<p>That is still only one firm. </p>
<p>WANTED: BIG PHARMA AND BIG BIO
But all this university activity doesn't solve a different, long-standing need in Madison. For unlike most other life science locales, Madison doesn't have a major pharmaceutical or large biotech company to help anchor the research enterprise by creating a critical mass of jobs and attracting outside attention and investment. "It sure would be nice to have a Big Pharma or a big, fat biotech success story here," says Deven McGlenn, CEO of NeoClone Biotechnology, a WARF spinoff that produces monoclonal antibodies.</p>
<p>ALSO WANTED: BIG BUCKS
While Dane County ranks in the top 100 counties nationwide for venture capital funding, Madison has only a handful of VC firms willing to invest in local startups. It may be that the major VCs, located on either coast, don't like the hassle of changing planes in Chicago to get to Madison. The truth is that Madison's venture capital shortage is endemic to the entire Midwest region, which received $198 million, or less than 4% of total US venture investments in the fourth quarter of 2004.[1]</p>
<p>"We have all the ingredients needed to succeed in the 'new economy,"' says Jim Leonhart, executive vice president of the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association. "We have technology, an abundance of talent, and diversity reflecting the world. We only lack more attention from the moneyed people, and we are working hard to attract them now."</p>
<p>To do so, the state is trying to foster VC growth by providing additional public venture funds, and industry groups are helping entrepreneurs network with individual "angel" investors. But some believe the answer lies in the private sector. "If we had a critical mass of good companies, a lot of us believe the VCs would come here," says Joe Kremer, director of the Wisconsin Angel Network.</p>