Venture investing in science / Douglas W. Jamison and Stephen R. Waite ; foreword by Mark Anderson.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Over the past decade, software companies have increasingly monopolized the flow of venture capital, starving support for scientific research and its transformative discoveries. New medicines, cheaper and faster personal computers, and other life-changing developments all stem from investment in science. In the past, these funds led to steam engines, light bulbs, microprocessors, 3D printers, and even the Internet. In Venture Investing in Science , the venture capitalist Douglas W. Jamison and the investment author Stephen R. Waite directly link financial support to revolutionary advancements in physics, computers, chemistry, and biology and make a passionate case for continued investing in science to meet the global challenges of our time.

Clean air and water, cures for intractable diseases, greener public transportation, cheaper and faster communication technologies--these are some of the rich opportunities awaiting venture capital investment today. Jamison and Waite focus on how early-stage companies specializing in commercializing transformative technologies based on deep science have been shunned by venture capitalists, and how the development of such companies have been hampered by structural changes in capital markets and government regulation over the past decade. The authors argue that reinvigorating science-based technological innovation is crucial to reactivating the economic dynamism that lifts living standards and fuels prosperity over time.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Genentech, Amgen, Chiron, and Biogen were four major giants from early biotechnology. All four received early funding from venture capital firms, and all four enjoyed successful IPOs. Where are today's biotechnology companies funded by venture capital and ready to do the same? No one knows--today's venture capital environment has substantially shifted away from "deep science" firms. In Venture Investing in Science, Jamison and Waite are concerned that the amount of money flowing into deep science has decreased and flows instead into consumer software. The irony is that more opportunities for deep science innovation are available today than ever before, but if funding decreases, then innovation will slow. This work is an excellent history of biotechnology financing and lays out a clear case for concern. The authors discuss structural reasons why capital has flowed away from deep science, including the need for micro-capital for nascent exploration. Because of their size, venture capital firms must pursue bigger bets, whereas most biotechnology starts very small. The book concludes with an excellent financing case study. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Jay J. Janney, University of Dayton