OXFORD, England, July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —
OBN BioCluster Report 2011 Urges Caution on Growing Innovation
Financing Gap
The UK bioindustry has raised over $250m in financing during the
second quarter of 2011, the largest amount raised in any quarter
for one year, and the second largest amount raised in any of the
last 20 quarters. This signals an end to the financing drought that
saw three consecutive quarters below $100m from the second and
fourth quarter in 2008.
According to the OBN BioCluster Report 2011, the UK Bioindustry
has seen a year-on-year increase in investment from 2008-2010, and
has returned to its position as the leading capital raiser in
Europe, a crown which it briefly lost in 2009. The report states
that the Oxford BioCluster took the largest bite of the apple
taking $204m of the $253m financing raised in the country as a
whole during Q2 2011.
“The results reflect the transition of a growing and maturing
BioCluster whose on-going success requires later stage clinical
financing, beyond the earlier-stage innovation financing that we
are more used to seeing,” commented Jon Rees, CEO of OBN.
Although the second quarter results for the Oxford BioCluster
were double compared to any previous quarter, the report urges
caution. According to the report, the divide in the UK Bioindustry
between the amount of financing going in to early-stage and
late-stage has grown, with just 0.8% of funds being attracted by
the bottom 20% of financing rounds compared to more than 2% in
2007, while over 70% of funds are attracted by the top 20%.
“Taking the largest data set analysed yet for the UK scene from
E&Y, Medtrack and company press releases, we have been able to
show there is a growing gap in the financing of innovation, which
taken at a country level, a government would be wise not to
ignore,” said Jon Rees, CEO of OBN.
Looking specifically at Oxford, the report signals a recovery
for the Bio
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