipelines, companies, funding, and business executives by visiting dealforma.com to schedule your personalized demo.
Global biotechnology venture investment topped $11.8 billion in 258 financing rounds in the first 10 months of 2018. Who are the top biotech venture investors, where are they investing their money, and what are they investing in? We used DealForma’s extensive database and research capabilities to gather publicly disclosed data from January 1, 2015 through October 31, 2018 and answer these questions. In all, we looked at 1,027 venture rounds at 824 companies with 1,193 investors. The financials in this report are for the round, not that investor’s share.
No matter how you slice it, by number of investments or total dollar value of each investment, a small handful of firms top the list:
Update: Check out how Celgene ranked among cancer investments in an updated table for 2010 to 2018 here
Although it is impossible to know the actual size of these firms’ investments, many times these VCs are the lead investor in a financing. Notable financings in 2018 where they were the lead investor include:
Venture investors tend to take an active role in the companies in which they invest and as such often invest in companies near them so they don’t have to travel as much. Of the twelve most active firms in terms of number of investments and size of rounds over the past four years, five have headquarters or a presence in the Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts area, while six have a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many have more than one location, including ARCH Ventures—headquartered in Chicago but with offices in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Austin, and Dublin, Ireland; New Enterprise Associates—headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland but with offices in Menlo Park, CA; and OrbiMed Advisors—headquartered in New York City, but with an office in San Francisco and major countries around the world.
Thus many of their dollars go to companies located in the Boston/Cambridge and San Francisco Bay Area hubs. The data shows that Cormorant has invested solely in biotechs in the Boston/Cambridge hub, while San Diego’s share of deals and dollars has been growing, especially from local investors, such as Avalon Ventures, Illumina, Biomed Realty Ventures, Qualcomm, and Viking Therapeutics:
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28,664
Deal Profiles
18,893
Funding Rounds
32,123
Company Profiles
22,077
Product Profiles
119K+
Clinical Trials
3,967
Business Developers
Specifically for Biotech, Pharma, Device, and Diagnostics
It’s no surprise that cancer continues to be the main therapeutic area of focus both for the number and size of the deals. There’s also renewed interest in therapies targeting neurologic disorders and infectious diseases:
Finally, what technologies are hot? Over the past four years, VC investment in companies developing first-in-class and best-in-class small molecule therapeutics far surpasses investment in immunotherapies, cell therapies, and gene therapies:
Next week, I’ll start a series on partnering and M&A trends as we lead up to the 2019 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Marie Daghlian is a freelance writer and editor who reports on the business of biotechnology and healthcare technologies and on rare diseases for Global Gene’s Rare Daily. She also covers the industry for Big4Bio, a daily newsletter focused on the four major biotech centers in the United States.
Chris Dokomajilar is the Founder / CEO of DealForma and has been an industry analyst for over a decade. He analyzed the data and produced the charts for this article. More about Chris.
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The top deal upfront for Oct 2022 was the MacroGenics research partnership with Gilead with an option to license MGD024. MacroGenics signed a research partnership with Gilead to develop MGD024, a bispecific antibody, and two additional bispecific therapies using MacroGenics’ DART platform with an exclusive, worldwide option to license MGD024 for the treatment of certain blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). MacroGenics will be responsible for Phase I clinical trials of MGD024 as a monotherapy and combination therapy for multiple indications. Gilead may exercise its option at predetermined decision points. MacroGenics will receive $60M in cash up front and is eligible for up to $1.7B in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, and undusclosed option exercise fees, plus tiered, double-digit royalties for MGD024 and a flat royalty for two other therapies.
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The top deal upfront for Sep 2022 was the SpringWorks expanded clinical collaboration with GSK for Nirogacestat in combination with GSK’s Blenrep. SpringWorks granted GSK non-exclusive rights to develop and commericalize Nirogacetat,an oral gamma-secretase inhibitor, in combination with GSK’s Blenrep, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting B-cell maturation antigen for the treatment of multiple myeloma. SpringWorks will receive a $75M equity investment in shares of common stock at a premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average share price on Sept 2, 2022, and is eligible to receive up to $550M in development and commercial milestones.
August 2022 Top Biopharma Deal: Sanofi – Innovent for Cancer Drugs SAR408701 and SAR444245
The top deal upfront for Aug 2022 was the Sanofi development and commercialization deal with Innovent for SAR408701 and SAR444245. Sanofi granted Innovent exclusive rights to develop and commercialize its SAR408701 (tusamitamab ravtansine) for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and gastric cancer in China. Additionally, Sanofi and Innovent will co-develop SAR444245 for the treatment of multiple cancer drugs. Sanofi will invest EUR300M (approx. $306.6M) in Innovent up front at HK$42.42 (approx. $5.40) per share in Innovent common stock. Sanofi is eligible for EUR80M (approx. $81.7M) in development milestones plus royalties for SAR408701, while Innovent is eligible to receive EUR60M (approx. $61.3M) in development milestones and royalties for SAR444245.
July 2022 Top Biopharma Deal: Orion – MSD for Prostate Cancer Drug ODM-208
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The top deal upfront for May 2022 was the Dragonfly Therapeutics development and commercialization deal with Gilead Sciences for solid tumors. Gilead has an exclusive, worldwide option to develop and commercialize additional NK cell engager programs by using its Tri-specific NK Engager (TriNKET) platform after the completion of certain preclinical activities. Dragonfly will receive $300M up front and is eligible to receive undisclosed opt-in payments and development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus up to 20% royalties.
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The top deal upfront for April 2022 was the Harbour BioMed development and commercialization deal with AstraZeneca for solid tumors. AstraZeneca will be responsible for all costs for development and commercialization. HBM will receive $25M up front and is eligible for up to $325M in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, plus undisclosed tiered royalties.
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