Venture capital is the lifeblood of entrepreneurial companies, the start-up firms that are creating two of every three new jobs and are a major source of innovation in today’s economy. That’s why the efforts of our BioCrossroads initiative to expand access to capital for young life sciences businesses are so critically important.
BioCrossroads has collected nearly $80 million through its two investment vehicles, the Indiana Future Fund and Indiana Seed Fund, and is putting it to work in promising new companies. Here’s an announcement on the Seed Fund’s latest investment, FAST, which has commercialized a new diagnostic technology for the testing and treatment of acute kidney injuries:
Indianapolis, IN, Oct. 19, 2009 -- BioCrossroads’ Indiana Seed Fund has made a follow-on investment in FAST, a rapidly growing, Indiana-based life sciences start-up. FAST is using patent-pending technology to develop a tool for healthcare professionals treating acute kidney injury, a condition afflicting some 3.5 million Americans. The percentage of patients hospitalized for acute kidney injury has increased 500% in the last twelve years.
“We are thankful for BioCrossroads’ support,” said Joe Muldoon, CEO of FAST. “The lackluster capital market has proven to be a challenge. We have remained capital efficient, advanced product development and initiated the FDA approval process – all of which have been key components of our additional investor support. We are very excited about our upcoming pre-clinical trials this year.”
FAST has had other recent fundraising successes, including an announced commitment by the Purdue Research Foundation/Purdue University Emerging Innovations Fund to invest $200,000 and a $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The company has also received significant follow on funding from its original shareholders and angel investors.
The FAST investment is part of a positive trend for seed and early stage capital investment in Indiana, which doubled from 2007 to 2008 based on deals tracked by the National Venture Capital Association, and is on track to grow another 40% in 2009 based on data available to date. I should note that another CICP initiative, TechPoint, is also helping drive entrepreneurial growth in Indiana through its HALO angel investor network – this group has invested more than $10 million in high-tech start-ups since 2008.
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