By Jessica Hudak
Life Science On The Rebound, But Device Is A Little Flat
Despite frequent grumblings heard throughout our industry, the data show that the Life Science investing climate might not be as bad as we were all led to believe. In the July Silicon Valley Bank report “Continued Rebound: Trends in Life Science M&A”, by Jonathan Norris, it looks like Life Science “Big Exits” (upfront payment of at least $50MM device/$75MM biotech) are on the rise. SVB looked at private merger or acquisition transactions of U.S. venture-capital backed Life Science companies since 2005 and pointed to positive momentum in the life science industry and continued solid exit activity. Mr. Norris of SVB was nice enough to share additional figures along with his July report with Biodesign Alumni. Read more
Letter from the President, 2012
Plans for Sustainability: My Vision for 2012
As I reflect back on the work of Biodesign Alumni Association for 2011, I am struck by one thought – we made it. Under the exceptional leadership of Evan Anderson (Fellow ‘03-‘04) and his founding team, the Biodesign Alumni Association was formed in 2009 and quickly developed into what it is today. 2011 was a particularly outstanding year for the group. Read more
Even the Patent Office gets a Stimulus Plan (that may benefit your small company)
Just when you thought you had heard the last of Stimulus Plans in the US, think again. The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has initiated its own version of a Stimulus Plan. Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, David Kappos, announced the pilot program at the Annual Independent Inventors Conference in early November. “The program will accelerate protection for important innovation from independent inventors while reducing our unacceptable backlog,” Kappos said. “Getting these inventions to the marketplace quickly will also help stimulate the economy and create jobs”.
The program is called the Patent Application Backlog Reduction Stimulus Plan and it went into effect on November 27th, 2009 (http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/notices/74fr62285.pdf). By the recent reports made on https://alpineeng.com, the pilot program is only running until the end of February (unless extended by subsequent notice), it may provide an important strategic tool for small companies, particularly medical device start-up companies. In short, the plan provides small entities (solo inventors, companies having less than 500 employees, and nonprofit organizations) with the opportunity to have one of their patent applications accorded special status for examination in exchange for the abandonment one of their other co-pending applications. Read more
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