The A-List: The Trend-Shaping Series A Financings Of 2011

The capital drought that hit life science companies the past three years worked its way upstream in 2011, as several venture firms said they wouldn’t either continue in the life sciences or raise new funds – Scale Venture Partners, Three Arch Partners, and CMEA Capital, to name three – or they quit in midstream, as Prospect Venture Partners did when it returned cash to limited partners. Some firms remain on a watch list, investing funds that are soon to run dry and with no plans to restock them. As other firms continue to grow more concerned about their own chances to raise new funds, they’re increasingly looking at later-stage companies that offer value in pricing and potentially a shorter path to exit than early-stage companies.