Biotech Is Down But Not Out:

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April 27th, 2022, webinar summary

The seas have remained choppy for the biopharma industry in the early part of 2022. With a bearish capital-raising environment and unaligned valuations to keep deal makers treading water, how biotech’s will remain afloat has become the crux of the sector. In this webinar, Locust Walk and other leading experts in strategic dealmaking and finance discuss the current state of biopharma and what to expect as we settle into 2022.  

The panel includes: Geoff Meyerson, CEO & Co-Founder of Locust Walk (moderator), Andrew Allen, Co-Founder, President & CEO of Gritstone bio, Brian Coleman, Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Capital Markets at Locust Walk, and Irina Margine, Principal, Biotech Private Equity at Wellington Management. 

Overall, the group has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the industry. Despite macroeconomic and sector-specific headwinds, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With a newly appointed FDA Director and more clarity around drug pricing relative to last year, it should garner a sense of stability in the minds of investors. Although we’ve seen a dramatic pause on late-stage financing rounds and limited access to the public markets, it can be viewed as a healthy reset for what was a financing frenzy just 8-12 months ago.  

Companies will need to get creative and return to the nimble roots of biotech to survive in this environment. The stress will be on becoming more capital efficient and doing more with less, a position these biotech’s haven’t been in since the late 2000s. As generalist capital continues to exit the industry, drug developers will need to find alternative sources of capital. Pharma is likely to come to the rescue and provide the funds, capabilities, and validation needed to re-energize the sector through strategic partnerships. Although an uptick in M&A hasn’t yet materialized, the deck remains stacked for buyers to strike when the timing is right. Biotech’s need to become open-minded with the types of deals they are willing to take and what their sense of value is.   

Listen to the webinar to hear first-hand from these industry leaders about where companies can look for stability in an unsettled environment.