VentureBeat

Featured companies: Ablynx, Cardiosolutions, Carigent Thereapeutics, Elusys, Genome Corp., GlobeImmune, Novazone, Targanta Therapeutics, Waterfront Media

UPDATED at 5:45am on 9/27/07

GlobeImmune raises $41M for immune-system therapies — GlobeImmune, a Louisville, Colo., biotech focused on new forms of immunotherapy to treat viral infections and cancer, raised $41.2 million in a third funding round. Investors included Wexford Capital, Celgene, the Mellon Family Investment Company, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Eminent Venture Capital, Boston Life Science Venture, WRF Capital, HealthCare Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Sequel Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Medica Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, Biogen Idec, Pac-Link Bioventures, China Investment and Development, Yasuda Enterprise Development, Partners Healthcare, and GC&H Investments.

GlobeImmune’s experimental drugs are based on genetically engineered yeast cells, which have been altered to produce proteins that stimulate the immune system to attack diseased cells. The company’s lead product targets hepatitis C, and has completed early-stage human trials. Another drug is intended for use in pancreatic cancer.

Waterfront Media pulls in $25M for online health info — New York’s Waterfront Media, which bills itself as the largest privately held provider of online health information, raised $25 million in a fourth round of funding. Investors included Scale Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, Rho Ventures, Time Warner Ventures, BEV Capital, and Neocarta Ventures.

Waterfront said it will use the funds to expand its Everyday Health Network, a health-information portal, and to make acquisitions in the goal of becoming the “number one health destination” on the Web.

Novazone seeks $20M for food-safety tech — Novazone, a Livermore, Calif., developer of food-safety technology, is looking to raise $20 million in a third funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Novazone is developing an ozone-based disinfectant for food and water purification. The company previously raised $7 million in 2006 from Chrysalix Energy, Foundation Capital and Grauer Capital.

Cardiosolutions raises $7M for heart device — Stoughton, Mass.-based Cardiosolutions, a medical-device maker focused on minimally invasive repairs to the heart’s mitral valve, raised $7 million in a first funding round. BioVentures Investors led the round.

The company’s device is intended to restore function to the valve that separates the two left chambers of the heart without open-heart surgery. Cardiosolutions was founded in 2006 by STD Med, a Stoughton-based medical-technology firm.

Elusys wins $12M contract for anthrax treatment — Pine Brook, N.J.-based Elusys, a biotech focused on antibody-based treatments for infectious disease, won a $12 million federal contract that will support development of its anthrax treatment Anthim. That treatment targets the so-called “protective antigen” component of anthrax, theoretically blocking the bacteria’s ability to produce fatal levels of toxin.

Ablynx wins €1.9M grant for miniature antibodies — Belgium’s Ablynx, a biotech working to devise new therapies using miniature antibody molecules, received a €1.9 million ($2.6 million) grant from the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders. The company said the funding would allow it to pursue new uses for its “nanobodies” and to expand its intellectual-property portfolio.

Genome Corp. raises $250K for new sequencing technology — Providence, R.I.-based Genome Corp. raised $250,000 in seed financing to extend development of a new high-speed DNA sequencing technology. The Slater Technology Fund provided the financing.

Nanotech-drug developer Carigent Therapeutics raises seed funding — Yale spinout Carigent Therapeutics, a New Haven, Conn., biotech working on a nanoparticle-based drug technology, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, VentureWire reports. Saint Simeon Marketing e Investimentos provided the funding in May.

The idea is that engineered nanoparticles can specifically target particular proteins, theoretically making them ideal “carriers” for other drug molecules that attack cancer, infectious pathogens or other other disease-related substances. The company has also secured $250,000 in grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National Science Foundation, and plans to target cancer with its first product, it told VentureWire.

Antibiotic maker Targanta sets IPO price range — Cambridge, Mass.-based antibiotic developer Targanta Therapeutics said it now hopes to raise up to $92.6 million in an IPO by selling shares at a price of $12 to $14 apiece. Targanta has previously expected to pull in $86.3 million; I wrote about some of the risks inherent in the company’s plans to win FDA approval for an in-licenced antibiotic called oritavancin that it hasn’t even tested itself here.

So far, Targanta seems to have managed to assure investors that it can overcome those challenges, which include some potentially strong competition from a variety of sources. Its offering will still serve as a good test of the strength of the biotech IPO market, which has been iffy for well over a year.

(UPDATED at 6:40pm PT: See below.)

Featured companies: Nereus Phramaceuticals, KFx Medical, NeuroMed Pharmaceuticals, Adnexus Therapeutics, Masimo, Biofisica, Aegera Therapeutics, LymphoSign, InfuScience, Palmetto Infusion Services

Nereus Pharma raises $45M for ocean-derived cancer drugs — San Diego’s Nereus Pharmaceuticals, a biotech that searches for cancer drugs in marine microbes, raised $45 million in a follow-on to its fourth funding round.

The company features an all-star lineup of investors, which includes BankInvest, Roche Venture Fund, Astellas Venture Management, Boston Life Science Venture Corporation, Taiwan Global Biofund, Eminent Venture Capital, HBM BioVentures, Alta Partners, Forward Ventures, Advent International, GIMV, InterWest Partners and Pacific Venture Group.

From the press release:

The proceeds from the financing will be drawn down in two tranches and used to complete Phase I and begin Phase II clinical trials for Nereus’ two drug candidates. The first compound, NPI-2358, is being evaluated for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphomas in Phase I clinical trials. It is a potent, selective tumor vascular disrupting agent (VDA), a class of compounds that represents a novel approach to disrupting the intrinsic tumor blood flow, which leads to tumor cell death. NPI-2358 has favorable preclinical characteristics, such as a longer duration of action on tumor blood flow, activity against multi-drug resistant tumor cell lines and a favorable preclinical toxicology profile. The compound is one of 200 analogues that were produced after finding activity and novel chemistry from a marine fungal extract.

Nereus’ proteasome inhibitor NPI-0052 is in Phase I trials for solid tumors, lymphomas and multiple myeloma. Preclinical studies indicate that this next generation compound may be superior to Velcade(R), with broader target inhibition, faster onset of action, higher potency, oral and intravenous availability, and activity against myeloma cells resistant to Velcade(R) (bortezomib, Millennium), Thalomid(R) (thalidomide, Celgene Corporation), Revlimid(R) (lenalidomide, Celgene Corporation) and steroid therapy. NPI-0052 was derived from a marine-obligate gram-positive actinomycete (Salinispora tropica).

Rotator-cuff specialist KFx Medical raises $10M — San Diego’s KFx Medical, a Carlsbad, Calif., developer of minimally invasive repair systems for rotator-cuff injuries, raised $10 million in a second funding round. Investors included Alloy Ventures, Charter Life Sciences, Arboretum Ventures, Montreux Equity Partners, and MB Venture Partners.

It’s pretty difficult for a non-surgeon to figure out exactly how KFx’s system works better than current medical practice, but if you’re interested in a look, check it out here.

NeuroMed Pharma drops Merck work on pain drug, raises $36M — Vancouver-based NeuroMed Pharmaceuticals, a biotech focused on new pain meds, discontinued Merck-funded work on an experimental pain drug called MK-6721. The Merck collaboration, valued at as much as $475 million, will continue.

Separately, NeuroMed has raised $36 million toward a fifth funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). That round isn’t yet complete, and the investors haven’t been disclosed. The funding is designed to pay for completing late-stage human trials of a separate pain drug the company recently licensed from a J&J subsidiary.

Adnexus raises $15.5M against cancer — Adnexus Therapeutics, a Waltham, Mass., biotech developing a new class of drugs against cancer and other diseases, raised $15.5 million in a third funding round. Investors included HBM BioVentures (Cayman), Atlas Venture, Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners and Venrock. The company intends to use the proceeds to further clinical development of its lead candidate, Angiocept, which is currently in early-stage trials in cancer.

Masimo IPO raises $233 million, jumps 23% on first day — Irvine, Calif.-based Masimo, a major developer of non-invasive patient monitors, priced its IPO in the middle of its predicted range of $16 to $18 per share, raising as much as $232.9 million — just shy of the quarter-million-dollar mark we discussed here. Since the offering involved a hefty chunk of shares sold by existing shareholders, however, the company can only pocket up to $55.9 million of the proceeds. Investors received the offering warmly, pushing the stock up to $20.90 yesterday, a rise of 23 percent.

Biofisica raises $2M in venture debt for wound healing — Atlanta’s Biofisica, a medical-device maker focused on wound healing, raised $2 million in debt financing from Leader Ventures. The company makes an electrical-stimulation device designed to speed the healing of wounds, and currently sells it in the United Kingdom.

Aegera acquires LymphoSign, uniting two Canadian oncology biotechs — Aegera Therapeutics, a Montreal biotech focused on cancer, acquired Toronto’s LymphoSign, another cancer-specialized biotech, for undisclosed terms. Several shareholders also made additional investments in Aegera’s previously announced third funding round.

InfuScience acquires Palmetto Infusion Services — InfuScience, a Chicago provider of drug-infusion therapy, acquired Palmetto Infusion Services of Beaufort, S.C., for an undisclosed sum.

UPDATE (6:40pm PT): Added KFx Medical item.