This annual report analyzes our biopharmIQ data on new/emerging bio/pharma companies for 2024 to provide insights into the geographic and technology focus areas of these start-up bio/pharma companies.^1 To be in the know about the recent funding events, check out our most recent funding data on our online biopharmIQ platform.
Geographic Distribution
International Footprint
We identified 94 new/ newly emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024 that were funded with at least $500K and/or emerging with a major announcement. Out of the 94 companies we identified, 72 are headquartered in the U.S (FIG. 1). Among the 22 companies located outside the U.S., 4 are in the UK, 3 each in Switzerland and France, 2 each in the Netherlands, Israel, and Germany, and 1 each in Sweden, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Canada, and Austria. While it is likely correct that the United States is the leading country with respect to new/emerging biopharma and pharma companies, we acknowledge that there is an inherent bias in our systems favoring U.S. and Western-based companies. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that our systems are much more likely to detect new/emerging companies that are funded with more money, starting with at least $1M in early funding. Although it is likely that we missed some new/emerging bio-pharma companies that emerged with at least $500K in funding, especially from Asia, the general data that the U.S. is likely the home to at least 2 times as many new/emerging bio/pharma companies with at $500K in funding, and probably 3-4 times as many new/emerging bio/pharma than all of Europe, is likely correct (72 vs. 18).Â
FIG 1. International footprint of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024 with at least $1M in funding.
State-by-State Breakdown
Within the U.S.-based group of 72 companies, it is not surprising that California & Massachusetts lead with 22 companies each. New York is home to 7 bio/pharma companies that emerged in 2024, while Washington has 5 and Pennsylvania 4. New Jersey counts 3 among this year’s newcomers, trailed by Utah, Maryland, and Delaware at 2 each. North Carolina, Illinois, and Connecticut round out the list with 1 apiece. Although California and Massachusetts remain the most prolific biotech clusters, benefiting from their depth of investor networks, bio/pharma entrepreneurs and talent pool, and academia, New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania remain notable second tier states, and the dispersion of biotech to other states is noteworthy as well (FIG 2). We were a bit surprised that Maryland and North Carolina did not show more new/emerging companies that we detected in 2024.Â
FIG 2. State-by-state breakdown of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.
Emergence from Stealth
From a quarter to quarter analysis, Q2 was particularly active, with 39Â emergences, resulting in a significantly higher investment versus other quarters. Q4 had 20Â debuts, whereas Q1 recorded 19Â and lastly Q3 had the least, with 16Â companies emerging. We are not certain whether this is an annual pattern, since this is the first year that we have compiled this report.
FIG 3. Quarter-by-quarter breakdown of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.
Sector Focus
Our analysis of these newly emerged companies reveals that 76Â focus on development of therapeutics, likely because our systems are much less likely to detect companies that emerge with less than $500K and without an SEC filing or major press release. Although comprising a smaller fraction, 13Â of the emerging bio/pharma companies we detected, specialize in vendor services, followed by 3Â in diagnostics. Lastly, one company each focuses on medical devices and healthcare services (FIG 4).
FIG 4. Sector focus of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.
Therapeutic Companies Technology Area
Among these new/newly emerging therapeutic bio/pharma companies, biologics represented the largest cohort, with 50Â companies pursuing this approach (FIG 5). Meanwhile, small molecule pharmaceuticals accounted for 24Â companies. We were a bit surprised by this 2 to 1 ratio of biologics to small molecule companies, which supports the growing role of biologics in future therapeutics.
FIG 5. Tech areas of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.
Artificial Intelligence
Next, we analyzed our database to identify which bio/pharma companies emphasize artificial intelligence (AI) into their product/services development. Among the 94 companies in our list, 11 (11.7%) emphasized AI in their product/service development (FIG 6). It will be interesting to see how much this increases in coming years, as likely the percentage of companies focusing on AI for product/service development was much less before 2024.This percentage of ~12% bio/pharma companies that emphasize AI is slightly above the average of 9% that we recently reported for our database overall, and further above the 5-8% that we determined for bio/pharma companies, not counting computational biology-related companies.
FIG 6. New/emerging bio/pharma companies with AI technology in 2024.Â
Funding Landscape
Finally we analyzed the funding landscape of new/newly emerging bio/pharma companies with at least $500K or a major announcement, that we identified, which collectively secured $6.22 billion in 2024 (FIG 6). The highest level of investment occurred in Q2, at $2.96 billion. Funding in Q1 stood at $1.41 billion, followed by $1.22 billion in Q3, and $613 million in Q4. It will be interested to determine in coming years whether the dip in the latter part of 2024 points to growing investor caution or annual seasonality.
FIG 6. Funding landscape of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.
We next look at the amount of funding raised per new/emerging bio/pharma company that emerged in 2024. Two new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024 that we identified raised $500K to $1M, 8 raised $1M–$5M, 7 raised $5.1M–$10M, 25 raised $10.1M–$50M, 22 raised $50.1M–$100M, and 19 raised over $100M. It is noteworthy that 11 bio/pharma companies that we detected that emerged in 2024, did not disclose their funding amount.Â
FIG. 7. Funding groups of new/emerging bio/pharma companies in 2024.Â
Conclusion
This 2024 new/emerging biopharma company landscape focused on 94 companies that we identified that raised at least $500K or emerged with a major announcement. Our analysis revealed the continued focus on the U.S. for the location of these companies, although we likely missed some Asian start-ups that launched with the equivalent of at least $500K or a major announcement. Within the U.S., California and Massachusetts continue to dominate the landscape, with Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington coming in as second tier states. It was interesting that there were over 2 times as many biologics as small molecule new/emerging companies, suggesting that future therapeutics will continue to shift towards biologics. Finally, it will be interesting to see if the number of new/emerging bio/pharma companies that emphasize AI in their technology development, will increase in coming years.
To be in the know about the recent funding events, check out recent funding data on our online biopharmIQ platform.
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Footnotes
^1 Every workday, our team uses a combination of automated and manual systems to identify new/emerging bio/pharma companies and adds these companies to our online biopharmIQ platform.Â
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Article History:
MV/RF/JD/DG (01/15/2025)
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