Healthcare companies seem to be resisting filing initial public offerings in the wake of uncertainty around the ACA, according to Market Watch.
The IPO count in the healthcare space is lowest that it's been since 2012, with just 12 IPOs filed in the sector so far this year. "Interest in healthcare IPOs has declined since then due to uncertainties surrounding possibility of regulating pharma prices and the repeal of the ACA," said Kathy Smith, a principle at Renaissance Capital.
The number of healthcare IPOs by this point over the past five years is as follows:
• 2013: 13 IPOs (19.7 percent of all IPOs)
• 2014: 42 IPOs (38.5 percent of all IPOs)
• 2015: 30 IPOs (47.6 percent of all IPOs)
• 2016: 15 IPOs (62.5 percent of all IPOs)
• 2017: 12 IPOs (21.1 percent of all IPOs)
There are several reasons why the number of IPOs could be dipping; President Donald Trump has promised to lower prescription drug costs and the ACA replacement bill passed through the House. The decrease could also be a regression to the mean, a "healthy normal," according to InCube Venutres Managing Director Andrew Farquharson, after healthcare IPOs reached their zenith in 2014.