Western Pennsylvania posted the largest number of  health care venture deals among 14 midwestern regions in 2009, with a dollar value of $37.8 million, according to a report from  BioEnterprise 

Areas from Wisconsin to Lousiville included in the annual rankings showed a total number of investments  comparable to 2008. But in the Pittsburgh region as elsewhere, dollars were down last year. The report showed a 26 percent drop from 2008,  reflecting the national trend.

Pittsburgh’s deal volume grew steadily from 2006 to 2008, rising from $54.4 million to $126.2 million.  The number of deals over those years peaked at 33 in 2008.

The report showed Minnesota companies attracting the most investment dollars within the Midwest.
Minneapolis led the regions in terms of dollars invested, $199 million, followed by Cincinnati at $121.2 million.

Biopharmaceutical firms grabbed nearly half of the dollars in 2009, with medical device companies (34 percent) and software and service companies (18 percent) comprising the balance. “While the dollars to biotech companies are larger, the number of companies attracting capital is balanced between biotech and medical devices,” said Baiju R. Shah, CEO of BioEnterprise. The Cleveland-based biomedical venture developer has compiled data on investments annually for the past five years. “This reflects the industry balance in the Midwest as compared to the coasts.”

View the full report here.

Source: Annette Ballou, BioEnterprise
Writer: Chris O'Toole