Science and Enterprise

Tag: statistics

  • Q1 2011 Venture Fund Raising Up in U.S., Down in Europe

    Venture capital (VC) funds in the U.S. raised $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2011, nearly double the $3.9 billion raised in the first quarter of 2010, according to Dow Jones LP Source. Early-stage funds — those that invest in start up companies, such enterprises begun by university researchers — were among the VCs…

  • Business Council Releases Ecosystem Valuation Guide

    The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Geneva, Switzerland released today its Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV), to help businesses better understand the benefits and value of ecosystem services like fresh water, food, fiber, and natural hazard protection. The CEV guide can be downloaded free of charge from the WBCSD Web site.…

  • Study Computes Cardiac Device Infection Mortality, Costs

    A review of Medicare records shows that surgical infections associated with pacemakers and defibrillators led to longer hospital stays, higher mortalities, and increased hospitalization costs compared to implantations without infections. Results of the study, funded by medical device developer TYRX Inc. in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, were presented yesterday at a meeting of the American…

  • Hospital-Community Partnership Cuts Heart Disease 24%

    A collaboration of health systems and the town of New Ulm, Minnesota, has resulted in a 24 percent reduction of heart disease in the community over 15 months. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology on 3 April. The initiative — called Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New…

  • Venture-Backed Exit Value Up, Numbers Down in Q1 2011

    The number of exit deals for new companies in the U.S. backed by venture capital (VC) in the first quarter of 2011 dropped, while the total value of the deals increased compared to the same period in 2010. Science-based companies figured prominently in the first-quarter deals involving VC-backed enterprises. Data on exits, where enterprises backed…

  • Study: Cruise Ship Diseases More Widespread Than Reported

    A study by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia suggests that outbreaks of communicable diseases on cruise ships may be more common than previously reported. The findings from an investigation of a norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship in January 2009 appear online in  the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases…

  • $4 Generics Could Save the U.S. $6 Billion

    Researchers from University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) calculated the savings from using common discounted generic drug programs instead of full-priced generics or brand-name drugs. The team estimated those savings at nearly $6 billion. Their findings appear in the current issue of  Archives of Internal Medicine (paid subscription required). The study covered…

  • Wide Variations in Pain-Killers Prescribed by Family MDs

    Some family physicians are prescribing opioids such as OxyContin at rates many times higher than their peers, according to a study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto, Canada. The study, published online in the journal Canadian Family Physician, also showed an association between the number…

  • Report: Pharma Research Productivity Undercounted

    In a new analysis, pharmaceutical market research company EvaluatePharma in London, U.K. says current methods of measuring productivity of the industry miss a big part of the industry’s output and thus give a misleading picture. The report suggests the pharma industry is in better shape than most observers indicate. EvaluatePharma says most industry watchers count…

  • New U.S. Start Ups Rise in 2010: That’s the Good News

    According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, American adults created 565,000 new businesses in 2010, which represents the highest level of entrepreneurship over the past 15 years. The foundation notes, however, that the dismal state of the economy and high unemployment may have pressed more individuals into going it alone, rather…