Biotech financing
25WmEet
25WmEet
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To our clients<br />
and friends<br />
The poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson<br />
famously advised: “Don’t judge each day by the<br />
harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”<br />
These are wise words, especially so in today’s<br />
uncertain financial climate. Whether large or small,<br />
public or private, biotech companies across the<br />
industry have taken advantage of the capital that has<br />
flowed freely these past two years. They have filled<br />
(or refilled) their coffers with cash to drive future<br />
R&D and business development agendas. As a result,<br />
they are well-prepared for what increasingly looks<br />
to be a period of protracted market volatility.<br />
As we reflect on the <strong>financing</strong> highlights of 2015,<br />
there is no question that companies find themselves<br />
at a crossroad. How will access to capital affect<br />
strategic business decisions, particularly the ability<br />
to seed future innovations? In the future, will society<br />
be able to reap the full gains of novel biopharma<br />
products given current resource constraints?<br />
This is not the first time our industry has found<br />
itself at a crossroad. Thirty years ago this year,<br />
we published our first ever biotechnology report,<br />
<strong>Biotech</strong> 86: At the Crossroad. At the time, the<br />
report’s authors pondered the fate of a very nascent<br />
industry, wondering “whether the industry would<br />
endure or exist for only a moment in time.”<br />
Thanks to a combination of extraordinary scientific<br />
progress, business model creativity and, yes, a little<br />
luck, the biotech industry has not only survived,<br />
but prospered.<br />
It has also changed — and so have we. As our digital<br />
capabilities evolve, we want to take advantage<br />
of new tools that enable more timely delivery<br />
of our content. Thus, we are moving away from<br />
issuing a single large, annual report to the serial<br />
publication of our insights. Over the course of the<br />
next three months, we will release specific, concise<br />
perspectives on not just biotech <strong>financing</strong>, but<br />
also deals and financial performance. To put these<br />
findings in context, we will also publish a “Year in<br />
review” summary, highlighting the key messages<br />
and their future implications.<br />
Rest assured, via this new format, you will still be<br />
able to access the key data you’ve come to expect<br />
from Beyond borders. But we also hope to plant the<br />
seeds for a bountiful harvest of even better biotech<br />
analysis. Please visit our new digital home, Vital<br />
Signs (ey.com/vitalsigns), and our Twitter feed<br />
(@EY_LifeSciences) to access our latest content<br />
and provide feedback.<br />
Glen T. Giovanetti<br />
Global Life Sciences Leader<br />
2 Beyond borders 2016 — <strong>Biotech</strong> <strong>financing</strong>