Venture Capitalists as gatekeepers for Biotechnological Innovation

Venture capitalists (VCs) aim at trade sales as a preferred exit-strategy for biotechnology companies they invest in. Therefore, VCs pay close attention to the wishes of larger (bio)pharmaceutical acquirers. In this paper we explore VCs’ behavior and strategies by analyzing the technology fields and therapeutic areas in which they are invested most and which yield the highest returns by means of trade sales. The data show that VCs are by far...