Onyx Pharma set to buy Proteolix for up to $851M
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, developer of treatments for liver and late-stage kidney cancer, has moved to acquire Proteolix, provider of a technology that can accelerate the death of cancer cells, for as much as $851 million. Emeryville, Calif.-based Onyx says it wants to incorporate this component, which has proved less toxic and more effective in patients, into its current offerings.
When the deal closes, South San Francisco-based Proteolix will receive $276 million in cash, with the option of… Continue Reading
Visage Mobile returns from the dead to focus on corporate phone management
Visage Mobile, former maker of software for mobile virtual network operators, unraveled a while ago, selling off most of its assets despite raising upwards of $90 million in venture capital. But now it’s reemerged with a new $2 million and a new business plan — software to help IT directors manage their employees’ mobile phones, reports VentureWire.
By recapitalizing, the San Francisco company was able to buy out its past investors that objected to its rebranding…. Continue Reading
Coskata looks to stimulus to finish commercial biofuel plant
Even though cellulosic ethanol maker Coskata just brought in $40 million in a third round of funding in November, it needs more to finish off its new commercial-scale plant — and the government stimulus package for biofuels looks like just the ticket.
Chief executive Bill Roe told VentureWire that Coskata is “very optimistic” about its chances of receiving the low-interest loans and loan guarantees from the Department of Energy soon. [Update: Previously, this post stated that… Continue Reading
CaliSolar shines with $60M for photovoltaic cells
CaliSolar, a Sunnyvale, Calif. maker of solar cells has brought in $60 million in equity, rights and securities, reports VentureWire. This is a good amount for a company that just landed $101.8 million in November. It plans to use the new financing for a plant that makes cells out of metallurgical-grade silicon — a much cheaper material than pure silicon.
Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners provided the recent round.
Ardian pumps in $47M for high blood pressure device
Ardian , developer of a device that could help treat high blood pressure, has brought in $47 million in a third round of funding led by Medtronic and including Emergent Medical Partners , Advanced Technology Ventures , Morgenthaler Ventures and Split Rock Partners .
Based in Palo Alto, the company claims that its technology relieves hypertension and risk of coronary disease or stroke to a greater degree than drug treatments like ACE inhibitors and beta blockers.
Ardian… Continue Reading
Digital storage provider Omneon calls off IPO
Omneon, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based provider of digital content storage and data processing services for media companies, announced that it has canceled its $115 million filing to go public due to poor market conditions. Its application had been in the hopper since December 2006.
The company has raised $105 million in capital to date from Norwest Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, Invesco Private Capital and Lucent Ventures.
Medical device maker Emphasys on the auction block
Emphasys Medical, maker of a valve that diverts air to only the healthy parts of lungs in emphysema patients, has put itself up for sale after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its lead product in December. This is the second relatively recent defeat for the Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which had to withdraw its IPO filing last May. Since then, all but five of its 50 employees have been laid off.
Founded in 2000, Emphasys… Continue Reading
Ardian nabs $30M to treat heart failure
Ardian, maker of a device used to treat symptoms of congestive heart failure, just brought in $30 million of an anticipated $60 million third round of capital, according to peHUB. Backers of the Menlo Park, Calif. company include Advanced Technology Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures and St. Paul Venture Capital. It previously raised $18 million.
Founded in 2003, the tiny, web site-less firm was initially incubated at the Foundry.
Plexxikon teams up with Roche, eyes $335M to fight kidney disease
Pharmaceutical company Plexxikon has joined forces with health care giant Roche for at least $60 million to develop a treatment for polycystic kidney disease, commonly called PKD. Under the terms of the deal, Roche will have full global rights to commercialize and market the compound, and several other related drug candidates. In exchange (on top of the $60 million upfront), Plexxikon will be able to earn up to $275 million as it achieves various milestones…. Continue Reading
Strengthened by partnerships, cellulosic ethanol maker Coskata raises more money
The cellulosic ethanol company Coskata has managed to pull in a $40 million third investment round despite the recession. The amount is a significant boost for the company, which last took money early this year.
Coskata is becoming something of a standout among the newest generation of ethanol makers, by virtue of its ability to draw attention from larger corporations. Whether because of its technology or simply having excellent connections (or both), it has scored both… Continue Reading
CaliSolar raises over $100M for planned “dirty” silicon cell factory
There’s a shortage of the pure silicon used to make solar cells, but Sunnyvale, Calif-based CaliSolar doesn’t care. There’s plenty of the less refined stuff — what’s called metallurgical grade silicon — that the company says it can use in its own proprietary cells to generate electricity.
Using metallurgical silicon has more than one advantage. Not only will CaliSolar be able to get around the supply bottlenecks that every traditional photovoltaics manufacturer in the world is… Continue Reading
What to expect from cleantech in the downturn
[Editor's note: This is an Op-Ed piece by Todd Kimmel, a principal at venture capital firm Advanced Technology Ventures. Kimmel was previously an entrepreneur-in-residence at ATV, which led him to co-found Coskata, one of the most promising cellulosic ethanol startups on the market, in 2006. Early this year, he moved back to ATV to focus on cleantech investment.]
Traditionally, summer in Silicon Valley is a slower time, but this wasn’t the case with summer 2008. According… Continue Reading
Anagran gets $8.6 million for network traffic management
Anagran, a Sunnyvale, Calif. company that builds “flow management” products to help handle traffic on Internet service provider (ISP) and corporate networks, has taken $8.6 million in a fourth funding round.
Fairly often, flow management simply means handling peer to peer (P2P) traffic between users. The company’s first product, the FR-1000 Flow Router, is well known for being one of the tools companies like Comcast use to slow down P2P — a contentious issue, but profitable… Continue Reading
Packet Design takes $12M, likely the final round
Network routing and traffic analysis equipment maker Packet Design has raised a fourth round of funding, according to VentureWire.
This round, which Packet Design expects to be its last, will be used expand internationally.
This $12 million round following a $7.5 million third round secured in late 2006. An acquisition is the likely end game given the poor state of the IPO market, Packet Design board member Wes Raffel told VentureWire.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company was first… Continue Reading
Proteolix raises $79M for cancer treatment
Proteolix, which is developing drugs to treat cancer by disrupting key cell functions, has raised $79 million in a third round of funding, according to VentureWire. That’s the third largest biotech funding this year.
Nomura Phase4 Ventures, a new investor, led the round, with participation from new backer Westfield Capital Management and existing investors Advanced Technology Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners and Vertical Group.
The new funding should allow South San Francisco-based Proteolix… Continue Reading
E-Commerce marketing co. ChannelAdvisor raises cash, trims staff
ChannelAdvisor, a company that lets online retailers manage product marketing across marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon.com, Overstock.com and a series of shopping comparison sites, has raised an additional $20 million, VentureWire reports. The company has also laid off 70 of the company’s 350 employees — including four vice presidents.
According to CEO Scott Wingo in the article, ChannelAdvisor’s revenue has grown more than 55 percent and has more than 5,500 customers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and… Continue Reading
Low cost, super-efficient solar cells? Newly funded, Wakonda Technologies says it’s possible
In the solar cell market, there are three broad categories. Thin-film manufacturers produce cells that convert little of the sun’s energy to electricity, but are dirt cheap. Opposite thin-film, companies like Spectrolab and Emcore make highly efficient, but very expensive cells. Between are the standard solar photovoltaic makers, with average efficiencies, and average prices.
The result is a pricing balance that gives each group a slice of the overall market. But what if it were possible… Continue Reading
Nuventix raises $14M for LED and electronics cooling technology
Austin, Texas-based Nuventix, which makes low cost, energy-efficient cooling technology for LEDs and consumer electronics, has received $14 million in third round funding led by Advanced Technology Ventures. Braemar Energy Ventures also joined the round.
The firm will use the proceeds to expand its range of LED cooling devices and to move into new markets. Its Synjet module uses pulses of air for rapid, precise spot cooling and thermal management. Nuventix says its high thermal efficiency… Continue Reading
Cardio drug maker Portola Pharmaceuticals takes $60M extension
San Francisco-based drug company Portola Pharmaceuticals has taken a $60 million extension to its third round of funding to see it through Phase II trials for betrixaban, a drug intended to prevent blood clots.
The company is also working on an antiplatelet agent called PRT060128. If its drugs do well in trials, the company will likely head to an IPO, as we reported alongside its last $70 million fundung.
Managing Application Performance by Understanding Applications Learn more,… Continue Reading
Motorola buys into industrial wireless with Apprion investment
Apprion, a Moffet Field, Calif. company that makes wireless integration systems for harsh environments like industrial plants, has raised a new round of funding led by a strategic investment from cellular giant Motorola.
Plants are a little different from your standard wireless environment — temperature extremes, toxic chemicals and dangerous equipment are all par for the course, and the average worker isn’t exactly lugging around a laptop. That being the case, the requirements for networking are… Continue Reading