Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Aptamer-drug maker Archemix withdraws its $72.5 million IPO (Edgar)
OraMetrix raises $20M for robotic orthodontic systems (peHUB)
Microarray maker TeleChem goes public via reverse merger (release)
BioVascular pulls in $11M for platelet-disease treatments (release)
Cequent Pharma adds $4.5M for for RNAi drugs (VentureWire)
CareSeek, online medical-rating service, gets $575K, looks for $5M (VentureWire)
Satiogen takes in $700K for obesity treatment (VentureWire)
Dilon Tech appoints Robert Moussa as CEO (release)
Aptamer-drug maker Archemix withdraws its $72.5 million IPO – I’ve expanded this news into… Continue Reading
Adenosine Therapeutics seeks $14M for new drugs
Adenosine Therapeutics, a Charlottesville, Va., biotech developing drugs that target forms of a cell-surface protein called the adenosine receptor, is raising $14 million in a third funding round. The round is being led by the Novartis Option Fund.
Novartis also acquired an option to the company’s A2B receptor antagonist program, which aims to produce new oral drugs for treating type II diabetes, asthma and other diseases. Adenosine’s lead candidate is a cardiac imaging agent that’s currently… Continue Reading
Cequent Pharma raises $9 million for RNAi
Cequent Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass., developer of drugs based on a new gene-silencing technology, raised $9 million in a first-round funding. The round was led by the Novartis Option Fund, joined by Ampersand Ventures, Nexus Medical Partners, and Pappas Ventures.
Cequent is developing new treatments based on RNA interference, a Nobel Prize-winning technology that “silences” gene outputs using short stretches of RNA. Its first candidates, none of which have been tested in humans, are aimed at… Continue Reading