Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007
Featured companies: Berkeley HeartLab, Celera Group, the Foundry, Molecular Vision, Morgenthaler Ventures
Former genomics pioneer Celera Group buys Berkeley HealthLab for $195M — Rockville, Md.-based Celera Group, a one-time tie finisher in the race to decode the human genome, has agreed to acquire Berkeley HealthLab, a Burlingame, Calif., heart-related diagnostic company, for $195 million in cash.
Celera, once a high-flying genomics outfit, tried to reinvent itself as a drug-development company following the collapse of the “genomics bubble”… Continue Reading
Funding roundup: Announcements that got away
Although I try to stay on top of events in the life sciences, announcements do sometimes manage to slip through the cracks. Some days, in fact, I end up triaging. Because the roots of this site — not to mention many of its readers — are in Silicon Valley, Bay Area events are a priority. Then come announcements from the rest of the U.S., then Asia, then Europe. Also, smaller or partial fundings tend to… Continue Reading
NanoBioDesign pulls in $1M for protein chips
NanoBioDesign, a London developer of systems that screen experimental drugs against key liver enzymes, raised $1 million (£500,000) to support manufacturing of its protein-chip devices. The funding was provided by the Imperial Innovations Group and the Capital Fund.
NanoBioDesign is focused on a class of liver enzymes known as cytochrome P450, which play an important role in metabolism. Various forms of these enzymes can greatly impact the effectiveness of drugs, depending on how quickly they break… Continue Reading