Euro biotech market indices in 2002

Combined market capitalisation of Europe's biotech companies dropped by over €30bn, from €80bn at the end of 2000 to just over e50bn at year end 2001.

The findings are published in Endurance, Ernst & Young's European Biotechnology Report 2002.

They reveal that IPOs, in the European biotech sector, dropped from 39 in 2000 to just six in 2001, with only three being recorded for 2002.

This indicates a significant decline in public financing activity over the past number of years.

Director of IBEC's Irish BioIndustry Association, Matt Moran, said: "This report highlights the need for strong and concerted support for Ireland's fledgling biotech sector.

Other key European highlights include:

* Only €123m was raised by European Biotech companies on the public equity markets in 2003, compared to €5.5bn two years earlier.

* Combined Market Capitalisation for biotech companies located in Ireland was €1bn with revenues for Ireland amounting to €1.4bn.

* Employee numbers fell by 6% to 82,124.

* Funding received by start-up companies: down from around 70% of total funding in 2000 to 35% at the end of 2002.

* Profitable biotech companies are on the increase with the average loss per public company having halved over the past four years to €7m (excluding Elan's massive swing from a e0.3bn profit to a €2.4bn loss in 2002)

* Biotech companies received 26% of all European venture capital investment in 2002, the joint highest proportion along with Software.