Venture capital funding for health care rose in Oregon this year, although deal flow is down from last year, according to PitchBook Data Inc.
There were five VC deals in 2015, valued at about $32 million. Last year, there were eight deals valued at $20 million, matching the peak for numbers of deals set in 2012, according to PitchBook.
There were no private equity deals this past year for Oregon health care companies. Private equity includes acquisitions and significant growth investments.
Venture capital funding generally goes to early-stage companies in growth mode. In the Oregon health care universe, dozens of startups are developing everything from apps to help consumers comparison shop for health services to software to help clinicians better communicate with, diagnose and treat patients.
Nationwide, the number of health care VC deals also fell from the year before but increased in value, mirroring the trend in Oregon. There were 1,411 deals that closed, valued at $17.7 billion. The previous year, there were 1,599 deals valued at $15.3 billion, according to Pitchbook.
Here are the Oregon deals for 2015:
- Portland-based Schrodinger LLC, a developer of software used by pharmaceutical manufacturers and labs, received $22 million from an angel investor. The company in 2012 received $20 million from Bill Gates, its second major investment from the Microsoft Corp. co-founder.
- Hillsboro-based DiabetOmics Inc., a medical diagnostics developer, received $5 million in a Series C deal.
- Portland-based Bright.md, which developed an automation platform for primary care providers to offer virtual care to patients, received $3.5 million in Series A funding.
- Bend-based Amplion Research, which is developing a platform for personalized medicine, received a $1 million seed round.
- Lake Oswego-based Topical Remedy LLC received $650,000 from an angel investor.
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Elizabeth Hayes
Staff Reporter
Portland Business Journal
Dec 29, 2015