November 03, 2021 10:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deerfield Management Company, a New York City-based healthcare investment firm today announced its second annual XSeed Award, a program designed to support New York City early-stage life science, minority-led startups. This year’s XSeed Award will be granted to individuals working on neurodegeneration research development projects.
“Funding translational product development by underrepresented communities is critical to help spark innovation,” said James E. Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield. “Broader diversity allows for new and different vantage points to be incorporated into the innovation and startup community, and the varied perspectives indisputably create better ideas and solutions. NYC is one of the most diverse communities in the world, and so must be our early-stage life science community.”
According to Pitchbook, life science ventures led by women and minorities still face a substantial funding gap. Female founders in the U.S. raised only 2.2 percent of total venture capital funding in 2020 and funding to Black and Latinx founders equate to only 2.4% of capital raised from 2015 through August 2020.
The underrepresented scientists and entrepreneurs working on important healthcare projects in NYC are actively furthering discoveries but too often lack support to progress more cures for patients. Through fostering this community of individuals, NYC can help change the disease narrative of the Biotech Industry.
“The New York City Economic Development Corporation is overseeing the City’s $1 billion investment in life sciences, and for us it’s about breaking down barriers and creating equal opportunity in the field. We applaud Deerfield Management for its efforts to support minority-led life science research and early-stage ventures through the second XSeed Award program,” said Rachel Loeb, President and CEO at NYCEDC. “Now, underrepresented scientists and entrepreneurs can apply for much