Source: medcitynews.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Investors discussed their roles in entrepreneurial companies, what will generate the most money in the health care in the next 10 years, and what they look for when choosing an investment Friday at the Ohio Venture Association panel in Cleveland.

Preventative medicine was the general consensus among the panel as the most fruitful focus in health care over the next decade. But some investors on the panel were cautious of areas such as electronic medical records. Health information technology is very complicated and takes several years for incremental improvement, said Chuck Hallberg of the Medical Growth Fund.

The panelists also included Mike Bunker of Early Stage Partners, Steve Haynes of Glengary Ventures, Rich Langdale of NCT Ventures, and John Zak of Portal Capital. All of these groups are early-stage investors based in the Cleveland area with the exception of NCT, which is based in Columbus (Chris Seper from MedCity News was the moderator).

Each of the investors said they have their plates full — both due to the economy and an increase in the quality of deals and opportunities in the state. But the panelists echoed a trend nationally: that it will become more difficult for the early-stage entrepreneur to secure what’s considered traditional, early-stage capital. According to Langdale, the investment community is looking for less risk, which explains their decreased returns, and early-stage investors are more likely to have the demeanor of traditionally late-stage venture investors.

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