PricewaterhouseCoopers published its quarterly MoneyTree Report Friday showing that startups of all stripes garnered a total of $10.6 billion through 891 deals nationwide. However, the deal value and the number of deals fell 36 percent and 25 percent respectively from the same quarter last year.
The same overall trend was repeated in the life sciences industry. In the third quarter, venture capitalists pumped $2.49 billion into that startup ecosystem down from $3 billion in the same quarter in 2015. The report, based on data from Thomson Reuters, show that the number of deals also fell to 156 from 210 in the same period a year ago.
In biotech, 87 deals brought $1.83 billion to startups in the third quarter, down from 125 deals that raised $2.15 billion in the same, year-ago period. In medical devices, entrepreneurs raised $662.9 million from 69 deals in the quarter, whereas in the third quarter of 2015, VCs poured $857.5 million through 85 deals.
Here are the top 10 life science deals in the quarter based on the MoneyTree report
Name of Company: Modernatx
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Product: Developing messenger RNA (mRNA) drugs
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $474 million
Investors: Flagship Ventures, 2 Undisclosed firms,
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Name of Company: Intarcia Therapeutics
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Product: Developing the Medici Drug Delivery System that aims to deliver drugs just once or twice a year to tackle chronic diseases
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $184 million
Investors: Venrock, Undisclosed Firm, Luxin Venture Capital Group
Name of Company: Denali Therapeutics
Location: South San Francisco, California
Product:Developing a small molecule RIP1 kinase inhibitor with central nervous system (CNS) penetrant properties.
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $130 million
Investors: 2 Undisclosed firms, F-Prime Capital Partners, Flagship Ventures, Arch Venture Partners
Name of Company: Indigo Ag
Location: Charlestown, Massachusetts
Product: Uses plant microbiomes to protect and strengthen crops against disease and drought, thereby increasing crop yield.
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $100 million
Investors: Flagship Ventures, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp, Altitude Funds, Undisclosed firm
Name of Company: Arcus Biosciences
Location: Hayward, California
Product: Developing cancer immunotherapy drugs
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $70 million
Investors: Novartis Venture Funds, Undisclosed firm, Stanford University, Google Ventures, Invus Group, Column Group, Taiho Ventures, Celgene, Foresite Capital Management
Name of Company: Relay Therapeutics
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Product: Developing a drug discovery platform based on protein motion
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $57 million
Investors: Third Rock Ventures LLC, 2 Undisclosed firms
Name of Company: MicuRx Pharmaceuticals
Location: Hayward, California
Product: Developing antibiotics for drug-resistant bacterial infections.
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $55 million
Investors: 2 Undisclosed firms, Gimpo Ind Invest Fund Mgmt Company, Beijing Bencao Investment Advisor Company
Name of Company: Peloton Therapeutics
Location: Dallas, Texas
Product: Developing first-in-class, small molecule cancer therapies
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $52.39 million
Investors: Nextech Invest AG, Column Group, Remeditex Ventures LLC, Topspin Partners LP, Foresite Capital Management LLC, Undisclosed firm
Name of Company: Oncorus
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Product: Developing a cancer immunotherapy program
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $52.38 million
Investors: Celgene Corp, Deerfield Management Company LP, Undisclosed firm, MPM Capital LLC
Name of Company: Castle Creek Pharmaceuticals
Location: Bedminster, New Jersey
Product: Developing a cancer immunotherapy program
Sector: Biotechnology
Money Raised: $48 million
Investors: Fidelity Investment Funds II
Photo: freedigitalphotos user Salvatore Vuono
