Biotech boomlet

The end of 2001 was less than spectacular when it came to investment in startup companies nationally, including those in the biotech sector. Despite this, according to a survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Yale-founded firms managed to raise $92.8 million in venture capital in the fourth quarter, or 38 percent of the $246 million raised in New England’s biotech industry. The Yale total is actually higher when other deals not included in the survey are counted. Achillion Pharmaceuticals led the list with $45 million, followed by Agilix Corp. with $20.8 million, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals with $20.5 million and Archemix Corp. with $6.5 million. All but Cambridge, Mass.-based Archemix are located in New Haven. According to Alfred “Buz” Brown, Ph.D., director of cooperative research, three additional transactions—initial funding for Asilas, Aureon and Protomoetrix—added $24 million to the fourth-quarter total. Half a dozen more Yale-founded companies are in the pipeline.