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Deal Making Article Pack Deal-Making Round-Up Pandemic Perspectives: A Lasting Impact On Medtech, But Not Dealmaking Executive Summary devastated by the pandemic, as patient volumes The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally plummeted last spring. Businesses focusing on changed health care and the life sciences, KPMG diagnostics, telehealth and digital therapeutics analyst Kristin Pothier concludes in a new report have taken advantage of renewed demand on the medtech investment outlook. in seemingly dormant technologies such as rapid lateral flow testing and remote physician consultations. COVID-19 has had disparate effects on Market sentiment has also been affected, both dealmaking and company valuations in medtech. in positive and negative directions, and merger and acquisition activity and valuations have been Companies producing implants and surgical impacted greatly. devices saw their revenues temporarily Medical device manufacturer valuation changes in 2020 Source: KPMG 2021 healthcare and life sciences investment outlook In its 2021 healthcare and life sciences outlook, the tail-end of 2020, and healthcare providers are KPMG highlighted the significance of the still playing catch-up to this day. (Also see “Outlook pandemic’s impact on valuations. In 2020, 33% 2021: Medtechs Must Look To Late 2021 And 2022 of medical device manufacturers saw their For A Return To Normal Times” - Medtech Insight, valuations decrease by more than 20% and only 11 Jan, 2021.) 11% of companies’ valuations grew over the year. Although some large deals went through, like Medtech Insight spoke to Kristin Pothier, the the Stryker/Wright Medical merger, overall national and global health care and life sciences volume was down in 2020. KPMG recorded 82 strategic leader at KPMG and author of the report. deals in total for the health care space, with many brokered in the year prior. (Also see “US, “The pandemic has profoundly affected how UK Governments Approve Stryker-Wright Deal the entire medical system operates,” Pothier Pending Divestments” - Medtech Insight, 4 Nov, explained. Many procedures were delayed until 2020.) 2 / March 2021 © Informa UK Ltd 2021 (Unauthorized photocopying prohibited.) Long Lasting Impact On Dealmaking? patient could consult a doctor in any location. “I do not think that COVID-19 will change These issues need to be thought about.” dealmaking forever,” Pothier said. “It has, however, fundamentally changed health care life The diagnostics industry also saw radical changes. sciences and how we deliver care in our hospitals The need for flexible, scalable technologies that and our health systems.” could test millions of people prompted rapid growth in the sector. Pothier said that diagnostics According to Pothier, the effects of COVID-19 manufactures had “bolstered all of their portfolios “diversified portfolios, making companies and are doing very interesting deals” in response stronger.” to this rapid growth. “The pandemic happened, dealmaking has some For example, Roche Diagnostics has launched over new tools for the healthcare and life sciences 15 products related to COVID-19 throughout 2020 space, and that has allowed us to be stronger not and 2021, many of them rapid testing solutions. only in dealmaking, but also in how we deliver (Also see “Roche Takes Advantage Of COVID-19 care.” Testing Rush” - Medtech Insight, 4 Feb, 2021.) The effects of COVID-19 were not all bleak, Other manufacturers, such as Abingdon however. Two industries that reared their heads Health, have grown from small operations to to improve patient outcomes were diagnostics rapidly growing businesses by cooperating with and digital health. “Both are here to stay for very government agencies to coordinate effective different reasons,” said Pothier. and targeted responses to the pandemic’s testing needs. (Also see “Trial Shows Lateral COVID-19 forced digital health operators to Flow Antibody Testing Could Be Used To Assess play their hands and rapidly scale-up to match COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy” - Medtech Insight, 24 demand. Actualized in remote physician Feb, 2021.) appointments, the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostics, advanced remote monitoring, and In a forward-looking statement, Pothier pointed many other applications, the pandemic has led to out the growth of precision medicine over the past rapid innovation in all aspects of medicine. decade, something that’s “pushed the envelope for diagnostics.” As targeted therapeutics become Pothier highlighted the strengths of telehealth, more popular, so will targeted companion “physicians can fit more visits in, they can be more diagnostics that identify patients that benefit from efficient, and they can keep patients safer.” (Also those drugs. see “Tyto Care Raises $50M In Series D To Expand Telehealth Platform” - Medtech Insight, 4 Mar, Medtech Adjusts To Find Opportunities During 2021.) COVID-19 A rapid increase in COVID-19 cases outside Pothier raised questions that telehealth the initial epicenter of China in early March developers and companies are currently asking. 2020 compelled WHO director general Tedros “How do we improve interfacing? How do we Adhanom Ghebreyesus to publicly declare a consolidate companies? How do we bring more global pandemic on 12 March. The medtech power to telehealth in general? It also finally sector rapidly took stock, and while some parts of opens the idea of being able to think globally. A the industry were rushed of their feet, others in 3 / March 2021 © Informa UK Ltd 2021 (Unauthorized photocopying prohibited.) elective care, especially, introduced furloughs and solution companies are rolled into a “holistic” other response measures until the beginnings of solution, providing more wide-ranging services for a return to normal. One year on from that WHO patients. declaration, editors across Pharma Intelligence have taken a look at the pandemic’s impact and This process will likely take many years, but legacy on medtech and pharma. Though you must already the dealmaking space in digital health look hard to find any upsides from COVID-19, the already looks active. Within the past six months, way that the medtech industry has adapted and numerous telehealth companies have obtained made itself potentially “future fit” is certainly one funding or been acquired, often via a special of them, as this report from KPMG suggests. purpose acquisition company, and KPMG expect this trend of increased activity to continue. (Also Predicted Market Maturation in 2021 and see “Blank Check Companies’ Hunt For Innovative Beyond Medtech Start-Ups To Heat Up Further, Experts The current market for digital health is in its Predict” - Medtech Insight, 1 Feb, 2021.) infancy. Currently, there are hundreds, if not thousands of companies offering ‘point solutions’ As a result of this, company valuations are – software that solves a single, often smaller issue. expected to increase across the board in medtech throughout 2021, with diagnostics producers According to Pothier, there is a “need for fairing the best. Pother said, “we expect to consolidation” in the industry, where point recovery of all of our major sectors.” Predicted medical device manufacturer valuation changes in 2021, by subsector Source: KPMG 2021 healthcare and life sciences investment outlook 4 / March 2021 © Informa UK Ltd 2021 (Unauthorized photocopying prohibited.) Blank Check Companies’ Hunt For Innovative Medtech Start- Ups To Heat Up Further, Experts Predict Executive Summary Medtech Insight. As the SPAC boom continues, innovative medtechs are expected to become acquisition targets. Joseph Hernandez, founder and CEO of Blue Water Acquisition Corp., a SPAC that is currently looking for an acquisition target in the health care space, also expects a lot more deal flow in January kicked off with a flurry of SPACs, or medtech, particularly in artificial intelligence, special-purpose acquisition companies, and telemedicine, cardiology, joint replacements, financial experts believe that these financing diagnostics and genomics. vehicles will continue to gain steam, with some targeting medtech. “Medtechs are often undervalued in the market, but I think if you look at their risk profile, they are Jonas Grossman, president and managing partner usually less risky than biotech companies because of Chardan Investment Bank, which focuses on you usually have a product,” Hernandez told disruption and innovation in the health care Medtech Insight. technology space, said that 2020 was a banner year for SPACs – or “blank check companies” as Blue Water Acquisition announced on 15 SPACs are often called – because they are formed December it raised $50m by offering 5 million specifically to find a start-up, buy it and take it units at $10. Each unit consists of one share public. While the majority of SPACs looking for of common stock and one warrant exercisable a health care target were focused on biotech in at $11.50. The underwriter, Maxime Group, 2020, Grossman foresees that in 2021: “We’ll see exercised its over-allotment option, resulting in more medtech deals.” $57.5m raised. According to Chardan’s statistics, as of 27 January, “We have been a free-trading company for a little 40 health care-focused SPACs with $7.2bn to bit over 30 days and I can tell you we’ve seen deploy were actively looking for a company to a large number of deals – in excess of 40 deals merge with. we’ve looked at [at] this point – and continue to get deal flow here on a daily basis,” Hernandez About half are focused on biotech with the other said. Though he feels that the smaller size of the half looking at other areas including medtech, SPAC, which puts it at an acquisition target range digital health and general health care. However, of roughly $75-$240m, puts it in the “sweet spot.” with more SPACs looking for disruptive growth opportunities, the medtech sector has become an “There’s not a lot of players in this acquisition attractive target. spectrum,” he said. The majority of deals have been on the larger side, where there are more “I would predict that for 2021, we’ll see a number SPACs competing for the same private companies.
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