Pelikan closes $25M for handheld diagnostics

Pelikan Technologies, maker of medical devices for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes, just brought in $25 million from undiclosed investors, reports VentureWire. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company spun out of Agilent Technologies in 2001 with the launch of its Pelikan Sun line, an electronic… Continue Reading

Broncus inhales $38M to treat lung disease, eyes IPO

Broncus Technologies, developer of devices to treat emphysema and other lung ailments, may make a second run at going public after bringing in $38 million in seventh-round funding to break even, reports VentureWire. The Mountain View, Calif. company first filed for a $75 million IPO… Continue Reading

Pelikan scoops up $12.5M for diabetes diagnostics

Pelikan Technologies, maker of diagnostic and health-monitoring devices that can be used by regular people, nabbed a $12.5 million tranche of an expected $25 million seventh round of funding, according to VentureWire. Its flagship product, the handheld diabetes tester Pelikan Sun, is already on the… 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… Continue Reading

Pelikan Tech to push “finger friendly” diabetes testing

Pelikan Tech to push “finger friendly” diabetes testing

One of the constant but unavoidable challenges in trying to control diabetes is the frequent need to test blood-sugar levels by sticking a needle into a fingertip — a step that tells diabetics when they need a snack (to raise blood glucose) or a shot… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Featured companies: American Aerogel, Clinicient, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Genome Diagnostics, RadPharm, RainDance Technologies, Vivacta

UPDATED: Expanded items on Vitae, RadPharm, Vivacta and Genome Diagnostics. Intelligent Bio-Systems is now covered in a standalone item here.

Vitae Pharma takes in $15M for blood pressure, diabetes drugs — Vitae Pharmaceuticals, a Fort… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007

Featured companies: BioVex, FullTurn Media, Humanetics, N Spine, Novitas Capital, Reliant Technologies, Symbios, Vaxart, Virtual Radiologic, Winston Laboratories, Zosano Pharma

EXPANDING ITEMS: Stay tuned.

Vaxart receives $3.3M for oral vaccines — San Francisco’s Vaxart, a biotech developing novel adenovirus-based vaccines, raised $2.7 million in a first funding round. Vaxart… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007

Featured companies: Ganeden Biotech, Glenveigh Medical, Lab21, Lead Therapeutics, Navigenics, Pacific Data Designs, PharMEDium Healthcare, Sloning BioTechnology, VistaGen

UPDATED: Expanded items on Lead Therapeutics, Glenveigh Medical and Sloning BioTech, and moved the Navigenics news to a separate item here.

Lead Therapeutics raises $17M for China-based work in cancer and… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007

Featured companies: BioVex, Cavadis, Innovention, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Phase Bioscience, Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Xencor

UPDATED: Expanded Paratek and Xencor items.

Paratek Pharma raises $40M for new antibiotics — Boston’s Paratek Pharmaceuticals, a biotech working on new antibiotics to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, raised a first tranche of a $40 million eighth… Continue Reading

Double vision: Ophthotech, Eyetech and Lux BioSciences

Double vision: Ophthotech, Eyetech and Lux BioSciences

When news that the brand-new startup Ophthotech had raised a $36 million first round broke on Monday, it was clear that the venture amounted to a kind of do-over for officials of the late, unlamented Eyetech Pharmaceuticals. Eyetech, you might recall, burst onto the scene… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Monday, Aug. 13, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Monday, Aug. 13, 2007

(UPDATED: See below.)

Featured companies: FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Ophthotech, Pevion Biotech, Restoration Robotics, Glide Pharma, Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Nanosphere, SurModics, BioFX Laboratories

FoldRx Pharma to receive $22M against cystic fibrosis — Cambridge, Mass.-based FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, a biotech focused on diseases that result from misfolded proteins, will get $22 million over the… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007

(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… Continue Reading

Agensys pulls in $41M for cancer drugs

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Agensys, a biotech focused on new cancer drugs, raised $41 million in a fourth funding round. Duquesne Capital Management and JAFCO led the round, joined by Innovis Investments, Nextech Venture, Bear Stearns Health Innoventures, Alta Partners, HBM BioVentures, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch… Continue Reading

Implant maker Interventional Spine draws in $24M

Irvine, Calif.-based Interventional Spine raised $24 million in a third round of funding that the company says will support the launch of several new products. The company makes implants and surgical instruments for “percutaneous” spinal operations that feature narrow incisions and, theoretically, less trauma for… Continue Reading

BaroFold pulls in $12M for protein-refolding technology

BaroFold, a Boulder, Colo., biotech raised $12 million in a first round of funding. The company is developing PreEMT, a technology that uses high levels of fluid pressure to “unclump” biotech-drug proteins that have stuck together and to force proteins that have folded up incorrectly… Continue Reading

ChemoCentryx, autoimmune disease drug co., raises $29.84M

ChemoCentryx, a Mountain View, Calif. developer of oral drugs for autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases and oncology, has raised $29.84 million in forth round of funding, according to a regulatory filing cited by PE Week. Glaxo Group Ltd. was joined by existing investors, including Alta Partners,… Continue Reading