Paris/New York – 15 June 2015 – EnterNext, the Euronext subsidiary dedicated to promoting and growing the market for SMEs[1],is partnering with France Biotech, an association of entrepreneurs in the life sciences, for the second edition of “French Life Science Days”. A forum for listed French life sciences companies and specialised US investors, the event will take place in New York on Thursday, June 18, following an opening night ceremony on Wednesday, June 17.
French Life Science Days was first held in June 2014, when it drew over 50 US investors and offered 70 face-to-face meetings. It received wide media coverage in France and in the United States.
Life sciences a fast-growing sector—and an EnterNext speciality
Euronext is Europe’s most active market for life sciences—biotechs and medtechs—with 70 issuers representing nearly €14 billion in market capitalisation. Since 2009, life science companies have accounted for 27% of total capital raised in IPOs by small and mid-size companies.
Aware of the potential that the life science sector offers, EnterNext has launched a number of initiatives to raise companies’ profiles with investors. One example is a programme with Morningstar to ensure research coverage of listed companies. Another is the Tech 40 label, which highlights nine tech sector companies that have turned in particularly strong performances.
Strong investor interest
Since the beginning of the year, life science company IPOs have been oversubscribed 200% on average, with portions reserved for retail investors oversubscribed 500%. This is due in part to the fact that the NextBiotech index has outperformed most other European stock market indices in recent years. Since 2009, life science companies have used secondary markets to raise over €1.7 billion to finance innovation and growth, an indication of investors’ keen interest. European investors hold 53% of interests in biotech and medtech companies covered by EnterNext, while American investors hold 45% .[2]
Celebrating the opening of French Life Science Days, Eric Forest, CEO of EnterNext, said : “In less than 10 years, Euronext has become the European market of choice for life sciences. We are delighted to support this event, which offers a natural fit with EnterNext’s efforts to forge closer ties between investors and listed companies. Meetings like this raise the visibility of companies with US investors—many of whom are already shareholders. Which is further proof of the quality and appeal of French biotech and medtech companies.”
Pierre-Olivier Goineau, Chairman of France Biotech, said : “This year 18 of our top listed companies will get a chance to present their activities to specialised US investors in one-to-one sessions. Investors in America have shown increasing interest in our companies, which offer breakthrough innovations and are expanding on international markets. France’s life sciences industry is booming, with a steep rise in the number of companies listed that reflects the energy of EnterNext and its teams. We would like to thank our 18 participating companies and partners —Bryan, Garnier & Co, EnterNext, Invest Securities, Jones Day, Mazars, NewCap and The Ruth Group—all of them experts in their fields.”