Life Sciences Snapshot – A Quarterly Report on Financing Trends – Q4 2023

This edition of Orrick’s life sciences publication series reviews key trends of venture investment in the life sciences industry during Q3 2023. This edition also features key industry leaders in a roundtable discussion about venture and growth debt as a funding option for fast-growing, late-stage startups.

Key findings include: 

• Life sciences VC deal value in Q3 2023 totaled $7.7 billion, representing an uptick from last quarter across fewer deals. Total deal value has grown each quarter in 2023 for a year-to-date (YTD) total of $21.4 billion, compared with $28.9 billion closed in the same period in 2022.
• Valuations are flat YTD for most company stages except for the angel and seed stage, which has seen its median pre-money valuation grow 10.8% this year. The median deal size also grew for the seed category but declined for most other series.
• Q3 was an unexpected bright spot for exits with $9.0 billion generated across 30 exits, marking the most lucrative quarter for exits since Q4 2021. Total YTD exit activity remains relatively low compared with previous years, but with a few more large IPOs, 2023 may mark the beginning of a slow recovery for life science exits.