1、Published Jan.17,2024Jackie SpencerHead of Relationship Management for Life Science and Healthcare BIts been six months since we brought you our Mid-Year Healthcare Investments and Exits 2023report,and I wish I could say that much has changed since then that investments have roared back,valuations a

2、re soaring and the IPO window has lifted wide open.Unfortunately,were not there yet.What has emerged is a clearer picture of where were headed.Strategies that took shape months ago are now showing up in the data,as investors who once favored later stage deals have decisively pivoted toward earlier d

3、eals.The result has meant smaller checks spread to a growing number of companies at right-sized valuations.While VC investment in healthcare has settled near half its 2021 peak,deal counts have rebounded in recent months and are approaching their prior pace.If investors were ever sitting on their ha

4、nds waiting for clarity,that time is over.VCs are back to work.Their investments are creating green shoots of optimism across the spectrum of healthcare innovation.Promising companies are being funded at rates that approach or even exceed historic norms,and the advent of generative AI technology off

5、ers immense possibility for innovative healthcare founders.But the challenges of the current market remain significant.A generation of late-stage companies that took high valuations at the peak of the VC boom now face an uncertain future.Dozens or even hundreds of IPO-readycompanies have limited fun

6、ding options outside of a public exit.For these companies,a public market turnaround couldnt come soon enough.Life science companies are less affected by the slower market if they have strong clinical results.Biopharma companies with favorable clinical trials are finding plenty of interest among inv