biotechnology sector. Our research shows that VC companies invested in 2,200 biotech start-ups worldwide in 2016; by 2021, that number had grown to 3,100. We also found that biotech companies raised more than $34 billion globally in 2021, more than doubling the 2020 total of $16 billion.
In the biotech sector, VC funding peaked in the first quarter of 2021 and has declined slightly since (Exhibit 1). Despite recent dips in the valuations of newly public companies and a slight decline in VC funding over the past four quarters, VC companies continue to plow money into biotech.
Poolbeg Pharma plc (LON:POLB) is a clinical stage infectious disease pharmaceutical company, with a novel capital light clinical model which enables us to develop multiple products faster and more cost effectively than the traditional biotech model.
