VentureBeat

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Immune-system specialty pharma Circassia raises £11M (release)
• Cancer-biomarker biotech CS-Keys takes in $6.3M (release)
• Neuro-robotic device maker Myomo receives $3M (VentureWire)
• Micropharma draws C$1.8M for nutraceutical delivery (VentureWire)
• Avalon Labs gets $66M for disposable life-support components (release)
• Gloucester Pharma names Alan Colowick as CEO (release)
• ConforMIS names Philipp Lang as CEO (release)
• Pharma-marketing firm TargetRx names Craig Scott as CEO (release)

Immune-system specialty pharma Circassia raises £11M – Circassia, an Oxford, England biotech focused on immune-system disorders, raised £11 million ($21.8 million) in a second funding round. Investors included Goldman Sachs, Invesco Perpetual, Imperial Innovations and Lansdowne Partners.

The company is currently developing a range of allergy treatments by “retraining” the immune system not to react to allergens such as cat dander, dust mites, ragweed and grass. Circassia’s approach is to isolate short stretches of the allergy-causing proteins and expose them to the immune system’s antigen-presenting cells, attracting other cells that, though a complex biochemical dance, teach the immune system to “tolerate” the original protein.

Circassia is “preparing to complete” mid-stage trials ‘of its lead candidate, which is aimed at treating allergy to cat dander. The company says its technology should also be useful in preventing the rejection of transplanted organs.

Cancer-biomarker biotech CS-Keys takes in $6.3M – CS-Keys, an Indianapolis biotech working on protein-based “biomarkers,”, raised $6.3 million in a first funding round. Investors included Triathlon Medical Ventures, Clarian Health Ventures, Prolog Ventures and Ceres Venture Fund.

CS-Keys aims to find proteins that indicate the presence and status of tumors, and which can serve as a diagnostic for early detection or for monitoring the status of cancer patients. The company says its first product will be a pathology stain for detection of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in biopsied tumor samples. As a followup, the company intends to pursue a blood test for detecting the return of tumors in patients whose cancer has gone into remission.

Neuro-robotic device maker Myomo receives $3M – Boston’s Myomo, a “neurorobotics” company designing technology to help patients learn to regain the use of weakened or partially paralyzed limbs, raised $3 million in a second funding round, VentureWire reports. Angel investors provided the funding.

Founded in 2006, Myomo has developed a “smart” elbow brace for aiming to relearn how to move stroke-impaired arms. The brace senses electrical nerve signals in the skin’s surface, generated when patients try to move an arm, and then electromechanically moves the arm as the patient intended. The idea is to provide real-time feedback so that patients can re-educate their muscles in order to regain motor control.

The Myomo device has been studied in six patients, who demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in two measures of movement. The company has two additional studies underway in chronic and sub-acute stroke patients. The device has been cleared for hospital use, although Myomo eventually hopes to win approval for home use as well.

Myomo hopes to add another $8 million from venture capitalists by this summer, in what may either be a third round or an extension of the second. The current funding will allow the company to roll out its device to medical facilities nationwide.

Featured companies: Akermin, Fluxion Biosciences, iCardiacTechnologies, Wellocities

UPDATED: Expanded items on Fluxion, Akermin, and Wellocities.

Fluxion Bio draws in $6.9M for cell-analysis tools — Fluxion Biosciences, a San Francisco developer of cellular-analysis tools, raised $6.9 million in a second funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Investors included Kodiak Venture Partners, Claremont Creek Ventures and Life Science Angels.

Fluxion takes the idea of running chemical reactions against living cells — a key step in screening and analyzing the activity of drug candidates — to its logical conclusion with a system designed to measure biochemical changes involving, and sometimes within, a single cell. The company’s first microfluidic system is intended to allow researchers to study cells that adhere to surfaces, such as platelets that stick to arterial walls in the formation of plaque, and biofilms, which are drug-resistant sheets excreted by bacteria for protection.

Fluxion is also working on tools for studying electrochemical signaling within cells, which the company hopes to launch next year. The current financing may also make it possible for Fluxion to launch a third instrument that will image individual cells while they float in solution. Existing cell-imaging systems only work when cells are anchored in place.

The company could be profitable as early as 2010, Fluxion executives told VentureWire. It has raised a total of $7.4 million since its founding in 2005.

Bioenzyme-catalyst co. Akermin raises $5M — Akermin, a St. Louis developer of new biocatalytic enzymes, raised $5 million in a second tranche of its first funding round. Investors included Prolog Ventures, OnPoint Technologies, Chrysalix Energy and the St. Louis Arch Angels.

Akermin works with catalytic enzymes — molecules that speed particular chemical reactions — made via biotechnology that could replace precious-metal catalysts now used in fuel cells. The company is developing prototype “biofuel cells” and thin-fuel cells the company refers to as “bio-batteries.” Enzymes should theoretically be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than metal catalysts.

Fuel cells, which could theoretically replace conventional batteries and engines in some applications, are one of those clean technologies that have been on the table for decades in one form or another. However, existing technologies generally aren’t considered cost- or energy-effective when compared to burning fossil fuels or using traditional batteries.

Akermin is part of a wave of startups working on overcoming the difficulties in making fuel cells. Another is Bloom Energy, a secretive Silicon Valley startup that has nevertheless received plenty of press.

Akermin’s technology is a polymer “stabilizer” for these enzymes that’s designed to immobilize them, stabilize them and enhance their operating lifetime. The company has raised a total of just under $8.5 million since its founding.

Online health service Wellocities draws $1M — Toronto’s Wellocities, a diabetes-focused health-information site, raised $1 million in seed funding to create a more general online health service for Canadians. XDL Capital Group provided the funding.

The company didn’t say much more about its online strategy or how it would differ from a host of new, mostly U.S.-based sites that offer everything from detailed health information to physician directories to patient communities. In diabetes, Wellocities provides an online community and ways for diabetics to track their progress in maintaining control of their weight and blood-sugar levels.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• iCardiac raises undisclosed round for electrocardiogram cardiac-risk systems (release)

Featured companies: Acceleron Pharma, AdvanDx, Altheus Therapeutics, BiPar Sciences, Coventina Healthcare Enterprises, ForteBio, Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, Mako Surgical, Nile Therapeutics, Novate Medical

[NOTE: This briefing was posted on Friday, 9/21/07; I've edited its timestamp to preserve chronological order among the briefings.]

Nile Therapeutics raises $20M, goes public in reverse merger — Berkeley, Calif.-based Nile Therapeutics, a developer of cardiovascular drugs, raised $20 million from new and existing investors and carried out a reverse merger that takes the company public. Investors in the financing included Wexford Capital, RIT Capital Partners, Life Science Capital Master Fund, and other institutional investors. It’s not clear if Nile had raised venture capital prior to this funding.

Nile is at work on a second generation “natriuretic peptide,” which is basically a protein fragment that mimics the function of natural diuretics found in the heart. Nile licensed that drug from the Mayo Clinic; it’s now in early-stage human testing. Nile intends to acquire additional experimental drugs to expand its portfolio.

AdvanDx pulls in $15M for pathogen diagnostics — AdvanDx, a Woburn, Mass., biotech that develops molecular diagnostic tests for identifying infectious pathogens in hospitals, raised $15 million in a third funding round. Investors included bioMérieux, LD Pensions and SLS Venture.

The company’s diagnostic tests can supposedly identify the microbes responsible for bloodstream infections in hours rather than days, as current culturing tests require. The time saved can make it possible to effectively treat patients much sooner. In that sense, AdvanDx’s technology is similar to that of OpGen, which we wrote about in the first item here.

Novate Medical draws in €4M for anti-clot device — Ireland’s Novate Medical, a device maker at work on filters that can be installed in veins to prevent blood clots from reaching the lungs and causing pulmonary embolisms, raised €4 million ($5.5 million). Investors included ACT Venture Capital, Seroba BioVentures and Enterprise Ireland.

The company doesn’t appear to have a Web site.

Antibody company Ganymed adds €3.5M to round — Germany’s Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, a developer of monoclonal-antibody drugs for cancer, added €3.5 million ($4.9 million) to its third funding round, bringing that total to €37.2 million ($52.1 million). The additional funding was provided by ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung of Munich.

Altheus Therapeutics gets $3.6 million against bowel disease — Oklahoma City’s Altheus Therapeutics, a biotech working on new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, raised $3.6 million to fund clinical trials. St. Louis-based Prolog Ventures, the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund and Oklahoma Equity Partners provided the funding.

Altheus is developing a treatment that combines two existing drugs, which the company hasn’t identified.

Coventina Healthcare Enterprises gets $150K, moves to Pennsylvania — The seemingly ubiquitous Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse has struck again, investing $150,000 in Coventina Healthcare Enterprises, which then relocated to southwestern Pennsylvania from Texas. Coventina recently acquired the assets of Texas-based Selicor, and now develops therapeutic heating systems that rely on radio-frequency energy.

Mako Surgical seeks an $86M IPO for knee-surgery robots — The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., company filed to raise up to $86 million in an initial offering. Mako’s robotic-surgery device and knee implants are designed to perform minimally invasive knee operations.

Brownian motion: Personnel moves in the life sciences —

• Acceleron Pharma, of Cambridge, Mass., named John Knopf as CEO. The company develops biotech drugs for muscle and bone injuries.
• BiPar Sciences, of Brisbane, Calif., named former Genentech CEO G. Kirk Raab as its acting chief executive. Raab is also the company’s chairman. The company develops cancer drugs.
• ForteBio, of Menlo Park, Calif., named Joseph Keegan as its new CEO. The company builds instruments designed to speed the discovery of new therapeutics.

Hayward, Calif.-based Singulex, a developer of sensitive molecular-detection systems, raised $19 million in a fourth funding round. The company’s release is here.

The company is developing an analysis system, called Erenna, plus related “assays,” or specially designed biochemical tests, that are designed to detect individual protein molecules in biological samples such as blood. Such tests could be useful for detecting or diagnosing disease, monitoring the effect of drug treatment, and other research and diagnostic purposes. For instance, Singulex says its system can identify previously undetectable cellular levels of cardiac troponin I, a protein biomarker that can be used to measure tissue damage following a heart attack. The company claims that its system can actually count the number of proteins in a given sample.

Singulex already offers its services to research centers at biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and hopes also to break into the field of molecular diagnostics — a much more challenging and heavily regulated area.

The round was led by OrbiMed Advisors, joined by existing investors Fisk Ventures (a venture fund of H. Fisk Johnson, CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son), Prolog Ventures, and Advantage Capital. Singulex has raised $31.6 million to date, according to VentureWire (subscription required).