June 25, 2025

Who Are the Top Auditors and Lawyers for U.S. Biotech IPOs?

Biotechnology is a risky enough business already. So, when it comes to mitigating legal and accounting risk, it should be no surprise that would-be public biotechs typically gravitate towards the same household names when it comes to picking their IPO advisors.

So, who are the top lawyers and auditors for U.S. biotech IPOs?

Methodology

We took a look at biotech and pharma IPOs (regardless of the exchange they listed on) for the years 2022-2024, focusing on those that raised $50 million or more. There were 38 in total. From their S-1 filings, we ascertained who the biotech’s auditor was at the time they went public (exhibit 23.1) as well as the legal firm advising them on their public offering (S-1 – front page).

Top accounting firms for biotech IPOs 2022-2024 (n=38)

Unsurprisingly, successful biotech IPO-candidates chose either one of the “Big Four” accounting firms (Ernst & Young LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, KPMG LLP, and Deloitte & Touche LLP) or BDO (which markets itself as the fifth largest global accounting network).

Source: Exhibit 23.1 of each respective IPO’s S-1 filing

Ernst & Young took the top spot in our analysis, auditing 15/38 (39%) of biotech IPOs from 2022-2024, with PricewaterhouseCoopers coming in second with 10/38 (26%).

While there is no requirement for a biotech to be audited by one of the Big Four (or BDO), a prospective biotech IPO candidate would certainly be atypical by not doing so.

Top law firms for biotech IPOs 2022-2024 (n=38)

Compared to the auditor that successful biotech IPOs chose in the period we considered, biotech’s choice of legal firm for their IPO was broader.

While the U.S. legal landscape is more fragmented, only two of the top ten U.S. law firms (based on U.S. revenue according to the 2023 AmLaw Global 200 Rankings) actually made the shortlist from our analysis.

As you can see from the chart above, Goodwin Procter LLP came in joint first place alongside Cooley LLP, both advising 11/38 (29%) respectively of the biotechs who successfully completed their IPO, with Latham & Watkins in third place, representing 7/38 (18%).

Thereafter the field is split, with multiple law firms advising single- or double-digit biotech IPOs.

Conclusion

No one is saying that would-be public biotechs have to use the audit or law firms listed above, but at the same time, it’s worth noting the choices that previously successful biotechs made.