Biomedical companies in the BioRegion raise €102 million in private investment in 2017
<p>The percentage of foreign investors rose from 12% to 16% last year, according to the study by CataloniaBio & HealthTech and EY</p>
Biomedical companies in the BioRegion of Catalonia attracted €102 million in investment in 2017, according to the Study on investment in the Biomedical industry in Catalonia: Achievements and future challenges by CataloniaBio & HealthTech and EY.
This investment was raised through 32 operations from a variety of sources of private funding. Specifically, venture capital continues to be the main source of funding for companies that develop products (33%), while service firms tend to opt for private debt (74%). Most investors are from Catalonia (76%), although foreign capital is increasing (from 12% in 2016 to 16% in 2017).
The study identifies three consolidated trends: greater participation from international funds, as we've mentioned; larger rounds of funding, €3.4 million per operation, on average, compared to €3 million the previous year; and increasing quality of management teams. In this regard, the study highlights that the skills of other members are being looked at more and more, such as the scientific director or the medical director, as they are considered key for implementing clinical studies.
“We have more international funds looking to invest in the region,” highlights Jaume Amat, president of CataloniaBio & HealthTech and CEO of Specipig. “We hope their contribution will be even bigger in the near future, as we expect a significant number of companies will launch advanced rounds of funding that local investors alone won't be able to cover.”
In this regard, Catalan investment firms carried out a total of 31 operations with €56 million in committed capital, mainly for drug discovery. The value of these operations is up 74% from 2016.
“The Catalan biomedical sector is moving towards consolidation, in a global context in which the industry is facing the challenge of proving the value of innovation, making R&D more efficient, standing up to increasing regulatory pressures and ensuring its competitive strategy regarding new competitors moving into the market from the digital arena,” explains Partner Global EY Life Sciences Silvia Ondategui-Parra.