Personalized Medicine

Today and tomorrow, January 19th and 20th, start the Personalized Medicine World Conference 2010 at Silicon Valley's Computer Historic Museum.

Advances in genomic research have inspired a wave of startups devoted to diagnostics and new therapies that should improve health care and reduce costs.

Many observers and Venture Capitalist say personalized medicine is a promising field that will be a growing sector of the valley's economy for years to come. And I hope in Europe the next years.

I think there's not spanish participating companies at the event website. Please, I want to know if I am wrong, if your spain-based company participate, let me a comment.

Original article here, and more information at the event website.

Biotecnología y Empleo

Leo en el San José Mercury News que el sector de la Biotecnología en California ha crecido en creación de empleo y nuevos tratamientos.

Según el estudio IMPACT 2010 publicado por Baybio (Asociación de las Ciencias de la Vida del Norte de California), a pesar de que en 2009 las empresas de Venture Capital invirtieron $400 millones menos que en el año anterior, el sector de la Biotecnología en California ha sacado al mercado un 35% más de tratamientos, tecnologías y dispositivos que el año anterior y ha generado 2000 empleos más que 2008 y 7000 más que 2007.

¿Podemos sacar la conclusión de que aunque se ralentice la inversión se pueden seguir obteniendo excelentes resultados en I+D+i? Creo que no, de hecho tenemos que ser conscientes de que estos resultados de 2009 son fruto del trabajo e inversión de años anteriores.

Las consecuencias de este descenso de la inversión en 2009 las conoceremos dentro de unos años.

Savia Biotech labs located in the top 20 of Spain during 2009

The technology-based company (EBT) Savia Biotech, located in Roquetas de Mar (Almería), closed its financial year 2009 by placing their laboratories in the top 20 in Spain.

The company announced that its goal for 2010 is to begin its phase of internationalization of services after having participated in several fairs and conferences during the past year in England, Berlin, Atlanta, Amsterdam, India and Madrid, among other cities .

More information (in spanish) here.

Health Solutions

Health Solutions has received by Caixa Capital Risc 300.000€ to launch MultiFEV, an expirometer patented in USA and patent pending in EU.

More information, in spanish, here and here.

Invest in Spain

Today I'd like to introduce you to the first "Atlas of Sources of Financing" in Spain. This is the first guide to include the full range of lines of financing at the disposal of companies, from Government Administrations and from private credit institutions, and to bring all the information together in a single volume.

The guide, drawn up by Invest in Spain (the Government Agency for the Promotion and Attraction of Foreign Investment), contains lists of sources of financing including the main public credit lines nationally and in Europe; other public sources aimed at specific and particular projects; and the main private sources (financial institutions, reciprocal guarantee corporations, venture capital corporations, capital markets, sovereign wealth funds and business angels).

You can download it, in spanish, here.

Seedcamp and Y Combinator

I'd like to talk about Seedcamp and Y Combinator. In essence both are Seed Capital Funds and their philosophy is to connect entrepreneurs and developers with mentors, but Seedcamp works with europeans entrepreneurs and Y Combinator with north american.

As Scott Duke Harris said in San Jose Mercury News, Y Combinator philosophy was the inspiration for Seedcamp and others like TechStars, LaunchBox Digital, Dreamit Ventures, Shotput Ventures and many others.

Y Combinator, usually, not invest more than $20000, and Seedcamp standard investment is €30000-€50000, but help and contacts they provides have not price.

This is the real distinguishing feature, a lot of seed investors, serial entrepreneurs, product experts, HR and PR specialists, marketers, lawyers, recruiters, journalists and venture capitalists waiting for new ideas and new products.

Seedcamp have this calendar for 2009:

• 7 July (Tu) Online application opens
  
• 23 Aug (Su) - 23:59 GMTOnline application closes
  
• 2 Sep (W) Short-listed candidates notified
  
• 9 Sep (W) Short-list interview day, London
  
• 10 Sep (Th) 20 finalists notified
  
• 21-25 Sep (M-F) Seedcamp Week, London
  

You can see the complete Seedcamp calendar here.

Y Combinator have this calendar for 2009 winter:

• If you want to apply, please submit your application online by 10 pm PST on October 26, 2009. Groups that submit early have an advantage because we have more time to read their applications.
• On November 5, we'll invite the groups that seem most promising to meet us in Mountain View on the weekend of November 20-22. We'll reimburse up to $600 per group for travel expenses.
• We decide who to fund that weekend. Yes decisions will include the amount we'll invest and the percent of the company we'd want for it.
• If we invest in you, your group is expected to move to the Bay Area for January through March 2010. (You can of course leave afterward if you want, but it's a good place for a startup to be.)
  (...)

You can see the complete Y Combinator information here.

El Capital riesgo en el Área de la Bahía de San Francisco sigue a paso de tortuga - Venture investments in Bay Area startups

Leo hoy una noticia en el San Jose Mercury News que me gustaría trasladaros, y es que las inversiones en startups de las firmas de Capital Riesgo en el Bay Area, han presentado datos inferiores a los del primer cuatrimestre de este 2009.

En concreto los datos son los siguientes:

• $1.17 billones en 174 operaciones, frente a los $1.27 billones en 185 operaciones en el primer cuatrimestre. En todo EE.UU. se invirtieron en el mismo periodo $3.7 billones en 612 operaciones.
  Como apuntaba en este post hace unos dias, en españa en este primer semestre se ha invertido aproximadamente $0.955 billones (el tipo de cambio utilizado ha sido el del 17/08/2009, €1=$1,4086) para todas las empresas, no sólo startups.
  Fijaos que sólo en un área del estado de California se invierte sólo en startups, más que en todo el Estado Español para todos los tipos de empresa (startup, crecimiento, consolidación....).
• Las compañías de software sí experimentaron un ligero aumento, atrajeron $336 millones en 40 operaciones, frente a los $251 millones en 50 operaciones en el primer cuatrimestre.
  
• Las Biotecnológicas atrajeron $186 millones en 15 operaciones, frente a los $210 millones en 23 operaciones del anterior cuatrimestre.
  
• Equipamientos y dispositivos médicos consiguieron $163 millones en 16 operaciones, frente a los $153 millones en 14 operacionesen el primer cuatrimestre.
  
• Empresas de semiconductores atrajeron $123 millones en 18 operaciones, frente a los $148 millones en 19 operaciones del anterior cuatrimestre.
  
• Las empresas del sector industrial y de la energía, atrajeron $58 millones en 12 operaciones, frente a los $88 millones en 16 operaciones del primer cuatrimestre.
  
• Finalmente las empresas de electrónica e instrumentación mejoraron notablemente sus ratios puesto que atrajeron $64 millones en 5 operaciones, mientras que en el pasado cuatrimestre no se cerró ninguna opeación en este sector.

La información original en inglés aquí.

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I read today at San Jose Mercury News that "venture investments in Bay Area startups still slow". These are the highlights:

• $1.17 billion flowed into 174 deals during the quarter, compared with $1.27 billion into 185 deals during the previous quarter.
  In Spain, during this first semester, $0.955 billion was invested in all kind of companies, not only startups. You can read more about Spanish Venture Capital and Private Equity Activity here.
• Software: $336 million in 40 deals, compared with $251 million in 50 deals the previous quarter.
  
• Biotechnology: $186 million in 15 deals, $210 million in 23 deals the previous quarter.
  
• Medical devices and equipment: $163 million in 16 deals, $153 million in 14 deals the previous quarter.
  
• Semiconductors: $123 million in 18 deals, $148 million in 19 deals the previous quarter.
  
• The industrial/energy sector: $58 million in 12 deals, $88 million in 16 deals the previous quarter.
  
• Electronics and instrumentation: $64 million in five deals, zero activity the previous quarters.

You can read the entire article here.