Innovation Internet > Sections > About DIISR > Fact Sheets > Australian Biotechnology Sector Fact Sheet
 
 
 
 
 
 


(Last Reviewed :  1/09/2010 )

Key Points

  • The sector comprises a range of companies, from start-ups to more developed companies selling products in Australia and overseas, and applying biotechnology to health, industrial processing, agriculture and environmental issues.
  • The biotech sector has matured significantly in recent years.  At 31 March 2010, the end of the first quarter (Q1 2010), 64 ASX-listed biotech companies were included in the Biotech Business Indicators (BBI) with a combined market capitalisation of $25.1 billion (bn), compared to $9.9 bn at the end of Q4 2004, when the Department complied the first edition of The BBI.  See Table 1.
  • CSL is Australia's largest biotechnology company, with a market cap of over $21.1 bn at the end of Q1 2010.
  • The market cap of the ASX-listed biotechnology companies included in the BBI, excluding CSL, at the end of Q1 2010 was $4.0 bn. This compares to $4.1 bn at the end of Q4 2004.  
  • The combined market cap for biotechs excluding CSL, fell dramatically over 2008 to a low of $2.1 bn at the end of Q4 2008.  Over the last twelve months, their combined market cap has grown by 65.4 per cent. However, this is the first quarter since Q4 2008 that the listed biotechs, excluding CSL, have recorded a decrease in market cap.
  • The market cap for Q1 2010 remains 25.6 per cent below that of the market cap historical high for this group, $5.4 bn, achieved in Q1 2007. 
  • During Q1 2010, notable secondary capital raisings amounted to approximately $30 million (m). 
  • At the end of Q1 2010, excluding CSL, 11 companies monitored in BBI had a market cap in excess of $100 m.  These combined market cap of the 11 companies was close to $3 bn.  The number of large cap companies is a proxy indicator for the maturity of the biotech sector. A list of these 11 companies is provided in Table 2. 
  • At the end of Q4 2007 some 15 companies were valued in excess of $100 m by the market [combined market cap $3.4 bn].  
  • At the end of Q4 2008 this number had fallen to five [combined market cap $0.8 bn], reflecting the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC). 
  • The maturation of the sector since 2004 illustrates the ongoing benefits of a strong research base, further underlined by the increasing number of companies with products in the later stages of clinical trials.  Income generation from sales will allow these companies to mature their business structures and rely less on raising capital from external sources. An overview of the sector is provided in Table 3.
  • The sector's major exports continue to be IP, through licensing deals with large international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
  • CBio (ASX:CBZ) was the first biotech IPO in 14 months, when it listed on 10 February 2010.

Facts and Figures

Available Key Indicators/Statistics

Using data available from the ASX, DIISR produces BBI, a quarterly publication that summarises key statistics on the Australian biotech companies listed on the ASX.  BBI can be accessed at www.innovation.gov.au/biotech_indicators.

Table 1: Biotechnology Sector – Key Market Statistics

As at end of:

Q4 2004

Q4 2005

Q4 2006

Q4 2007

Q4 2008

Q4 2009

Q1 2010

Number of listed biotechs1

65

74

72

75

75

65*

64

Market Cap of listed biotechs (including CSL) (A$bn)2

9.9

11.9

16.7

24.9

22.4

23.4

25.1

Market Cap of listed biotechs (excluding CSL) A$bn)3

4.1

4.2

4.8

4.9

2.1

4.2

4.0

Number of IPOs for the calendar year4

15

9

1

4

2

0

1

Value of all IPOs (A$m)5

154.5

65.0

3.0

81.6

35.3

0

7.1

*During 2009, 10 former BBI listed companies were either delisted following aquisition or left biotech for other industry sectors.

Table 2: Market capitalisation in excess of $100 million, at 31 December 2009

CSL

($21,118 million)

Pharmaxis

($638 million)

Biota

($406 million)

Acrux

($376 million)

Sirtex Medical

($332 million)

Mesoblast

($286 million)

Cellestis

($285 million)

Starpharma Holdings

($164 million)

Avexa

($127 million)

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals

($123 million)

Alchemia

($117 million)

Bionomics

($107 million)

  

Table 3: Biotechnology Sector – Employment and Financial Data*

 

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Employment for publicly listed biotech companies (number)

9,180

8,350

8,820

9,770

10,480

11,060

Revenues for publicly listed biotech companies(US $m)

1,433

2,361

2,389

2,831

3,602

3,721

* The employment and financial data for the biotechnology sector in Table 3 are sourced from the 2006-2010 Beyond Borders: The Global Biotechnology Reports and are based on the analysis of company financial statement data by Ernst & Young.

 

  1. DIISR – As per the Biotech Business Indicators, data is drawn from the Australian Securities Exchange website: www.asx.com.au
  2. DIISR analysis of data from Trading Room website: www.tradingroom.com.au
  3. DIISR analysis of data from Trading Room website: www.tradingroom.com.au
  4. As per the Biotech Business Indicators, data is drawn from the Australian securities exchange website: www.asx.com
  5. As per the Biotech Business Indicators, data is drawn from the Australian securities exchange website: www.asx.com.au