For Immediate Release
Life sciences startups reach out
May 20, 2007
The drum beat for life sciences entrepreneurism in Ann Arbor is growing a bit louder these days.
A group of local folks managed to lure about a dozen venture capitalists from out of state to Michigan last Monday to hear pitches from about a dozen life sciences startups.
How? They got on the phone and started asking. The effort was an outgrowth of one of the committees formed to address Pfizer’s imminent departure.
“The people on the SWAT (Strategic Working Action Teams) reached out to venture capital people they knew,” said Roger Newton, co-discoverer of Lipitor and chief executive officer of Pfizer subsidiary Esperion, who helped organize the event along with the Michigan Venture Capital Association. “They made personal phone calls to them and said, ’these are some great companies. This isn’t small peanuts here.’”
A few current and former Pfizer employees were in attendance, looking for information on how to snag funding for a potential new venture.
“There’s a lot of things going on; when I compare this to nine years ago when we started Esperion... very little was going on,” said Newton.
Tom Porter, executive-in-residence at the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, said he was most impressed by energy surrounding the forum.
“We’ve had similar life science companies for 20 years, it’s not like it just happened,” said Porter. “What is new is the energy of the community... working together to try to make something positive happen in Ann Arbor. That’s pretty darn impressive to me.”
One of the out-of-state venture firms that came to Monday’s event (timed to coincide with the Ross School’s Michigan Capital Growth Symposium) was San Francisco-based Bay City Capital.
Fred Craves, founder of the firm, said his company has been focusing on opportunities in Michigan and Ann Arbor for about the last year and is bullish on the startup prospects. He said it is “very likely” his firm will open up a local office here soon.
Craves, a native of Michigan’s own Bay City, (hence the name) said he expects to see more startup activity in the wake of Pfizer’s announcement.
“There is a remarkable talent pool here in terms of pharmaceutical research and pharmaceutical development people. And the University of Michigan is one of the best research institutions in the world,” he said. “All of those elements are what we look for, along with the (intellectual property) and the people, and they are really resonating in Michigan.”
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