Investors returned to the medical device industry during the final quarter last year, despite negative headwinds, according to new data released by CB Insights, a venture capital and angel investment database.
Companies in the medical device space closed 68 deals during the final 3 months of 2012, up 41% from the previous quarter about 3% from the same period in 2011, making Q4 the most active quarter of 2012.
But the total value of VC investment took a heavy blow, down nearly 18% compared with the same period in the previous year. Medical device companies raised $553.5 million during the 3-months ended Dec. 31, 2012, compared with $671.9 million raised during Q4 2011.
Anand Sanwal, CEO & Co-founder of CB Insights, told MassDevice.com that deal quantity in a particular quarter is typically a better measure of the health of the investment market than the total dollar amount.
"I think [2012] ended well for medtech, relative to other sectors in healthcare," Sanwal told us. "There’s some concern about exit events, but seeing an uptick in Q4 is a good thing."
The increase in the final frame of the year represents some rare good news for medical device startups.
Last month, a survey of more than 600 venture capitalists and CEOs, conducted by the National Venture Capital Assn. and Dow Jones VentureSource, showed that 53% of respondents expected lower VC investment in medtech. Nearly half predicted that the medtech space will be underfunded during the coming year.
