Tag Archives: venture capital
“Quant” VC Correlation Ventures: VC’s New “Dream Date”
Those venture capitalists lucky enough to remain in the drastically smaller pack are constantly cruising for the perfect co-investor. Like the perfect spouse, it’s hard to imagine finding it all in one person: Quick decision. Even if it is a … Continue reading
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How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge
Now that the Sanofi acquisition of Genzyme is nearly done – the New York Times is reporting that it may well be announced before the Sanofi board meeting on Wednesday – we look to the aftermath. Instead of just laying off the entire R&D team – which until recently accounted for $800 million in annual spending – why not set up a corporate venture fund to save at least part of the talent base and build an even bigger bridge to the Boston biotech community?
Read the post and comment on my suggestion on Xconomy here or copy-paste the link:
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/02/07/how-sanofi-could-start-off-on-the-right-foot-in-cambridge/?single_page=true
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Google Meets Healthcare VC
Now that most private-company biotech CEOs have given up on “IPO window reopens” and “VC bidding war,” three of the most galvanizing words for someone raising money these days are “Google might invest.” Here’s the Boston Biotech Watch take not just on what Google Ventures is doing in healthcare but also what we think they should be doing. Continue reading
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The Next Feeding Frenzy? VCs Rush Toward diagnostics (!?)
There was a time not long ago when no amount of persuasion could have made most venture capitalists do a diagnostics deal. The reasons abounded: markets were too limited; margins were too low; and the number of potential acquirers too small. So imagine our surprise when the most upbeat session of this year’s c21 investor conference in late May was a panel discussion focused on – you guessed it – molecular diagnostics. Continue reading
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VC From Both Sides: “Mastering the VC Game” by Jeffrey Bussgang
How rare is this? A new book offering reams of sound advice on raising money from VCs. Rarer still: a book actually written by a VC who has made money both as a VC and as an entrepreneur. Jeffrey Bussgang, a general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners, is that VC and Mastering the VC Game is his book. Read the review on http://bostonbiotechwatch.com. Continue reading
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Genetix Pharmaceuticals, A Gene Therapy Company (!), Takes Down $35 million in a Compelling Turnaround Story
By Steve Dickman, CEO, CBT Advisors It’s only March but, in our view, it’s time to dub Genetix Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, biotech’s “Turnaround Story of the Year.” Genetix announced today that it had raised $35 million in a Series … Continue reading
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Domain Sheds the VC Blues
by Steven Dickman, CEO, CBT Advisors Looking for a silver lining in the current challenging climate for healthcare VC? Look no further than Domain Associates. Amid the exit drought brought on by the economic crisis, Domain has put together an … Continue reading
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Networking Your Medication
Some iPhone apps have shown that mobile phones are potentially fantastic tools for one-way or two-way transmission of medical information. But actual digital pills!!?? Sure enough: at last week’s JP Morgan healthcare conference, Novartis announced a $24 million deal with Proteus Biomedical, a Bay Area, VC- and private-equity-backed maker of “smart pills” carrying embedded sensors that transmit their status (“Patient just ingested me”) to a phone and then to medical professionals via a wireless network. Boston Biotech Watch has the story. Continue reading
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Medicine Gets Personal – But How Do VCs Make Money?
Venture investors are warming to the idea of doing deals in “personalized medicine” – diagnostic tests, often based on genetics, that could improve outcomes and lower costs. But regulatory and reimbursement hurdles are the norm, not the exception. Nonetheless, some deals such as Highland Capital’s portfolio company Generation Health, appear very attractive. Continue reading
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Clouds Over the VC sky
Clouds Over the VC sky by Steven Dickman, CEO, CBT Advisors Last week I attended a one-on-one podium discussion put on by Xconomy featuring two Boston gods of private equity and venture capital, Peter Brooke, founder of TA Associates and … Continue reading
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