October follow-ons a strong start to 4Q21
Twenty biopharmas raked in a total of 2.3B in October
After a summer lull, follow-on activity is heating back up, with 20 biopharmas raising a combined $2.3 billion in October. The second and third quarters of 2021 each saw about $4 billion raised, which puts 4Q21 already over halfway to beating the past two quarters.
October’s follow-ons were led by several large offerings, with eight over $100 million and three topping $300 million. The biggest was a $575 million raise on Oct. 13 by Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT). After starting the year with a high-profile miss for its first gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy — which led to a loss of over $6 billion in market cap on Jan. 8 — the company announced on Oct. 4 that it was starting a pivotal trial of SRP-9001 based, in part, on long-term follow-up data from the Phase I/II study showing the therapy led to functional improvements three years after treatment. Overall, 2021 has been beset with gene therapy setbacks...