Kesselman & Kesselman audit partner in charge of life sciences
Claudio Yarza, expects investment in Israel's life sciences industry
to total $200-250 million in 2005, less than in 2004. He added that
an increasing interest on the part of foreign investors in the local
industry, capital raising by Israeli venture capital funds, capital
market financing rounds, and merger and acquisition deals could
change the picture.
Life sciences investment in Israel reached an all-time record of $130
million in the fourth quarter of 2004, according to Kesselman and
Kesselman - PricewaterhouseCoopers Israel's MoneyTree Survey,
published recently. The survey reported that the amount raised was
106% more than the $63 million raised in the preceding quarter, and
225% more than the $40 million raised in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Life sciences investment totalled a record $286 million in 2004 as a
whole.