Metabolex takes $8.6M to treat diabetes
Metabolex, maker of treatments for Type 2 diabetes, has raised $8.6 million in a fifth round of funding to fund trials on its newest product. Based in Hayward, Calif., the company is backed by Alta Partners, Bay City Capital, Birchmere Ventures, Charter Ventures, Merlin Biomed, Novo Ventures, Next Chapter Holdings, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Venrock and Versant Ventures.
Pain treatment maker TorreyPines saved by Raptor merger
TorreyPines Therapeutics, maker of pain management medication, has skirted failure through a $1.4 million merger deal with Raptor Therapeutics. The deal dictates that Raptor will become a full subsidiary of TorreyPines, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, but the new entity will take on the Raptor name, reports VentureWire.
Raptor will continue to advance its product pipeline, which includes treatments for Huntington’s disease. TorreyPines will do the same, continuing development on its lead drug candidates… Continue Reading
Aerovance inhales $38M for asthma drugs
Aerovance, developer of asthma medications, just brought in $38 million in a post-recapitalized third round of funding to push its lead drug candidate through a second phase of clinical trials. The company has already received $20 million, with the option of claiming the remaining $18 million as necessary.
Based in Berkeley, Calif., the company has already seen its drug, Aerovant, through the first part of second-phase trials. The company will use the new money to complete… Continue Reading
Sanarus raises $3M to battle breast cancer
Sanarus Medical, maker of a device used to diagnose and treat breast cancer, brought in $3 million in convertible note funding from existing investors, reports VentureWire. It’s currently working on a product that uses ultrasound technology to detect the early stages of the disease.
The Pleasanton, Calif. company already has several devices on the market, many of which are based on cryotechnology — basically, the freezing of small, targeted sections of breast tissue — which gives… Continue Reading
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
Dogster still has its bite despite the downturn
Dogster, the social network for dogs and their owners, just converted $425,000 in bridge funds into additional first-round financing, reports VentureWire. After a profitable 2008, raising a second round isn’t as pressing, the company says — citing a broader trend of success for sites catering to pet enthusiasts.
The San Francisco company, which also operates Catster.com, has enjoyed high advertising CPMs for a while now — with a $2 floor, CPMs on its homepage range from… Continue Reading
Intradigm closes $21.4M for cancer therapeutics
Biotech firm Intradigm has tacked an additional $2.9 million onto its second round of funding, bringing its total to $21.4 million. The new money will be used to advance its RNA interference-based line of therapeutics used to treat cancer.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company says it distinguishes itself from others pursuing RNA interference strategies by also offering technology to deliver treatment to very specific locations within the body.
Astellas Venture Management led this most recent tranche, which… Continue Reading
Arete nabs $16.7M more to treat metabolic disorders
Biotech company Arete Therapeutics brought in $16.7 million in the final tranche of a first round of funding that now totals $51 million. The Hayward, Calif.-based company will use the money to push its lead treatment for metabolic syndrome through a second phase of clinical trials. It also develops drugs for inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, focusing on an enzyme that breaks down arachidonic acid (a critical component of those ailments).
The financing round has… Continue Reading
Cancer drug developer ChemoCentryx cancels IPO
Mountain View, Calif.-based biotech firm ChemoCentryx announced that it withdrew its filing to go public, citing (as per usual) unfavorable market conditions. The company, which develops drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune ailments like Crohn’s disease, raked in $50 million from its partner GlaxoSmithKline just last month, but the downturn-prompted freeze on IPOs has yet to thaw.
While only four health care companies have been able to go public this year, the company says that the… Continue Reading
Oracle scoops up Tacit’s intellectual property
Oracle announced yesterday that it has purchased intellectual property rights from Tacit Software for an undisclosed amount. The smaller, Palo Alto, Calif.-based company makes applications for sharing knowledge across companies.
Its KnowledgeMail product, for instance, culls information from employees’ email accounts, and other sources to determine who in an organization has exprtise in which areas. Oracle plans to integrate this automatic profiling service into its own Beehive platform, which encompasses email, calendars, messaging media and online… Continue Reading
Phenomix cancels IPO, finds new lab partner
Biopharmaceuticals company Phenomix withdrew its filing to go public yesterday and right away announced a $340-million collaboration deal with Forest Laboratories. The IPO, intended to raise $86.3 million, had been pending since January.
Forest will aid the San Diego-based firm in the development of its diabetes treatment, dutogliptin, which is currently in its third phase of clinical trials. The deal represented $75 million for the company up front, with potentially more to come as the drug… Continue Reading
Intradigm lands $18.5M to advance oncology treatment
Intradigm, a biotech company that develops RNA interference treatments for cancer, announced today that it took $18.5 million in a second round of financing that included new investors Lilly Ventures, Roche Venture Fund, MP Healthcare Venture Management, and existing investors Alta Partners, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, MediBic Alliance Technology Fund and Novartis Venture Fund.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has developed an RNA interference therapy for cancer, as well as a mode for delivering it to the… Continue Reading
Xelerated raises $13 million for fast networking chips
Xelerated, a maker of networking chip sets for carriers, has raised a $13 million round from its existing investors.
Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund led the round. Others included Accel Partners, Alta Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners and Atlas Ventures.
The company said in a news release that proceeds of the round will be used to develop its network processors and Ethernet switching chips. It will also expand sales and support overseas. The company’s chips are application-specific standard… Continue Reading
Sierra Surgical raises $14.5M for female sterilization
Sierra Surgical, a medical device company in stealth mode, has raised $14.5 million in a second round of funding, according to VentureWire. Existing investors Alta Partners and De Novo Ventures providing the financing.
The only information the Palo Alto, Calif. startup has provided is that its in the female sterilization field. Sierra Surgical raised $7.1M last August.
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
Vaccsys raises $9 million for vaccine research
Vaccsys, a company that does vaccine research, has raised $9 million of a planned $18 million round from Alta Partners, Versant Venture Capital and The Column Group.
Vaccsys’s web site is here, although it’s still under construction.
Update: As part of the new funding, Vaccsys is relaunching under a new name, Immune Design, according to VentureWire.
Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, March 5, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Precision Thera merger with “blank check” Oracle Healthcare collapses (release)
Sleep Solutions takes in $21M for sleep-apnea diagnostics (release)
Trevena takes in $24M for drugs targeting G-proteins (release)
“Specialty biotech” PanGenetics gets €23M for antibody drugs (release)
Cancer-drug maker Unibioscreen pulls in €5M (release)
Danish contract manufacturer CMC Biologics raises new funding (PDF release)
Healthcare investor EDF Ventures postpones fourth fund (VentureWire)
Global TB-drug alliance names former Sanofi-Aventis exec Jerome Premmeurer as CEO (release)
Liquidia Tech names Neal Fowler as CEO (release)
(NOTE: Sorry… Continue Reading
Agami Systems takes $45M for network storage
Agami, a Sunnyvale-based storage company, has raised a further $45 million in funding, coming near to the $50 million we reported the might be seeking in November.
The company also has an option to extend the funding round, its third. Advanced Equities led, and was joined by previous investors New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins, APEX Venture Partners, Alta Partners, TIF Ventures and Duff Ackerman Goodrich, and new investor ITOCHU Corporation, as well as CEO David Stiles.
Agami… 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: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2007
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
5AM Ventures puts $3.3M into stealthy ImmunoNewco (VBLS exclusive)
NewLink Genetics raises $17M for cancer vaccine, immune drugs (VBLS exclusive)
Biochip, stem-cell biotech Minerva Bio ousts CEO Jim Czirr and sues (release)
Sonexa Therapeutics takes $30M for Alzheimer’s treatment (release)
Tissue regenerator Healionics pulls in $1.7M (release)
EGeen, clinical research organization, receives $245K (VentureWire)
Barnvet Labs, HeMemics Bio get $75K apiece from Maryland gov’t (release)
5AM Ventures puts $3.3M into new immune-related startup – I’ve moved this item to a standalone post… Continue Reading