What Body Parts Are Worth?
A lot of research and inventions come from those small medical startup companies or even large ones. The companies use human body parts to experiment on for treatment of diseases. To the venture capitalists who invest money into such firms conducting research, they do indirectly impact the value of what body parts are worth, at least for research purposes.
Prior to 1999, the value of the heart and other orthopedic conditions were demanded the most from funding sources. But since then, neither is considered the most valuable when developing cures or medical devices to the medical market. The one human body part that is attracting the most money from investors are eye problems, making eyes the most valuable part of the human body. Venture capital invested $849 million in eyes and their related problems as people age. Over 3 million over 40 yrs. old suffer from some sort of eye problem and treatments and technology continues to be in high demand. Even five years ago, technology has greatly changes in detecting glaucoma at its very earliest stage. Another eye disease is macular degeneration, the "wet" form that leads to blindness. Novartis has devoted large chunks of investment in its detection and treatment. A recent startup received $20 million in venture investments to develop a treatment for it.
The heart still demands significant venture money, some $709 million. But when compared to 2011, when it was $1 billion, the interest in finding solutions for the heart have dropped. Many investors find that focusing on medical devices is terms of time and money are too long for a return on the investment. Another area when investments have dropped has been in the spinal and orthopedic areas. In 2006, venture sources loaned over 1 billion dollars to those companies conducting research and developing devices. In 2014, it dropped to only $470 million because of extensive government regulations and the long time it takes for a device or medication to get to market.
The ears have caught the investors attention recently. In 2014, $114 million were invested into those companies researching and finding solutions for decreased hearing through better quality hearing aids. Others have developed treatments for inner ear disease that causes vertigo.
Other body parts heavily invested in are: brain ($500 million), Stomach ($800 million), Kidneys ($100 million), Lungs ($200 million).
Venture capital is a prime move for many small companies. It provides funding that allows them to continue the research and development of products. From their point of view, venture capital values eyes and the heart as the most valuable human body parts to invest in.