Revolutionizing Biotech Funding – The Promise of Tokenization

Tokenization holds great potential to revolutionize funding and investment in the biotech industry, fostering growth, innovation, and patient access to therapies.

Share Post:

Tokenization holds great potential to revolutionize funding and investment in the biotech industry, fostering growth, innovation, and patient access to therapies. Asset tokenization provides increased access to capital by broadening the investor base and democratizing investment opportunities. This article, co-written by SDX and LSC (LifeSciences Consultants), highlights the potential of fractional ownership to attract diverse investors passionate about biotechnology advancements. Additionally, the inherent transparency and security of blockchain technology support trust among investors, mitigating concerns related to fraud and misrepresentation.

Asset tokenization introduces liquidity to traditionally illiquid private equity investments, creating secondary market opportunities for investors to trade their tokens. This liquidity allows early-stage investors to exit their investments and reinvest, nurturing a vibrant ecosystem optimized for therapy research and development around pre-IPO biotech companies. Innovative biotech companies, especially with pre-commercial assets, should consider tokenization to enhance funding opportunities and collaborate with the digital ecosystem.

Introduction

Biotech’s potential for continuous innovation in the near future is driven by dynamic, young firms with ground-breaking technologies. However, the development of biopharmaceuticals requires substantial funding over an extended period. The financing landscape has undergone significant changes since the onset of COVID-19 and the
SVB bank crash. Nature Biotech recently highlighted a decline in IPOs, urging a more cautious approach to venture capital (VC) investments. Private financing, as reported by Nature Biotech, witnessed a roughly 20% decrease in volume compared to the previous year’s series A, B, and C rounds, with a more significant drop of around 30-50% in quantity, except for series A. While VC investments historically remain strong, totaling $35 billion in 2022, investors are becoming more selective. This raises the question of how to enhance investability in promising therapeutic assets within the biotech sector. Tokenization has the potential to…

To read the full article, please download the PDF here.

LifeSciences Consultants (LSC)

LifeSciences Consultants (LSC) is a global vertically integrated life sciences strategy consulting firm with decennial experience in advancing breakthrough therapies to patients. LSC has offices in San Francisco, New Jersey, Mexico City, Milan, and Berlin.

About SIX Digital Exchange (SDX)

SDX is licensed by Switzerland’s financial market regulator, FINMA, to operate an Exchange and a Central Securities Depository (CSD). SDX offers issuance, listing, trading, settlement, servicing, and custody of digital securities. SDX is committed to working with partners, members, and clients to promote and build a new market structure for digital assets globally.

Related content

In this interview with Stefan Bosshard, Head Fixed Income at SDX, we explore the evolving landscape of digital bond issuance. Stefan discusses the integration of traditional and digital market infrastructures, the role of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in enhancing transparency and automation, specific initiatives SDX is pursuing to innovate in the digital bond space, and the potential of digital bonds to attract new issuers and investors.