Life Science Funding is Coming Back!!!

In the past few weeks there has been an increase in VC funding flowing into Life Sciences (LS). It's a well needed infusion that is going to boost the recruiting environment that has dropped off since January 2009 when fresh capital was abruptly pinched off. With the DOW back up over 10,000, I imagine that investors with a high threshold for risk have come back to the market looking for a higher rate of return on their investments, which the LS industry is happy to provide. The next hurdle to overcome in order to bring VC funded roaring back LS is a rewarding exit stategy.

Traditionally, the two most popular exit strategies, IPOs and selling to large BioPharma/Device have lost their luster in the last 12 months. The IPO market hasn't produced the caliber return that investment companies like to see in the LS sector and save for a "sure thing", there hasn't been much activity compared to years past. With one exception being the Venture Funds started by some of the big name players in Biotech, Pharma, and Devices. Companies such as Novartis and Covidien has come to the plate with investments, but they often have longer term thoughts in mind.

Selling to larger BioPharma/Device appears much like the housing market. Still too much inventory at discounted prices and it's tough to get top dollar on your return with a surplus of product. Sure there are exceptions, but until the distressed buys go belly up and the cache of deals disappear then top dollar won't be easy to get. Horizontal mergers aren't making too much progress either. Time will tell what benefits, if any,the Wyeth/Pfizer or the Schering/Bayer deals will bear.

Prestige Scientific is a leading provider of highly specialized recruitment services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Our Recruiters are highly trained and focus exclusively on the employment needs in the following practice areas:
Discovery/PreClinical - Biology, Chemistry, Toxicology, Pharmacology
Quality and Regulatory Affairs - Regulatory Strategy, Operations, CMC, QA (GxP)
Clinical Affairs - Research, Operations, Project Management, Program Management
Biometrics - Biostatistics, Programming, Medical Writing, Data Management, Safety
Operations - Manufacturing, Process/Product, QC, Analytical
Post Market - Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Analytics, Outcome Research
Medical Devices - Design, R+D, Regulatory 510K/PMA