Tough times for Australian pharma and biotech companies

Scranton, PA – May 27, 2010 – MedTRACK, a leading database of private and public biomedical companies, reports that the number of venture financings involving Australian companies decreased by 75% over the past four years compared to a drop of 14% globally. During the same period the number of product and technology deals with Australian companies decreased by 20% versus a drop of only 7% in the rest of world.

In Australia as well as the rest of world, oncology continued to lead in number of deals by therapeutic category, followed by infections and CNS, maintaining the same trend as in prior years. However, while the rest of world saw an increase in deals targeting niche areas such as kidney/genitourinary, musculoskeletal, ophthalmology/optometry and women’s health, Australia did not. Indeed, there was a significant increase in the proportion of small-molecule focused deals from Australian biotech/pharma companies in 2009 compared to those involving biologics. This trend began in 2006 and, following a leveling off period in 2008, expanded to 71% in 2009.

In Australia, dealmakers are focusing on high volume, lower risk products that can target emerging markets, such as India and China.

PR May 27, 2010