Biotech industry: Financing stable – turnaround on the horizon
(Berlin – January 11, 2024) Despite a tight global financing situation, the German biotechnology industry managed to raise a little more capital in 2023 than in the previous year, with around 1.08 billion Euros. 533 million Euros of this went to private companies in the form of venture capital, while 547 million euros flowed into listed companies as a capital increase, according to the data collection, which the biotechnology industry association BIO Deutschland is publishing today. The association's annual trend survey also shows that, although CEOs still assess their business situation in 2023 as significantly worse than in 2022, they are looking more positively to the future again. However, the negative trend in personnel planning and investment in research and development (R&D) for the coming year continues.
Around 29 percent said their current business situation is poor. In contrast, around 35 percent expect their business situation in 2024 to be better than in 2023. Last year, only 26 percent thought so. The number of companies that will reduce their workforce has also increased. 14.5 percent plan to do so, about three times as many as a year ago. The number of those planning to increase their workforce has remained stable at around 45 percent. 33 percent plan to invest more in R&D in 2024 (2023: 39 percent), while 18 percent plan to reduce these investments (2023: 11 percent). The number of those who find the current political climate for biotech companies poor has more than doubled, from 15 to 35 percent. As for the future political climate, the entrepreneurs expect little change.
Oliver Schacht, CEO of BIO Deutschland, states: “The year 2023 has presented our companies with challenges. The capital market was difficult, energy costs are high, and qualified personnel are hard to find. The results of our trend survey reflect this situation. It is noteworthy that many managing directors do not expect the situation to deteriorate any further, but rather that a trend reversal is emerging. However, they are still cautious about investing, and more job cuts are planned, albeit at a low level.”
Viola Bronsema, CEO of BIO Deutschland, adds: “The trend survey shows that the assessment of the political climate for our industry has once again deteriorated significantly compared to the previous year. This is understandable, because biotechnology is still not a top priority for our government, although, for example, the Chancellor's Council for the Future has also recognized the importance of the technology. Something urgently needs to be done here. Biotech companies are powerhouses of the value chain, therapy development and sustainable bioeconomy, as well as the circular economy.”
About BIO Deutschland:
BIO Deutschland e. V., based in Berlin, has around 380 members – companies, BioRegions and industry service providers – and aims to support and promote the development of an innovative industry in Germany based on modern life sciences. Oliver Schacht, Ph. D., is Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland.
Further information is available at: www.biodeutschland.org
BIO Deutschland's supporting members 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, ZETA.
Contact:
BIO Deutschland e. V.
Dr. Claudia Englbrecht
Schützenstraße 6a
10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 2332 164-32
Mobile: +49 151 14067326
E-Mail: englbrecht@biodeutschland.org