Life-science briefing: Friday, April 11, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Stent maker IDev Tech raises $25M (VentureWire)
Xytis gets $15M for brain-injury drugs (VentureWire)
Diagnostic maker Iris Biotech plans to go public, launch breast-cancer test (Edgar)
RiverVest Venture Partners raises $75M life-science fund (release)
Concentric Medical names Maria Sainz CEO (release)
[Note: I’m a little sad to announce that this will be my last life-science briefing at VentureBeat, although with luck, it won’t be the end of my time here. Starting Monday, I’ll be blogging regularly on the drug industry and… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Friday, April 4, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
IlluminOss Medical gets $11M for bone-fracture devices (peHUB)
Contract researcher Crown Bioscience takes in funding (release)
IlluminOss Medical gets $11M for bone-fracture devices — East Providence, R.I.-based IlluminOss Medical, a medical-device startup, raised $11 million in a second funding round, peHUB reports. Backers included New Leaf Ventures and Foundation Medical Partners.
The company’s Web site is barely more than a stub that describes IlluminOss as a device company “pioneering new frontiers in orthopedic surgery.” peHUB offers the… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Thursday, April 3, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Mirna Thera spins out of Asuragen with $3M (release)
Stroke-therapy startup CoAxia raises $12M (release)
Stealthy device maker Synvascular gets $6.5M (peHUB)
AndroScience seeks $3.5M for anti-testosterone drugs (VentureWire)
Austria’s ProtAffin takes in €1.1M grant (release)
Singapore’s Moleac receives $3.5M for Chinese medicine (release)
Alethia Bio gets C$2.4M for antibody drugs (release)
Alba Thera names Bruce Peacock as CEO (release)
SkinMedica names Mary Fisher as CEO (release)
Mirna Thera spins out of Asuragen with $3M – Mirna Therapeutics, a newly minted Austin, Tex., startup focused… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Monday, March 31, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Boston Scientific spinout TriVascular2 takes in $65M (release)
Inhaled-drug startup Transave raises $35M (release)
Triage Wireless gets $20M for vital-signs monitors (release)
Tryton Medical receives $14M for “bifurcation” stents (release)
Synthetic bio startup Codon Devices adds $11M (release)
Tracon Pharma takes in $4.5M against cancer and eye disease (VentureWire)
Antibody maker f-star swaps in equity stake by TVM (PDF release)
Drug packager MonoSol Rx withdraws IPO (IPOhome)
GE Healthcare acquires portable-ventilator maker VersaMed (release)
Boston Scientific spinout TriVascular2 takes in $65M – In 2005, Boston… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Thursday, March 27, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Breathe Tech raises $15M for respiratory disease (release)
Protein-drug maker Pieris takes in €25M (release)
Apthera takes in $2.1M toward cancer vaccine (VentureWire)
Breathe Tech raises $15M for respiratory disease – Breathe Technologies, a Fremont, Calif., medical device maker, raised $15 million in a second round of funding. Investors included Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Synergy Partners International, Delphi Ventures and Life Science Angels.
Breathe is developing “compact” and “lightweight” respiratory systems for the hospital and home markets, and… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
OptiMedica takes in $16M for eye-treatment lasers (release)
Genome analyzer BioNanomatrix raises $5M (release)
Heart diagnostic startup Aviir gets another $1.5M (VBLS exclusive)
Pharmaca, integrative-pharmacy chain, draws $20M (release)
LifeWatch, cardiac-monitoring device maker, withdraws IPO (IPOhome)
Jerry DeVries, Steven Whitlock join PTV Sciences as venture partners (VentureWire)
OptiMedica takes in $16M for eye-treatment lasers – OptiMedica, a Santa Clara, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $16 million in a third funding round. Investors included Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Alloy Ventures and… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Antibody-discovery startup Adimab raises new funding (release)
Lung-device maker Spiration gets $19M (release)
Sample-prep startup Protein Discovery pulls in $10M (release)
Inogen takes in $13M for portable oxygen device (VentureWire)
Healthcare IT concern Medaptus raises $11M for expansion (VentureWire)
Contract lab Synexis raises $14M (peHUB)
Medical-device VC firm BioStar Ventures takes in $24M of $80M fund (peHUB)
Halsa Pharma gets $250K for “natural” obesity-control treatment (release)
Diagnostics provider Lab21 acquires NPTech (peHUB)
Galil Medical names Martin Emerson CEO (release)
Antibody-discovery startup Adimab raises new funding – Lebanon,… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Thursday, March 20, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Vantia Thera spins out of Ferring, raises £19M (PDF release)
Third Eye gets $150K for intracranial-pressure monitor (release)
Diabetes tester Oculir closes doors, returns capital (VentureWire)
Catalyst Health Ventures raising $60M fund (VentureWire)
Vantia Thera spins out of Ferring, raises £19M – Vantia Therapeutics, a U.K. spinout of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, has launched and raised £19 million ($37.7 million) in a first funding round (PDF link). Investors included MVM Life Science Partners, SV Life Sciences and Novo A/S.
Vantia inherits a… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Paris-based Stentys takes $18M for “bifurcated” stents (release)
Blood analyzer IntelliDx raises $22M (PDF release)
Cancer-test biotech Calderome changes name to VeraCyte (VentureWire)
Predictive Biosciences names Peter Klemm as CEO (release)
Paris-based Stentys takes $18M for “bifurcated” stents – Stentys, a Paris-based medical device maker, raised $18 million in a second funding round. The company is developing “bifurcated” stents intended to prop open clogged arteries at blood-vessel junctions.
The startup said the funding will allow it to complete clinical trials… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Luminous Medical raises $24M for automated glucose monitoring (release)
Alimera Sciences gets $30M for eye-disease drug (release)
Vaccine maker LigoCyte draws $28M (release)
Heartbeat tracker CardioNet trims IPO, aims for listing today (IPOhome)
Axial Biotech takes in $6M for spinal diagnostics (release)
Insulin bioengineer enGene receives $6.4M (release)
GlucoLight raises funding for, well, glucose monitoring (release)
Germany’s InflaRx gets seed funding for sepsis work (release)
Cell imager Amnis pulls in $3.5M (VentureWire)
Korea Bone Bank gets funding for bone transplants (release)
Luminous Medical raises… Continue Reading
Vessel-clog remover Chestnut pulls in $7.8M
Chestnut Medical Technologies, a Menlo Park, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $7.8 million against an anticipated $10 million third funding round, I’ve learned. An SEC document (PDF link) the company filed with the California Department of Corporations disclosed the funding.
Chestnut makes a device best described as a medical version of a plumber’s snake. Its Alligator retrieval device, which the FDA approved in 2005, is designed to remove “foreign bodies” such as blood clots from vessels in… Continue Reading
Miramar Labs gets $20M for “aesthetic” devices
Miramar Labs (no Web site), a Menlo Park, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $20.3 million in a second funding round, I’ve learned. There isn’t a huge amount of public information about the company, although it appears that the company is working on electromechanical devices of some sort for “aesthetic indications” — cosmetic surgery, in short.
Investors in the round included Split Rock Partners, Morgenthaler Partners and Domain Partners.
Nellix raises $6.5M for aneurysm grafts
Nellix Endovascular, a Palo Alto, Calif., medical-device maker, raised $6.5 million in a third funding round, I’ve learned. The startup is developing a new treatment for repairing blood-vessel flaws in the chest and abdomen.
Those flaws, known as aneurysms, are thin-walled “bubbles” in blood vessels that can rupture on short notice, often fatally. The Nellix device and treatment apparently injects some form of goop into these aneurysms, filling and sealing them in order to prevent rupture.
Investors… Continue Reading
Defibrillator maker Cameron Health takes in $14M
Cameron Health, a San Clemente, Calif., medical-device maker, has raised $14.1 million of a planned $50 million fifth funding round, I’ve learned. The company is working on a new type of implantable defibrillator that’s designed to be easier to implant and program than existing models.
Implantable defibrillators administer shocks to the hearts of people who are at risk of cardiac arrest — a critical condition in which the heart simply stops beating. When the device senses… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Thursday, March 13, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Aperio Tech raises $20M for digital pathology (release)
TissueLink changes name, files for $86M IPO (Edgar)
Specialty pharma Cydex files to raise $50M in IPO (Edgar)
Hydra Biosciences takes in $34M for pain drugs (VentureWire)
AVI BioPharma acquires Ercole Biotech for $9M (release)
Juvaris Bio names Grant Pickering as CEO (release)
Aperio Tech raises $20M for digital pathology – Aperio Technologies, a Vista, Calif., developer of systems for digitizing and analyzing medical images, raised $20 million in a third funding round. With… Continue Reading
Life-science briefing: Friday, March 7, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Allegro pulls in $4M for lung-cancer molecular diagnostics (release)
Ocular bandage developer I-Therapeutix raises $6M (Mass High Tech)
NanoBio gets last of $30M for skin-infection drugs (release)
Cayenne Medical raises $15M for sports medicine (release)
Aridis Pharma seeks $10M for oral-form drugs and vaccines (VentureWire)
Neurosurgical device maker Nfocus Neuro acquires StarFire Medical (release)
Allegro pulls in $4M for lung-cancer molecular diagnostics – Boston’s Allegro Diagnostics, a biotech developing molecular diagnostics for lung cancer, raised $4 million in a first funding… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Wednesday, March 5, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Precision Thera merger with “blank check” Oracle Healthcare collapses (release)
Sleep Solutions takes in $21M for sleep-apnea diagnostics (release)
Trevena takes in $24M for drugs targeting G-proteins (release)
“Specialty biotech” PanGenetics gets €23M for antibody drugs (release)
Cancer-drug maker Unibioscreen pulls in €5M (release)
Danish contract manufacturer CMC Biologics raises new funding (PDF release)
Healthcare investor EDF Ventures postpones fourth fund (VentureWire)
Global TB-drug alliance names former Sanofi-Aventis exec Jerome Premmeurer as CEO (release)
Liquidia Tech names Neal Fowler as CEO (release)
(NOTE: Sorry… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Monday, March 3 ,2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
InfraReDx takes $17M for arterial-plaque detection (VentureWire)
Cancer-drug developer Serenex sells out to Pfizer for undisclosed sum (release)
Life-sciences fund Longitude Capital raises $95M (VentureWire)
Hospital consultant Intercede Health names Gray Miller as CEO (release)
InfraReDx takes $17M for arterial-plaque detection – InfraReDx, a Burlington, Mass., developer of diagnostic systems that detect arterial plaque, raised $17 million in a third funding round, VentureWire reports. Sanderling Ventures led the round, joined by new and previous individual investors.
InfraReDx previously planned to… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
RNAi developer PhaseRx gets $4M of a pledged $19M (Seattle Times)
TyRx Pharma, drug-device combo maker, raises $25M (release)
Agennix aims at $40M for cancer drugs (VentureWire)
Starr Life Sciences goes after $1.6M for small-animal vital-signs scanner (VW)
CardioNet sets IPO terms, aims to raise $96M (IPOhome)
RNAi developer PhaseRx gets $4M of a pledged $19M – Investor interest in RNA interference, an ancient cellular mechanism for silencing dangerous genes, continues apace. PhaseRx, a Seattle biotech, has raised $4 million… Continue Reading
InSound Medical takes in $11M for “invisible” hearing aids — albeit ones that have been on the shelf for a while
InSound Medical, a medical-device startup in Newark, Calif., wants to let people with hearing loss regain that sense without having to wear a conspicuous hearing aid. Instead of clipping around the ear or fitting precariously into the opening of the auditory canal, the company’s Lyric hearing aid is implanted deeper into that canal, where it can remain for up to four months.
The device uses an extended-wear battery and is implanted in a non-surgical procedure in… Continue Reading