Venture capitalists say investing in a medical device start-up has gotten riskier (StarTribune)
Investing in a medical device company these days does not come cheap. Venture capitalists said at a panel during Thursday’s MedTech Investing Conference in Minneapolis that the cost and risk of bringing medical device start-ups to market has gotten so expensive, it has caused at least one of them to change their business model.
Jan Garfinkle, managing director of Ann Arbor-based Arboretum Ventures, said her venture capital firm used to be 75 percent focused on medical devices and diagnostics. She estimates that will be modified to 60 percent, with the remaining going toward healthcare services and life science tools.
Garfinkle said the environment has changed from three or four years ago when venture capital firms could spend a smaller amount of money to build promising products that could be sold to strategic partners. Now, she estimates it takes about $20 million to get enough clinical data needed to satisfy a strategic partner.
Take the firm’s own portfolio company, VasoNova. Arboretum Ventures and other syndicates expected to invest $5 million into the catheter business, Garfinkle sa...
