A look at financing, M&A and alliance activity April–June 2018
• By Amanda Micklus and Maureen Riordan
Biopharma financing for the second quarter totaled $12.4 billion, a 25% decrease from Q1 2018. Meanwhile Q2 merger and acquisition deal value reached $101 billion, three-quarters of which came from Takeda's $79 billion takeover of major European player Shire. Alliances – totaling $13.8 billion (a significant decline from the previous quarter's $30.7 billion) – featured large partnerships in the antibody space, the biotechnology industry sector with the highest dollar volume.
In the second quarter of 2018, biopharma financing reached a total of $12.4 billion, a 25% decrease from the $16.6 billion raised during Q1. Dollar values in FOPOs and debt offerings were down compared with the previous quarter, but early-stage venture rounds made a strong showing in Q2. (See Exhibit 1.)
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