Aggregated News
CHICAGO _ Despite the hype and debate about stem cell research, there are very few stem cell-based therapies and therefore very few companies based on the science.
When that is going to change, and how, was on the minds of hundreds of biotechnology executives from around the globe as they gathered last week for the industry's largest gathering, the annual BIO convention.
While interest in the promise of stem cell research has fueled government funding initiatives such as California's $3 billion Proposition 71, venture capital firms remain largely uninterested in investing.
In 2005, venture capital invested about $5.9 billion in biotechnology and medical devices, said Fred Schwartzer, managing director of the venture capital firm Charter Life Sciences in Palo Alto. Only $120 million went to stem cell research.
The reasons for this are many, he said, including scientific uncertainties, intellectual property issues and the lack of any clear path to make a return on investments in stem cell-based companies.
_That's a lot of uncertainty, and venture capital hates uncertainty,_ Schwartzer said.
Scientists, biotech executives, lawyers and other investors speaking on...
When that is going to change, and how, was on the minds of hundreds of biotechnology executives from around the globe as they gathered last week for the industry's largest gathering, the annual BIO convention.
While interest in the promise of stem cell research has fueled government funding initiatives such as California's $3 billion Proposition 71, venture capital firms remain largely uninterested in investing.
In 2005, venture capital invested about $5.9 billion in biotechnology and medical devices, said Fred Schwartzer, managing director of the venture capital firm Charter Life Sciences in Palo Alto. Only $120 million went to stem cell research.
The reasons for this are many, he said, including scientific uncertainties, intellectual property issues and the lack of any clear path to make a return on investments in stem cell-based companies.
_That's a lot of uncertainty, and venture capital hates uncertainty,_ Schwartzer said.
Scientists, biotech executives, lawyers and other investors speaking on...