European cleantech feels the pinch — looks to distinguish itself from U.S.
European cleantech is finally feeling the funding crunch. Market analysts at the Cleantech Group released a report today showing that investment in the sector during the first quarter fell to $281 million, an 11 percent drop from the previous quarter and a 31 percent drop from last year. Fourth quarter figures for 2008 were also down from the previous quarter.
Given this grim outlook, opinion is split on where green industry in Europe is headed in… Continue Reading
Networking chip firm Arteris raises $7.5 million
Arteris has raised $7.5 million in a third round of financing to fund its networking chip technology.
DoCoMo capital came aboard as a new investor, joining existing investors Crescendo Ventures, TVM Capital, Ventech and Synopsis Inc. in the round, according to VentureWire.
Current customers include STMicroelectronics NV and Texas Instruments Inc. The San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France-based company designs a chip interconnect technology that it licenses to chip design and chip making companies. It allows them… Continue Reading
CoreOptics raises $25M for optical networking systems
CoreOptics designs 10/40/100 Gbps optical networking subsystems for tier-1 networks. Along with sales of optical fiber, the company also makes signal processing technology aimed at lowering error rates in transmission.
Founded in 2001, CoreOptics has taken over $90 million to date. The company is co-based in Nuremberg, Germany and Manchester, New Hampshire, with additional offices in San Jose, Calif.
The source of the the $25 million funding was not disclosed, but CoreOptic’s past backers include T-Com Venture… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Affinergy gets $3M in grants for biological “linkers” (release)
Specialty pharma EUSA raises $50M, spends $23M for public biotech Cytogen (release)
Calderome takes in $12M for cancer diagnostics (peHUB)
Pulse Health raises $2M for handheld free-radical device (release)
LifeMasters takes in $15M for wellness, disease-management programs (release)
Dubai Techno Park launched $300MVC fund for life sciences, other sectors (release)
Affinergy gets $3M in grants for biological “linkers” – Affinergy, a Duke University spinout in Research Triangle Park, N.C., received grants worth more… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Arbor Surgical draws another $5.5M for heart-valve replacements (VBLS exclusive)
AstraZeneca spinout Albireo raises $27M for GI drugs (release)
Knee-implant maker MAKO Surgical slashes IPO price range (release)
eScreen takes in $8M for automated drug screening (peHUB)
GlucoLight gets undisclosed funding for glucose monitoring (release)
Oddo et al. order $4M for odor-sniffer Odotech (release)
Baird Capital Partners acquires med-device manufacturer Ellman Int’l (peHUB)
Cancer biotech BiPar names Hoyoung Huh as CEO (release)
AstraZeneca spinout Albireo raises $27M for GI drugs – AstraZeneca spun… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007
Featured companies: Cyntellect, Lectus Therapeutics, NeoMatrix, Nexstim, Pearl Therapeutics, Proteon Therapeutics, SupplyScape
(UPDATED at 10am PT: See below.)
Airway-disease specialist Pearl Therapeutics raises $15.5M — Redwood City, Calif.-based Pearl Therapeutics, a drug-formulation company focused on respiratory disease, raised $15.5 million in a first funding round. Investors included New Leaf Ventures, Clarus Ventures and 5AM Ventures.
Pearl doesn’t appear to have a working Web site yet, but according to its release, the company aims to treat unspecified airway diseases using “particle… Continue Reading
Arteris gets $8.1M more for “network on chip” design software
Arteris, a Paris, France company that offers software for designing “network on chip” semiconductors, so named because they involve communications within a chip, has raised an $8.1 million second round of financing.
The company is moving its formal headquarters to San Jose, Calif., where is has an office.
The company’s statement is here.
The round was led by a new investor Synopsys, a semiconductor design company, while existing backers Crescendo Ventures, TVM Capital and Ventech participated.
Arteris has now… Continue Reading
Noxxon Pharma draws $50M for aptamer drugs
Noxxon Pharma, a Berlin-based biotech, raised 37 million euros ($50 million) to help push its first aptamer-based drug candidates for kidney and eye disease into clinical trials.
The main new investors included TVM Capital, Sofinnova Partners, and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Aptamers are short stretches of DNA or RNA — generally known as oligonucleotides — that are designed specifically via an evolution-style process to latch onto a specific protein or other biological target. Because their drug… Continue Reading