Asia Pacific Life Sciences & Healthcare Report 2023

Tracking the investible opportunity and M&A potential within the life sciences and healthcare space in APAC

Investment in healthcare is a big area of concern for Asia Pacific (APAC), particularly as the pandemic laid bare the inadequacy of the region’s healthcare infrastructure. As APAC ages, the demand for health services will only grow, placing a bigger fiscal burden on governments whose healthcare budgets are already stretched too thin.

This brings the importance of private capital into focus. While there are challenges to investing in healthcare in APAC, several macroeconomic, demographic and digital trends are keeping investors interested in the sector.

In partnership with FinanceAsia, we studied the most significant recent trends in the sector to arrive at an understanding of the factors that could power or inhibit its growth. Besides this critical historic context, we have provided a view into what the future looks like for life sciences and healthcare via bespoke research involving key stakeholders. We surveyed* investors and advisors that are actively engaged in the space, as well as senior executives at life sciences and healthcare companies to obtain informed insights on the opportunities and challenges that come with investments in the sector.

Some key findings of the survey include:

• Despite a challenging 2022, the life sciences and healthcare sector is expected to bounce back in 2023 with robust growth as governments and businesses alike continue to focus on health and wellbeing in response to increased consumer demand for personalized care. Most survey respondents demonstrate optimism about the sector’s growth prospects and investors’ interest in life sciences and healthcare.
• APAC will receive increased investor focus as factors such as its region’s ageing population and increasing pressures on public healthcare systems create more demand. Rising health consumerism and digital innovations will be major influencing factors on adoption and supply of life sciences and healthcare products and services.
• Though APAC’s life sciences and healthcare industry has traditionally lagged counterparts in North America and Europe, strong fundamentals such as its rising middle class and digitally savvy populations provide ripe opportunities for innovators and healthcare providers.
• The most active verticals expected to draw a bulk of investments and M&A are medical technology (medtech) and devices (25.0%), biotechnology (19.4%), pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) (19.4%) and healthcare solutions (19.4%).

To read the survey results and learn more about the sector’s future potential, download the DFIN Asia Pacific Life Sciences & Healthcare Report 2023.