VentureBeat

Featured companies: CoMentis, ForHealth Technologies, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, QuantomiX, Progenitor Cell Therapy, River Diagnostics, Topaz Pharmaceuticals

UPDATED: Expanded items on CoMentis, Topaz and ForHealth.

CoMentis gets $12M for eye, Alzheimer’s treatments — South San Francisco’s CoMentis, a biotech pursuing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and macular degeneration, raised $12 million in a third funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Wellington Management provided the funding.

The company’s lead drug candidate, ATG003, is an eye drop designed to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The drug inhibits a particular cell-surface “receptor” protein called nAChR that helps promote the growth of blood vessels. In AMD, abnormal vessels obscure vision by leading blood and fluid into the retina. Existing treatments for AMD — principally Genentech’s Lucentis and Avastin — also inhibit vessel growth, but must both be delivered by injection into the eye. ATG003 is in mid-stage human tests.

CoMentis is also developing an Alzheimer’s drug, CTS-21166, which inhibits beta secretase, a protein thought — but not proven — to play a key role in the development of the cognitive disorder. Beta secretase cuts another protein called amyloid precursor protein into pieces, one of which is commonly known as beta amyloid, a neurotoxic protein that clumps together in “plaques” around neurons in the brains of many Alzheimer’s patients.

Inhibit beta secretase, the theory goes, and you’ll cut off the production of beta amyloid and maybe alter the course of the disease. That drug is still in early-stage human testing.

Topaz Pharma takes in $20M for head-lice treatment — Philadelphia’s Topaz Pharmaceuticals, a company developing a new, naturally derived treatment for head lice in children, raised $20 million in a first funding round. Aisling Capital and Fidelity Biosciences provided the funding.

The head-lice treatment, which Topaz doesn’t seem to have named yet, employs an active ingredient derived from a naturally occurring soil organism that is toxic to head and body lice. The company also says it is working on treatments for acne and infection as well as childhood-disease vaccines.

ForHealth Tech gets $9M for automated pharmacy systems — Daytona Beach, Fla.-based ForHealth Technologies, a developer of automated systems for hospital pharmacies, raised $4 million in equity and an additional $5 million in debt. Equity investors included New Enterprise Associates, National Healthcare Services, Red River Ventures, and Chisholm Private Capital. Square 1 Bank provided the debt.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• Progenitor Cell Therapy faces possible acquisition by StemCells (release)
• River Diagnostics raises €1.5M for microorganism tests (release)
• Microscope maker QuantomiX acquired by El-Mul(release)
• Merrimack Pharma pulls in $35M for cancer, autoimmune therapies (VW)
• Frontier Scientific acquires Echelon Bioscences (release)

Featured companies: Aldagen, LDR, Lyten Endoscopy, MachLabs, Permatox, TeleMedicine Clinic, ThromboVision

Spinal-implant maker LDR raises $25M — Austin, Texas-based LDR, a maker of spinal implants, raised $25 million in a third funding round. Investors included Telegraph Hill Partners, Austin Ventures, Rothschild Private Equity and PTV Sciences.

LDR sells spinal-fusion devices, artificial disks and other spine-related devices in more than 30 countries, and plans to use the funds for further expansion.

Aldagen adds $9M for adult stem-cell work — Aldagen, a Durham, N.C., biotech developing regenerative therapies with “adult” stem cells, raised an additional $9 million (PDF link), bringing its third funding round to a total of $23 million. Investors in the additional financing include Tullis-Dickerson, CNF Investments, Harbert Venture Partners and Intersouth Partners.

The company’s most advanced experimental treatment uses stem cells derived from umbilical-cord blood to somehow improve the speed and effectiveness of cord-blood transplants in children, although the company doesn’t explain how. Nor has it revealed the results of an early-stage human test. Other treatments now entering clinical trials use stem or related progenitor cells isolated from a patient’s own bone marrow to treat heart failure or clot-related oxygen deprivation in the limbs.

The Triangle Business Journal has more.

ThromboVision raises $4M for personalized-medicine diagnostics — The Houston, Texas, biotech ThromboVision said it raised $4 million in a first funding round. Investors included the private-equity firm National Healthcare Services and private investors.

ThromboVision is developing new tests of platelet activity that may help doctors determine which patients are most likely to respond to low doses of blood thinners such as aspirin or Plavix, which are used to prevent clots that can cause heart attacks or strokes. This is similar — in concept, at least — to the FDA’s recent push to require the use of genomic tests to determine the proper dosing of warfarin, another blood thinner. (See our coverage here.)

MachLabs launches two device companies — MachLabs, a Redwood City, Calif., investor partnership founded by entrepreneurs Michael Laufer and John Lonergan, recently launched two medical-device startups, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Lyten is developing a minimally invasive treatment for obesity, while Permatox hopes to introduce a non-invasive alternative to Botox.

TeleMedicine Clinic receives €7M for radiology services — Barcelona-based TeleMedicine Clinic, a center for the outsourced analysis of medical images such as X-rays and MRIs, raised €7 million ($9.7 million), VentureWire reports. Investors included Kennet Partners, Active Capital Partners and an undisclosed European seed investor.