Investing in biotechnology stocks used to be seen as risky enterprise offset by the prospect of spectacular rapid growth. But two years after a COVID-provoked biotech investment peak, biotech has become even more part of the mainstream, it seems. The NASDAQ Biotech Index (NBI) no longer tracks with the tech and e-commerce stocks such as Apple, Cisco or Airbnb that contribute to the general NASDAQ index; instead it more closely follows the Dow Jones Industrial Index, which reflects the performance of firms such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Visa, Boeing, Coca-Cola and Nike. The spectrum of financing in 2023 also reflected a tighter relationship between biotech and established firms, and a loosening of ties to capital markets. The public equity markets for biotech struggled during the year, with fewer than 50 initial public offerings (IPOs), a drop in follow-on offerings, and debt financing virtually non-existent. Closed public markets discourage venture investment, which was down one-third on its level in 2022 and down over 50% on the recent peak of 2021. That contraction in venture capital and public equity markets made biotech financing more dependent than ever on industrial funding through partnerships or via merger and acquisitions. Partnerships indeed were the biggest single source of biotech financing in 2023. There were some glimmers of hope remaining. Even though the upper threshold for venture rounds was down, four of the largest ventures round were A rounds, suggesting renewed interest in novelty. Apart from Acelyrin, which flopped after clinical failure of its anti-interleukin-17 mimetic, the stock prices of the companies with largest IPOs all performed well after flotation. Most notable perhaps was RayzeBio, which raised $337 million in its IPO in September for its targeted radiopharmaceutical portfolio and was acquired in December by Bristol Myers Squibb in mid-December. Its almost as if investors lined up the deal at the IPO after-party.

1. Source: BCIQ BioCentury Online Intelligence

投资生物技术股票过去被视为高风险企业，但其快速增长的前景却抵消了这一风险。但在新冠疫情引发的生物技术投资高峰两年后，生物技术似乎已成为主流的一部分。纳斯达克生物科技指数（NBI）不再追踪苹果、思科或 Airbnb 等为纳斯达克综合指数做出贡献的科技和电子商务股票；相反，它更紧密地遵循道琼斯工业指数，该指数反映了沃尔玛、麦当劳、Visa、波音、可口可乐和耐克等公司的业绩。 2023 年的融资范围也反映出生物技术与老牌公司之间的关系更加紧密，以及与资本市场的联系放松。生物技术领域的公开股票市场在这一年陷入困境，首次公开募股 (IPO) 数量不足 50 家，后续发行数量下降，债务融资几乎不存在。封闭的公开市场阻碍了风险投资，风险投资比 2022 年的水平下降了三分之一，比 2021 年的近期峰值下降了 50% 以上。风险投资和公共股权市场的萎缩使得生物技术融资比以往任何时候都更加依赖工业融资，合伙企业或通过并购。合作确实是 2023 年生物技术融资的最大单一来源。仍然存在一些希望的曙光。尽管风险投资的上限有所下降，但最大的风险投资中有四轮是 A 轮，这表明人们对新颖性重新产生了兴趣。除了Acelyrin因抗白细胞介素17模拟物临床失败而惨遭失败外，IPO规模最大的公司上市后股价均表现良好。 最引人注目的也许是 RayzeBio，该公司在 9 月份的 IPO 中为其目标放射性药物组合筹集了 3.37 亿美元，并于 12 月中旬被百时美施贵宝 (Bristol Myers Squibb) 收购。这几乎就像投资者在 IPO 余兴派对上排队等待交易一样。

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   来源：BCIQ BioCentury 在线情报