Investors’ picks & access to capital in 2021: a BioCentury podcast

By BioCentury Staff

January 15, 2021 2:22 AM UTC

Targeted cancer programs are catching the eyes of buysiders as they kick off the New Year with a positive outlook for the capital markets. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury editors discuss investor expectations for access to capital in 2021 and the upcoming milestones that are on buysiders’ radar, in cancer and beyond.

Associate Editor Stephen Hansen sets the scene for BioCentury’s 2021 Financial Markets Preview, in which investors expect capital to remain available heading into the New Year on the back of a favorable macro environment for equity markets. And while COVID-19 has raised biotech’s profile, the maturation of the sector through a growing group of mid-cap names means the sector should be more attractive to a broader group of investors going forward.

Hansen also says the investors he spoke with don’t expect the incoming Biden administration to tackle policies, including drug pricing, right out of the gate that might dampen the market exuberance. But Simone Fishburn, BioCentury’s Editor in Chief, reports that while drug pricing policies may loom as an inevitable hurdle long-term, biopharmas see an opportunity to press their case while the going is good.

“Representatives of the drug industry and trade organizations really want to try and push the message that the industry is about innovation and use the evidence of 2020 to press the case for the value provided by the industry,” Fishburn says. “I don’t know if they’re going to be capable of changing the conversation, but it certainly doesn't seem from what Stephen saying that investors are yet incorporating that into the outlook.”

Senior Editor Lauren Martz discusses trends and milestones on buysiders’ radar this year, highlighting the steady and growing interest in targeted oncology on the heels of big approvals and high-value deals in 2020. KRAS inhibitor sotorasib from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is the focal point.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on the aducanumab story, but with less optimism around approval of the Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) mAb than they had a year ago.

Executive Editor Jeff Cranmer is watching Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX), which has a relatively new CEO in Reshma Kewalramani and has been an active dealmaker as it looks to continue to expand beyond cystic fibrosis. Hansen notes that investors are watching to see what will be the next growth driver for the company.

BioCentury will publish its 2021 Financial Markets Preview on Friday, Jan. 15.

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