Sans IPO, Bayhill secures $350M in Genentech licensing deal
Months after giving up on its IPO hopes last year — when the market was especially brutal for lifescience companies — Bayhill Therapeutics has landed a licensing deal worth $25 million in upfront cash and equity with Genentech. It could bring in as much as $325 million more if it hits certain sales and regulatory milestones, joining the ranks of several biotech firms that ditched public offerings for lucrative equity deals, VentureWire reports (citing Elixir… Continue Reading
Urology device startup Percutaneous Systems raises $6.3M
Percutaneous Systems has raised $6.3 million of a planned $7 million fourth round, according to VentureWire citing a regulatory filing. The funding comes from existing investors Compass Group, Montreux Equity Partners and Shea Ventures, as well as undisclosed new investors.
The Palo Alto, Calif. startup develops urology products and previously raised $12.25 rounds of funding.
Life sciences briefing: Friday, Feb. 15, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Q Thera takes in $15M for neural stem-cell treatments (release)
Stroke clotbuster Concentric Medical withdraws IPO (IPOhome)
Avera recaps with $9M to relaunch human tests of GI drug (VentureWire)
Tissue repairer Nerites raises $5.7M (release)
Semafore Pharma aims for $7.5M to launch new cancer-drug trials (VentureWire)
Triage Wireless gets $6.7M for “cuffless” blood-pressure monitors (peHUB)
MAKO Surgicals prices IPO, falls in first day of trading (WSJ)
ImmunoCellular acquires assets of Molecular Antibody Technology (release)
Q Thera takes in $15M for neural stem-cell… Continue Reading
Hate novocaine? If so, Novalar has a drug for you
No one likes going to the dentist, and that lingering novocaine numbness usually just makes matters worse. But would you be willing to pay more — possibly a lot more — out-of-pocket for a shot that restores feeling to your face more quickly?
San Diego’s Novalar Pharmaceuticals is betting that you will. The specialty-pharmaceutical firm has been testing a drug it calls NV-101, which it says can cut in half the time it takes people to… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Friday, Sept. 28, 2007
Featured companies: Imalux, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Sequel Pharmaceuticals, Sinexus, TranS1, U.S. Spinal Technologies
Sagent Pharmaceuticals draws in $53M for injectable generics — Sagent Pharmaceuticals, proving that there’s still life in the apparently lucrative but boring specialty-pharmaceuticals business, raised $53 million in a first funding round. Vivo Ventures led the round for the Schaumburg, Ill., company.
Like other specialty pharmas, Sagent essentially picks up abandoned or cast-off drugs from other companies and tries to make them work in new ways…. Continue Reading
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 $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… Continue Reading
Asthma-device maker Asthmatx sells $50M stake to Olympus
Asthmatx, a Mountain View, Calif., developer of a bronchial device for asthma treatment, raised $50 million by selling a 15% stake to Olympus Medical Systems, a unit of Japan’s camera and precision-device maker Olympus.
Last October, Asthmatx withdrew an IPO at the last minute, citing a desire to pursue “alternative strategic options” — that is, better offers. And it seems to have found one; Dan Primack at PE Wire figures that Asthmatx’s current $280 million pre-money… Continue Reading
Lung-device maker Pulmonx draws in $20M
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Pulmonx raised $20 million in a second-round funding, VentureWire reports (subscription required).
The startup is one of several device makers hoping to pioneer new medical techniques in the field of “interventional pulmonology.” Much like interventional cardiology, in which non-surgeons perform procedures such as angioplasty and stenting to open blocked arteries, interventional pulmonology aims to give lung specialists new tools to treat lung problems such as emphysema in their offices. Patients, of course,… Continue Reading
Pulmonx, a medical device co., raises $18.5M
Pulmonx, a Palo Alto, Calif. developer of medical devices for interventional pulmonology, has secured commitments of about $18.5 million for a $20.5 million second round, according to a regulatory filing cited by PE Week. MedVenture Associates was joined by existing investors, including Montreux Equity Partners.
Insomnia drug company, TransOral, raises $40M more
TransOral Pharmaceuticals, a Pt. Richmond, Calif. developer of a drug that treats insomnia, has raised $40 million in a fourth round of funding.
See the company’s announcement here.
The investor syndicate was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and included follow-on investments by New Leaf Venture Partners, Montreux Equity Partners, InterWest Partners, Hamilton BioVentures, Vivo Ventures, Peninsula Equity Partners, and Hercules Technology Growth Capital.
NeurogesX, chronic pain treatment co., files for $69M IPO
Updated
NeurogesX, a San Carlos drug company developing treatments for chronic pain, has filed for an initial public offering to raise $69 million.
NeurogesX has raised about $95 million from venture firms, including Alta Partners, Arch Venture Partners, Montreux Equity Partners and Walden International.
Forest Labs aquires pharma company, Cerexa, for up to $580M
Forest Laboratories said it has acquired Cerexa, a venture-backed biopharmaceutical company in Alameda, Calif., for $480 million. It will pay $100 million more if certain milestones are met.
That’s a quick buy for Cerexa, which was spun out of another company, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals in August 2005.
It is not clear how much money investors made. A group of investors gave $50 million to Cerexa after the spin-out, but presumably Cerexa already carried some worth, and so investors… Continue Reading
Cancer treatment co., Avantis Medical, gets $12M
Avantis Medical Systems, a Sunnyvale company developing a device for detecting colon cancers and polyps, said that it has raised $12 million in Series B financing, reports VentureWire (sub req).
New investor Montreux Equity Partners led the round, joined by existing investors including the MedFocus Fund and BioStar Private Equity Fund, the report said.