Biotechnology Valuation

Biotechnology is a forward-looking, cash-hungry industry. It takes ?500-800m and years to develop a drug which then might not come to market, so bio-tech and pharma companies are constantly looking to all areas of the finance industry for funding. Their assets are often highly intangible (intellectual property) and, because they are so forward-looking, there is little current concrete information available for the investor other than retrospective insights into previous projects. It is a high-risk business, but one which can give massive returns. Investors need to be able to evaluate such companies properly in order to make proper business decisions about their investment. Â Â Â Â The book begins with a short history of the biotechnology industry; this is important as although it is about 30 years old, the first company went public only in 1996, so it is possible to plot the course of investment waves and dips. It will look at the European industry and its evolvement, and draw parallels and probe the similarities and differences between that and the US. The book looks at the various companies which make up the biotech industry (therapeutic = drug development - most difficult for the non-expert; life sciences - tools and kits; and the medical technology company - devices such as hips, implants) and gives tools for the investor to properly evaluate them. A CD will provide Excel examples with specific relevance to evaluating drug development.