After a slow start to the year, venture funding in Connecticut surged in the second quarter thanks largely to continued investor interest in biotechnology companies.
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After a slow start to the year, venture funding in Connecticut surged in the second quarter thanks largely to continued investor interest in biotechnology companies.
Venture capitalists injected $117.6 million in Connecticut companies during the second quarter of 2015, up from $109.3 million a year earlier and $24 million in the first quarter. Nationally, venture investment spiked 30 percent.
Overall, 15 Connecticut companies received funding during the April-to-June period, compared to 18 a year earlier, according to the latest MoneyTree report, a joint effort of PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), using data from Thomson Reuters.
New Haven's Melinta Therapeutics Inc. scored the biggest deal raising $67 million. The biotech company is using the money to help it complete a Phase 3 clinical study of its investigational antibiotic for drug-resistant infections.
Melinta hopes to get approvals for its drug, delafloxacin, to treat patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. The company said it is also considering applying to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approvals for delafloxacin to treat a type of bacterial pneumonia.
Another New Haven company, SeeClickFix Inc., recorded the second biggest deal raising $13 million from various investors including Connecticut Innovations, Elm Street Ventures and LaunchCapital. The company is developing a web tool that allows residents to report non-emergency neighborhood issues to local law enforcement.
Windsor-based ZoneFlow Reactor Technologies LLC raised $3.2 million, while Hartford's Amp Electrical Distribution Services and Farmington-based BioArray Therapeutics Inc. raised $2.7 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
Biotechnology continues to be one of Connecticut's most attractive industries for investment. It secured nearly $80 million in the second quarter. Software companies raised $16.7 million, followed by media and entertainment, which raised 13.6 million.
Nationally, $17.5 billion was invested in 1,189 deals in the second quarter, with software companies bringing in more than a third of that total.
— Greg Bordonaro
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