o startup sector was entirely immune from 2022’s market uncertainty — except maybe AI — but some proved more resilient than others. Biotech was one of the most fortunate.
According to Pitchbook data, the sector recorded 1,054 US-based transactions in 2022, totaling $30.7 billion. These figures fell short of the 1,415 biotech deals worth $39 billion signed in 2021. However, these were not the worst declines we discovered: biotech experienced a more modest year-over-year decline in investment volume (21%) than many other sectors, including fintech (37.7%), consumer technology (53%), and enterprise technology (33%).
Comparing any sector’s results to 2021 is somewhat misleading, as that year marked the peak of the previous startup boom. In comparison to the more conservative 1,143 biotech deals worth $29.6 billion in 2020, last year finished on par.
U.S. biotech deals also set new records in 2022 for both median deal size, $33.5 million, and median valuation, $38 million.
Biotech investors told TechCrunch that while they definitely felt the squeeze of the overall economic conditions last year and noticed tourist investors shying away from the category, similar to other sectors, many weren’t surprised that the category performed better than some of the other more buzzy industries for a few key reasons.
