Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Amira Pharma strikes GSK partnership on lung, heart drugs worth up to $425M (release)
Wolters Kluwer Health takes stake in Logical Images (release)
Gentiva Health acquires Home Health Care Affiliates for $55M (release)
Compuware buys Hilgraeve to upgrade healthcare IT (release)
Touchstone Health appoints Michael Muchnicki CEO (release)
Australia’s Xenome names Ian Nesbit as CEO (release)
Amira Pharma strikes GSK partnership on lung, heart drugs worth up to $425M – Amira Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego biotech focused on drugs for lung… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Friday, Feb. 1, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Taligen Therapeutics raises $65M for novel anti-inflammatory drugs (release)
Dental-implant maker Biohorizons acquires Implant Logic (release)
MAKO Surgical sets IPO terms, seeks $94M for knee implants and robots (Edgar)
Canada’s Medical Ventures acquires two Israeli device startups (release)
CRO Chiltern acquires Drug Development Solutions (release)
Taligen Therapeutics raises $65M for novel anti-inflammatory drugs –Aurora, Colo.-based Taligen Therapeutics, a biotech working on targeted anti-inflammatory drugs, raised $65 million in a second round of funding. The deal is one of the… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Drug-screening tool maker IonGate Bio raises €4.6M (release)
Protein-drug maker Molecular Partners gets $5M up front in Centocor deal (PDF release)
ProtaGen takes in €1M for protein biochips (PDF release)
China’s Sundia MediTech, a contract research organization raises second round (release)
Vital-signs implant maker Transoma Medical sets IPO terms, aims for $78M (Edgar)
UMD receives $1M grant for Baltimore biotech incubator (TechJournal South)
Drug-screening tool maker IonGate Bio raises €4.6M — IonGate Biosciences, a Frankfurt, Germany, developer of tools for… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Gelesis draws in $16M for obesity treatments (release)
Tempo Pharma raises $8B for nanoparticle drugs (release)
Calistoga Pharma receives additional $5M for cancer and inflammation drugs (release)
Montreux Equity Partners closes $250M life-sciences fund (release)
MTS Health Partners names Andrew Weisenfeld, Mark Epstein managing directors (release)
T2 Biosystems names John McDonough as CEO (release)
Gelesis draws in $16M for obesity treatments — Gelesis, a stealthy Boston company working on “novel” obesity treatments, raised $16 million in a first funding round…. Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Monday, Nov. 12, 2007
(UPDATED: See below.)
Featured companies: Anaptys Biosciences, Arterial Remodeling Technologies, Cambria Biosciences, CaseNet, ChemoCentryx, Ensemble Discovery, MediQuest, Piedmont Pharmaceuticals, Raven Biotechnologies, Sensys Medical, Verus Pharmaceuticals, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals
UPDATED: Expanded items on Anaptys, Arterial Remodeling, Raven Biotech, Sensys and MediQuest. Moved ChemoCentryx and Xanodyne to a separate item.
Antibody-drug maker Raven Biotech merges with VaxGen — Raven Biotechnologies, a South San Francisco biotech developing antibody drugs, is merging with the troubled, publicly held vaccine maker VaxGen. The confusingly worded release is here.
Although… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007
Featured companies: AstraZeneca, Atlantis Components, Cara Therapeutics, CardioMems, Corium International, New Ortho Polymers, Osprey Pharmaceuticals, Othera Pharmaceuticals, StrataGent Life Sciences
Corium acquires Stratagent, raises $25.1M for “transdermal” drugs — Corium International, a Menlo Park, Calif., biotech focused on drugs that can be delivered through the skin, said it will acquire StrataGent Life Sciences of San Jose, Calif., for an undisclosed sum. At the same time, Corium raised $25.1 million in a third funding round, and said it… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007
(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… Continue Reading
Reata Pharma draws $25M for cancer and inflammation drugs
Irving, Texas-based Reata Pharmaceuticals, a biotech working on new drugs to treat cancer and inflammation, raised $25 million in a fifth funding round. The round was led by existing investors, including CPMG and Novo A/S.
InCode BioPharmaceutics raises $2M to target autoimmunity
InCode BioPharmaceutics, a Lahaina, Hawaii, biotech targeting autoimmune and inflammatory disease, raised $2 million in a second funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The funding was provided by Avalon Ventures.
InCode is developing what VentureWire vaguely describes as “therapeutic uses for certain amino-acid sequences in non-human proteins,” which sounds like they’ve bioharvested some peptides from other organisms that seem to have interesting properties. The company said the funding will carry its lead compound, which it… Continue Reading
Aquinox Pharma pulls in $15M for cancer and inflammation
Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, a Vancouver drug developer, raised $14.5 million in a first funding round. Ventures West Capital led the round, joined by Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., Baker Brothers Investments and BC Advantage Funds.
Aquinox is developing drugs that inhibit a newly discovered enzyme called SHIP (for more detail, see here) that appears to play an important role in blood cancers and inflammatory diseases. The company’s lead drug candidate, AQX-MN100, is still in animal testing.
Neuromodulator Innovative Metabolics picks up $5.5M
Innovative Metabolics, a Boston developer of neuromodulation systems for “chronic disease,” raised $5.5 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The round was led by Morgenthaler Ventures, which was joined by Foundation Medical Partners.
Although the company apparently still wants to keep a low profile, it’s not too hard to make an educated guess at what it might be up to. In January, Innovative Metabolics paid $500,000 and an unspecified number of preferred… Continue Reading
Arete raises $35M for cardiovascular treatments
Arete Therapeutics, a Hayward, Calif., developer of biotech cardiovascular treatments, raised a $35 million extension to its first round of funding. Founded in 2003, the company is working on “small molecule” drugs that target a metabolism-related chain of biochemical cellular signals that involves arachidonic acid. (If that isn’t enough to make your head hurt, the company has a detailed explanation here.) Drugs that interfere with that pathway could be useful in treating high blood pressure… Continue Reading
Inflammation drug maker Conatus Pharma completes $27.5M round
Conatus Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego developer of drugs for inflammation and liver disease, closed a $22 million private placement that brings its first round of funding to $27.5 million. Investors included Aberdare Ventures, Advent Venture Partners, Bay City Capital, and Gilde Healthcare Partners.
Conatus was founded by former executives of Idun Pharmaceuticals in mid-2005 after Pfizer acquired their company. The funding will support mid-stage clinical trials of its lead compound, CTS-1027, for liver disease. The first… Continue Reading