[Feature] Give us your best pitch
The world of venture capital is a mysterious place to most researchers, as it has its own jargon and customs. Two venture capitalists who work at companies that fund life science startups explain how they got into the business of helping scientific entrepreneurs, what they look for, where they find ideas, and common misconceptions they run into from would-be makers of drugs and diagnostics. Robert Nelsen of ARCH Venture Partners in Seattle, Washington, and Anthony Sun of Aisling Capital in New York City frankly discuss both the ups and downs of this most risky business, which holds the promise of yielding great rewards bot...
Source: Science: Current Issue - June 12, 2015 Category: Science Authors: Jon Cohen Source Type: research
[Feature] Business decisions
The spread of an entrepreneurial culture is helping academic scientists as they make the arduous journey from a discovery to a product. The support comes in various sizes and shapes: campus competitions to solicit commercially viable ideas, universities establishing their own venture capital funds and "incubators" to nurture startup companies, and programs such as the Innovation Corps at the National Science Foundation. And although some scientists decide to leave campus to follow their commercial dreams, most do not. They like research and teaching, for one thing, and they often don't think they have what it takes to run ...
Source: Science: Current Issue - June 12, 2015 Category: Science Authors: Jeffrey Mervis Source Type: research
Recent trends in specialty pharma business model
Publication date: Available online 21 May 2015 Source:Journal of Food and Drug Analysis Author(s): M.Sherry Ku The recent rise of specialty pharma is attributed to its flexible, versatile, and open business model while the traditional big pharma is facing a challenging time with patent cliff, generic threat, and low research and development (R&D) productivity. These multinational pharmaceutical companies, facing a difficult time, have been systematically externalizing R&D and some even establish their own corporate venture capital so as to diversify with more shots on goal, with the hope of achieving a...
Source: Journal of Food and Drug Analysis - May 21, 2015 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Primary status, complementary status, and organizational survival in the U.S. venture capital industry
Publication date: July 2015 Source:Social Science Research, Volume 52 Author(s): Matthew S. Bothner , Young-Kyu Kim , Wonjae Lee We introduce a distinction between two kinds of status and examine their effects on the exit rates of organizations investing in the U.S. venture capital industry. Extending past work on status-based competition, we start with a simple baseline: we describe primary status as a network-related signal of an organization’s quality in a leadership role, that is, as a function of the degree to which an organization leads others that are themselves well regarded as lead organizations in the co...
Source: Social Science Research - May 14, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Investor Drought And Regulatory Headwinds Slow Device Innovation [Entry Point]
Is venture capital’s waning interest in medical devices a bellwether for innovation in a new health care economy? (Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - February 2, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Russell, S. Tags: Access To Care, Health Reform, Hospitals, Legal/Regulatory Issues, Business Of Health, Pharmaceuticals, Physicians, Quality Of Care, Research And Technology, Health Spending, Affordable Care Act Entry Point Source Type: research
The Decline Of Venture Capital Investment In Early-Stage Life Sciences Poses A Challenge To Continued Innovation [Economics Of Innovation]
A key element required for translating new knowledge into effective therapies is early-stage venture capital that finances the work needed to identify a lead molecule or medical device prototype and to develop it to the proof-of-concept stage. This early investment is distinguished by great uncertainty over whether the molecule or prototype is safe and effective, the stability of the regulatory standards to which clinical trials are designed, and the likelihood that large follow-on investments for commercial development can be secured. Regulatory and reimbursement policies have a profound impact on the amount of capital an...
Source: Health Affairs - February 2, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Fleming, J. J. Tags: Access To Care, Legal/Regulatory Issues, Business Of Health, Research And Technology, Health Spending Economics Of Innovation Source Type: research
Network effects on organizational decision-making: Blended social mechanisms and IPO withdrawal
Publication date: May 2015 Source:Social Networks, Volume 41 Author(s): Jason Owen-Smith , Natalie C. Cotton-Nessler , Helena Buhr This paper develops a new approach to the study of network effects in organizations and markets by proposing that structural influences on social and economic action result from contingent blends of well-understood social mechanisms. We emphasize the interplay of three different network processes: resource and information transfer, status signaling and certification, and social influence. Different mixes of these mechanisms characterize disparate networks because the obligations imposed ...
Source: Social Networks - January 7, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Gender and venture capital decision-making: The effects of technical background and social capital on entrepreneurial evaluations
In this study, we demonstrate how tangible education and work history credentials - typically associated with supply-side characteristics - work in tandem with cultural beliefs about gender to influence the evaluative process that underlies venture capital decisions made in high-growth, high-tech entrepreneurship. Using an experimental design, we simulate funding decisions by venture capitalists (VCs) for men and women entrepreneurs that differ in technical background and the presence of important social ties. We demonstrate the presence of two distinct aspects of VCs’ evaluation: that of the venture and that of the entr...
Source: Social Science Research - December 23, 2014 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Investment aids development of metal membrane technology
Publication date: November 2014 Source:Membrane Technology, Volume 2014, Issue 11 In Germany, early-stage venture capital investors High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) of Bonn and Innovationsstarter Fonds of Hamburg have joined start-up company i3 Membrane GmbH. (Source: Membrane Technology)
Source: Membrane Technology - December 2, 2014 Category: Materials Science Source Type: research
Welltok gets $25 million in funding from venture-capital giant
Welltok Inc. announced a $25 million round of new funding Wednesday — money that will accelerate the Denver health optimization company’s growth and allow it to venture into new market segments.
Having previously raised $54.7 million since August 2010, including the first investment out of IBM’s newly created Watson Group earlier this year, Welltok has developed the CaféWell Health Optimization Platform, which organizes health-management programs and aids app and social-media users in creating… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines - October 15, 2014 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Ed Sealover Source Type: research
Welltok gets $25 million in funding from venture-capital giant
Welltok Inc. announced a $25 million round of new funding Wednesday — money that will accelerate the Denver health optimization company’s growth and allow it to venture into new market segments.
Having previously raised $54.7 million since August 2010, including the first investment out of IBM’s newly created Watson Group earlier this year, Welltok has developed the CaféWell Health Optimization Platform, which organizes health-management programs and aids app and social-media users in creating… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Hospitals headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Hospitals headlines - October 15, 2014 Category: Hospital Management Authors: Ed Sealover Source Type: research
BioCatch attracts $10m to expand R&D on behavioural biometrics
Publication date: July–August 2014 Source:Biometric Technology Today, Volume 2014, Issue 7 BioCatch has completed a $10m financing round aimed at expanding R&D efforts and continue growth in key markets, including the US and Europe. Venture capital firm Blumberg Capital and equity crowdfunding firm OurCrowd led the financing round. Existing investors also participated. (Source: Biometric Technology Today)
Source: Biometric Technology Today - October 12, 2014 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research
Corporate venture capital and Cambridge
Nature Biotechnology 32, 975 (2014).
doi:10.1038/nbt.3029
Authors: Margaret G McCammon, Edwina Pio, Shima Barakat & Shailendra Vyakarnam
A novel route to entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge. (Source: Nature Biotechnology)
Source: Nature Biotechnology - October 9, 2014 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Margaret G McCammonEdwina PioShima BarakatShailendra Vyakarnam Tags: Bioentrepreneur Source Type: research
MyHealthDirect raises $8 million
MyHealthDirect, a Nashville-based company that provides solutions to connect patients with providers, has raised $8 million in new funding, according to a news release.
Health care venture capital firms Chrysalis Ventures and Arboretum Ventures, existing backers of the company, provided equity funding, and new partner Ares Capital Corp. provided a senior credit facility, according to the release.
“This additional round of funding will enable us to continue expanding our business to meet growing… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines - October 8, 2014 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Eleanor Kennedy Source Type: research
New fund to invest in 9-14 more Pittsburgh tech companies
Innovation Works announced its $24 million fund, Riverfront Ventures, which took about a year to raise, Monday as Pittsburgh’s tech and investment communities prepped for the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association’s 3 Rivers Venture Fair, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday at Heinz Field. IW President and CEO Richard Lunak shared details about the new source of capital for tech and life sciences companies in southwestern Pennsylvania. Riverfront already has invested in six — ALung Technologies,… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Physician Practices headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Physician Practices headlines - October 7, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Patty Tascarella Source Type: research
