Life Sciences Snapshot – A Quarterly Report on Financing Trends – Q2 2022

This edition of Orrick’s life sciences publication series reviews key trends of venture investment in the life sciences industry during Q1 2022. Following a record year in 2021, we have since seen modest activity through the start of 2022.

Key findings include:

• The industry raised $11.7 billion across 407 deals in Q1 2022. Deal count was the lowest since Q3 2019, but deal value continues to reflect the elevated levels of the past two years. 
• Median pre-money valuations increased across all funding stages examined (angel & seed, early-stage VC, and late-stage VC). Median deal sizes also increased across all funding series, except for Seed and Series B. 
• In comparison to trends in 2021, the quarter saw modest exit activity totaling $5.0 billion across 27 deals. Q3 2021 drove most of last year’s record exit levels, with Q4 2021 being quiet in comparison. Q1 2022 exhibited a further 41.2% decline in exit amounts from the previous quarter and a 74.0% decline from Q1 2021; however, last year’s active IPO market outshined other exit types, including strong M&A activity, which is poised for growth in 2022.