No Approval, No Pay: VCs Bet Large On Late-Stage Pharma Trials
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Some of the biggest names in life science venture capital – OrbiMed Advisors, Clarus Ventures, and Abingworth – are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to run the clinical trials of drugs owned by Pfizer and other big drugmakers. They’re taking on major clinical and regulatory risks for what might be less-than-stellar returns but if it works, these VCs may have come up with a better way to diversify their portfolios in an era when long-term company-building isn’t paying off.