Biotech industry: financing remains stable – turnaround on the horizon
Biotech industry: financing remains stable – turnaround on the horizon
(Berlin – 11 January 2024) Despite the tense situation on global financing markets, the German biotechnology industry managed to raise around €1.08 billion in capital in 2023, a slight improvement over the previous year (€920 million euros). Some €533 million of this flowed into private companies in the form of venture capital, while €547 million was injected into listed companies through capital increases, according to the survey results published today by the biotech association BIO Deutschland. The association’s annual trend survey also shows that company directors again have a more positive outlook for the future, although they still assessed their business situation in 2023 as being markedly worse than in 2022. However, there continues to be a negative trend in terms of hiring intentions and R&D spending for the coming year.
Around 29 percent consider their current business situation to be bad, while in 2022 only 13 percent said so. In contrast, some 35 percent expect their business situation to be better in 2024 than in 2023, compared to just 26 percent last year. The number of companies that intend to cut staff has also increased, with 14.5 percent planning to do so, around three times as many as a year ago. The number of those intending to boost staff has remained stable at around 45 percent. Some 33 percent plan to spend more on R&D in 2024 (2023: 39 percent), while 18 percent plan to reduce such spending (2023: 11 percent). The number of those who think the current political climate is bad for biotech companies has more than doubled, from 15 percent to 35 percent. Company directors do not expect any significant changes as far as the future political climate is concerned.
Oliver Schacht, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, stated: “Our companies faced exceptional challenges in 2023. Capital markets were difficult, energy costs continue to be high and qualified staff are hard to recruit. This situation is reflected in the findings of our trend survey. It is remarkable that many company directors do not expect the situation to get any worse, but believe there are signs of a turnaround. Yet they are still cautious when it comes to investments, and more job cuts are also planned, but these will remain limited.”
Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, added: “The trend survey shows that the assessment of the political climate for our industry has again deteriorated significantly over the previous year. This is understandable, as our government has still not made biotechnology a priority, even though bodies such as the Future Council of the Federal Chancellor have recognised the importance of the technology. Something urgently needs to be done about this. Biotech companies are major drivers in the value chain of therapeutic development, of the sustainable bioeconomy and of the circular economy.”
476 words/2,958 characters including spaces
Download:
The results of the trend survey and graphic material can be found at:
www.biodeutschland.org/en/2023-2024.html
As Germany’s national biotechnology industry association, BIO Deutschland aims to support and promote the development of an innovative economic sector based on modern biosciences. The Berlin-based association currently has some 380 members, ranging from companies and bioregions to industry services providers. Oliver Schacht, PhD, is Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland.
For further information, visit www.biodeutschland.org/en/association.html
Supporting members of BIO Deutschland and industry partners are:
AGC Biologics, Avia, Baker Tilly, Bayer, BioSpring, Boehringer Ingelheim, Centogene, Citeline, CMS Hasche Sigle, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Evotec, KPMG, Lonza, Miltenyi Biotec, MorphoSys, Novartis, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, QIAGEN, Rentschler Biopharma, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland, Schmidt Versicherungs Treuhand, Simmons & Simmons, Springer Nature, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Vibalogics, and ZETA.
Contact:
BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Email: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org
Publication free of charge – specimen copy requested.
