The jockeying for that money was fast and fierce last week. The scope of contestants was vast, ranging from early-stage medical device and drug firms touting orthopedic implants and scalp psoriasis mousse to late and multistage firms waiting for FDA approval for cancer and cystic fibrosis treatments. There were established companies with multiple corporate and academic partnerships looking for still more capital, and there were neophytes in the looking to go public. Research and development and long approval periods for new products burn cash fast. The money managers they were courting, however, had their own agendas.
Human capital creates good value, and there is a very limited pool to choose from.
Tom Thorner, president of Thorner Ventures in Larkspur, Calif., agreed. The buzz of the week was Menlo Park, Calif., biotech firm Geron Corp., which announced a process that slows aging by adding a telomerase enzyme to human cells. The company's next step may be to match up with a development partner. The announcement turned more than a few venture capitalists' heads. According to David Greenwood, Geron's CFO, the success of the pre-clinical trial is no surprise.