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TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Trius Therapeutics raises $30M for new antibiotics (release)
• Genomas gets $1.2M grant for genomic side-effect tests (release)
• Provasculon receives $500K, enters Biogen Idec incubator (VentureWire)
• Animal diagnostics firm Quadraspec aims for $5M round (VentureWire)
• MPM Capital names two executive partners (release)
  

Trius Therapeutics raises $30M for new antibiotics – Trius Therapeutics, a San Diego startup developing new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, raised $30 million in a second funding round. Investors included Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, FinTech Global Capital, Sofinnova Ventures, Versant Ventures, Interwest Partners and Prism VentureWorks.

Trius said the funding will allow it to push its new treatment, an oxazolidinone antibiotic it calls TR-701, into late-stage human tests. The drug, which is intended for drug-resistant staphylococcus and similar infections, is currently in early-stage, phase I trials. Unlike many other new antibiotics, which must usually be taken intravenously, the Trius drug can be taken as a pill.

Genomas gets $1.2M grant for genomic side-effect tests – Genomas, a Hartford, Conn., personalized-medicine startup, received a $1.2 million small business-innovation grant from the NIH. The grant will fund genetic work aimed at identifying people who are most likely to suffer painful side effects from cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

Statins — particularly Pfizer’s Lipitor, the best-selling drug on the market today — have built up a formidable reputation based on studies that showed they could prevent fatal heart attacks. More recently, however, critics of the drugs have pointed out that stopping one heart attack requires close to 100 people to take the drugs regularly, putting new attention on statin side effects, which can range from painful muscle aches and weakness to memory loss. The Genomas test is intended to reveal whether an individual patient is likely to experience those nerve and muscle effects, known technically as statin-induced neuromyopathy.

Featured companies: AvidBiotics, Codexis, Imalux, Myomo

UPDATED: Expanded items on AvidBiotics and Codexis.

AvidBiotics raises $1M for anti-infective drugs — AvidBiotics, a South San Francisco, Calif., biotech developing a new generation of antibacterial proteins, raised $1 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The company didn’t disclose its investors.

AvidBiotics is using a new type of protein engineering to develop molecules that can successfully attack drug-resistant bacterial. That engineering system relies upon a “diversity generator” that produces a variety of modifications in protein structure that affect the molecules’ ability to bind to and attack various surface molecules on bacteria. Screening the new proteins created this way allows researchers to identify the ones with the best drug-like properties. The idea is similar in certain respects to “combinatorial chemistry,” an attempt to harness an evolution-like mechanism in the development of small-molecule drugs.

The company’s first target is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic bacteria that attacks immunocompromised tissues. It can cause infections of the skin, the urinary tract, the digestive system, and many other organ systems.

Biocatalysis firm Codexis adds $600K to recent funding — Codexis, a Redwood City, Calif., developer of biocatalytic processes for manufacturing of biofuels, pharmaceuticals and other products, added $600,000 to its fourth funding round, VentureWire reports, citing a regulatory filing. Insiders provided the funding.

The new funding is in addition to the company’s $37 million fourth round, which we noted here. In July, Codexis acquired Biocatalytics, an enzyme maker also focused on — you guessed it — biocatalysis. Our coverage, which goes into a little more detail about the business, is here.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• Imalux receives $2.3M grant for cancer imaging (release)
• Medical-device maker Myomo names Thomas Glover new CEO (release)

Featured companies: BioVex, Cavadis, Innovention, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Phase Bioscience, Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Xencor

UPDATED: Expanded Paratek and Xencor items.

Paratek Pharma raises $40M for new antibiotics — Boston’s Paratek Pharmaceuticals, a biotech working on new antibiotics to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, raised a first tranche of a $40 million eighth round of funding. The company’s release is here, VentureWire (subscription required) has more details here.

Investors in this funding included Aisling Capital, D.E. Shaw, Boston Life Science Venture Corporation, Nomura Phase4 Ventures, Novartis BioVentures, BioFund Ventures, HBM BioVentures, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, BioVeda Fund and Hercules Technology Growth Capital. Paratek’s lead drug candidate, PTK 0796, is being studied against skin-structure infections and community-acquired pneumonia.

Xencor raises additional $15M for cancer, immune-disease drugs — Xencor, a Monrovia, Calif., biotech developing “engineered” protein- and antibody-based drugs, raised an additional $15 million in its fifth funding round, bringing the total to $60 million. Investors included Oxford Bioscience Partners, Merlin Nexus, Novo Nordisk, MedImmune Ventures, HealthCare Ventures and Zen Investments.

Xenocor’s lead candidate is an antibody that could target Hodgkin’s disease and T-cell lymphoma. The company expects to begin early-stage human trials later this year.

HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• Protein purifier Phase Bioscience pulls in an additional $5.4 million (American Venture Magazine)
• Reliant Pharma trims IPO plans, aims for $364M offering (Edgar)
• Cavadis, developer of diagnostics for “vulnerable” coronary plaques, raises seed funding (PDF release)
• Innovention Tech pulls in $115,000 for new surgical probe (release)
• BioVex names Jan van Heek chairman (release)

Featured companies: 20/20 GeneSystems, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Cumbre Pharmaceuticals, Dara BioSciences, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Fermentas, International, Iasis Medical, New Leaf Venture Partners, Point Therapeutics, Power Medical Interventions, Rules-Based Medicine, Spinal Restoration, Still River Systems, Targanta Therapeutics

(UPDATED: See below.)

[NOTE: In the interests of getting items up as quickly as possible, I'm going to begin posting linked headlines, which I'll subsequently flesh out in many -- but not all -- cases. As the news gets heavier, the briefing is taking longer and longer to put together, to the point where I sometimes don't have much time to write about anything else. Feel free to let me know in comments how well this works for you.]

Spinal Restoration raises $16M for disc augmentation — Spinal Restoration, an Austin, Tex., developer of an implantable material designed to treat lower back pain, raised $16 million in a second funding round. Investors included Santé Health Ventures, MB Venture Partners, Austin Ventures and Path4 Ventures.

The startup is working on a filler biomaterial for ruptured spinal discs. This fibrin sealant, which is derived from human sources, is designed to be injected into ruptured discs in order to seal internal fissures and to prevent the leakage of the disc’s contents, potentially in a way that could encourage further healing. If it works, the process could potentially replace spinal fusion for patients whose injuries don’t respond to rest and physical therapy.

Antibiotic maker Targanta becomes latest disappointing biotech IPO — The Cambridge, Mass., developer of an in-licensed antibiotic for drug-resistant infections priced its IPO below its expected range, then saw its newly listed shared decline in early trading. Targanta priced as many as 5.8 million shares at $10 apiece, below its $12 to $14 range (see our coverage), raising the company a maximum of $57.5 million — down considerably from the $92.6 million it had hoped for.

Following the listing, Targanta’s shares dropped almost immediately, and by early afternoon were trading at $9.35, down 65 cents, or 6.5 percent.

I raised concerns about Targanta’s strategy here (capsule version: The company’s antibiotic Oritavancin faces a slew of competition and hasn’t even been tested in-house, as Targanta licensed it at a late stage from another company). Now it looks as though investors may have harbored similar reservations.

Power Medical sets IPO terms, aims to raise up to $62M for computer-assisted surgical instruments — Power Medical, a Langhorne, Pa., developer of computer-assisted surgical tools, said it would price up to 4.4 million shares at $12 to $14 apiece, which would allow it to raise as much as $61.6 million. Its SEC filing is here.

The company’s latest plans amount to a significantly smaller IPO than the $100 million offering it had initially contemplated. We last wrote about Power Medical’s IPO plans here.

Tularik spinoff Cumbre Pharma raises insider financing for anti-infective drugs — Dallas-based Cumbre Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharma developing new anti-infective drugs, raised a new funding round from individual investors. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

Cumbre spun out of the former biotech Tularik (since acquired by Amgen) in 2001. It is focused on developing “hybrid” antibiotics formed by fusing together individual antibiotic compounds in hopes of producing more potent drugs that can take on microbes resistant to current antibiotics. Its lead compound, CBR-2092, has completed early-stage human trials, and is intended to attack drug-resistant staphylococcus infections.

Investors in the round included a number of prominent individuals in the life sciences. Among them were Tularik co-founder David Goeddel, Tularik and Cumbre co-founder Steven McKnight, Xenoport president William Rieflin, and former EDS president Morton Meyerson.

New Leaf Venture Partners raises $450M healthcare fund — New Leaf, a bicoastal VC firm with offices in New York and Menlo Park, Calif., raised $450 million for a new healthcare-technologies fund. The firm intends to target later-stage biotech and specialty pharma companies, early-stage medical-device developers, and new molecular diagnostics.

Bellicum Pharma draws in $3.8M for cancer vaccines — Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a Houston biotech aiming to develop cancer vaccines, drew in $3.8 million in seed funding and a grant from the state of Texas. The company pulled in seed funding of $2.3 million from local angel investors; the $1.5 million grant was awarded by the state’s Emerging Technology Fund.

Bellicum is developing a therapeutic vaccine against prostate cancer that is designed to turn the body’s own immune-system defenses against tumors. (Dendreon, whose Provenge vaccine has been in the news over the past several months, is taking a similar approach.) The new wrinkle in Bellicum’s approach is that the company genetically modifies dendritic cells, which help direct immune responses against invaders in the body, so that they can be “activated” at a particular time and in a particular location in the body by applying a triggering chemical. There’s more here.

Other headlines of note:

• Dara BioSciences goes public with Point Therapeutics merger (release)
• Genetic Immunity raises $2M in bridge financing for HIV immunotherapy
• Rules-Based Medicine acquires EDI (release), wins $1.1M federal contract (release)
• 20/20 GeneSystems receives $2M NIST contract for tumor profiling (release)
• Summit Ventures invests in genomic-tools provider Fermentas (PDF release)
• Proton-therapy company Still River Systems raises $6.9M (PE Hub)
• Enterprise Partners suspends newest life-sciences fund (PE Hub)
• Iasis Medical raises $1.5M for undisclosed medical devices (PE Hub)

UPDATE: Expanded Targanta, Power Medical, Cumbre, New Leaf, and Bellicum items.
UPDATE REDUX: Corrected a typo in the Power Medical IPO data.

Featured companies: AirInSpace, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Apollo Endosurgery, Ascension Health Partners, BG Medicine, CeraPedics, GlaxoSmithKline, Simplex Diabetic Supply, Zars Pharma

UPDATED: Last entry added at 2am PT on 10/8/07.

Anacor Pharma pulls in $22M from Glaxo, with hundreds of millions more on the line –Palo Alto, Calif.-based Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing new anti-infective and anti-inflammatory drugs using boron chemistry, struck a wide-ranging partnership with GlaxoSmithKline worth up to $605 million. Anacor will receive a $12 million cash payment and a $10 million equity investment in exchange for Glaxo options to as many as eight drug candidates.

Anacor is also eligible for milestone payments on each product candidate, although the release is so badly worded it’s difficult to know exactly how much is really on the line. What the release says is that “Anacor is eligible to receive discovery, development, regulatory and commercial milestones ranging up to $252 million and $331 million for each product candidate.” Does that mean a total of $583 million for each candidate, somewhere between $252 million and $331 million, or something else altogether? You’ve got me. I’ve put in calls to both companies, and will update if someone clarifies this.

(UPDATE: A GSK representative finally called back, admitted that the original wording was unclear, and said that any given product candidate could yield maximum potential milestones of between $252 million and $331 million. Whew.)

Anacor is developing a new class of antibiotics, antifungal drugs and anti-inflammatories based on the novel properties of boron, an element that doesn’t feature largely in traditional pharmaceuticals. Its leading candidates target a fungal infection called onychomycosis and the autoimmune skin condition psoriasis. The company filed for a $58 million IPO in August; see our coverage here.

Simplex Diabetic Supply draws $50M for acquisitions — Brentwood, Tenn.-based Simplex Diabetic Supply (no Web site), a provider of diabetic testing supplies, raised $50 million for expansion. New Enterprise Associates provided the funding. Simplex Chairman Richard Pinson said the funding will allow the company to “accelerate and execute” its acquisition strategy. (UPDATE: See a longer take on this deal and what it says about the business strategies of nervous VCs here.)

Ascension Health Ventures launches $200M healthcare fund — Ascension Health Ventures, a St. Louis-based venture firm owned by the Catholic non-profit healthcare provider Ascension Health, launched a new $200 million fund. Ascension Health and two other Catholic health systems — Catholic Health Initiatives and Catholic Health East — provided the funding. The fund will target later-stage medical device, healthcare technology and healthcare service companies. The release is here.

Bone-graft substitutor CeraPedics pulls in $14M — The Lakewood, Colo., maker of a drug-infused putty that stimulates bone regrowth, raised $14.5 million of a $16.5 million first funding round, PE Hub reports, citing a regulatory filing. Orbimed Advisors led the round. CeraPedics makes a bone-graft substitute that relies on a peptide called P-15 that plays an important role initiating the formation of bone.

Apollo Endosurgery raises $11.5M for minimally invasive surgical devices — The Austin, Tex., developer of surgical devices designed for operations that utilize the body’s “natural orifices” raised $11.5 million in a first funding round. Among those providing the funding were PTV Sciences, H.I.G. Ventures, and individual investors. Apollo’s devices are specifically designed for surgeries that utilize the digestive tract in order to access the peritoneal cavity — a technique now being applied to obesity and early-stage cancers.

AirInSpace draws €6M for biodecontamination devices — Paris-based AirInSpace, a developer of devices that identify and neutralize airborne biological hazards, raised €6 million ($8.5 million) in a second funding round. Investors included Matignon Technologies and Oddo AM. AirInSpace makes devices that reduce airborne microbial pathogens, although I’ve read their release and Web site through a few times and I still don’t have a clue exactly how they’re supposed to do that.

AssayDepot gets $1.8M for drug-research service marketplace — San Diego’s AssayDepot, an Internet marketplace for the drug-research services industry, raised $1.8 million in a first funding round. Private investors provided the funding. The company is developing a marketplace intended to allow industry and academic researchers to contract for research services offered around the world.

Zars Pharma abandons IPO — Salt Lake City’s Zars Pharma, which reformulates pain drugs for delivery via skin patches, formally withdrew its proposed IPO, citing “market conditions.” Its SEC filing is here. The last we heard from the company was in late September, when Zars reportedly postponed an IPO that had been scheduled for that week. (See our previous coverage here, here and here.)

The Zars withdrawal doesn’t seem to herald any particular trend in the IPO market, which is still blowing hot and cold on biotech and pharma companies. For instance, MAP Pharmaceuticals, another specialty pharma that went public last Friday, has seen a nice share-price rise of more than 30% since its offering. Two more tests of the biotech IPO market are expected this week: BioHeart (which I covered here) and Targanta Therapeutics (our coverage here and here).

Diagnostics maker BG Medicine sets IPO range, aims for €50M — BG Medicine, a Waltham, Mass., maker of molecular diagnostics for heart disease and measuring drug response, now hopes to raise as much as €50 million ($70.8 million) in an IPO. BG Medicine plans to sell as many as 6.9 million shares at a price of €5.75 to €7.25 apiece. We last wrote about the company here.

MAP Pharmaceuticals, the Mountain View, Calif., specialty pharma, had a mixed reception to its IPO Friday. The company priced its shares at $12, below its anticipated range of $14 to $16, raising up to $69 million — substantially less than the $92 million it might have pulled in. Investors, however, reacted positively and pushed up the shares 11 percent to $13.35.

MAP reformulates existing drugs in order to deliver them via inhalers. Its leading product is a new version of the asthma drug budesonide, which is used to treat pediatric asthma. See our previous coverage of the company here (second item) and here.

Some other recent filings that slipped through the cracks:

Anti-infective developer Anacor Pharma looks for $58M IPO — Palo Alto, Calif.-based Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing new antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and antifungal drugs, filed to raise up to $57.5 million in an IPO on Aug. 31. The company, which develops new drugs from a process focused on the chemistry of boron, is focused first on topical medications for fungal nail infections known as onychomycosis and the autoimmune skin condition psoriasis. See our previous coverage of the company here.

Emphasys Medical targets $86M IPO for lung devices — Redwood City, Calif.-based Emphasys Medical, a device maker focused on treatments for emphysema and similar lung diseases, filed on Sept. 21 to raise up to $86.3 million in an IPO. The company makes insertable one-way valves for the bronchial tubes that move air in and out of the lungs; these valves can “close off” diseased and overinflated parts of the lung in order to enable the remaining healthy areas to function normally.

As part of its SEC filing, Emphasys also disclosed the results of a pivotal trial of its device, known as the Emphasys Bronchial Valve, or EBV. In that randomized trial of 321 patients, those who received the EBV saw exhaled air volume — a sign of lung health — 6.4 percent greater than that of untreated patients. Patients treated with the device were also able to walk 5.6 percent farther in six minutes than the control group.

Drug formulator MonoSol Rx sets IPO price range, hopes for $83M — MonoSol Rx, a Warren, N.J., maker of drug formulations designed to mask the taste of particular medications, says it hopes to raise up to $82.8 million in an IPO. The company plans to sell up to 4.6 million shares at a price of $16 to $18 apiece, it said in a filing on Oct. 3. MonoSol Rx makes quick-dissolving “thin films” that can be used to repackage existing drugs into easy-to-swallow forms.

Irish reformulator Merrion Pharma hopes for $55M IPO — Dublin’s Merrion Pharmaceuticals, a developer of drug formulations that improve absorption within the gastrointestinal tract, aims to raise up to $55.2 million in an IPO. The company plans to offer four million shares as American Depositary Shares at a price of $10 to $12 apiece. Merrion’s technology is designed to reformulate drugs that can only be injected into pill or gel capsule forms.

Featured companies: Ablynx, Cardiosolutions, Carigent Thereapeutics, Elusys, Genome Corp., GlobeImmune, Novazone, Targanta Therapeutics, Waterfront Media

UPDATED at 5:45am on 9/27/07

GlobeImmune raises $41M for immune-system therapies — GlobeImmune, a Louisville, Colo., biotech focused on new forms of immunotherapy to treat viral infections and cancer, raised $41.2 million in a third funding round. Investors included Wexford Capital, Celgene, the Mellon Family Investment Company, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Eminent Venture Capital, Boston Life Science Venture, WRF Capital, HealthCare Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Sequel Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Medica Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, Biogen Idec, Pac-Link Bioventures, China Investment and Development, Yasuda Enterprise Development, Partners Healthcare, and GC&H Investments.

GlobeImmune’s experimental drugs are based on genetically engineered yeast cells, which have been altered to produce proteins that stimulate the immune system to attack diseased cells. The company’s lead product targets hepatitis C, and has completed early-stage human trials. Another drug is intended for use in pancreatic cancer.

Waterfront Media pulls in $25M for online health info — New York’s Waterfront Media, which bills itself as the largest privately held provider of online health information, raised $25 million in a fourth round of funding. Investors included Scale Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, Rho Ventures, Time Warner Ventures, BEV Capital, and Neocarta Ventures.

Waterfront said it will use the funds to expand its Everyday Health Network, a health-information portal, and to make acquisitions in the goal of becoming the “number one health destination” on the Web.

Novazone seeks $20M for food-safety tech — Novazone, a Livermore, Calif., developer of food-safety technology, is looking to raise $20 million in a third funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Novazone is developing an ozone-based disinfectant for food and water purification. The company previously raised $7 million in 2006 from Chrysalix Energy, Foundation Capital and Grauer Capital.

Cardiosolutions raises $7M for heart device — Stoughton, Mass.-based Cardiosolutions, a medical-device maker focused on minimally invasive repairs to the heart’s mitral valve, raised $7 million in a first funding round. BioVentures Investors led the round.

The company’s device is intended to restore function to the valve that separates the two left chambers of the heart without open-heart surgery. Cardiosolutions was founded in 2006 by STD Med, a Stoughton-based medical-technology firm.

Elusys wins $12M contract for anthrax treatment — Pine Brook, N.J.-based Elusys, a biotech focused on antibody-based treatments for infectious disease, won a $12 million federal contract that will support development of its anthrax treatment Anthim. That treatment targets the so-called “protective antigen” component of anthrax, theoretically blocking the bacteria’s ability to produce fatal levels of toxin.

Ablynx wins €1.9M grant for miniature antibodies — Belgium’s Ablynx, a biotech working to devise new therapies using miniature antibody molecules, received a €1.9 million ($2.6 million) grant from the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders. The company said the funding would allow it to pursue new uses for its “nanobodies” and to expand its intellectual-property portfolio.

Genome Corp. raises $250K for new sequencing technology — Providence, R.I.-based Genome Corp. raised $250,000 in seed financing to extend development of a new high-speed DNA sequencing technology. The Slater Technology Fund provided the financing.

Nanotech-drug developer Carigent Therapeutics raises seed funding — Yale spinout Carigent Therapeutics, a New Haven, Conn., biotech working on a nanoparticle-based drug technology, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, VentureWire reports. Saint Simeon Marketing e Investimentos provided the funding in May.

The idea is that engineered nanoparticles can specifically target particular proteins, theoretically making them ideal “carriers” for other drug molecules that attack cancer, infectious pathogens or other other disease-related substances. The company has also secured $250,000 in grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National Science Foundation, and plans to target cancer with its first product, it told VentureWire.

Antibiotic maker Targanta sets IPO price range — Cambridge, Mass.-based antibiotic developer Targanta Therapeutics said it now hopes to raise up to $92.6 million in an IPO by selling shares at a price of $12 to $14 apiece. Targanta has previously expected to pull in $86.3 million; I wrote about some of the risks inherent in the company’s plans to win FDA approval for an in-licenced antibiotic called oritavancin that it hasn’t even tested itself here.

So far, Targanta seems to have managed to assure investors that it can overcome those challenges, which include some potentially strong competition from a variety of sources. Its offering will still serve as a good test of the strength of the biotech IPO market, which has been iffy for well over a year.

(UPDATED at 12:30pm PT — see below.)

Featured companies: Capnia, AutekBio, Novacta Biosystems, XLHealth, Leprechaun, Agility Healthcare Solutions, AM Pharma, Milestone Pharmaceuticals, ChanTest

Capnia names former Alza head as CEO – The tiny Palo Alto, Calif., biotech Capnia hired Ernest Mario, a storied figure in the pharma/biotech world, as its CEO. Mario was most recently chairman — and previously CEO — of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, but he’s best known for running drug giant Glaxo (now GlaxoSmithKline) and, immediately thereafter, helming Alza for eight years until Johnson & Johnson acquired it for $10.5 billion in 2001.

Ever since his Alza experience, however, Mario has kind of been hopskotching his way across the industry. He headed Apothogen for four months until it was acquired by IntraBiotics (now Ardea Biosciences), then ran the combined company for a year before skipping to Reliant. Needless to say, the Alza lightning hasn’t yet struck twice.

Capnia’s interesting strategy is to develop drugs that can be delivered as a gas, presumably to be breathed in through the lungs. The company’s lead product, Capella, aims to treat migraines and nasal inflammation such as hay fever, and is currently in mid-stage testing.

Here’s the take on Capella from VentureWire (subscription required):

Capnia uses a gas dispenser to administer carbon dioxide into the nose. The company contends that this may be a safe and effective way to quickly relieve pain caused by migraine attacks and stuffy nose caused by allergies to pollen or environmental things like dust mites or pets. The company has conducted multiple Phase II studies in migraines and rhinitis and is planning additional Phase II trials, said Graham Crooke, managing partner of Asset Management Co.

Biologics manufacturer AutekBio raises $1.1M — AutekBio, a Silicon Valley-Chinese hybrid with its headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., and operations in Beijing, raised $1.1 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports. Acorn Campus Ventures and Desert Spring Life Sciences Capital led the round.

The company is a biological contract manufacturer that cultures genetically engineered cell lines for biotech and pharmaceutical concerns. AutekBio plans to raise a larger $10 million round in early 2008, according to VentureWire.

Novacta Bio raises $827K for new antibiotics — U.K.-based Novacta Biosystems, an antibiotic developer in Welwyn Garden City, England, raised $827,000 (€600,000). Investors in the round included Esperante, Westgate Hall, GEIF Ventures and Oxford Technology 4 VCT. Novacta is developing drugs to treat hospital-acquired infections, which are often resistant to standard antibiotics. Its lead candidate, for C. difficile infections, hasn’t yet been tested in humans.

Healthcare specialist XLHealth raises $290M, acquires Leprechaun — XLHealth, a private-equity backed healthcare-services company in Baltimore, raised $290 million in debt and equity and used part of the proceeds to acquire Leprechaun, a provider of healthcare-technology services based in Fort Worth, Texas. Funding was provided by MatlinPatterson Global Advisors, a private-equity firm. XLHealth says it is focused on improving the care of chronically ill seniors.

RFID patient-tracker Agility Healthcare raises $2M in debt — Agility Healthcare Solutions, a Richmond, Va., developer of patient-tracking systems utilizing RFID chips, closed a $2 million “credit facility” that supplements an earlier $6.25 million first funding round it raised in February. Square 1 Bank provided the loan.

Dutch biotech AM Pharma raises $3.4 million against infection and inflammation — AM Pharma, a biotech based in Bunnik, the Netherlands, raised $3.4 million (€2 million) in bridge financing. The company’s two main investors, Forbion Capital Partners and Inventages Venture Capital, provided the funding. AM Pharma is primed to begin raising a third round of funds; its lead drug candidates are respectively in mid- and early-stage human tests against kidney failure, ulcerative colitis and hospital-acquired infections.

Milestone Pharmaceuticals raises $2.6M against inflammation and heart disease — Montreal’s Milestone Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing drugs against inflammation and heart disease, raised $2.6 million (C$2.75 million) toward its first funding round, VentureWire reports. Investors included MSBI Capital, Fonds Bio-Innovation and an undisclosed individual investor.

Cleveland’s ChanTest draws funds from Ampersand — ChanTest, a Cleveland, Ohio, developer of cell-based tests for drug safety, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from private-equity firm Ampersand Ventures. The company said the funding would support “strategic investments.”

From the company’s press release:

ChanTest’s primary focus is on a family of proteins known as ion channels. There are 400 genes encoding ion channels in the human genome, and countless more can be assembled from this gene collection. These ion channels may either represent targets for new drug development, or unintended targets that can result in unwanted side effects from new drugs. ChanTest pioneered the development of functional, cell-based ion channel testing as a means to predict cardiac side effects produced by non-cardiac drugs. Such testing is now a standard component of regulatory submissions prior to approval of drugs in humans.

UPDATE (11:05am PT): Added items on Novacta, XLHealth/Leprechaun and Agility Healthcare.

UPDATE, TAKE TWO (12:30pm PT): Added items on AM Pharma, Milestone Pharmaceuticals and ChanTest.

BioRelix, a New Haven, Conn., developer of new antibiotics, raised $25.75 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The round included New Leaf Venture Partners, Aisling Capital, CHL Medical Partners, Novartis Venture Fund, Elm Street Ventures and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

BioRelix is developing antibiotics that target what the company says are common stretches of bacterial RNA that control many functions essential for bacterial survival. The funding should allow the company to push a drug candidate into human tests by late 2009 or early 2010, its interim CEO told VentureWire.

Targanta Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass. drug developer at work on a new generation of antibiotics, hopes to raise $86.3 million in an initial offering, according to an SEC filing. The company didn’t specify how many shares it plans to offer or what price it hopes they fetch.

Formerly known as PhageTech, Targanta moved its headquarters to Cambridge from Montreal last year. At about the same time, it brought on a new CEO, Mark Leuchtenberger, whose previous Boston-area company, Therion Biologics, cratered a year ago when its cancer vaccine for melanoma failed. Therion’s former CFO, George Eldridge, assumed the same job at Targanta in February.

The company’s lead drug candidate, oritavancin, is an intravenous antibiotic intended for treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections. It has been tested against skin and “skin structure” infections as well as bacteremia, an infection of the blood, and is intended to supplant vancomycin, a generic antibiotic that is starting to lose potency against resistant bacterial strains.

Targanta’s S-1, however, makes for some interesting reading. Oritavancin was originally developed by Lilly, which subsequently licensed it to InterMune. Targanta acquired the rights to the drug in late 2005. Its two late-stage “phase III” tests in skin and skin-structure infections were conducted by Lilly and InterMune, despite which Targanta doesn’t envision filing for FDA approval until the beginning of next year.

Oritavancin also faces the prospect of serious competition from existing antibiotics, including vancomycin, Cubist Pharmaceuticals‘ Cubicin (daptomycin), and Pfizer’s Zyvox (linezolid). More potential rivals are on their way — the S-1 names Pfizer’s Zeven (dalbavancin), Theravance’s telavancin, Johnson & Johnson’s ceftobiprole and iclaprim from Arpida. Sounds like things could be pretty crowded by the time oritavancin makes it through the FDA.

This is all straight from the “Risk Factors” section of the S-1, where companies routinely exaggerate any conceivable risk to their future business, so you may want to take it with a grain of salt. The company’s venture backers — in February, it raised a $70 million third round — certainly appear to have done so. Still, it’s unusual to see a company file for an IPO in a soft market for biotech offerings with an in-licensed pipeline and so many real and potential competitors hanging around. We’ll see if investors are willing to overlook this stuff, although I suspect this offering might make them just a little nervous.