| Midwest, Michigan health care startup funding rises: After all the gloom from Pfizer, this may help you feel a little bit better: Midwest health care startups reported $792 million in total investments in 2006, according to the Midwest Health Care Venture Investment Report released by Cleveland-based BioEnterprise. The total represents a 25 percent increase over 2005, a significant jump that outpaces national industry growth. In Michigan in 2006, $135.5 million went to 11 companies. That's up sharply from 2005, when $52.9 million went to eight companies. That was good enough to put Michigan in second spot among Midwest states, behind only Minnesota. Several Michigan biotechnology startups attracted significant investment, including NanoBio and Cerenis Therapeutics. Ohio finished third in the Midwest with $113.9 million raised by 39 companies, including many seed and early-stage financings. “2006 was the breakout year for the Midwest as a whole: a record amount of financing across 135 separate companies, a number of successful public offerings, and several significant exits through acquisitions,” said Baiju R. Shah, BioEnterprise President. “Venture capitalists are increasingly finding rewarding investment opportunities in the Midwest and we expect the momentum built in 2006 will continue into 2007 and beyond.” Medical device companies accounted for 45 percent of the financings, biopharmaceutical companies 44 percent, and health care software and services 11 percent. More at www.bioenterprise.com/reports/index.html.
Source: Great Lakes IT Report |
