Start-up company fundraising got off to a slow start in 2013: life sciences companies brought in $398.7 million, roughly 59% less than in the final quarter of 2012. Of the total raised, 84% went to biopharmas. The majority of start-up alliances were for discovery- or preclinical-stage products and there were four start-up acquisitions for the quarter – three in biopharma and one in the medical device sector.

Recent executive-level hires and director appointments at venture capital firms and biopharma, medtech, and diagnostics start-ups.

Derived from Strategic Transactions, Elsevier Business Intelligence’s premium source for tracking life sciences deal activity, the Recent Financings Of Private Companies column provides a comprehensive monthly review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding, including companies within the In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals sectors.

Brief profiles of these recently formed companies: CliniCast, CoCo Therapeutics, Jounce Therapeutics, and Prevacus.