RCT Forms $15M BioVentures Group –

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Research Corporation Technologies has committed $15 million to form a new venture development company, RCT BioVentures NE. The new firm will be based in Cambridge, Mass., and will scour research institutions, universities and entrepreneurs throughout New England for potential high-value discoveries.

RCT BioVentures intends to draw attention to investment opportunities presented by biomedical discoveries. The company sees investment opportunities in what it considers to be the underserved sector between the discovery and development stages.

Luring capital has become more difficult in recent years because investors now expect to see progress in an Internet second, said Debra Peattie, president of RCT BioVentures.

“If you couch it in terms of what they are doing these days with Internet companies, you can understand the difficulties people have with investing [in biotech],” Ms. Peattie said.

Ms. Peattie’s experience in venture capital funding includes working at MPM Capital L.P. as a senior associate within the MPM Asset Management subsidiary. Her academic and biotechnology background includes a doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular biology as well as a master of business administration from Harvard University.

The Tucson, Ariz.-based parent company’s core competency will continue to be licensing the effects of emerging technologies. The company has similar alliances in Southern California, Canada and Australia.

Ms. Peattie expects the Northeast will be a fertile region for biomedical development.

“The research institutions that are here, coupled with the universities, provide an amazing array of life-enhancing opportunities,” she said.