Washington's life sciences companies hit a three-year funding high in 2021, according to a new report from the Life Science Washington Institute.
The first-annual report, called the 2021 Washington State Investor Report, noted Washington life sciences companies landed $5.1 billion in total funding last year, the most amount raised in the state since 2018, when life sciences companies in Washington landed $11.5 billion. The report, released Friday, counted venture capital, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and reverse mergers in its total funding count.
According to the report, more than 180 investors participated in a total of 112 life sciences deals in Washington last year. Mergers and acquisitions made up $1.8 billion of the total funding, while initial public offerings made up $1.1 billion. Early-stage venture capital accounted for $889 million and later-stage venture capital accounted for $849 million.
The report noted the largest life sciences deal of 2021 was Seattle-based Rodeo Therapeutics' sale to Amgen for $55 million upfront with an additional $666 million in potential future payments contingent on certain milestones. The second-biggest deal of last year, according to the report, was Kirkland-based Resolution Bioscience's sale to Agilent Technologies. Agilent paid $550 million in cash at closing and would pay an additional up to $145 million for future milestones.
The report pulled from the Seattle-based financial data firm PitchBook Data, S&P Global Market Intelligence and other public sources. Life Science Washington Institute noted the report doesn't capture all seed and angel investments because of limits in public information about these investments.
Of the 112 life sciences deals in the state last year, 53 were for biotechnology, and 32 were for medical technology. Twenty-six were for digital health, with one deal labeled as "other."
Life Science Washington Institute provides entrepreneurs with consulting, mentoring and training. Its affiliate, Life Science Washington, is an industry group based in Seattle. The organization also has a lobbying team in Olympia and a job-search tool.
