Life sciences briefing: Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Gelesis draws in $16M for obesity treatments (release)
Tempo Pharma raises $8B for nanoparticle drugs (release)
Calistoga Pharma receives additional $5M for cancer and inflammation drugs (release)
Montreux Equity Partners closes $250M life-sciences fund (release)
MTS Health Partners names Andrew Weisenfeld, Mark Epstein managing directors (release)
T2 Biosystems names John McDonough as CEO (release)
Gelesis draws in $16M for obesity treatments — Gelesis, a stealthy Boston company working on “novel” obesity treatments, raised $16 million in a first funding round…. Continue Reading
Nanopharmaceutical maker Tempo Pharma picks up $12M
Tempo Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass., developer of new-drug formulations, raised $12.1 million in a first funding round. The company, which touts itself as a “nanopharmaceutical” maker, aims to improve the safety and effectiveness of existing drugs using engineered nanoparticles designed to home in on particular organs or tissues, then release two or more drugs in sequence. Tempo initially plans to focus on cancer.
Venrock and Polaris Venture Partners led the round, joined by Lux Capital and… Continue Reading
Venrock to boost investment in public biotechs
(UPDATED with minor editing changes.)
Venrock Associates, the venerable Rockefeller-founded VC firm in Menlo Park, Calif., plans to expand its investments in publicly traded biotechs, VentureWire reports (subscription required).
The venture firm, which allocates roughly one-third of its funds to healthcare-related investing, said it will set aside about 10 percent of its latest $600 million fund for public-company investments in biotech. Venrock backed four public biotechs in its last fund, and now plans to invest in as many… Continue Reading