VentureBeat

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• CyberHeart pumps in $9M for cardiac-arrhythmia treatment (release)
• Incubator ForSight launches third device company with $6M funding (release)
• Primera Biosystems raises $21M for molecular diagnostics (release)
• Biogen Idec, PDL BioPharma take stakes in Ophthotech (release)
• Technitrol acquires medical-device component maker Sonion for $385M (release)
• DLJ Merchant Banking takes control of dentristy-product maker Den-Mat (release)
• SV Life Sciences appoints Hamish Cameron as venture partner (release)

CyberHeart pumps in $9M for cardiac-arrhythmia treatment – CyberHeart, a Menlo Park, Calif., startup developing a non-invasive treatment for heart arrhythmias, raised $9 million in a first funding round. Investors included Emergent Medical Ventures, United Investments, Venture Select and Mitsubishi.

Arrythmias, which are irregular heartbeats often caused by a malfunction in the heart’s electrical-signaling system, are often treated via a catheter-based procedure that burns away tissue where the unusual rhythms originate. CyberHeart is working on hardware and software modifications for the CyberKnife system, a robotic radiosurgery device produced by Accuray, in order to extend its use in heart applications. In other words, CyberHeart’s adaptations will, if all goes well, allow doctors to perform the same sort of procedure non-invasively with the CyberKnife, an external radiation device that is supposed to deliver high-energy beams with submillimeter accuracy.

Incubator ForSight launches third device company with $6M funding – ForSight Labs, a medical-device incubator in Menlo Park, Calif., founded its third company, ForSight VISION3 and announced that it had raised $6 million in a first funding round. Investors included Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Versant Ventures — all of whom, coincidentally, back ForSight as well.

ForSight hasn’t disclosed anything about the technology or approach that the new company will take, and in fact often remains secretive about its incubated companies for quite some time. In fact, the incubator sold its second company to QLT for $42 million plus milestone payments last October — a time the startup was known only as ForSight NewCo II.

Primera Biosystems raises $21M for molecular diagnostics – Mansfield, Mass.-based Primera Biosystems, a biotech developing molecular diagnostics, raised $21 million in a second funding round. Investors included Abingworth, Interwest Partners, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation, MPM Capital, Burrill & Co. and the Invus Group.

Primera’s gene-analysis system, which it calls STAR (short for “scalable transcription analysis routine”), is designed to read the activity of up to 100 genes at once with much greater sensitivity and precision than existing microarray technologies permit. The company plans to use the funding to complete development of its system, design future diagnostic tests in cancer and infectious disease, and produce test kits for clinical research.

Featured companies: AngioScore, Forsight Labs, Genoptix, Metastatix, Optherion, QLT

UPDATED: See below.

Artery opener AngioScore pulls in $30M — AngioScore, a Fremont, Calif., maker of balloon catheters used to open up clogged arteries, raised $30 million in a fifth funding round. Investors included Telegraph Hill Partners, Psilos Group Management, QuestMark Partners, L.P., UV Partners, California Technology Ventures and Innomed Ventures.

AngioScore’s balloon catheters, which inflate inside blocked blood vessels to restore blood flow, are designed to overcome problems that sometimes occur during traditional angioplasty procedures. Conventional angioplasty can lead to tears and splits in the plaque that lines blocked arteries and can damage arterial walls as well. AngioScore claims its new catheter overcomes this problem by making precise cuts, or “scores,” in the plaque, thereby reducing the chance that it will crack and split unpredictably.

Optherion raises $37M for macular degeneration — New Haven, Conn.-based Optherion, a biotech focused on new treatments for forms of the eye condition macular degeneration, raised $37 million in a first funding round. Investors included Quaker BioVentures, Domain Associates, Johnson & Johnson Development, Purdue Pharmaceutical Products, Pappas Ventures, Biogen Idec New Ventures and GE Healthcare Financial Services.

Optherion is developing drugs that affect the “alternative complement pathway,” an arm of the immune system that may be implicated in two forms of macular degeneration, an eye condition that can lead to partial blindness, and possibly other autoimmune disorders as well. The company was founded in 2005 following discoveries that linked the alternative-complement system to macular degeneration.

Metastatix draws $35M for low-side-effect drugs — Atlanta’s Metastatix, a biotech working on drugs for AIDS, cancer and inflammatory disease, raised $35 million in a second financing round. Investors included Frazier Healthcare, H.I.G. Ventures, the Aurora Funds, CM Capital, SR One, MedImmune Ventures, Georgia Venture Partners, Centrosome Ventures and the State of Georgia.

Metastatix is developing drugs that block a cellular receptor called CXCR4, which is best known as one of the two ways HIV can enter and infect cells. CXCR4 may also be involved in cancer and inflammation. Metastatix says it is particularly focused on drug candidates with the “fewest possible side effects.”

Optical-device incubator Forsight Labs sells unnamed “newco” to QLT for $42M+ — Forsight Labs, an incubator for optical-device companies backed by Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Versant Ventures, agreed to sell its second, unnamed startup to QLT for $42 million plus milestone payments that could be worth $25 million or more. The startup, known only as ForSight NewCo II, has developed a new type of ocular drug-delivery system that could potentially be used to treat a variety of conditions including glaucoma. The release describing the deal is here.

Diagnostic-services company Genoptix sets IPO terms, aims for $92M — The Carlsbad, Calif., provider of cancer and blood-disease diagnostic services, said it plans to sell up to 5.75 million shares at a price of $14 to $16 apiece, for a maximum possible take of $92 million. The company’s SEC filing is here. We covered the company in some detail at the time of its IPO filing here.

UPDATE: Added items on Metastatix and Optherion.