Venture capitalists poured $6.57 billion into 884 deals during the 4th quarter, down compared with Q3 but up 19% compared with Q4 2010, according to the MoneyTree report.
Medical device ventures got a lot less love from VCs than during the 3rd quarter – investment in 73 med-tech startups plunged 35% to $498 million, according to the report, released jointly by the National Venture Capital Assn. and PricewaterhouseCoopers using data from Thomson Reuters. Compared with the 4th quarter of 2010, medical device firms landed 12.4% less during the just-ended period.
For the full year, the spend on the device industry rose 20% in dollars but fell 2% in deals, with $2.8 billion going into 339 deals. VCs put $28.4 billion into 3,673 startups in 2011 – a dollar increase of 22% but just a 4% uptick in the number of deals, according to the report (PDF).
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"As previously projected, venture capital investing in 2011 exceeded 2010 levels and ranks in the top 3 years for VC investing in the past decade," Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of the venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in prepared remarks. "We saw a resurgence in investments in clean technology and Internet-specific companies in 2011, as well as a bit of a jump in average funding in the Internet sector. However, while venture capitalists continue to show their interest in these areas, they are acting prudently and not chasing excessive valuations. Accordingly, despite the increase in investing, we’re unlikely to see these sectors overheat like we saw in the 1999 to 2000 era."
Edwards gains on positive Sapien results
Edwards Lifesciences shares are up about 4% this week on a study showing positive results when its Sapien replacement heart valve is implanted using a transapical approach.
Physicians typically insert the Sapien valve via the femoral artery in the thigh. In the transapical approach, the device is inserted into the apex of the heart’s left ventricle through a small incision in the chest wall.
Results from a branch of the Partner A trial, a continued access protocol covering patients treated transapically, were released by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons this week. Patients in the CAP arm of the trial showed improvement in major adverse events when compared to the control group.
Edwards shares started the week at $73.86. As of about 11:45 a.m. today, EW shares were trading at $76.84, up 4.0%.
Report: European stent market to slide
The number of coronary stenting procedures performed in Europe will show steady growth but prices will decline significantly, according to Millennium Research Group, meaning the overall market’s value will slide by an average of 3.5% annually through 2016.
Drug-eluting bioresorbable scaffolds and biodegradable polymer drug eluting stents will help stem the slide, however, as companies ramp up their development. Read more
- Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW): Leerink Swann initiates coverage with "outperform" rating, $90 price target;
Canaccord Genuity raises price target to $85 from $75; Credit Suisse maintains "outperform" rating; Goldman Sachs raises price target to $90 from $88, reiterates its "conviction list buy;" Barcaly’s Capital maintains “equal weight” rating and $80 price target. - Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG): JMP Securities sets $560 price target, raises estimates, sets "outperform" rating.