Venture funding’s contracting – so are investors making any innovative moves to keep life sciences companies flush with needed cash? This idea was addressed at this week’s panel discussion at the CED Life Sciences conference in Raleigh.
The panel was made up of Canaan Partners general partner Steve Bloch; GE Ventures managing director Leslie Bottorff; and TPG Biotech partner and managing director Fred Cohen. Here are some of the highlights:
Bloch on the contraction of the venture capital business:
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Everything goes through cycles. The limited partner community was a bit discouraged at the last downturn, and pulled out of healthcare venture. There have been a lot of notable failures in venture firms, particularly in the device industry.
Cohen on the scalability of life sciences venture capital – or the lack thereof:
The way biotech venture capital has traditionally been done – it’s not a scalable opportunity. Unlike private equity guys, who have proved they have a scalable asset, biotech is a bit of a cottage industry – and it seeks out a different group of limited partners.
Bottorff on the disruption going on in the healthcare biz:
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This is the time that a lot of money can be made. But you have to be able to see around corners and go with what the trends are. There’s a lot of new money.
Cohen on the impressive returns from corporate venture groups:
Last year was just a bangup year for biotech. If you were a corporate pharma investor, your bonuses put your earnings into a category that made the CEO jealous. And last time I checked in big pharma – that’s not the person you want to see jealous.
Bloch on what healthcare trends are exciting investment opportunties
I’m excited about convergence deals now. There are solutions to access that will fit the value-based pricing for patients better. Pharma is interested in figuring out what digital health is – and is going to look beyond the pill.