Investment in biomedical innovation is not what it once was. Millions of dollars have fled the life sciences risk capital pool. The number of early venture deals in biotech is smaller than ever. Public markets are all but closed, biotech-pharma deals increasingly back-loaded with contingent, rather than upfront, payments. Paths to market are more winding and stonier. Government cuts are closing laboratories and culling blue-sky research. Never has there been a more pressing need to look beyond the existing pools of funding and talent to galvanize biomedical innovation.

This issue highlights several new ways of thinking about funding life sciences innovation in academia. It explores the increasing prominence of corporate venture funding—and the potential of university-based venture funding.

To read the original article: Expanding the innovation pool : Nature Biotechnology : Nature Publishing Group