Berlin, 20th January 2015. The European biotech industry experienced a stock market boom in 2014.
A total of €2.4bn was poured into biotech companies in Europe via the stock exchange, an increase of
25% compared to the previous year (2013: €1.9bn). The number of biotech IPOs tripled to 15. A total of
150 biotech companies with a market capitalisation of €66bn are now listed on the 15 most important
stock exchanges in Europe. The majority of companies is traded in London (33) and Paris (32). These
are the key findings of the report "Comparative Analysis of European Biotech Stock Markets 2015",
which was presented today during a press conference by BIOCOM AG in Berlin, Germany. "The record
numbers of 2014 show two things: biotech is a profitable investment again, and the US biotech boom
has reached the European public markets," says Dr. Boris Mannhardt, CEO of BIOCOM.
In the aftermath of the crisis years 2011 and 2012, all indicators are now showing signs of a significant
upswing throughout all trading centres. "The cross border exchange Euronext and the Alternative
Investment Market in London are obviously the most attractive. They are at the top of our ranking,"
says Mannhardt, summarising the main results. The cross-border exchange Nasdaq OMX and the
Swiss Stock Exchange follow in 3rd and 4th place. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange has been waiting
for a biotech IPO since 2007.
Compared to the US, the European public biotech sector in general still lacks maturity. Turnover and
market capitalisation of the European companies are significantly lower. According to the report, every
second biotech company operates in the nano cap range having less than US$100m. Only 10% of the
firms are above the market cap barrier of US$1bn. "Nevertheless, we can see a remarkable upswing.
With the stock exchange as an alternative route, the private venture capital market is also experiencing
a revitalisation," says Mannhardt, pointing out that a range of European companies have successfully
entered the US investment market. In 2014, a total of seven biotech companies from Europe opted
for a listing in the US.
Press release, 20th January 2015
Biotech stock market boom has arrived in Europe
BIOCOM report documents record numbers for 2014/Euronext and AIM most attractiveAbout the report
In November 2014, BIOCOM AG published its first report "Comparative Analysis of European Biotech
Stock Markets 2014", which for the first time analysed the European stock market landscape
with respect to its relevance for biotech companies. In January 2015, all data for 2014 was updated.
The report recorded all listed companies that can be considered as a dedicated biotech company
according to the internationally comparable biotech definition of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) – from drug developers to enzyme producers. The analysis
encompassed all stock market segments with a minimum of eight listed biotech companies and investigated
the availability of capital, the trading volume, the number and amounts of IPOs and follow-on
financings from 2009 until the end of Q4 2014. The cross-border exchange Euronext is at the top
of the ranking. It is followed by the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the growth segment of the
London Stock Exchange. The stock exchange in Warsaw brought up the rear of the ranking. In addition
to the exchange ranking, the report includes an analysis of the major shareholders of European
listed biotech companies as well as the following case studies: Abzena plc (AIM/London); Deinove
SA (Alternext/Paris); Mabion SA (Main List/Warsaw); MorphoSys AG (Prime Standard/Frankfurt);
Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA (Main Standard/Zurich); uniQure NV (Nasdaq/New York); Valneva SE
(Euronext/Paris).
A download of the full report is available here: www.biocom.de/en/analysis2015