Medical device investment deals got fatter and less frequent during the second quarter, as the value of deals grew 9 percent but their number slid 17 percent, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Backers pumped $841 million into med-tech firms with 90 deals during the three months ended June 30, according to the consulting firm’s MoneyTree report. That’s up 26 percent and 3 percent, respectively, over the first quarter. The industry’s share of the venture capital cash spend on life sciences last quarter ticked down to 40 percent, however, compared with Q1 numbers.
The amount of backing was the highest since Q3 2008 and the seventh-largest since PwC began tracking life sciences investment in 1995.
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Funding for the medical/health products sector slumoed dramatically during the quarter, falling 57 percent, while investment in diagnostics dropped 7 percent. Medical therapeutics backers found more to their liking and increasing funding by 33 percent during the quarter.
"Funding was strong for pacemakers and artificial organs, which saw large investment
deals during the quarter," according to the report. "[E]arly-stage funding dropped 7 percent to $300 million during the second quarter of 2011 compared with the previous year, while late-stage funding increased 20 percent to $541 million over the same period.
Compared with the previous quarter, both early-stage and late-stage funding increased by 56 percent and 14 percent, respectively."
Regionally, San Francisco and Boston took the laurels, with Frisco garnering $552 million ($159 million for biotech concerns and $393 million for device makers).