Pathfinders in Biopharma

IDEAYA’s drug development programs center around addressing unmet patient needs. Its founder tells Pathfinders in Biopharma why he believes there has never been more opportunity for breakthroughs in the fight against cancer.

Q1 2024 saw a handful of IPOs in the biotech sector, and mounting excitement over novel treatments. But there are less obvious trends in play, including a shift in focus by potential buyers in pharma. RBC’s biotech investment banking team analyzes deal activity in the year to date and what it signals for the sector’s future.

The first quarter of 2024 has seen biotech’s funding drought broken, largely through private investment in public equity (PIPE) deals. In this episode of Pathfinders in Biopharma, three members of RBC’s biotech investment banking team look at the impact of PIPEs’ success on the sector and consider how long it can last – and why it has not been universally welcomed.

U.S. healthcare desperately needs to cut costs and improve outcomes. There is no single solution, but three disruptive forces in the digital health space are speeding change – and adding up to a healthy outlook for HCIT. Sean Dodge, Healthcare Technology Analyst, joins the podcast to unpack some of his predictions on the most impactful forces affecting healthcare.

Drug pricing is already an issue in the U.S. election campaign. Brian Abrahams, MD and Head of Biotech Research at RBC Capital Markets joins the Pathfinders in Biopharma podcast to consider how this, together with other policy developments in the U.S. and worldwide, might affect a resurgent biotech sector.

After a year of stark contrasts in the public and private equity markets for healthcare, 2024 is shaping up to be another mixed outlook. While biotech continues to bolster the market, albeit more in follow-on offerings than IPOs, and HCIT and healthcare services have tailwinds, the medtech and value-based care subsectors have challenges as well as opportunities. Join our Co-Heads of Healthcare Equ...

As the U.S. economy shows positive signs for growth, inflation, and interest rates in 2024, RBC Capital Markets’ RBC Capital Markets’ Michael Reid, Blake Gwinn, Vito Sperduto and Larry Grafstein analyze the challenges posed by consumer spending, political gridlock, and quantitative tightening. This episode was originally published on RBC's Strategic Alternatives podcast.

In an era characterized by macro headwinds and profound market volatility, the biotech industry continues to raise capital to fuel drug development, clinical trials, and innovation. Capital raising in challenging markets comes with additional risks, leading venture capital firms and crossover investors to identify creative, unconventional deal structures and strategies that are redefining the biot...

As RBC Capital Markets looks forward to a robust end to the year, John Hoffman and Jason Levitz, Co-Heads of Healthcare Equity Capital Markets explore how the firms who succeed in an especially dynamic market will be those willing to embrace new ways of thinking about unlocking value.

Join Head of US Capital Markets Research, Mark Odendahl and biotech analysts Brian Abrahams and Gregory Renza, as they explore the dynamic biotech sector landscape in H2 2023. This episode was originally broadcast on Industries in Motion, the RBC podcast.

U.S. soccer legends and World Cup champions Briana Scurry and Dr. Sara Hess joined Andrew Callaway, Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, at this year’s RBC Global Healthcare Conference.

A new RBC ElementsTM report, “Insights from the BioWeb,” looks at the predictive potential of website traffic as a means to uncover underappreciated market trends and sales insights. Mark Odendahl, Head of US Capital Markets Research, is joined by Brian Abrahams, Head of Biotechnology at RBC Capital Markets, to discuss the report’s findings. 

While the public biotech markets remain volatile, VCs continue to raise new funds. Are we witnessing a renaissance in the private capital markets? The bankruptcy rate of biotechs is historically among the lowest of US publicly traded companies, however, companies are failing and there is still a widely held belief that too many biotech companies are in existence today. What are the hallmarks of co...

Given current macro and regulatory headwinds, determining the optimal time to sell a biotech company is a multifaceted decision that requires careful consideration of several key factors. Hear from industry veterans Ted Love, Marc de Garidel, and Abbas Kazimi who share their insights on a new era of M&A in a panel moderated by RBC Capital Markets Analysts Dr. Brian Abrahams, Dr. Luca Issi and...

Hear from Vito Sperduto, RBC’s Co-Head of Global M&A, and his panel of RBC Capital Markets’ expert bankers on how large healthcare firms with strong balance sheets are putting cash to work — driving a ‘fast and furious’ surge of M&A activity in the second half of the year and into 2024. Learn why healthcare momentum is building and how smaller deals are shaping M&A across the sector in...

Compressed valuations, heightened CEO confidence, and the desire to accelerate top-line growth and scale innovation are the key factors driving healthcare M&A in 2023. As deal activity starts to accelerate, our banking experts are asking, what’s next for the sector? Listen to Pathfinders in Biopharma to find out. This episode features insights from Vito Sperduto, Co-Head of Global M&A, And...

In the latest episode of Pathfinders, Senior Biotechnology Analyst Gregory Renza discusses what’s driving the latest spate of biotech M&A activity — the new players and partnership dynamics that are creating what he calls “a landscape of competition” in the broader market.

In this rebroadcast episode, we flash back to a previous interview with Dr. Ted W. Love, President and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT). Dr. Love spoke with our biotechnology analyst Gregory Renza about GBT’s mission-driven culture which led to the development of Oxbryta, the company’s breakthrough sickle-cell treatment, as well as the specific challenges the company faced in tackling a rare...

Genetic medicine is poised to unlock more value for patients and investors due to disruptive technologies like mRNA, siRNA and gene editing. With an estimated 27 genetic medicines already approved, RBC’s biotechnology analyst Luca Issi explains how these technologies could be used next, and why companies able to combine the right choice of intervention with strong execution may stand to benefit mo...

In the latest episode of Pathfinders, our Healthcare technology analyst Sean Dodge explores a quiet but accelerating revolution in the way US healthcare works – and the new breed of companies poised to benefit.

In this latest episode, our head of biotech research Brian Abrahams shares a big picture analysis of the industry, outlining the long-term disruptions and opportunities ahead for biotech.

In the latest episode of Pathfinders, Noël Brown, Head of US Biotechnology Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, reveals why he’s feeling optimistic about M&A in biopharma and how leading in biotech investment and corporates needs visionary long-term thinking.

In this episode, Dr. Chen Yu, Founder and Managing Partner at TCG X and Noël Brown, Head of U.S. Biotechnology Investment Banking at RBC Capital Markets, discuss why they remain optimistic about biotech and what’s happening behind the scenes in public and private markets.

How are top investors navigating the longest biotech bear market in almost 20 years? RBC Capital Markets Healthcare Desk Sector Strategist Chris McCarthy talks to HealthCor’s Ben Snedeker and Omega Funds founder Otello Stampacchia to find out.

What does it take to tackle the most perplexing orphan diseases? Ted W. Love, M.D., President and CEO, Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), speaks with RBC Capital Markets’ Senior Biotechnology Analyst Gregory Renza, M.D., about having a mission and the drive to succeed on this episode of Pathfinders.