Securing financing for life-science startups in Northern Colorado has long been a struggle, but industry insiders say they are taking steps to improve the situation.

The Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4), for one, is looking at more creative ways to draw capital to Colorado’s life-science industry, said Lauren Constantini, the nonprofit’s vice president of therapeutics and device development.

Constantini was one of several panelists who discussed challenges facing the industry at a meeting of the region’s life-science industry leaders and researchers earlier this month.

The audience filled a room at the Fort Collins technology incubator the Rocky Mountain Innosphere to listen to the panelists’ suggestions, ask questions and voice concerns. The Innosphere has 34 “clients,” or tenants, including some life-science companies.

Despite the challenge of raising capital, life-science companies seem to be doing well at the moment.

The life-science industry grew 4.6 percent last year, attributed mostly to the device sector, said April Giles, CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association.

Deanna Scott, the new head