This infographic reveals milestone trends by product stage on deals where SRS Acquiom has served as post-closing shareholder representative for sellers on 227 M&A transactions since 2008 involving private-target Life Sciences companies.
- Total Life Sciences Deals 227
- Up-Front Payments $39.6B
- Potential Earnout $37.5B
- Earnout Deals 163
Negotiated Milestone Dollars by Development Phase: Bio/Pharma
Each line on the graph shows the distribution of different dollar amounts parties have agreed to pay upon achievement of milestones at the end of a given phase of development.
Mean Milestone $ Amounts:
- Preclinical $26MM
- Phase 1 $42MM
- Phase 2 $51MM
- Phase 3 $52MM
Median Milestone $ Amounts:
- Preclinical $20MM
- Phase 1 $35MM
- Phase 2 $39MM
- Phase 3 $30MM
Most Frequent Negotiated Amounts (% of Events):
- Preclinical: $20MM (21%); $30MM (13%); $50MM (13%)
- Phase 1: $50MM (20%); $20MM (9%); $5MM (9%)
- Phase 2: $50MM (14%); $20MM (11%); $35MM (11%)
- Phase 3: $10MM (12%); $50MM (10%); $100MM (9%)
Milestone Achievement by Product Stage
Bio/Pharma:
Bio/Pharma milestones are being hit at the end of each phase of development, with particularly high rates (but lower $) in early phases.
Total Developmental Milestones Paid – $2.7B out of $7.5B (36%)
Achievements by Events:
- Preclinical: 15 Paid Events / 25 Total Events / 60% Events Paid/Total
- Phase 1: 16 Paid Events / 36 Total Events / 44% Events Paid/Total
- Phase 2: 15 Paid Events / 50 Total Events / 30% Events Paid/Total
- Phase 3: 17 Paid Events / 59 Total Events / 29% Events Paid/Total
- Total Development: 63 Paid Events / 170 Total Events / 37% Events Paid/Total
Devices and Dx/Research:
Devices and Dx/Research milestone events are being achieved in both development and commercial stages, although $ payment rates trend 6–10% lower.
Total Developmental Milestones Paid – $1.15B out of $4.1B (28%)
Achievements by Events:
- Development: 50 Paid Events / 113 Total Events / 44% Events Paid
- Commercial: 34 Paid Events / 112 Total Events / 30% Events Paid
- Total: 84 Paid Events/ 225 Total Events / 37% Events Paid
*Total earnout potential $ for commercial milestones includes not only defined $ payments, but also defined $ caps for variable or formula-driven payments.
