Word: biotechs
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...speed the discovery of drugs that attack their targets without poisoning those who take them, many biotech firms rely on design rather than serendipity. Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Mass., has halved, to 18 months, the time it takes to discover candidate drugs and is today among the most prolific generators of leads...
Venture capitalists, burned in the collapse of digital tech companies over the past year, say the only areas in which they are increasing their investments are security and biotech. That was the conclusion of a recent survey by consultants Deloitte & Touche. Biotech pulled in some $3 billion in VC funding over the first three quarters of this year--a third more than it did in the same period last year, according to the Silicon Valley consultancy Recombinant Capital. A San Diego-based company, Syrrx, even found itself turning investors away early this year after it had raised $55 million...
Venture firm MPM Capital, of South San Francisco, Calif., raised $600 million for a biotech fund last year and expects to raise another $750 million within the next couple of months. It recently recruited two industry insiders as well as four M.D.s and Ph.D.s, and has 18 other experts focused on biotechnology. Says fund manager Kurt von Emster: "It's one of the few sustainable business models that looks like it's still growing rapidly...
Drug companies Novartis and Johnson & Johnson have set up venture funds to ensure access to the latest technologies. This fall Eli Lilly joined their ranks with a $75 million biotech fund. And IT firms such as IBM and Compaq are getting involved. IBM works in partnership with investment banks like Boston's Oxford Bioscience Partners to provide funds for promising start-ups. Says Carol Kovac, general manager of IBM's life-sciences program: "We see this as the next major scientific revolution for the decade...
Individual investors who want to bet on biotech should check with fund expert Morningstar, which ranks SunAmerica Biotech/Health 30 A (YTD: -6.92%) and Orbitex Health & Biotechnology A (-9.7%) as top performing sector mutual funds...