Life sciences briefing: Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
Featured companies: Alere Medical, AorTx, BioMedical Innovations, Cavidi, Centice, Integrated BioPharma, Oxitech, Nastech
UPDATED: Expanded items on Centice, AorTx and Alere Medical.
Centice raises $11M for drug-safety technology — Centice, a Morrisville, N.C., developer of computer-sensor systems, raised $11 million in a second funding round. Investors included S-Group Direct Investments, the Aurora Funds, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Innovation Ventures and several individuals.
The funding will further Centice’s work on the Pass Rx system, a sensor designed to ensure the authenticity of prescription drugs. The company doesn’t appear to say much about how it’s supposed to work, beyond noting that the system can “verify dispensed medications against a customer’s prescription at the point of sale in real-time.” The company previously raised $3 million in 2004, according to VentureWire (subscription required).
Heart-valve replacer AorTx acquired by Hansen Medical for $9.3M — AorTx (no Web site), a Mountain View, Calif., medical-device startup focused on heart-valve replacements, sold itself to Hansen Medical for $9.3 million in cash, stock and assumption of debt. AorTx shareholders stand to earn as much as another $30 million in milestone payments should AorTx products clear various development and regulatory hurdles.
Our previous coverage of the company is here. AorTx had previously raised $5.8 million in two funding rounds, so the deal represents a decent return to shareholders, who include Bio-Star Private Equity Fund, Saratoga Ventures, MedFocus, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and St. Jude Medical.
Chronic-illness care manager Alere Medical acquired by Inverness for $302M — Alere Medical, a Reno, Nev., disease-management firm, sold itself to Inverness Medical Innovations for $302 million in cash and stock. Alere had previously raised about $45 million in equity investment. The company develops programs that help patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart problems manage their conditions via at-home monitoring, education and nurse-patient relationships.
OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:
- Oxitech pulls in £1.5M for sterilizing pest control (VW)
- Medical diagnostics maker Cavidi draws $1M (VentureWire, sub req’d)
- BioMedical Innovations names Rafael Andújar as general managing partner (VW)
- Integrated Biopharma names Robert Erwin president of plant-biotech subsidiary (release)
- Nastech to spin off RNAi work into independent startup MDRNA (release)
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About the Author, David P. Hamilton
David Hamilton has been writing for VentureBeat LifeScience since April 2007. He formerly spent 14 years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in its San Francisco and Tokyo bureaus. Prior to that, he spent several years as a reporter at Science Magazine and as a reporter/researcher for the New Republic, both in Washington.