Israeli Life Sciences Sector Raised Record $1.5 Billion In 2018 – Report

Israeli startups and companies in the life sciences sector raised a record $1.5 billion in 2018, according to a new report by the Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI), Israel’s umbrella organization of high-tech and life science industries. The report, titled Israeli Life Sciences Report 2019, is a comprehensive view of the local sector.

According to the report, the Israeli life sciences industry is “getting stronger every year” with an increasing number of local life sciences companies. IATI says there are approximately 1,600 life sciences companies currently active in Israel, employing more than 83,000 people all across the country.

More than 1,300 life sciences companies were founded in the last decade alone, half of which operate to this day, according to the report. 

The industry is becoming “a growing force within the global healthcare market,” according to an IATI statement. The $1.5 billion figure marks a 25 percent increase from the previous year, according to the study.

“The Israeli life science industry keeps seeing a significant rise in the number of companies, investments, and deals. The numbers represent a thriving industry, with a substantial part in the total growth of Israeli economy,” said Karin Mayer Rubinstein, IATI CEO and president, in the statement.

Four of the 10 largest high-tech exits in Israel in 2018 were in the life sciences industry. Mazor Robotics, a pioneer in surgical robotics and spinal surgery, was acquired for around $1.5 billion in 2018, surpassing the industry’s previous largest exit by NeuroDerm for $1.1 billion in 2017.

IATI says the report is intended to be used as a tool for better industry, government, and academic decisions.

The report was first released at the opening of the 2019 MIXiii Biomed conference and exhibition in May in Tel Aviv.