VentureBeat

(UPDATED: See below.)

Many infertile couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization rely on genetic screening of their fertilized embryos to improve their chances of delivering a healthy baby. But that technique, known as preimplantation genetic screening, has recently taken some hits on the scientific level, with one recent study finding that it not only fails to improve fertility rates, but may actually worsen the odds for older women. (See this WSJ story for details.)

For one thing, the procedure itself, in which a single cell is removed from a three-day-old embryo for testing, may actually damage the embryo. Other problems may result if the DNA from that cell can’t be fully “amplified” (that is, duplicated a number of times) in order to yield enough genetic material for testing. And some scientists question whether testing for abnormal numbers of chromosomes — a condition known as aneuploidy — really yields benefits for anyone but women who have suffered multiple miscarriages.

In any event, there seems little doubt that many couples would welcome any development that improves the accuracy and efficacy of preimplanation screening. Which, it turns out, is exactly what Gene Security Network, a Portola Valley, Calif., biotech, hopes to offer soon — even though it only appears to address some of those concerns.

GSN says it has developed a technique that allows for highly accurate testing for both aneuploidy and a number of genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis using DNA from a single cell. The company hasn’t explained its technology in detail, but says it relies on “advanced informatics” and existing gene maps such as that developed by the Human Genome Project to “reconstruct” embryonic DNA with high accuracy.

Following a brief conversation with Ted Driscoll, a VC at GSN backer Claremont Creek Ventures, I have a better — although still far from complete — understanding of what the company is up to. Essentially, GSN starts with genetic samples from both parents, which it can scan for the individual single-letter DNA variations associated with particular genetic diseases. Using that background information, the company can make highly educated guesses about which stretch of DNA in the embryo came from which parent, allowing GSN to “reconstruct” DNA that goes missing in the course of single-cell analysis. In turn, that makes it possible to figure out, for instance, whether the embryo has inherited two copies of a dangerous gene that could cause a disease like cystic fibrosis.

GSN says its technology will begin rolling out in IVF clinics next year. The company just raised $4M in a first funding round, which it says will allow it to commercialize its techniques. Investors in the round include Claremont Creek Ventures, Sequoia Capital, the Huntington Reproductive Center, and Marissa Mayer, a Google vice president in charge of Google Health and other search products.

UPDATED: Expanded the description of GSN’s technology based upon further reporting.

Featured companies: Akermin, Fluxion Biosciences, iCardiacTechnologies, Wellocities

UPDATED: Expanded items on Fluxion, Akermin, and Wellocities.

Fluxion Bio draws in $6.9M for cell-analysis tools — Fluxion Biosciences, a San Francisco developer of cellular-analysis tools, raised $6.9 million in a second funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Investors included Kodiak Venture Partners, Claremont Creek Ventures and Life Science Angels.

Fluxion takes the idea of running chemical reactions against living cells — a key step in screening and analyzing the activity of drug candidates — to its logical conclusion with a system designed to measure biochemical changes involving, and sometimes within, a single cell. The company’s first microfluidic system is intended to allow researchers to study cells that adhere to surfaces, such as platelets that stick to arterial walls in the formation of plaque, and biofilms, which are drug-resistant sheets excreted by bacteria for protection.

Fluxion is also working on tools for studying electrochemical signaling within cells, which the company hopes to launch next year. The current financing may also make it possible for Fluxion to launch a third instrument that will image individual cells while they float in solution. Existing cell-imaging systems only work when cells are anchored in place.

The company could be profitable as early as 2010, Fluxion executives told VentureWire. It has raised a total of $7.4 million since its founding in 2005.

Bioenzyme-catalyst co. Akermin raises $5M — Akermin, a St. Louis developer of new biocatalytic enzymes, raised $5 million in a second tranche of its first funding round. Investors included Prolog Ventures, OnPoint Technologies, Chrysalix Energy and the St. Louis Arch Angels.

Akermin works with catalytic enzymes — molecules that speed particular chemical reactions — made via biotechnology that could replace precious-metal catalysts now used in fuel cells. The company is developing prototype “biofuel cells” and thin-fuel cells the company refers to as “bio-batteries.” Enzymes should theoretically be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than metal catalysts.

Fuel cells, which could theoretically replace conventional batteries and engines in some applications, are one of those clean technologies that have been on the table for decades in one form or another. However, existing technologies generally aren’t considered cost- or energy-effective when compared to burning fossil fuels or using traditional batteries.

Akermin is part of a wave of startups working on overcoming the difficulties in making fuel cells. Another is Bloom Energy, a secretive Silicon Valley startup that has nevertheless received plenty of press.

Akermin’s technology is a polymer “stabilizer” for these enzymes that’s designed to immobilize them, stabilize them and enhance their operating lifetime. The company has raised a total of just under $8.5 million since its founding.

Online health service Wellocities draws $1M — Toronto’s Wellocities, a diabetes-focused health-information site, raised $1 million in seed funding to create a more general online health service for Canadians. XDL Capital Group provided the funding.

The company didn’t say much more about its online strategy or how it would differ from a host of new, mostly U.S.-based sites that offer everything from detailed health information to physician directories to patient communities. In diabetes, Wellocities provides an online community and ways for diabetics to track their progress in maintaining control of their weight and blood-sugar levels.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• iCardiac raises undisclosed round for electrocardiogram cardiac-risk systems (release)

Featured companies: Apex Radiology, Arcxis Biotechnologies, EKR Therapeutics, Franklin & Seidelmann, Michelson Diagnostics, SensiGen, Vascular Closure Systems

UPDATED: Expanded items on Arcxis, Vascular Closure and Archemix.

Arcxis pulls in $2M for DNA tools — Arcxis Biotechnologies, a Pleasanton, Calif., biotech tool maker focused on analysis of DNA and proteins in biological samples, raised $2 million in a follow-on to its first funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Investors included Kaiser Permanente Ventures and Claremont Creek Ventures.

Arcxis released its first product, a kit for anthrax detection, earlier this year. The company is in the process of raising a second round, which it hopes to complete by February. Arcxis previously raised $2.3 million from Claremont Creek in 2006.

Vascular Closure raises seed funding to close femoral-artery punctures — Palo Alto, Calif.-based Vascular Closure Systems, a medical-device maker focused on ways to close up the surgical punctures caused by minimally invasive heart procedures, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding. The company didn’t disclose its investors.

Vascular’s technology, which the company doesn’t describe in detail, aims to make blood-vessel punctures more cost effective as well as easier for surgeons to learn and use. The device apparently comes in bioabsorbable, removable, and permanent-sealing designs. Such punctures are often used in heart procedures such as inserting stents to prop open blocked vessels; those devices are frequently put in place using a catheter that is threaded up through the femoral artery.

Aptamer-drug maker Archemix sets IPO range, aims for $72.5M take — Cambridge, Mass.-based Archemix, a developer of drugs based on nucleic-acid fragments called aptamers, raised its IPO sites and now plans to raise as much as $72.5 million. Archemix had previously outlined a $69 million IPO in July; our coverage is here.

The company now plans to offer up to 5.2 million shares at $12 to $14 apiece. The offering could value Archemix at as much as $261.2 million, which PE Hub notes is “virtually identical” to the company’s valuation at the end of its last VC round.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• Michelson Diagnostics gets £600K for tumor imaging (VentureWire)
• Franklin & Seidelmann acquires Apex Radiology, expands into full-service teleradiology(release)
• Specialty pharma EKR Therapeutics arranged debt facility (release)
• SensiGen draws $300K for molecular diagnostics (release)

ShotSpotter, a Santa Clara, CA, company that enables police departments and the military to locate the precise source of gunfire, has raised $12 million in its third round of financing.

The technology, which is deployed in neighborhoods throughout 15 American cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland, and DC, enabled the capture of a top-10 most wanted fugitive, provided the first physical evidence in the Ohio sniper case, and caused a decrease in gunfire by some 60 to 80 percent in the areas in which it has been used, according to the company.

When a gun goes off, wireless sensors spread throughout a neighborhood register the instant the sound wave reaches them, using GPS to pinpoint the moment to within 20 nanoseconds. The sensors then transmit the timing data to a server within the police department’s control. This server makes the calculations necessary to triangulate the source of the sound and, within 5-10 seconds of the shot being fired, specially-equipped police cars on patrol get both the precise origin of the shot and a playback of its audio signature, allowing the officers to determine how many shots were fired and make a tactical decision from there.

Considering that only approximately one in five instances of gunfire go reported, and that these reports usually come only 3-5 minutes after the fact, the usefulness of ShotSpotter’s technology, which registers every instance of gun fire and reports it in nearly real-time, is obvious.

This is also clear in military applications, where even five seconds is a long time. ShotSpotter’s Chief Executive Officer, James Beldock, said he can’t discuss much about its relationship with the Department of Defense, but did say that the marines are using the technology in Iraq, and that it works with unmanned aerial vehicles that can point a camera directly at the source of the gunfire almost the instant shots go off.

This gets us to thinking: Had ShotSpotter’s technology been deployed in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963, maybe we’d know for sure if there had been a second gunner on the grassy knoll..

Levensohn Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by Labrador Ventures, Claremont Creek Ventures, City Light Capital and first-round leader Lauder Partners. We covered an earlier round of funding here.