WHERE Big Science, Big Tech And Big Data Converge
May 1, 2023
Year-end 2022 figures from the National Venture Capital Association and Pitchbook tell the story best.
In 2006, there were 156 venture capital deals involving healthcare services and systems, a category that includes what’s come to be known as health tech. The number of deals grew gradually in ensuing years: 384 deals in 2011, 620 in 2016. By 2019 — before the onset of the pandemic — the total had breached 1,000 to reach 1,087, and that total ballooned to 1,545 deals in 2021 — essentially 10 times the number of deals reached 15 years before.
What kind of value are we talking about? In 2019, Dassault Systèmes acquired clinical cloud solution provider Medidata Solutions for $5.8 billion. Medidata’s AI platform helps nearly all clinical research organizations and two-thirds of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies with clinical development, commercial and real-world data. The company maintains its HQ in New York City and operates a global network of 14 other offices in such locations as Boston, Cincinnati, Houston and three locations in California — San Francisco, Davis and San Mateo. The firm also has offices abroad in Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore, as well as European site in London and Dusseldorf.