Investors Boost Biotech Start-ups

Venture capitalists increased their investment in biotechnology start-up firms in the third quarter, but the increase masked a downward trend in biotech investing. Although investment in the sector rose 64% to $1.2 billion compared with the second quarter, the increase was the result of a large number of follow-on investments, according to the MoneyTree investment report compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, which used data from Thomson Reuters. The number of first-time biotech deals was just 15 in the third quarter, down from 17 in the previous two quarters and 28 in the fourth quarter of 2011. Clean technology sector investments were $791 million in the quarter, compared with around $1 billion in the previous three quarters.