Life sciences briefing: Monday, Jan. 7, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Surgical-device maker Aragon Surgical receives $25M (release)
Tacere Therapeutics strikes RNAi deal with Pfizer for up to $145M (release)
Benvenue Medical raises $15M for spine-repair devices (release)
Genome-association co. Genizon BioSciences draws C$31M (release)
Contract research organization Inclinix pulls in $10M (release)
EPocrates, healthcare IT developer, gets strategic investment from Goldman Sachs (release)
ZyGem closes first funding round (release)
Onset Ventures names John Ryan partner (release)
Retired Scripps immunologist Richard Ulevitch joins 5AM Ventures (release)
SV Life Sciences promotes Darren Black to partner… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007
Featured companies: American TeleCare, Gliknik, Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Medsphere Systems, Primera Biosystems
UPDATED: Expanded items on Juvaris, Medsphere, Primera, American TeleCare and Gliknik. Moved Broncus Tech and Aegerion Pharma items to an IPO roundup here.
Vaccine maker Juvaris Bio raises $12M, aims for $30M more — According to VentureWire (subscription required), this Pleasanton, Calif., vaccine maker raised $12 million in its first funding round. That appears to contradict an earlier item from PE Hub that said Juvaris BioTherapeutics had raised… Continue Reading
Tacere Therapeutics sells equity stake to Oncolys BioPharma for hepatitis-drug development
Tacere Therapeutics, a San Jose, Calif., biotech developing new RNA-based drugs, struck a partnership with Tokyo’s Oncolys BioPharma to co-develop a treatment for hepatitis C. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal.
In exchange for an undisclosed equity investment in Tacere, Oncolys will hold an option to acquire Asian rights to Tacere’s drug TT-033, which Tacere hopes to move into clinical trials late next year.
TT-033 is a drug based on a new and… Continue Reading
Biolex Therapeutics raises $30M for multiple-sclerosis treatment
Biolex Therapeutics, a Pittsboro, N.C., developer of technology for improving the properties of monoclonal antibodies, raised $30 million in a third funding round.
Biolex specializes in producing proteins that are difficult to make with existing bioengineering processes and in optimizing the biological properties of monoclonal antibodies. It is also pursuing its own experimental drug candidates, and said the proceeds of this round will serve primarily to advance Locteron, an experimental time-release form of interferon alfa, into… Continue Reading
Prosetta, antiviral-drug developer, raises $2M
Prosetta, a San Francisco developer of new antiviral therapies, raised $2 million in early financing, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The company termed the funding a “series AAA” round that has the same terms as its earlier $1 million “series A” and $5 million “series AA” financings, but different valuations. Individual investors provided the entire funding, which values the company at over $20 million.
Prosetta, founded by Vishwanath Lingappa, Jaisri Lingappa and other UCSF academics, is working… Continue Reading