VentureBeat

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Elixir Pharma sets IPO range, seeks up to $92M for anti-aging drugs (Edgar)
• Deltanoid Pharma raises $12M for kidney drugs (PDF release)
• CovX, cancer and diabetes-drug biotech, acquired by Pfizer (release)
• Affymetrix pays $75M for reagent maker USB (release)
• Merrion Pharma postpones U.S. IPO, raises €5.6M in Dublin offering (Irish Independent)
• Isis spinout Altair raising first round for asthma drugs (release)
• “Human hydration” sensor maker Cantimer names Robin Stracey CEO (release)
• Sensimed raises CHF 8M for glaucoma diagnostics (PE Hub)

Deltanoid Pharma raises $12M for kidney drugs — Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, a Madison, Wis., drug developer focused on new forms of vitamin D for use against kidney disease, raised $12 million in a second funding round. The company’s PDF release is here.

Investors in the round included the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), a tech-transfer organization associated with the University of Wisconsin, and two VC firms, Mason Wells and Venture Investors. Deltanoid is developing new “analogues” of the vitamin D molecule with possible utility in treating osteoporosis and kidney disease. The company has licensed one drug candidate to Pfizer, and so far has raised a total of $16 million.

CovX, cancer and diabetes-drug biotech, acquired by Pfizer — CovX, a La Jolla, Calif., biotech developing synthetic molecules with potential uses in treating cancer and diabetes, was acquired by Pfizer as part of the drugmaker’s expansion into biotech. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed; the release is here.

CovX has been pursuing an interesting attempt to build new drugs out of the short protein fragments known as peptides. While peptides can have potent drug-like effects against various biological “target” molecules, they are often broken down quickly in the body. CovX has developed a new class of molecules that it calls — a bit too cutely — CovX-bodies, which purportedly combine the efficacy of peptides with the longer lasting effects of monoclonal antibodies, although of course it doesn’t specify exactly how.

The company’s pipeline includes two inhibitors of angiogenesis — or blood-vessel formation — which might be useful in treating cancer, as well as molecules that mimic metabolic processes that go awry in diabetes. None of its drug candidates have yet entered human testing.

Featured companies: Mawell, OpGen, Vital Therapeutics

Optical genome-mapper OpGen raises $23.6M in a restart — OpGen, a Madison, Wisc., biotech developing a genomic test for identifying disease-causing microbes, raised $23.6 million in what the company is billing as a first funding round. In fact, however, the funding is more of a restart for the company, which was founded in 2001 and previously provided genomic services to researchers.

OpGen is now focused on developing speedy genome-based tests that can help identify and track infectious disease microbes. The company has set its sights on clinical microbiology laboratories as potential customers; such laboratories now try to identify the source of a patient’s infection by growing up the responsible bacterial in culture, a process that can take days. OpGen’s technology, which identifies patterns in single molecules of DNA to identify particular microbial strains, can deliver answers within two to three hours, the company says.

Investors included CHL Medical Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Versant Ventures and Mason Wells.

Vital Therapies gets $28.1M for artificial liver — San Diego’s Vital Therapies, a device maker developing an “artificial liver,” raised $28.1 million in a third funding round. Investors included Versant Ventures, Delphi Ventures, HBM BioMed China, DFJ DragonFund China, MedVenture Associates, Valley Ventures, Toucan Capital and Heights Capital.

Vital’s main focus is on a cartridge-style device that mimics the toxin-breakdown and waste-filtering function of the liver. The device, which contains artificially grown human liver cells, is intended for use while patients await a liver transplant. The device has completed four early-to-mid-stage trials, two of them in China, where prevalent hepatitis frequently contributed to liver failure.

Finland’s Mawell draws €8M for healthcare IT — Helsinki’s Mawell, a bioinformatics company providing software and services to drug companies and hospitals, raised €8 million ($11.1 million) from the private-equity firm CapMan, VentureWire reports (subscription required). CapMan will become Mawell’s largest owner.