Boston Biotech Startups Seek Capital at Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day
Today, from 8am to 7pm, entrepreneurs, academics and investors in the greater Boston biotech space will come together for the 6th Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation (MALSI) Day. The event, which is being held at the Harvard Club of Boston, features 45 panelists who will discuss topics ranging from successful habits of life sciences companies to the makeup of founding teams. The focus of the day, “Business as Usual or Brave New World,” will fall on funding, which is a hot topic for early stage startups.
According to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), a semi-public agency charged with supporting research and development in life sciences, 2011 marked a high for investment in Boston biotech companies; venture investment totaled more than $1 billion. Since 2009, MLSC alone has awarded 26 companies with a combined total of $17.1 million.
Other groups, such as Mass Medical Angels (MA2), play a large role in helping area biotech entrepreneurs obtain seed funding. MA2 specializes in assisting life sciences and healthcare companies that are seeking a quarter million to $3 million early stage investment. Once vetted and added to the MA2 investment portfolio, companies receive mentoring and typically no more than $750,000 in first round seed funding. As per their website, MA2 is currently investing in eleven companies. They also reported that they have aided two of their portfolio companies in successful exits in the past four years. Despite these efforts, MA2’s founding director says that funding for nascent stage companies is becoming scarce given past VC performance.
The aim of today’s MALSI event is to connect all of the relevant and necessary players to help budding Boston biotech entrepreneurs secure strategic and financial support for their ventures and hopefully be on the path to breaking the 2011 investment record.
