During the past few years, the biopharma and biotech markets have seen rapid growth. The global biotechnology market was worth $266 billion in 2019 is projected to reach $505 billion by 2026.1 In those strategic and important markets, what roles do private equity and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) play?
An overview of the biotech sectorOn Euronext, the biotech sector has been resilient despite the impact of COVID-19. In 2020, the market capitalization of the 62 biotech firms listed reached a record of €29 billion, up €5.3627 billion compared to 2019. The share price of listed biotech companies increased by 66.8% in the first half of 2020. In the second half of the year, it grew by 29.7%.
In the U.S., major biotech stock indices were also high in 2020. In addition, biotech IPOs were very strong both in value and number, with $14 billion raised in 74 deals.
The U.S. continues to lead the biopharma IPO market. Next in line is the China IPO m…