The 2018 Industry Snapshot report noted that the proportion of biotech initial public offerings (IPOs) the state was responsible for had jumped from 30% in 2016 to close to half.
It is a similar story this year so far, as the non-profit organisation Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) revealed that biotechs in the area account for 40% of all IPOs.
2018 could well be on its way to being a record one for biotech investment, with a number of IPOs already occurring in the lead up to midterm elections.
Steven Skolnick, partner at Lowenstein Sandler, had previously explained to us what could be driving this increase: “The market and economy have been strong this year, as well as the tax changes which are helping to drive investments and M&A activity and the momentum of deal flow.”
Biotech boom boon to MA
Massachusetts attracts some of the largest pharma and biotech companies, driving employment and investment to the area.
For instance, the report noted that the largest presence, Sanofi, employs 4,800 staff while the second largest has 3,050 in the state. In total, companies in the biopharma industry employ close to 70,000 individuals.
In 2018 alone there has been venture capital funding of approximately $2.7bn (€2.34bn) to companies in the state, with an average of $51m invested per deal.
The rush to be part of the biotech hub has led to the rapid growth in lab space being developed in the area, with 29-square-feet of space being developed in the state – representing an increase of 71% over the course of a decade.
It has also resulted in the state holding a significant proportion of drug candidates across the US with 2,116 in the MA pipeline, accounting for 16% of all potential drugs in the US.
