Severe funding drought in biotech. (Up Front).Biotech bi·o·tech n. Informal Biotechnology. biotech Noun short for biotechnology Noun 1. funding continues to be a struggle in the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. region, one of the industry's most prominent and until recently prosperous regions. The San Diego Tech Coast Angels, a local group of individual investors, said they plan to invest several million dollars in 10 early-stage local biotech firms over the next three years. But entrepreneurs hoping to get funded can expect a tough screening process. "We probably get four, five or six applications per month, (and) of those, we invest in one company every two or three months," said Charles Mathews Charles Mathews (June 28, 1776 - June 28, 1835) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well-known during his time for his gift for impersonation. His play, At Home, in which he played every character, was the first monopolylogue and the defining work in the genre. , president of San Diego Tech Coast Angels. Despite a flurry Flurry A drastic volume increase in a specific security. of interest in new biotech funds, the venture funding climate remains bleak. Nationwide, first-quarter venture funding for biotechnology fell 40 percent this year from the like period a year ago. VentureWire, a newsletter, reported that only 10 of the 36 first-quarter biotechnology investments were first-time, or Series A, rounds. In San Diego, standards for investing have also changed from a year or two years ago. "Everybody is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a company that can move to revenue and cash break-even as quickly as possible," said Mathews. "In 2001 we could still get a fair valuation," said Mark McWilliams, president and chief executive of Q3DM, a software maker focusing on analyzing data derived from microscopic microscopic /mi·cro·scop·ic/ (mi?kro-skop´ik) 1. of extremely small size; visible only by the aid of the microscope. 2. pertaining or relating to a microscope or to microscopy. testing. "What people don't realize is for an entrepreneur to ask for money you have to have a sense for the market, and right now, it's probably the worst time in decades," he said. |
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