1、Click here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version2024ReviewThe Long&Winding RoadClick here or press enter for the accessibility optimised versionForewordBiopharma experts knewthat 2024 was unlikely tobe the year that pharmacame roaring back in ablaze of mega-mergers,high profileI

2、POs and eye-watering privateinvestment rounds.And lookingback on the year,at least we can saywe didnt get our hopes up toomuch,despite what looked like apromising start.But was 2024 a damp squib?Or was it asmuch as we could reasonably expect afterthe pain of 2023?In this round-up we lookat the dealm

3、aking landscape of the past12 months,seek out the highs and lows,and consider what it means for the yearahead.Lets start at the bottom and work our wayup:M&A.A busy first quarter sparkedhopes of a return to some dynamicdealmaking,but those hopes were soondashed.The rest of the year slithereddown

4、hill with ever-reducing deal valuesand wasnt even rescued by a Q4 surge aswed seen for the previous two years.Thebest that can be said of year end is thatdeal volume increased.In slightly better news,the IPO windowcreaked open a little further.Totalflotations hit 38 up from 2023 and 2022,though well

5、 below the Covid-inspiredpeak that nearly blew the window off itshinges.There is no shortage of privatebiotechs looking to launch IPOs in 2025,but they need the fragile markets tostabilize and the global economy to settlebefore they take the plunge.Onto the better news:venture capitalfundraising for

6、 biopharma companies hada strong year end,boosting the years totalto over$28bn and beating 2023 and2022.There were even some mega-rounds for the industry to get excitedabout,including a$400m series A roundfor Kailera,a company focused on youguessed it obesity.Back with a bump,then though,as we look