Osprey picks up $3.8M more for immune disease treatments
Osprey Pharmaceuticals, a drug maker focusing on inflammatory and immune disease medications, added $3.8 million to its first round of funding, bringing its total to $14.8 million, according to VentureWire. The San Francisco company says the new money was needed to see its lead drug candidate through clinical trials. It did not disclose its recent investors.
Osprey has focused its resources on a drug that could treat inflammatory kidney disease. Results from its clinical trials are… Continue Reading
$40M rains on Novariant to grow agricultural GPS systems
Novariant, developer of GPS and other location-based systems used to drive agricultural equipment hands-free, took in $40 million in a fourth round of funding led by Investor Growth Capital. The Fremont, Calif.-based company will use the new money to scale operations.
Its flagship AutoFarm line of products is intended to cut down on personnel demands and up crop yields — something most farmers pinched by the downturn are looking to do. Equipment driven by GPS is… Continue Reading
Osprey raises $11M for protein therapeutics
Osprey Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. has raised $11 million in a first round of funding, according to VentureWire. The San Francisco company’s protein therapeutics treatment targets kidney disease. Burrill & Co. led the round, with participation from BDC Venture Capital, GeneChem Therapeutics Venture Fund, Novo Nordisk Biotech Fund, Western Technology Seed Investment Fund and Yasuda Enterprise Development.
The future of solar is nanotech: Nanogram, Sunflake and other upcoming technologies
With a fresh $32 million funding going to nanotechnoloy firm NanoGram, mainly for development of next-generation solar cells, it’s a good time to point out some up-and-coming technologies that work on very small scales to make photovoltaic cells more efficient.
NanoGram has already had several commercial successes, including inventions in both electronics and medicine. However, the company has of late turned its sights on boosting the efficiency of solar cells.
The company is working on ultra-thin crystalline… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007
Featured companies: Ablynx, Cardiosolutions, Carigent Thereapeutics, Elusys, Genome Corp., GlobeImmune, Novazone, Targanta Therapeutics, Waterfront Media
UPDATED at 5:45am on 9/27/07
GlobeImmune raises $41M for immune-system therapies — GlobeImmune, a Louisville, Colo., biotech focused on new forms of immunotherapy to treat viral infections and cancer, raised $41.2 million in a third funding round. Investors included Wexford Capital, Celgene, the Mellon Family Investment Company, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Eminent Venture Capital, Boston Life Science Venture, WRF Capital, HealthCare Ventures,… Continue Reading
Kovio raises $19.4M for printed electronics
Kovio, a Sunnyvale, Calif. developer of semiconductor products using thin-film technologies, or “printed electronics,” has raised $19.5 million in the first part of a fourth (series D) round of funding, according to a press release.
Pinnacle Ventures led the deal, which included previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, DAG Ventures, DEA Capital, Flagship Ventures, Harris & Harris Group, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, NCD Investors and Yasuda Enterprise Development, according to the report. Since… Continue Reading