The full-year 2015 BioMeter paints the picture of a strong year for biotechnology, but deeper analysis shows a cautionary trend. The average BioMeter value for the entire year across all transactions reporting up-front payments and stage of development was $48.8 million, down from $58.7 million in 2014, but still relatively strong. There were also 127 transactions in 2015 reporting upfront payments and stage of development, up dramatically from 79 transactions in 2014. We had noted that the robust IPO market for biotechnology companies was coinciding with a decline in the number of licensing transactions, but 2015 reversed that trend, bringing the number of transaction back up to levels last seen in 2011. The slow-down in IPOs towards the end did not impact the rate of transactions, which was steady throughout the year.

Rather, 2015 was a tale of two markets. Of the 127 reported transactions disclosing stage of development and up-front payment, 17 were “mega-transactions” with up-front payments of $100 million or more. The BioMeter for these mega-transactions was a whopping $250.7 million. The BioMeter for the remaining 110 transactions, still far more than were reported in 2014, was only $16.7 million.