Originally published August 3, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified August 3, 2007 at 2:05 AM
Biotech incubator raises $22.5M
Accelerator, Seattle's souped-up biotech incubator, has raised $22.5 million in its third and largest investment round. The funds will help...
Seattle Times business reporter
Accelerator, Seattle's souped-up biotech incubator, has raised $22.5 million in its third and largest investment round. The funds will help start up to six emerging companies over the next two or three years, said Chief Executive Carl Weissman.
Accelerator operates as a kind of biotech nursery — it channels money from venture-capital firms into early stage start-ups, and closely manages them until they raise enough money to stand on their own or are deemed a failure. The incubator also provides office space for the fledglings in its Eastlake headquarters.
The budding companies are under strict supervision, meeting with the Accelerator team to discuss milestones once a week, said Weissman.
Since its 2003 founding, Accelerator has invested in six companies, two of which — VLST and Spaltudaq — gained independence after raising some $84 million in venture capital. One company was cut off after failing to develop a feasible strategy, Weissman said.
When a company succeeds in leaving the nest, "it's a pleasure to hand off the keys," Weissman said. He expects further graduations next year.
Accelerator's role in the Seattle biotech community is heightened by the relative lack of local venture-capital firms devoted to investing in the life sciences, compared with thriving hubs such as Boston or San Francisco. Companies here "have to work harder" to raise money, said Jack Faris, president of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association.
"Some of the most exciting startups launched here within the past couple of years have been with the Accelerator," Faris said. "It's a terrific asset."
Entrepreneurs aching for admission, however, would have more chance of getting into an Ivy League school. Since its inception, Accelerator has received more than 400 proposals and chosen only six, said Weissman.
Most participants in the latest funding round are repeat customers: Amgen Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners and Alexandria Real Estate Equities. But there's also a new investor: WRF Capital, an arm of the Washington Research Foundation.
The high-profile Institute for Systems Biology continues to be the "key scientific institutional anchor" for Accelerator, a statement from the incubator said. The institute's faculty has provided or helped select the technology used in more than half of Accelerator's start-ups, said ISB Director Leroy Hood in the statement.
Ángel González: 206-515-5644
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Rainier Pacific Financial calls rescue 'unlikely'
Clearwire gets $1.5B in financing from Sprint, others
NEW - 01:22 PM
Home prices fall nationwide, and in Seattle, in 3Q
UPDATE - 01:47 PM
Housing plan reaches 1 in 5 borrowers
NEW - 01:36 PM
Alaska Air Group believes smaller is better, CEO tells investors

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Lt. governor's son shot by co-worker in Kent; gunman then shot self
- DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- Huskies are finding talent in Tacoma
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
264 - King County OKs 'don't ask' law on immigration
225 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
210 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
192 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
131 - Obama pressed into role as national healer
109 - Time to bring Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2010
98 - 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
97 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
85 - DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say
84
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Rainier Pacific Financial calls rescue 'unlikely'








