Download the full report here.

JD Supra just released its Life Sciences Report for Winter and Spring 2019. The report confirms just how robust the life science investment has been in 2018. Biopharma, Device and Dx/Tool investment grew by more than 50% in 2018 compared to 2017. US healthcare venture fundraising reached $8.8 billion and continued a four year upward trend.

Highlights from the report include:

• Biopharma – Series A deals grew by 35% over 2017. However there were a few number of deals overall. Oncology and platform companies lead the pack. Biopharma exits were dominated by IPOs which accounted for 70% of the record $49.3 billion in exit values in 2018
• Device – Device investment grew by 40% in the US and Europe. Series A grew by more than 30% to almost 1 billion. 78% of the investments went to later stage deals.
• Dx and Tools – Tech investors continued to dominate investments in this arena. Series A investments dipped in both number of deals and dollars. However later stage investments more than doubled over the previous year. Exits included 10 M&A deals and 2 IPOs.

The report predicts that fund raising in 2019 will continue to be healthy, reaching around $8 billion. Market forces may drive down pre IPO valuations for biopharma companies and lead to an increase in private biopharma M&A transactions. Device investment is expected to remain stable an include and increase in series A funding. Series A deals in Diagnostic and Tools are expected to climb with tech acquirers picking up diagnostic and analytics companies.