Biotechnology and health care are driving the startup economy in Wisconsin and nationwide, report says

Biotechnology and health care are driving the startup economy in Wisconsin and nationwide, report says

By Alex Moe, WisBusiness

Biotechnology and health care are driving the startup industry in Wisconsin and the rest of the country, a new report shows.

Eight Wisconsin venture capital investments, totaling $28.7 million, were included in the PwC MoneyTree™ Report based on data from Thomsen Reuters for the third quarter of this year. Tom Ciccolella, assurance partner for PwC, describes the period as a “fairly robust quarter.”

Of the eight companies that were invested in, four were biotechnology or medical equipment companies, which fall under the Life Sciences sector in the MoneyTree Report. The two companies that were categorized as software companies are also both described as healthcare technology companies.

This trend towards life sciences is reflected nationwide, as investments in that sector make up 23 percent of all venture capital funds invested in startups.

The MoneyTree Report shows the national biotechnology industry received $1.8 billion in investments through 87 deals. Three of the top 10 deals were in biotechnology.

According Ciccolella, the phenomenon of “cross-sector investing” can make it a challenge to categorize these companies, but he says that “the convergence of science and technology is a terrific thing.”

Wisconsin ranked better this quarter than in the last two, but Ciccolella warns that it’s hard to project based on small amounts of data. Read more …