Firms responding to AusBiotech and Grant Thornton’s second annual Biotechnology Industry Position Survey plan to spend a collective $610 million on R&D this year. The survey, conducted in January, questioned 50 CEOs at Australian life science and biotech companies. Participating CEOs at 82% of firms anticipate that their businesses will expand this year. Although just 24% of respondents classified conditions in Australia as “conductive to growing a biotechnology company,” 68% declared that 2011 was a “good or excellent” year. Lack of accessible funding was deemed the industry’s main issue, as 34% of respondents said they have less than a year of cash available at current burn rates. CEOs at 46% of surveyed firms plan to raise money this year. In 2011, $630 million was raised by the firms, a 14% increase. Sales of stocks were the primary source of funding, followed by debt instruments, and government grants and allowances. Sixty-five percent of respondents believe that 2011’s R&D Tax Incentive will boost their businesses this year.

Source: AusBiotech