More biotech companies filed for bankruptcy in 2023 than any year since 2010, underscoring a brutal year defined by layoffs, company closures and pipeline reprioritizations, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
2023 eclipsed all other years by far, with 18 companies filing for protection compared to eight in 2022, which had previously held the record as the highest bankruptcy year.
The year kicked off with Sorrento Therapeutics filing Chapter 11 amid a legal battle with billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong and his immunotherapy biotech NantCell. The company had $235 million in debt and had run out of options. Sorrento had been developing a generic rival to Bristol Myers Squibb’s Abraxane, which was the subject of the dispute with Soon-Shiong.
As of November 2023, Sorrento had laid off its chief financial officer in the final step in the closure process, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document.