HOME
FOR COMPANIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Investment Banking
We advise and structure both public and private market transactions ranging from second-tier capital raising strategies to multi-billion dollar mergers through debt and equity funding.
Research
Focusing on stock and portfolio selection, an experienced BV research team provides turnkey solutions tailored to work in concert with the client investment process.
Sales & Trading
Blaylock Van serves a broad base of institutional investors ranging from plan sponsors and public pension funds to hedge funds and asset managers.
Municipal Finance
Blaylock Van has a committed municipal finance team that continues to grow both geographically and in its origination and distribution capabilities.
Corporate Strategic Advisory
Blaylock Van provides sustainable financing, enterprise risk management, and tailored unique solutions and insights to U.S clients operating in Africa.
We advise and structure both public and private market transactions ranging from second-tier capital raising strategies to multi-billion dollar mergers through debt and equity funding.
Research
Focusing on stock and portfolio selection, an experienced BV research team provides turnkey solutions tailored to work in concert with the client investment process.
Retail investors
Blaylock Van offers a wide array of services for the retail environment.
Retail Investors
We are a full-service broker.
About
NEWS
BLOG
FORM CRS
CONTACT

Following the Money: New Ways of Funding Healthcare Companies Could Mean More New Drugs Faster

The pace of advancement in our understanding of numerous diseases and our ability to treat those diseases has moved forward at a staggering rate, in good part driven by the availability of investment capital to fund new companies developing new therapies.  Breakthroughs in healthcare tend to follow inflows of money.  If this trend stays true, there could be an even bigger explosion in new therapies down the road, thanks in part to the dramatic recent rise in healthcare investment funding from an unexpected source – SPACs.

What is a SPAC?  SPAC is the acronym for a Special Purpose Acquisition Company.  SPACs are companies founded for one purpose – to raise money through an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and then use that money to invest in or acquire existing companies.  SPACs have been around in various forms for decades, but only in the past 1-2 years have they generated this much interest and this much money.

According to SPAC Analytics, there were 450 IPOs done in 2020, 55% of them (or 248) were SPAC IPOs.  These SPAC IPOs raised $83.2 billion in 2020, 46% of the total of $179.2 billion raised by all IPOs, traditional and SPAC. In the first weeks of 2021, there have been 43 SPAC IPOs that raised $11.4 billion, 96% of all IPO money raised.

This SPAC movement has extended forcefully into biotechnology.

SPAC Filings

How does a SPAC work? The SPAC is formed around a managerial group with experience investing in or running companies in a particular market segment, in this case healthcare or life sciences.  The SPAC raises money by going public with the plan to find and acquire a company (or companies).  If the target company is not public, as is usually the case, it becomes public when it is acquired by the publically traded SPAC.  The target company is usually the surviving entity.  That means the SPAC takes the targeted company’s name and the targeted company’s management team runs it.

Are IPOs going away?  NO. They are also getting stronger.  We are on pace to see more healthcare IPO funding in 2020 than in the prior five years.

IPOS

The combination of a robust appetite for new issues and a strong recent track record of post-IPO stock performance indicates we’ll likely see the high volume of biotech offerings continue. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to heightened public and investor interest in the healthcare space.  While hard-hit industries like travel and hospitality continue to suffer, the healthcare sector, from biotech to digital health, is attracting rising investment. Biotech financing rounds are getting bigger and this is reflected in the strong after-IPO stock performance we’ve seen this year.

Sciences IPOS

Where are we headed?  In our opinion,

  • The SPAC phenomenon tells us that there is money out there looking to be invested.  This is a good sign for the U.S. and global economies.
  • The high level of attention SPACs are paying to the healthcare space is partly due to the increased attention form COVID-19, partly to the resilience of the space to partial economic slowdowns and in large part to the rapid innovation of new ways to treat diseases, as evidenced by the quick success of multiple COVID vaccine makers and we see this trend continuing.
  • We see the growth in SPAC investing seen in 2020 as continuing in 2021.  We also see a strong appetite for IPOs, including in the healthcare sector, to go along with the rising tide of SPACs.
  • As more SPACs are formed and more healthcare deals are done, good targets may get harder to find in the near-term.  But, as has always been the case, new ideas and new discoveries fueled by the strong investment we are seeing now will breed new healthcare start-ups to take their place.

About the author: Dr. Bouchey has three post-graduate degrees and over 16 years of experience in advanced biomedical research and teaching at the university level. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia studying Cell & Molecular Biology as well as two Masters Degrees earned simultaneously at the University of Kentucky, an MBA majoring in Monetary Economics and Finance and an M.S. studying Virology.  He also has a B.S. in Microbiology & Public Health from Michigan State University.  For the past 20 years, Dr. Bouchey has been an analyst identifying and evaluating emerging biotechnology and medical device companies and a pharmaceutical industry executive and is currently the Head of Healthcare Strategy and a Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking at Blaylock Van.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Blaylock, Van LLC - Celebrating Over 30 Years
Blaylock Van, LLC is Wall Street’s longest continuously operated African American investment banking and financial services company, providing corporate debt and equity underwriting, sales and trading and municipal finance for over 30 years.
Member FINRA/SIPC
Prospectus
HomeAbout BVnewscontactCustomer ID NoticeSEC Order Disclosure
New York Office
Blaylock Van, LLC
600 Lexington Ave, 3rd Fl
New York, NY 10022
212-715-6628
212-715-3300 FAX
Atlanta Metro Office
11340 Lakefield Drive
Suite 200
Johns Creek, GA 30097
(678) 566-3653
WSP | Broker Check | Compliance | Privacy Policy
© 2022 Blaylock Van, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Site by: Thinkzilla Consulting
bullhorn linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram