SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Biotech's Hidden Stepsister

from the Scientist (Registration Required)

... Venture capital investment in medical technologies has boomed over the last decade, jumping 45% in a single year, from $2.9 billion in 2006 to $4.1 billion in 2007, according to figures from the National Venture Capital Association. (Investment in the biopharma sector grew at a much less dramatic rate during that period: 13%- from $4.6 to $5.2 billion.) Still, some industry experts suggest inventors ... face an uncertain future.

As recently as 10 years ago, an inventor with a great idea could expect to be able to raise tens of millions of dollars to finance a project, and see it tested and commercialized within four to six years. Since then, however, some industry experts contend that both the time and money required to bring a product to market in the United States have, on average, doubled.

"Now it's taking 5, 7, 9 years" to bring a product to market, says Ross Jaffe of the venture capital firm Versant Ventures. "Where it used to take $20 to $40 million in capital, now it's taking $70-100 million."