Fore Biotherapeutics (from website)
The Israeli Association for Advanced Industries (IATI), the umbrella organization of the high-tech and life sciences industries in Israel, says that all is not well in Israel Startup Nation as it published Monday an update to its report on Israel’s life sciences industry for the first half of 2023. The report indicates a significant decrease in investments in these types of Israeli companies, yet their number did not decrease from 2022.
IATI pointed out that the downward trend actually began in late 2022. This was probably due to the world financial crisis caused by global high inflation rates and disruptions to the world economy caused by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, however, Israeli startups are suffering from a lack in confidence in their country’s stability brought on by the turmoil over controversial judicial reforms proposed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The IATI report focuses on the raising of new capital made by life sciences firms in Israel and presents interim data for the year 2023.
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In the first six months of 2023, about $1.4 billion dollars was invested in this field, representing a decrease of 40% compared to the corresponding period in 2022. The investments, said IATI, resulted from 83 different fundraising rounds carried out by these firms. The number of transactions decreased by a higher rate, about 53% compared to 158 transactions carried out in the first half of 2022. However, the average amount per transaction increased by about 15% compared to the corresponding period and reached about $17.2 million on average per transaction, which is a record amount for an average investment in recent years.
Out of the total private investments of about one billion dollars in life sciences companies in the first half of 2023, about 700 million dollars came from foreign investors, a decrease of about 58% compared to the corresponding period in 2022, reported IATI.
However, about half a billion dollars were raised by Israeli companies on US stock exchanges, IATI said about twice the amount raised in all of 2022, or 4 times on average for the entire year.
Karin Meir Rubinstein, CEO and President of IATI, said, “Our main task is to ensure business stability in industry and the growth of investments both from Israel and from the world.”
“The last year had a great impact on the investors, entrepreneurs and employees in the entire high-tech industry and of course in the scientific industry,” she added. “Industry entered to a global downward trend in the second half of the year 2022, which continued into the year.”
But things may just be picking up as in August Fore Biotherapeutics, an Israeli medtech startup developing new cancer treatments, raised $75 million in a Series D round of funding. And this month Israeli medtech startup Ibex Medical Analytics closed a $55 million Series C financing round.
Israel’s Association of Tech Industries (IATI) is Israel’s umbrella organization of the high-tech, life science, and other advanced technology industries. IATI’s wide range of members cover every level and aspect of the ecosystem in Israel including venture capital and investment funds, Israeli mature companies, R&D Centers of multinational companies, start-ups, tech transfer organizations, academic institutions, incubators, innovation centers, hospitals, economic development offices, private investors, and service providers
