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Wisair, an Israeli ultra-wideband firm, has raised a large round of funding and says it’s gearing up to deliver more wireless USB products to the market, a technology that could cut down on the clutter of wires on the average computer user’s desk.

USB is the standard connection for most electronics that you hook up to your computer, among them cameras and MP3 players, and some equipment like the keyboard and mouse. Wired USB hasn’t been replaced by a technology like Bluetooth because wired connections provide much higher data transfer rates than any wireless product currently on the market can support.

Wireless USB technology makes use of ultra-wideband, a radio standard that’s short range but has very high bandwidth, reaching speeds of nearly 500 megabytes per second in perfect conditions. That’s plenty for any regular data transfer.

However, there’s competition from every angle. Aside from other ultra-wideband startups like Artimi and Tzero (coverage here and here), companies making Bluetooth-capable electronics are using UWB to make it more competitive, and next-generation WiFi technologies are also catching up.

Wisair’s current product is a pair of dongles, one of which connects to a device and the other to your computer, which can then communicate with each other. To continue being competitive in the future, the company will likely have to miniaturize further and convince electronics companies to include WUSB in their products.

The $24 million funding was led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, a private equity fund. Also participating were new investors Advent Venture Partners, Bridge Capital Fund of Japan and Yasuda Ventures, and existing investors Apex Partners, Broadcom, Intel Capital, Vertex, and the Zisapel brothers.

Featured companies: Enobia, F-star, N Spine, Omni Life Science

Enobia splints together $38M for bone disorders — Montreal’s Enobia, a biotech focused on aiming drugs specifically at bone diseases, raised C$40.1 million ($38 million) in a second funding round. Investors included OrbiMed Advisors, CTI Life Sciences Fund, the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, Desjardins Venture Capital, Lothian Partners and T2C2/Bio 2000.

Enobia intends to deliver bone-related drugs directly to bone tissue in order to reduce both dosages and possible side effects. Its first drug candidate targets hypophosphatasia, a genetic disease in which bones fail to absorb minerals correctly because an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase is mutated and fails to work properly. The condition can cause stunted growth and weak or deformed bones, and in its most severe forms can be fatal.

Enobia’s drug is a bone-targeted form of alkaline phosphatase designed to make up for the defective form of the enzyme. The company said the new funding will allow it to take its experimental drug through mid-stage clinical trials.

Orthopedics-device maker Omni Life Science raises $5M in debt — Raynham, Mass.-based Omni Life Science, a maker of hip- and knee-replacement implants, raised $5 million of a planned $12 million convertible-note round, VentureWire reports (subscription required), citing a regulatory filing. Investors including Apex Partners provided the funding.

Omni was founded in 1998 as an orthopedics-device company, but the products it currently sells mostly appear to have originated with Apex Surgical, which Omni acquired in 2005. VentureWire notes that Apex Partners is also located in Raynham, Mass., and is not related to a Florida firm of the same name.

Antibody maker F-star gets €6M — Vienna-based F-star, a developer of “modular” synthetic antibodies for use as drugs, raised €6 million ($8.3 million) in a first funding round. Aescap Venture and Atlas Venture provided the funding.

All told, F-star has raised €10 million to date. The company uses a vast library of antibody features to engineer the large molecules in new ways, potentially yielding smaller antibody fragments that retain the functionality of their larger counterparts or adding additional features to existing antibodies. There’s more here, if you’re into antibody-structure engineering.

N Spine raises $1M for device commercialization — San Diego’s N Spine, a maker of spinal fusion and stabilization devices, raised $1 million in bridge funding, VentureWire reports. Individual investors provided the funding.

From the VentureWire story:

The new funding comes as N Spine has been building a market presence for the NFix II dynamic pedicle screw and rod system, which received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in February. “Our product has been used clinically for a year,” [chief technology officer Jude Paganelli] said. “And in the U.S., we have been selling since March.”