Intangibles and the Market Value of Biopharmaceutical Startups

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between various measures of intangible capital and the market valuation of young biopharmaceutical firms. We employ a non-linear model to measure the impact of R&D, patents, alliances, organizational capital, and mergers on the value of 349 newly-incorporated firms between 1980 and 2006. We find that, with the exception of mergers, our measures of intangible capital have positive and significant effects on market values; the impact of R&D declines as firms mature; and the omission of either alliances or organizational capital leads to a significant overstatement of the influence of R&D.