LSX awards the crème de la crème of dealmaking

With 17 awards showcasing a year’s worth of dealmaking, it was truly a memorable night for the life sciences industry. Ranging from “Seed-Stage Finance Raise of the Year” to “M&A Deal of the Year,” the awards celebrated a diverse array of accomplishments in 2024.

“It was noteworthy that for the first time our 60+ strong judging faculty voted a clean sweep for female leaders across our CEO of the year categories from what was a stellar list of finalists!” Josh Dance, managing director at LSX, told BioXconomy.

“The ELAs are about recognizing the exceptional organizations, teams and individuals that have shaped the landscape of the European life science industry.” Additionally, Dance placed emphasis on the importance of recognizing “these achievements and celebrating the vibrant industry we have in Europe and there is no better time than as part of what is now known as London Life Sciences Week.”

English comedian and actor Hal Cruttenden hosted the awards and got things under way with the first category  Start-up biotech firm, DISCO Pharmaceuticals, bagged first place for its $21.8 million seed funding round in January. The round included investments from Sofinnova Partners, M Ventures, AbbVie Ventures, and Panakes Partners, among others.

Although $21.8 million is a large sum of money, the financial amounts rose significantly when Cruttenden crowned EyeBio and Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside North America) as the winners of the “Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Deal of the Year category.” In May, Merck added ophthalmology assets through its $1.3 billion EyeBio buy.  On top of the upfront payment, Merck could pay up to $1.7 billion more in developmental, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments.

Drum role please…