Over 2022 and 2023, biotech funding saw significant change, with a marked downturn in investment. Hoverer, the post-pandemic slump is expected to end with the market heading to recovery in 2024, finds GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

A recent GlobalData’s survey “The State of the Biopharmaceutical Industry 2024” found that overall, more than 40% of healthcare industry professionals surveyed globally expressed an optimistic or very optimistic sentiment on the biotech funding starting to bounce back over the next 12 months. Respondents in North America had the highest proportion with a pessimistic sentiment, likely due to uncertainty on when the IPO market is to return.

Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, comments: “Biotech’s funding and investors are faced with current market uncertainty with high inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical challenges. As patent cliffs loom for large pharmaceutical companies, they may choose to do more partnerships, merger and acquisition (M&A) deals with biotechs to enhance their drug development and innovation. Stabilizing interest rates may also prompt a return for a more promising outlook.

In the same survey, a total of 60% of surveyed healthcare industry professionals felt optimistic or very optimistic about the industry’s growth in 2024, up by 13% from the last year (47%) projections.

Jakimaviciute concludes: “There were many challenges and changes for the global economy in 2023, ranging from disruption of international supply chains to turbulence in stock markets to escalating China-West tensions and geopolitical conflicts. Nevertheless, slowing inflation may offer more stability, confidence, and positivity regarding future growth prospects.”

* GlobalData’s survey fielded with 115 healthcare industry professionals from November 7, 2023 to November 27, 2023.