Corporate Biotech Investors Double Down on Startup Funding in 2018
Corporate venture investors in the biotech sector participate in rounds valued at $8 billion in 2018, nearly doubling their 2017 totals. Corporate backers also sharply increase the funding amounts for rounds they directly lead.
Corporate investors play a major role in driving up biotech venture funding, which reaches just under $29 billion globally in 2018. According to Crunchbase data, investors from an index of large pharma and biotech companies participate in 138 startup funding rounds, up from 122 the previous year. Average deal sizes grow significantly as supergiant funding rounds become much more common in the industry.
The overall value of rounds featuring a corporate biotech backer climbs to $8 billion in 2018, a massive increase from $4.2 billion in 2017. While most biotech deals do not include a corporate investor, a substantial minority rely on these established industry players to fuel their growth. This surge aligns with a broader trend of historically high global biotech venture funding over the past few years.
Corporate biotech investors also step up as lead investors, driving even larger individual funding rounds. Rounds with a corporate bio VC as the lead investor total around $1.7 billion for the year. This leadership position indicates that these corporate arms put up a large portion or even all of the reported funding, signaling strong confidence in the startups they choose to back.