According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006 annual report, 2006 was a near-record year for venture capital investment in New England biotechnology, health care services and technology, and medical devices and equipment companies.
Framingham-based Artisan Pharma Inc. claimed one of the top deals in 2006 when it received $39 million in venture funding in the third quarter for its work on biopharmaceutical products.
Venture capital funding hit $1.26 billion in investment in 119 deals in New England, a 44 percent increase in dollar value, and a 21 percent increase in deal volume over 2005, according to the report.
Biotechnology firms accounted for two-thirds of all health care related venture investment in 2006, the report said.
Gerry McDougall, leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers health sciences practice, said the increases in venture funding “confirmed New England’s leadership in biotechnology and other health industries.”
McDougall credited New England’s “leading university research centers, outstanding teaching hospitals and a super-cluster of talent” for making the region “a magnet for the health industries.”
