Access to capital, a burdensome and uncertain regulatory environment and lack of innovation and productivity in research and development are the biggest threats to the biomedical industry’s growth over the next five years, according to biomedical company CEOs surveyed by CHI-California Healthcare Institute, BayBio and PwC US.
Nearly three quarters (74%) of biomedical industry CEOs surveyed said their companies have had to delay a research or development project in the past year.
Lack of funding was the top reason for project delays cited by private company CEOs, and accounted for more than one-third (40%) of delays by all public and private companies in the survey.
Eight in 10 CEOs surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the current FDA regulatory approval process has slowed the growth of their organization.
Findings of the CEO Survey reflect issues being discussed throughout the biomedical industry by executives gathering in California this week, and provide an early glimpse into the 2012 California Biomedical Industry Report, due in February. The report, published annually by CHI, BayBio and PwC, provides a snapshot of the biomedical industry in California, the largest biomedical cluster in the world and the source of the greatest number of products in clinical development.
“As the center of biomedical innovation in the U.S, California’s biomedical industry is a national treasure,” said Gail Maderis, president and CEO of BayBio. “But the pace of R&D productivity and its global leadership position hang on the availability of capital to fund future innovation and a regulatory framework that is based on consistency and innovative technologies.”
“Biomedical companies have long relied on government grants and venture capital to finance innovation, but funding sources are shifting and companies will need to adapt to a new reality,” said Tracy Lefteroff, national life sciences partner, PwC US. “While venture capitalists and angel investors will continue to be an important source of funding, it has become increasingly difficult for biomedical companies to gain access to them. Alternative sources of funding are emerging, which highlight shifting opportunities and dynamics in life sciences innovation.”
Corporate venture funding, the investment of corporate funds into external endeavors, is expected to become a much more crucial source of funding to the industry, with 30% of CEOs surveyed saying they will tap corporate venture capital as a finance source in the next 12 months, versus only 10% who did so in the past 12 months.