May
11
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Videos by rmcbride
During an event at the University of Chicago, biotech visionary Steven Burrill discussed Big Pharma's role in the healthcare system and mentioned that its fate will lie in its ability to reinvent itself. One of the trends he commented on is the string of tie-ups involving drugmakers and academic groups, a trend that could help pharma stay on the cutting edge of research as it axes scientists' jobs. After saying that pharma has "gone back to school" in the academic collaborations, he added: "This is somewhat nuts. Pharma wants access to that ability but has no interest in paying for the downstream development." Read more
Apr
04
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Wellcome Trust by john
Early this year, the analysts at the National Venture Capital Association were hammering away at a perceived crisis in early-stage funding, lamenting signs that startups were having a terrible time rounding up the cash needed to hire teams and get programs in the clinic. But the VC activity in the first quarter of 2012 has dulled the edge of their argument. The analysts at Burrill & Co. took out their calculators and concluded that $2.6 billion in new venture funds for translation and early-stage work materialized in the U.S. and Europe in the last two months, with a $760 million partnership between Domain Associates and Rusnano leading the charge.
Some of this is charity money. Wellcome Trust has a new $317 million fund open for business. Some is Big Pharma money, like Merck Canada's decision to chip in to a $100 million fund for Quebec and a $200 million gamble by GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and Index. Governments are stepping in: A new venture group Sir Chris Evans put together in Wales is intended to swell to $350 million. Steven Burrill, who has gathered venture cash of his own, was particularly intrigued by a $250 million venture by Cleveland's University Hospital, earmarked for translational work and early- to mid-stage trials.
In addition to Burrill's numbers, some significant classic venture cash has been coming into play as well, like the $270 million Flagship fund announced in January. And BioWorld today reports that biotech venture rounds swelled to $391 million in the U.S. in the first quarter, up a whopping 34% over the same period in 2011.
"These efforts reflect broad attempts to forge creative new models for funding translational research and spur development of important new therapies," says Burrill. "It also demonstrates that governments across the globe, despite facing fiscal pressure, see the importance of investing in the life sciences to build innovation-based economies that can provide high quality jobs."
There's a back story to the sudden explosion of early-stage cash. The NVCA has been using the lack of funding to argue that Congress needs to pass new legislation that would expand the FDA's accelerated approval initiative, making it easier for biotechs to get an approval faster. Faster approvals, they add, would inspire investors to put more money into biotech companies.
With a sudden surge in these funds, will their argument to lawmakers continue to hold water?
- here's the press release from Burrill
- here's the story from BioWorld
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Dec
19
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The high-profile biotech analyst and investor Steven Burrill has rounded up more than $300 million for a new life sciences fund, which reportedly includes a big cache of cash from a Russian bionano investment group. The investment group announced this morning that Burrill Capital Fund IV is open for business and plans to keep gathering cash with a goal of bumping its total to $500 million by next summer.
The San Francisco-based fund--which currently has $313 million--has a broad scope. Burrill plans to use the cash to invest in early- to late-stage investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare delivery, wellness and digital health.
"We are pleased to have surpassed our initial goal of $300 million in capital commitments for the first close," says Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company. "We look forward to achieving our final goal of $500 million in capital commitments by June 2012."
Burrill told MedCityNews back in August that $200 million of his new fund's cash was coming from RusNano, a bionano investment group which has been making some hefty investments in U.S. biotech companies. He also told the news group that he'd have $350 million in short order, maintaining a tradition of bold pronouncements that sometimes fall short of the mark. More than two years ago he promised to put together a $1 billion fund to invest in Elk Run, an ambitious biotech development in Minnesota which has yet to materialize.
- here's the press release
Related Articles:
Burrill to Minnesota: No ink on that $1B biopark contract
Burrill gets "firm commitment" for $1B to back biotech park
Burrill: Biopharma no longer a shelter in the storm
Burrill: Focus on patients, not molecules