Venture capitalists poured $1.55 billion into D.C. area technology start-ups last year, an industry report found, as a handful of so-called megadeals propelled the region to a six-year high for technology investing in 2017.
US ANNUAL FUNDING TOPS $70B FOR SECOND TIME
2017 was the second year that saw dollar funding top $70B, but deals declined for the third straight year, falling 4% from 2016 and reaching the lowest annual total since 2012.
2018 is already seeing big deals in the cancer therapy space with Celgene’s recent buyout of Impact Biomedicines, which develops a key drug for treating complex cancers.
Other big pharma names like Pfizer, Novartis, and GlaxoSmithKline have also been active in the last 5 years with key investments to cancer startups as they make bets to avoid missing out on strengthening their cancer drug pipelines.
To state the obvious: Drugs are increasingly complex and so are their patent lives.
More than 110 companies have graduated since bwtech@UMBC began offering incubation services in 1989.
Cell therapy is the delivery of living cells to treat, or potentially cure, a person’s disease. The transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from a donor to a recipient to create bone marrow, for instance, is one well-established form of cell therapy.
Trajectory Next will provide formalized support and guidance to companies to help them execute a pilot, establish traction, and improve their ability to attract and attain customers.
TAI Diagnostics said earlier this week that it had closed a $10 million round of funding and forged a new partnership with United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR).
GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley made history in 2017, when she became the first woman to head up a major pharmaceutical company.
Once heralded as a centerpiece of DC’s tech scene, start-up incubator 1776 proved less revolutionary than its name.