Aggregated News
Biotechnology was the hottest sector in venture capital in the first quarter of this year as investors poured in $7.1 billion in 778 deals, the highest level of funding for any quarter since late 2001, according to a study released Monday.
Underscoring the expanding investor interest in life sciences, deals for companies making medical devices reached a record of $1.08 billion for 96 deals, a 60 percent jump from the level of funding in the fourth quarter of 2006.
"It was the strongest quarter ever for biotech and medical devices since we started keeping numbers 10 years ago," said Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, which published the study together with PricewaterhouseCoopers based on data from Thomson Financial.
The total quarterly investments were the highest since the fourth quarter of 2001, with $1.5 billion going into 102 biotech deals, the single largest investment in a sector.
Overall, life sciences businesses received 36 percent of the total dollars for the quarter, an all-time high, the study said.
Heesen said the trend highlights growing interest in emerging medical and...