Thought Leadership

Life sciences venture capital (VC) investment fell steeply during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree Report with data from Thomson Reuters. This decline marked the largest year-over-year decrease since the first quarter of 2009 and the lowest level of funding for the sector since the first quarter of 2003. One possible reason attributed for the drop-off was the increasingly challenging regulatory environment.

The top five metropolitan regions receiving life sciences venture capital funding during Q4 2010 were San Francisco Bay ($269 million), Boston ($227 million), San Diego Metro ($104 million), Chicago ($65 million), and Philadelphia ($55 million). Investments in biotechnology deals accounted for 70 percent of the dollars invested in the top five regions in Q4 2010.