Biopharma Quarterly Dealmaking Statistics, Q1 2019

At $17.96bn, first quarter 2019 biopharma financing showed a significant increase over Q4 2018's $10.9bn, yet it was actually on par with 2018's opening quarter – which brought in total fundraising of $16.6bn– once again demonstrating a solid start to the year. The most Q1 financing dollars came from follow-on public offerings, accounting for $5.3bn, or 30% of the total (see Exhibit 1). This category featured $100m-plus offerings by 18 companies centered around various therapeutic areas. In the largest FOPO of Q1, Sage Therapeutics Inc. (selective allosteric GABA-A and NMDA receptor modulation) netted $561m, which it will put toward the US commercial launch of Zulresso (SAGE547; brexanolone injection) for postpartum depression (it was just approved in March 2019 Also see "Zulresso Is Sage’s First Step In Postpartum Depression Treatment" - Scrip, 20 March, 2019.); ongoing development of and initial pre-commercial activities for oral GABA-A modulator SAGE217 in major depressive disorder and insomnia (Phase III) and bipolar depression (Phase II); and advancement of Phase I oral candidates SAGE324 (essential tremor and epileptiform disorders) and SAGE718 (cognition-related disorders, including Huntington’s disease) [See Deal].

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