Life sciences companies in the seed stage received in the first quarter of 2009 the largest share of all investments in this stage

This is according to a survey by the research company IVC, which deals in the field of venture capital investments, ahead of the week of Biomed 2009 

A survey by the research company IVC on capital raising by companies in the field of life sciences in Israel in the first quarter of 2009, conducted in preparation for "Israel Biomed Week 2009", (between June 15 and 17, in Tel Aviv), reveals that life sciences companies attracted the largest share of the investments in the seed stage (Seed) and in the research and development stage (Early Stage), of all the investments in these stages among the Israeli hi-tech companies, with 43 percent and 34 percent of the investments, in the first quarter of 2009, respectively.

25 life sciences companies raised an amount of 50 million dollars, compared to 147 million in the first quarter of 2008 (24 percent of the total high-tech industry fundraising for the quarter), and compared to 65 million dollars, which were raised in the fourth quarter of 2008 (17 percent of the total high-tech industry fundraising for the quarter It). The amount raised was 66 percent lower than the amount raised by 21 companies in the first quarter of 2008, and 23 percent lower than the amount raised by 20 companies in the previous quarter.

According to the survey that examined the entire Israeli high-tech industry, the field of life sciences came in third place in terms of hiring, with 19 percent of the total hiring. The average fundraising round in life sciences companies in the first quarter of 2009 was $2 million, lower than the average of $4 million per round in 2008.

Within the life sciences sector, the medical devices sector attracted 28 million dollars (or 56 percent) of the amount raised by the entire life sciences sector, and 11 percent of the capital raised in all sectors in the high-tech sector in the first quarter of 2009.

In the total amount of capital raised in the field of medical devices in the first quarter of 2009, there was a decrease of 56 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, in which 14 companies raised 63 million dollars, and a slight decrease of 3 percent compared to the previous quarter, in which 9 companies raised 29 million dollars.

IVC is the leading research company in Israel in the field of high-tech, venture capital investments and private equity, which has been reviewing these fields for 12 years while analyzing trends and developments in the industry. The company's research, services and publications are widely used by bodies in Israel and abroad including high-tech companies, venture capital funds, investors and financial institutions and public bodies, led by the Prime Minister's Office, the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Bank of Israel, the Chief Scientist and others.

IVC operates the comprehensive database IVC-Online (www.ivc-online.com) containing over 6,500 hi-tech companies, hundreds of Israeli and foreign venture capital funds, investment companies, angels, technology incubators and more. IVC's products include a quarterly study, which examines the trends in the recruitment of Israeli high-tech companies, and the annual Israeli high-tech and venture capital guide IVC 2009 Yearbook, which was released in April.

The "ILSI - Biomed Israel 2009" week will be held between June 15 and 17 at David Intercontinental and Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv. The chairmen of the organizing committee are: Ruthi Alon, a partner in the Pitango venture capital fund, and chairperson of the ILSI association, and Israel Makov, former president and CEO of Teva, who currently serves as the chairperson of the medical equipment company Givan Imaging.

the event site