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Well-known but still young biofuel company Sapphire Energy has more than doubled its funding to more than $100 million for its “green crude,” a fuel it says will mimic the best characteristics of the oil we drill for today.

Sapphire’s plan, which I covered in depth back in May, is to grow tailored strains of algae on waste water. Algae is criticized because it often uses open pools of water, which evaporate quickly in hot climes, wasting a precious resource. So Sapphire will genetically modify algae to subsist on water that is useless to humans.

But few new details have come out since Sapphire emerged in May. Developing a process like Sapphire’s takes a long time, and the company estimates that it will need three to five years to reach 10,000 barrels a day of production — a nice revenue line for a startup, but a relatively tiny amount of fuel. And problems with the algae can occur at any point in that time window, delaying or halting progress.

If Sapphire is successful, it make a substance it calls “green crude,” which can be run through existing oil refineries to produce gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum derivatives. Most algal biofuel startups, like Greenfuel and SequesCO, plan to make biodiesel, which is roughly the same as today’s diesel fuel.

One confusing point about Sapphire’s growing funding is that the company is unwilling to break down the numbers. It says it has raised “substantially more than” $100 million, and in May said it had taken $50 million. So its funding has at least doubled since then. However, reports that it has taken a $50 million second round may be inaccurate.

The new investor in this round, officially the second, is Cascade Investment, which is owned by Bill Gates. The other investors are ARCH Venture Partners, Wellcome Trust and Venrock. Sapphire is based in San Diego, Calif.

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Satoris gets $5M for Alzheimer’s test (VentureWire)
• Endotis Pharma pulls in €25M for clot-busting and cancer drugs (release)
• Germany’s Direvo Biotech strikes drug-development pact with MedImmune (release)
• OrthoAccel gets $1.3M for device to speed orthodonture (VW)
• Medical-management software co. Accuro Healthcare files for $144M IPO (Edgar)
• Psilos Group raises more than $250M in third life-science fund (VW)
• Softscope Medical Tech names John Schellhorn as CEO (release)

Endotis Pharma pulls in €25M for clot-busting and cancer drugs — Endotis Pharma, a French specialty pharma focused on drugs for treating blood clots and cancer, raised €25 million ($36.8 million) in a second funding round. Investors included the Wellcome Trust, Endeavour Vision, NIF SMBC Ventures and Sofinnova Partners.

Endotis specializes in complicated chemistry related to natural sugar molecules called glycans that attach to proteins in ways that alter their function. The startup is developing small, synthetic versions of these molecules designed to tackle and “defuse” disease-related proteins, such as clotting factors (which can lead to blood clots) and cancer-related molecules.

OrthoAccel gets $1.3M for device to speed orthodonture — Houston-based OrthoAccel, a dental-device maker developing a removable mouthpiece designed to speed the work of orthodontic braces, raised $1.3 million to begin clinical trials, VentureWire reports. The funding includes $500,000 in first-round cash from angel investors and $750,000 from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund that will convert into second-round financing later this year.

The OrthoAccel device, called Celerect, is similar to a mouthpiece or retainer, and works in conjunction with standard orthodontic braces. Wearing it for just 10 minute to 20 minutes a day is supposed to provide some sort of pulsating force that accelerates the process of reshaping bones. A company official claims that in animal models, the Celerect may speed tooth movement by 50 percent.

The company envisions marketing the device for adults, who are particularly self-conscious about wearing braces. The VentureWire story says the device may boost the cost of braces, currently around $5,000, by 40 percent to 50 percent.

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Ulthera receives $23M for cosmetic ultrasound devices (release)
• Senexis raises £2.9M for Alzheimer’s drugs (PDF release)
• Elixir Pharma postpones IPO (IPO Home)
• Cancer Therapeutics names Randall Riggs as CEO (release)

Ulthera receives $23M for cosmetic ultrasound devices — Ulthera, a Mesa, Ariz., startup developing ultrasound systems for cosmetic procedures, raised $22.5 million in a second funding round. Investors included New Enterprise Associates and 3i.

Ulthera, whose Web site is still a stub, aims to use its ultrasound devices for face lifts and “skin rejuvenation.” The company says the ultrasound can penetrate and remove — “microabrades,” in its terminology — skin tissue that is several layers deep without disturbing the surface, or epidemis. Deeper treatment supposedly triggers a “natural healing effect,” which Ulthera’s CEO claims will lead to a “gradual lifting and tightening of skin tissue in and around the face.”

The product can produce ultrasound images of the area to be treated as well. Ulthera has regulatory clearance to sell its device in Europe and expects FDA approval soon as well. The company will use the funds it raised for global commercialization, product development and to conduct additional trials to expand the use of its technology.

Senexis raises £2.9M for Alzheimer’s drugs — Senexis, a Cambridge, U.K., biotech working on drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions related to aging, received £2.9 million ($5.7 million) from the Wellcome Trust. The funding came from the Wellcome’s “Seeding Drug Discovery” program, and and augments £700,000 Senexis raised last year from BTG, a London specialty pharma. BTG and the Wellcome had previously invested £2.4 million in Senexis.

The company is developing small-molecule drugs intended to prevent the misfolding of amyloid proteins, which clump together in plaques around nerve fibers. Many scientists believe that these amyloid plaques cause inflammation that ultimately kills nerve and brain cells in Alzheimer’s patients, although dissenters still argue that plaques may be a distraction or even a defensive reaction to the disease. At this point, no one can say for certain exactly what causes the disease.

Still, most Alzheimer’s drugs now under development target the clumping amyloid proteins, and Senexis is no exception. One of its two lead candidates is a small molecule designed to inhibit the misfolding and aggregation of amyloid proteins in Alzheimer’s patients. The other is intended to tamp down brain inflammation. Both are still in animal testing. Senexis also hopes to treat diabetes by inhibiting aggregation of an amyloid protein that the company appears not to have identified.

Elixir Pharma postpones IPO — Elixir Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass., biotech focused on anti-aging and obesity drugs, postponed its IPO. The company had most recently planned to raise as much as $92 million in its offering.

It’s not entirely clear why Elixir, which I figured would follow in the footsteps of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals‘ successful IPO (our coverage here), chose to delay the offering — which is almost always code for pulling it entirely. One possible reason might be that Elixir co-founder Leonard Guarente, a MIT professor sometimes tipped as a future Nobel laureate, decamped from Elixir for Sirtris in November.

You can see our previous coverage of Elixir here and here.

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

• Fovea Pharma sees €30M for eye drugs (release)
• Ascendis Pharma raises €18M for time-release drugs (PDF release)
• Arcion draws $9M for topical pain drugs (VentureWire, sub req’d)
• Saladax Biomedical raises $8M for chemotherapy diagnostics (VW)
• MedAssets prices IPO at top of range, raises up to $221M (IPO Home)
• Pequot spin-off Longitude seeks $250M for life-science investments (VW)
• Third Rock Ventures adds three new partners (release)
• Ultrasound surgical co. ProRhythm files for bankruptcy protection (release)
• The Hartford Financial Services Group acquires healthcare-benefit administrator TopNoggin (release)
• Healthcare IT provider MedAptus names Doug Percy as new CEO (release)
• VivoMetrics appoints Howard Baker as new CEO (release)

Fovea Pharma sees €30M for eye drugs — Paris-based Fovea Pharmaceuticals, a biotech focused on eye disease, raised €30 million ($44 million) in a second funding round. Investors included Forbion Capital Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Abingworth, GIMV, the Wellcome Trust and CAPE.

Fovea’s lead drug candidates address a variety of ophthalmic conditions, including chronic allergic conjunctivitis and two types of macular edema. The company said the proceeds will allow it to begin mid-stage, phase II human tests of three drugs for these conditions.

Ascendis Pharma raises €18M for time-release drugs — Ascendis Pharma, a Danish specialty pharma with a new trick for making time-release versions of existing drugs, raised €17.6 million ($25.8 million) (PDF) in a first funding round. Investors included Sofinnova Partners, Gilde Healthcare Partners and Zweite TechnoStart Ventures Fonds.

Ascendis also announced the acquisition of Complex Biosystems, a German biotech with technology for enhancing the effectiveness of protein-based drugs. Complex Biosystems will apparently become the research arm of Ascendis, which sort of raises the question of what sort of research the company was conducting prior to the acquisition.

The startup has developed what it calls a novel chemical “linkage” technology that reversibly binds and disables a “carrier” molecule. Apparently that linkage degrades in a predictable fashion, effectively releasing active drug in a time-controlled fashion. Ascendis hasn’t said much about its drug candidates except to note that they address a wide range of disease, including diabetes, neurological disorders and heart disease.

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 technologies” it has licensed from Nektar Therapeutics. Nektar, of course, is the company that spent years co-developing the inhalable insulin Exubera with Pfizer, only to see it flop in the marketplace — not least because the bulky inhaler resembled nothing so much as a bong.

In fact, Pearl’s ties to Nektar run deep. In addition to licensing its basic technology from Nektar, the company was founded in 2006 by two former Nektar executives, Adrian Smith and Sarvajna Dwivedi. Pearl most likely also aims to reformulate existing drugs into a better inhalable form — and presumably hopes for better luck in doing so.

Proteon Therapeutics sucks in $12M for vascular drug — Proteon, a Waltham, Mass., biotech, raised $12 million in a follow-on to its first funding round. Investors included TVM Capital, Skyline Ventures, Prism VentureWorks and Intersouth Partners.

Proteon’s main drug candidate, PRT-201, aims to do something new by permanently enlarging blood vessels at the site of administration. The technology is based on elastases, a type of protein-cutting enzyme, which supposedly modify the “extracellular matrix” of blood vessels in order to enlarge them. The company expects the drug might be useful for kidney-dialysis patients, who now often have to undergo surgery to create blood vessels large enough for a connection to the blood-filtration devices, and in peripheral arterial disease.

Brain scanner Nexstim beams in €8M — Nexstim , a Helsinki, Finland-based developer of brain-imaging techniques, raised €8 million ($10.9 million) in a private placement. Investors included HealthCap, LSP (Life Sciences Partners), Finnish Industry Investment and Sitra.

Nexstim is working on a new brain-imaging technique it calls “navigated brain stimulation.” The details are pretty hairy — check out the company’s release if you’d like to know more — but it essentially combines several different electromagnetic-imaging techniques with a movable coil that can be guided wherever the operator would like. The system isn’t approved for clinical use, although Nexstim said the funding would allow it to obtain the necessary regulatory approval.

Health software company SupplyScape raises $10M, names new CEO — SupplyScape, a Woburn, Mass., developer of supply-chain software for life-sciences companies, raised $10 million in a third funding round. Investors in the latest round included IDG Ventures Boston, North Bridge Venture Partners, Pilot House Ventures, Bethesda Partners, and Pfizer Strategic Investments Group.

The company also named Mark O’Connell, former CEO of MatrixOne, as its chief executive.

The average person, however, could be forgiven for having no clue what SupplyScape actually does. According to the company’s press releases, it makes software to “maximize product integrity and create business value for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device companies.” Its Web site promises “collaborative pharmaceutical value chains” that improve “security and profitability.” As it turns out, the company’s software helps track and trace drugs from their point of manufacture through various distribution channels in order to guard against counterfeits, at least so far as I can tell from its Web site.

Cancer screener NeoMatrix raises $9.6M — San Diego’s NeoMatrix, a company focused on early detection of breast cancer, raised $9.6 million in a third funding round. Private investors provided the funding, the company told me. (Its release doesn’t include these details.) Out of sheer coincidence, two southern California businessmen — Anthony Ciabattoni and Richard Franco Sr. — also just joined the company’s board (see the release for details).

Founded in 2000, NeoMatrix sells a screening test that detects pre-malignant or malignant cells in “nipple aspirate fluid,” which is extracted from the breast using a “gentle” suction device. The company said the new funds will allow it to hire its first sales reps, expand its marketing efforts and to convert or retire remaining debt the company used to finance development of its test.

Lectus draws in £3M for MS drugs — Cambridge, England-based Lectus Therapeutics, a biotech focused on a class of drugs known as ion-channel modulators, raised £3 million ($6.1 million) in funding from the Wellcome Trust. The investment is intended specifically to fund development of drugs for multiple sclerosis. Lectus had previously identified its primary disease interests as urinary bladder disorders, pain and angina.

Cell imager Cyntellect adds $3M in funding — Cytellect, a San Diego developer of cell imaging and manipulation systems, raised an additional $3 million in a fourth funding round, bringing the total for the round to $18.1 million. Bru II Venture Capital Fund, based in Reykjavik, Iceland, provided the additional funding.

Cyntellect’s laser-based equipment makes it possible to fluorescently image cells, isolate and destroy unwanted cells in a sample, and to “optoinject” various molecules directly into cells. See our previous coverage here.

UPDATE (10am PT): Added items on Cyntellect, Lectus Therapeutics, NeoMatrix, Nexstim, Pearl Therapeutics, and Proteon Therapeutics.