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. But our annual tally of life science Series A rounds presents a surprising twist: Series A rounds are up, not in blockbuster numbers by any stretch, but the downward trend of the recession years has finally been reversed. Among the year's nearly 100 Series A rounds we found plenty of oncology and peripheral vascular disease start-ups, as well as big bets on rare disease, along with some considerable nods to emerging markets.