Swiss Biotech Report 2006

CONDITIONS FOR RAISING CAPITAL ... 23ROUNDTABLE Yvonne Wegmann (SWX Swiss Exchange),Harry Welten (Arpida), Irene Püttner (BankSarasin), Thomas Bieri (Investment Banking DepartmentUBS) and Maurice Pedergnana (SECA) discussthe biotech sector’s potential.In 2003, there was hardly any money for biotechcompanies. Things were looking up somewhat in2004. How do you assess the year 2005?Yvonne Wegmann: After the IPO window swung openin 2004, there was a decrease in IPO activity in theUnited States in 2005, but conditions in Europe havecontinued to improve. A total of 13 biotech companieswent public in 2005 on regulated European markets.Harry Welten: In general, we can see that financingactivities in the biotech sector are on the upswing. Inspite of the inherent risks, investors show increasedinterest in this sector. We can only hope that thistrend will continue and that investors will remain interestedin biotech.6.4%8.5%4%16.2%3.4%7%Market Cap.> USD 260 bn21.4%33.4%HealthcareBanksFood and beveragesInsurancesIndustrial goods and servicesCyclical goods and servicesChemicalsOtherFigures based on SPI companies/source: SWX Swiss ExchangeSWX Industry Breakdown as per 31 Dec. 2005Irene Püttner: It was striking that the price of someEuropean IPOs in 2005 was at the lower end of theprice scale and several announced IPOs were pulledback. In the US, only half as many IPOs were completedin 2005 as in 2004. I would therefore describeit as a moderately good year.Maurice Pedergnana: The biggest driver of the marketin Switzerland is a new understanding and trust inthis particular asset class, especially by institutionalinvestors. In 2005 private equity became part of themost famous Swiss pension fund benchmark, thePictet LPP index 2005 family, with 2.5, 5.0 or 7.5 percent of all assets allocated in private equity. Sentimenttowards private equity has never been morepositive and the Swiss biotech industry has certainlyprofited from this trend.Thomas Bieri: Conditions for raising capital havecontinuously gotten better for European biotech companies.The average transaction raised less than 50m,which is rather small. This is because the valuationlevels at which investors are willing to invest in a250200150100500Dec 1999March 2000June 2000Sept 2000Dec 2001March 2001June 2001Sept 2001Dec 2001March 2002June 2002Sept 2002Dec 2002March 2003June 2003SXI Bio+Medtech® (SBIOM)AMEX (BTK)DJ Euro Stoxx PharmaNasdaq Biotech (NBI)Sept 2003Dec 2003March 2004June 2004Sept 2004Dec 2004March 2005June 2005Sept 2005Dec 2005Figures based on SPI companies/source: SWX Swiss ExchangeSWX Industry Breakdown as per 31 Dec. 2005EUROPE’S LEADING STOCKEXCHANGE FORLIFE SCIENCE COMPANIESThe life science companies listed on the SWX enjoya high degree of visibility among investors. Overthe last few years, Switzerland has emerged as aspecialist in this sector, attracting internationalrecognition and demand.• The SWX is the largest marketplace in Europe interms of the market capitalisation of listed lifescience companies.• Around one-third of the total market capitalisationof the SWX is attributable to companies active inthis particular sector.• Companies such as Novartis, Roche, Serono andActelion create an environment of global renown• The issuing banks in Switzerland have great placingpower – Swiss financial institutions managemore than one-quarter of the world’s moveableassets.• Special sector indices (SXI ® ), plus an above-averagenumber of analysts covering the market,guarantee transparency and high visibility.At SWX, life science companies have access to anexperienced and expert community of internationalinvestors specialising in this specific sector.For further information please visitwww.swx.ch