A listing of the top 10 innovative startups receiving the largest Series A rounds in 2012 is made up entirely of companies from the US, underlying how these enterprises find it easier to raise risk capital. The top five is dominated by firms located in the traditional biotech hubs of San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In fact, a look at the broader life science startup sector shows that more than two-thirds of A rounds in 2012 went to US companies (Fig. 1). Regarding investors, Third Rock Ventures was sole backer for two of the largest A rounds, and the year saw a persistent presence of corporate venture arms: Novo, Novartis and Roche all made Table 1.

Figure 1: Startups by country, 2012.
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Source: BioCentury Online Intelligence (BCIQ)

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Table 1 Top 10 A rounds in 2012 for innovative startups
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First Rounders Podcast: Henri A. Termeer

Termeer was named CEO of Genzyme in 1983. Under his guidance the firm produced several life-saving drugs and became one of the flagships of the biotech sector, particularly in developing drugs for rare disease. Nature Biotechnology spoke to Termeer about the early years at Genzyme, the company's acquisition by Sanofi in 2011 and his advice to bioentrepreneurs. http://www.nature.com/nbt/podcast/index.html.