“Dark clouds” forming for health VCs this year? MedCity Morning Read, Jan. 14, 2010

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of health care:

“Dark clouds” on the health VC horizon? After some end-of -year optimism sparked by several notable deals, health care venture capitalists are mixing those happy thoughts with a dose of realism, VentureWire reports. With the ranks of VC firms thinning, the survivors are finding fewer co-investors, plus uncertainty surrounding federal health overhaul is clouding the future, and the seemingly never-ending concerns about rules and regulations persist. Fundraising, too, figures to be more difficult, making it harder to cobble together big rounds that later-stage drug or device firms often need.

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist or a doomsdayer, but I do think things are going to get tougher and tighter than we’ve ever seen in our business,” said James Garvey, chairman of SV Life Sciences.

Riding to the rescue, however, may be corporate funds, such as the venture arms of Big Pharma firms, which have greater access to capital. Also important will be drugs or devices targeting particularly “dire” conditions, which could make it easier to clear regulatory hurdles, VentureWire says. Likewise, for technologies that lower health costs since that’s been a big focus (in theory, at least) of the national health-overhaul movement. Another bright spot could be technologies that solve health care “access” problems, which figure to jump as 30 million or so people gain health insurance as a result of overhaul efforts.

The end of a biomedical research era: Say goodbye to the rapid expansion in biomedical research that America saw during much of the 1990s and the early years of the aughts, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association. After growing at a healthy clip in the decade from 1994 to 2003, overall funding grew only about half as quickly over the next five years. The study found that funding from the National Institutes of Health – which is by far the single largest supporter of biomedical research – decreased by 12 percent between 2003 and 2008 when adjusted for inflation.

The study also says that new drug and device approvals have stagnated in recent years. These numbers are significant for regions that rely on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and academic research institutions as economic growth engines, so if you live in such an area, the report has disturbing implications. If you thought these areas would help lead the U.S. economy out of its hole in the coming years, the takeaway from this study may be: Be afraid, be very afraid.

Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to linemen: An Ohio State University study of 90 players on its 2007 football team (which was embarrassed in the BCS title game by an LSU team led by a marginally talented quarterback, as I recall) revealed that only offensive and defensive lineman were obese — in this case defined as having body fat percentages above 25. Overall, 19 of 29 lineman were obese. Of those 19, 11 showed signs of insulin resistance and 8 met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. “A risk associated with the emphasis on needing to be bigger is that some can’t obtain that size with just lifting, so they’re getting some of that body mass in an unhealthy fashion,” the study’s lead author said. Add concerns about obesity to the controversy surrounding concussions in the NFL that’s been one this season’s dominant story lines, and many parents may perceive that football is simply too dangerous of a sport for their children to play. Lacrosse, anyone?

“Bizarre” yet “essential” – a history of Medicare: KevinMD republishes from MedPage Today a lengthy yet illuminating look at the history of Medicare, the government health program that insures 43 million elderly and/or disabled Americans. Before Medicare’s birth in 1965, only 55 percent of seniors had health insurance, MedPage reports. “It’s a bizarre program that is absolutely essential to American health care,” says one Yale public policy expert. If you need a refresher on DRGs, the SGR and the “doughnut hole,” this is the article for you.