Rare Disease Secondary and Debt Offerings Rise in 2020

Rare disease companies already trading publicly also took advantage of the welcoming capital markets. Overall, public rare disease companies (excluding IPOs) raised a total of $9.7 billion in equity financings, up from $6.1 billion in 2019. Equity fundings by rare disease companies in 2020 represented nearly a quarter of the total $41.2 billion raised by therapeutics companies across the biotech sector.

Rare drug developers raised $1.8 billion in debt in 2020, down from the $2.2 billion raised in debt offerings in 2019.  Three of the offerings in 2020—a $600 million convertible debt from BioMarin Pharmaceutical, a $400 million debt offering from Amicus Therapeutics, and a $425 million convertible offering from BridgeBio accounted for 77 percent of the total.

Rare disease companies developing therapies for endocrine/metabolic disorders, neurologic, and hematologic diseases accounted for $5 billion or 43 percent of the total equity and debt raised by these companies in 2020. Companies developing gene therapies or gene editing raised a total of $4.5 billion in public equity and debt, 39 percent of the total raised.

OVERVIEW
VENTURE FUNDINGS
IPOS
PUBLIC DEBT AND EQUITY
PARTNERING
M&A