Nellix takes $6M to treat aneurysms before they happen
Nellix Endovascular, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based maker of devices used to repair damaged blood vessels that could lead to aneurysms, has raised $6 million in debt, rights and securities, according to a filing with the SEC. Its backers include Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and Incept.
Complete Genomics seals $45M for cheaper gene sequencing
Complete Genomics, provider of supposedly cheaper and faster DNA sequencing services, has raised $45 million in a fourth round of funding — a huge amount for a biotech company in today’s economic environment. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the company says it will be able to sequence people’s genes in only a few days, and for the bargain price of $5,000.
Apparently, genetic companies are where it’s at in the life science market right now. Earlier… Continue Reading
Oraya scores $42M for eye radiation treatments
Oraya Therapeutics, maker of radiosurgical tools used to treat eye diseases, has brought in $42 million in a third round of funding from Domain Associates, Scale Venture Partners, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and Synergy Life Partners.
Based in Newark, Calif., the company says it will use its new financing to widen its overseas clinical trials. It hopes to earn international approval and clearance for commercialization. Called the IRay system, its lead treatment can deliver precise doses… Continue Reading
Essex Woodlands raises almost $1B for life science investments
Essex Woodlands Health Ventures announced today that it brought in $900 million for its eighth fund, one of the largest sums ever raised by a health care-focused venture firm, according to the Wall Street Journal — even more impressive considering how the economic downturn has frozen capital and many life science companies’ IPO hopes.
Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Essex had initially anticipated h itting the billion-dollar mark with this fund, though it says the lower… Continue Reading
Neovista sees $18M to treat eye disorders
Neovista, a Fremont, Calif.-based biotech company specializing in eye diseases, says it raised $18 million in a fourth round of funding to commercialize its new device. The money came from Accuitive Medical Ventures, Carlyle Group, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, MPM Capital, SV Life Sciences and Versant Ventures.
The company says the money should be enough to see the device through to approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010. The product has already been cleared… Continue Reading
Catalyst lands $40M to combat disease-causing proteins
Catalyst Biosciences has raked in $40.4 million in third-round funding to continue engineering an enzyme called protease to fight disease-causing proteins. The technology has the potential to affect many different diseases, including cancer and hemophilia. It has R&D agreements with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Centocor Research & Development.
Based in South San Francisco, the company received its recent round from new investor Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and previous backers Burrill & Company, HealthCare Ventures, Johnson & Johnson… Continue Reading
Medlogics to pump $30M into coronary stents
Santa Rosa, Calif. medical developer Medlogics has announced a $30 million fourth-round of funding from UBS AG that will close in the first quarter of 2009. The money will go toward marketing its new bare-metal stent, a device that props open blocked arteries, as well as another product that delivers drugs to prevent future blockage, reports VentureWire.
The company says that this is likely to be its last round of venture funding, as it plans to… Continue Reading
BioLogix bags $6M for oncology drug, names new CEO
Biopharm company BioLogix raised $6 million in first-round equity and debt financing from Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and New Science Ventures. The money will be used to continue development of its top cancer-fighting compound, but a second round is already in the works.
So far the Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm has brought in $40 million. It hopes to take enough in its next fund-raising effort by early 2009 to push the drug into clinial testing, setting… Continue Reading
Xanodyne newest pharm co. to cancel IPO
Xanodyne joins a growing number of biopharmaceutical and life science companies calling it quits on going public, at least for now. The Newport, Ky.-based firm withdrew its filing on Friday, citing poor market conditions — it had been waiting since November. Not that the company is really hurting. It’s raised about $232 million to date, and announced successful results in phase three trials of its lead drug candidate in August.
In the past, it has received… Continue Reading
Proteus snaps up $30M to take on heart failure
Proteus Biomedical Inc., a company developing microscopic electromechanical devices capable of one day treating or preventing congestive heart failure, brought in more than $30 million in its first call for fourth round financing. It’s original goal was $28.6 million, but CEO Andrew Thompson says the company is looking for even more money before the round’s second close, VentureWire reported.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based biotech firm is looking to strike out ahead of its competitors, CardioMEMS Inc…. Continue Reading
ReVance, topical botox company, raises $8M more
ReVance Therapeutics, a Mountain View, Calif biopharma company focused on topical botox, has raised $8 million more in financing.
Backers include executives of the company, Niagra Gorge Venture Partners, Biotechnology Development Fund, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Technology Partners Fund and Medics Pharma Corp.
It is the second portion of the company’s third round. Just last year, it raised $43 million.
Nellix raises $6.5M for aneurysm grafts
Nellix Endovascular, a Palo Alto, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $6.5 million in a third funding round, I’ve learned. The startup is developing a new treatment for repairing blood-vessel flaws in the chest and abdomen.
Those flaws, known as aneurysms, are thin-walled “bubbles” in blood vessels that can rupture on short notice, often fatally. The Nellix device and treatment apparently injects some form of goop into these aneurysms, filling and sealing them in order to prevent rupture.
Investors… Continue Reading
Secretive Oraya raises more funds for eye devices
Oraya, a secretive Menlo Park, Calif., medical-device startup, has struck again. The company raised $18 million in what is presumably a second funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Investors included Synergy Life Science Partners (see yesterday’s coverage of this newish VC firm here) and Essex Woodlands Health Ventures. We covered Oraya’s first round of funding last June.
VentureWire says the company is working on some sort of unspecified ophthalmology device, which is certainly more than we… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007
Featured companies: AstraZeneca, Atlantis Components, Cara Therapeutics, CardioMems, Corium International, New Ortho Polymers, Osprey Pharmaceuticals, Othera Pharmaceuticals, StrataGent Life Sciences
Corium acquires Stratagent, raises $25.1M for “transdermal” drugs — Corium International, a Menlo Park, Calif., biotech focused on drugs that can be delivered through the skin, said it will acquire StrataGent Life Sciences of San Jose, Calif., for an undisclosed sum. At the same time, Corium raised $25.1 million in a third funding round, and said it… Continue Reading
Horizon Therapeutics: Combining generic pain meds for greater drug safety
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Horizon Therapeutics, a biotech that aims to combine existing generic drugs to fight pain, raised $30 million in a third funding round. The company’s lead drug candidate, known only as HZT-501, is a “proprietary” combination of the generic drugs ibuprofen and famotidine, the latter of which is better known by its brand name Pepcid. It’s aimed at providing pain relief without gastrointestinal discomfort or injury, which is the same claim made by… Continue Reading
Stealthy Oraya raises $4M for medical devices
(UPDATED: See below.)
Oraya Therapeutics, a stealthy medical-device developer in Menlo Park, Calif., raised $4 million in a first funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Essex Woodlands Health Ventures provided the funds.
From the VentureWire story:
Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Oraya is a stealth-mode medical device company founded in June 2006. According to the filing, the company’s board includes Essex Woodlands Partner Guido J. Neels and Adjunct Partner Michael E. Gertner.
Peter Cohn, a partner at the Menlo Park… Continue Reading
StrataGent closes $16M round for needle-free injections
StrataGent Life Sciences, a San Jose developer of needle-free “microjet” injection systems, said it closed a $16 million second round of financing. The company has so far received $6.65 million of that round; the remainder should become available next year if and when StrataGent meets certain milestones.
The round was led by Essex Woodlands Health Ventures. Other investors include Quantum Technology Partners and Aphelion Capital.
StrataGent’s own description of what it’s up to in its funding release… Continue Reading
NeoVista, a co. targeting age-related macular degeneration, raises $41M
NeoVista, a Fremont ophthalmic device company focusing on the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, said it has raised a third $41 million round of venture financing.
The company is in the early stages of testing its technology, and it won’t hit the market until around 2010 at the earliest. Separately, VentureWire reports a comment from the company’s VP of marketing that the company had received interest from a company about a possible acquisition.
New investors Essex… Continue Reading
Thermage, the anti-wrinkle company, suffers IPO bumbs — prices below forecast
Thermage, the Hayward maker of devices to treat wrinkles, priced six million common shares in its IPO at $7 per share, to raise $42 million.
It had originally wanted to raise $86 million, but lowered its pricing plans, first to between $11 and $13, but later to between $8 and $9.
Its Nasdaq ticker is THRM.
Thermage had raised $48 million from DFJ, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Morgenthaler and Technology Partners.