Venture capital funding for health care in Oregon dipped in 2014, but the deal flow returned to its peak level, according to PitchBook Data Inc.
There were eight VC deals valued at almost $20 million, up from five valued at $8 million in 2013. The number of deals matched the peak in 2012, a sign that startups are still able to attract capital.
While the grand funding total was much higher in 2012, at $34 million, two amounts for last year were unavailable. In other words, the total for last year could have equaled or exceeded the peak.
The two deals with undisclosed terms were Endeavor Capital’s investment in ZoomCare, which has a chain of neighborhood clinics, and another investment in UniteOR, which developed operating room-specific software.
Venture capital funding generally goes to early-stage companies in growth mode. There are dozens of these in the Oregon health care universe, developing everything from apps to help consumers comparison shop for health services to software to help clinicians better communicate with, diagnose and treat patients.
The biggest VC health care deal last year was the $15 million investment by Catalyst Investors in Clinicient, which makes software for outpatient rehabilitation therapists.
The other Oregon health-related VC recipients were: Kannact, for $1.65 million; DesignMedix, $1.5 million; Bright.md, over $1 million in two deals; and Amplion Research, $400,000.
In terms of private equity, which includes acquisitions and significant growth investments, there was one deal on PitchBook’s list: LCS’s acquisition of Portland-based Encore Senior Living, which has senior living communities in Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Utah. The terms were undisclosed but PitchBook estimates it could have been in the neighborhood of $180 million, based on similar deals in that sector.
Private equity deals peaked in 2010, at four, the year the former Oregon startup Home Dialysis Plus received $50 million.
January 2, 2015
Elizabeth Hayes