The growth of markets within Asia is creating an enticing lure for medical device, pharmaceutical, and biomedical companies seeking to establish or enhance their presence in the region. Countries with large populations-and, in some cases, underserved medical needs for certain conditions-represent an opportunity to expand health care treatments. The government of Singapore is working hard to make sure foreign companies understand the island nation is very willing to offer that expertise and create an ideal location that could serve as a gateway to all of Asia.

Investors love to remind everyone that IPOs are financing events, not exiting events, using the mantra to put off Judgment Day for their investments. So how have device companies fared after the recent spate of IPOs?

Launched by four veterans of the medical device industry, Coronis Medical hopes to be able to nurture precisely the kind of opportunities that even the most early stage-minded of venture investors can't. Through its relationship with Stellartech, a design and development consulting firm, Coronis will be able to provide a wide array of services for the projects it takes on, creating virtual companies through what is, in effect, a kind of virtual incubator.

What's the value of a well-documented set of clinical samples in the atherosclerosis business? For Merck, about $150 million. For FoxHollow, funding and validation for its contrarian device model.