VentureBeat

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• H-P “great-grandchild” Alverix raises $7.7M for portable diagnostic devices (release)
• Moksha8 takes in $39M to commercialize drugs for Asia (peHUB)
• Dynogen Pharma goes public, gets $98M in reverse merger (release)
• EKR Thera raises funds, pays up to $170M to “reacquire” PDL BioPharma drug (release))
• R4 Vascular receives $4.4M for vascular-access devices (VentureWire)
• Medical tube and syringe maker Amsino Medical sells stake to Baring PE Asia (release)
• Implantable-diagnostic maker Transoma Medical postpones IPO (IPOhome)

H-P “great-grandchild” Alverix raises $7.7M for portable diagnostic devices – I’ve moved this item to a standalone post here.

EKR Thera raises funds, pays up to $170M to “reacquire” PDL BioPharma drug – This item is now a standalone post here.

Moksha8 takes in $39M to commercialize drugs for Asia – Moksha8, a stealthy San Francisco drug developer that commercializes “high-value” therapies for Asia and other markets, raised a combined $39 million in first and second funding rounds, peHUB reports, citing regulatory filings. TPG Biotech provided the $24 million first round, and was joined by Lit Tele of Brazil in a $15 million second round.

Actually, I call Moksha8 a San Francisco company because peHUB does, but I have my doubts. The company’s stub of a Web site lists offices in Hong Kong, SF, Philadelphia and London, and provides Hong Kong and Philadelphia-area phone numbers as its main points of contact. The company’s name, by the way, appears to be a reference to the Hindu term for liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. One more observation from the Web site: Moksha8’s “other markets” are likely in Central and South America, which is the only region besides Asia highlighted on a global-map background image there.

Dynogen Pharma goes public, gets $98M in reverse merger – Dynogen Pharmaceuticals, a Waltham, Mass., specialty pharma focused on gastrointestinal disease, went public in a reverse merger with Apex Bioventures Acquisition, a “specialty acquisition” corporation. Such entities are formed by investors specifically to acquire private companies, and frequently — as in this case — raise funds for later acquisitions via an IPO.

Dynogen shareholders will receive $98 million in Apex stock, and are eligible for two additional milestone-related payments of $23 million apiece. The combined company, which will be run by Dynogen’s CEO and operate out of Dynogen’s current offices, is expected to have up to $65 million in cash by the time the deal closes.

Implantable-diagnostic maker Transoma Medical postpones IPO – Transoma Medical, a St. Paul, Minn., maker of implantable medical-diagnostic devices, postponed its planned $77.6 million IPO, IPOhome reports. The company hasn’t yet formally withdrawn the offering, although that seems a foregone conclusion at this point.

Transoma makes implantable monitoring devices, such as a wireless gadget that monitors an individual’s heartbeat and transmits the information to a data center and then to a doctor’s office. Our previous coverage of Transoma is here and here; we’ve also written about startups working on similar devices, such as CardioMEMS and its implantable wireless sensors for measuring blood pressure, heart function and heart rate, here.

Alder Biopharmaceuticals, a Bothell, Wash., developer of antibody drugs, raised $40 million in a third funding round. Investors included Delphi Ventures, TPG Biotech, Sevin Rosen Funds, Ventures West, H.I.G. Ventures, and WRF Capital.

Alder develops antibody-based drugs for inflammation and autoimmune disease. The company’s lead candidate, ALD518, is currently in clinical trials as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, although neither Alder’s Web site nor its statement disclose when the drug began human tests.

Alder’s work is also noticeable because it produces its antibodies in genetically modified yeast cells, a new manufacturing technique that the company claims is faster and cheaper than traditional genetic-engineering methods involving mammalian cells. Not only does production in yeast allow companies to sidestep the need for expensive patent licenses that cover traditional methods, Alder claims it can speed the development process to months from years, making it possible to evaluate a much wider range of antibody candidates.

Alder also claims that ALD518 is the first full-length functioning antibody to be made on an industrial scale in yeast. For an additional information on the merits of yeast-based antibody manufacture, see our previous coverage of Adimab, a startup developing its own yeast-production system for similar reasons. If you’re a technical-detail junkie, don’t miss the discussion in comments.