Life-science briefing: Tuesday, April 8, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
AGI Dermatics takes in $5M for skincare products (release)
Myconostica raises £3.9 for fungal diagnostics (GenomeWeb)
Germany’s Noxxon gets €1M grant for aptamer drugs (release)
AGI Dermatics takes in $5M for skincare products – Freeport, N.Y.-based AGI Dermatics, a startup concentrated on skincare products, raised $5 million in a new funding round. Investors included Trevi Health Ventures and Spring Mountain Capital.
AGI makes cosmetic ingredients and is working on developing topical pharmaceutical lotions as well. Its leading drug candidate… Continue Reading
Noxxon Pharma draws $50M for aptamer drugs
Noxxon Pharma, a Berlin-based biotech, raised 37 million euros ($50 million) to help push its first aptamer-based drug candidates for kidney and eye disease into clinical trials.
The main new investors included TVM Capital, Sofinnova Partners, and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Aptamers are short stretches of DNA or RNA — generally known as oligonucleotides — that are designed specifically via an evolution-style process to latch onto a specific protein or other biological target. Because their drug… Continue Reading