Beyond Borders: Global biotechnology report 2010

Capital raised by Canadian province, 2009
US$m
Private companies
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
21
381
Public companies
41
50
120
81
24
10
43 8
0
Ontario Québec Alberta British Columbia Other
Source: Ernst & Young, Canadian Biotech News and company websites
Capital raised by leading Canadian biotech clusters, 2009
Total capital raised (US$m)
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
Calgary
Québec
Toronto
Vancouver
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Source: Ernst & Young, Canadian Biotech News and company websites
Size of bubbles shows number of financings per region.
Venture capital raised (US$m)
72 Beyond borders Global biotechnology report 2010
3
Montréal
industry. In the absence of this transaction,
the year’s total would have been only
US$408 million — the lowest level in the
last decade.
For the second year in a row, there were no
IPOs, though Halifax-based ImmunoVaccine
Technologies went public through a reverse
takeover and concurrently raised about
US$7.8 million. Follow-on public offerings
amounted to US$138 million in 2009,
compared to US$80 million in 2008. This
increase can primarily be attributed to
Paladin Labs’ secondary offering of US$50
million; none of the other follow-ons
exceeded US$20 million.
There was a sharp decline in venture
capital in 2009, a major source of concern
for the Canadian industry’s long-term
prospects. Venture funding decreased from
US$207 million in 2008 to US$100 million
in 2009 — by far the lowest level seen in the
last decade. One company — Montreal-based
Enobia — received 16% of this total. Ontario,
in particular, saw a very significant decline
in venture funding, from US$109 million in
2008 to US$21 million in 2009.
The credit crisis has impacted biotechnology
companies harder than firms in most other
sectors. Facing bleak capital markets,
several Canadian biotech firms turned
to non-traditional sources of capital.
Government funding — primarily for plant
construction and research projects but
excluding research grants — generated more
than US$11 million in 2009, or about three
times the amount raised in 2008. Another
significant funding source for public
companies was the sale of tax losses, which
accounted for US$22 million. Many public
companies compensated for the funding
shortfall by turning to some interesting
research collaborations.
The provincial distribution of funding
remains similar to that in previous years.