VentureBeat

Featured companies: Algorithme Pharma, Bacchus Vascular, Botaneco, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Ikonisys, Healthcare Management Systems, Illumigen Biosciences, Kilmer Capital Partners, Medical Specialties Distributors, Metastatix, Microphage, Orthosoft, Thomas McNerney & Partners, TranS1, TriReme Medical, Wren Medical, Zimmer

UPDATE: Expanded TriReme Medical, Ikonisys and TranS1 items.

UPDATE REDUX: Added MicroPhage item.

Stent-maker TriReme Medical sails off with $15.6M — Pleasanton, Calif.-based TriReme Medical, a device maker developing a new type of artery-opening stent for blood-vessel junctions, raised $15.6 million in a third funding round. (The company doesn’t appear to have a Web site.) Investors included Three Arch Partners and Adams Street Partners.

TriReme claims that its new stent is easier to use and can be placed more accurately than similar stents now on the market. The product is still undergoing clinical studies.

Ikonisys draws $30M for cancer and prenatal diagnostics — New Haven, Conn.-based Ikonisys, which now makes and sells a cell-based diagnostic for cancer and prenatal testing, raised $30 million in a fifth funding round. Investors included Goldman, Sachs, Trevi Health Ventures, Palisade Capital, Everfin, Lakeview Capital Management, New Science Ventures, Promark Holdings, Saint Simeon - e Investimentos, and WHI Group.

Ikonisys makes an automated microscope-based test that analyzes cells from blood and other bodily fluids. The system can chunk through up to 175 microscope slides in one go, providing an initial diagnosis for each one based on a computer analysis of stained cell samples. The company has received FDA approval to market the test for detection of bladder cancer and to scan for prenatal chromosomal defects.

TranS1 IPO exceeds estimated range, raises $95M for spinal-fusion devices — The Wilmington, N.C., maker of minimally invasive devices for spinal fusion priced its IPO shares at $15 apiece, above its expected range of $12 to $14, raising as much as $95 million on the sale of up to 6.3 million shares. The offering values the company at $281.6 million. Our previous coverage of the firm is here and here.

In early trading Wednesday, TranS1 shares were up 60 percent to $24. That’s more confirmation — as if we needed it — that life-science investors seem excited about everything except biotech.

Infection-diagnostic co. MicroPhage raises $1.6M — Antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus infections are on the rise, boosting the need for ways to detect the bugs at an early stage so as to prevent their spread and treat patients most effectively. MicroPhage, a Longmont, Colo., biotech at work on a diagnostic test of this sort, raised $1.6 million in a second tranch of its first funding round. Private investors provided the funding.

MicroPhage isn’t alone in this market, of course. We wrote earlier about OpGen and AdvanDX — see our coverage here and here — which hope to speed detection of these “superbugs” (technically known as MRSA, for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) using new genome-based tests. MicroPhage, however, takes an ingenious and decidedly low-tech approach: Its tests are designed to detect MRSA by infecting the staph germs with bacteria-specific viruses called bacteriophage. These viruses multiply so rapidly that they should be detectable by simple antibody tests within one to four hours, a solution the company bills as simple and inexpensive compared to its high-tech counterparts.

OTHER HEADLINES OF NOTE:

• Botaneco takes in $2.4M for dermatology emulsions, split from SemBioSys Genetics (release)
• Marval Bio raises $1M for less toxic contrast dye for CT scans (VentureWire, sub req’d)
• 7 Health Ventures raises $70M for Israeli medical-device startups (VentureWire)
• Zimmer completes acquisition of OrthoSoft for $51.4M (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette)
• Cubist buys “exclusive option” to acquire anti-infective developer Illumigen (release)
• Medical Specialties Distributors acquires infusion-product distributor Wren Medical (PE Hub)
• Kilmer takes majority stake in contract researcher Algorithme Pharma (PE Hub)
• Healthcare IT firm Healthcare Management raises funds, recapitalizes (release)
• Clotbuster-device co. Bacchus Vascular names Scott Cramer CEO (release)
• Chemokine specialist Metastatix names Carol Gallagher as CEO (release)
• Thomas, McNerney & Partners names Eric Aguiar partner, Jason Brown as associate (release)

Featured companies: Aldagen, LDR, Lyten Endoscopy, MachLabs, Permatox, TeleMedicine Clinic, ThromboVision

Spinal-implant maker LDR raises $25M — Austin, Texas-based LDR, a maker of spinal implants, raised $25 million in a third funding round. Investors included Telegraph Hill Partners, Austin Ventures, Rothschild Private Equity and PTV Sciences.

LDR sells spinal-fusion devices, artificial disks and other spine-related devices in more than 30 countries, and plans to use the funds for further expansion.

Aldagen adds $9M for adult stem-cell work — Aldagen, a Durham, N.C., biotech developing regenerative therapies with “adult” stem cells, raised an additional $9 million (PDF link), bringing its third funding round to a total of $23 million. Investors in the additional financing include Tullis-Dickerson, CNF Investments, Harbert Venture Partners and Intersouth Partners.

The company’s most advanced experimental treatment uses stem cells derived from umbilical-cord blood to somehow improve the speed and effectiveness of cord-blood transplants in children, although the company doesn’t explain how. Nor has it revealed the results of an early-stage human test. Other treatments now entering clinical trials use stem or related progenitor cells isolated from a patient’s own bone marrow to treat heart failure or clot-related oxygen deprivation in the limbs.

The Triangle Business Journal has more.

ThromboVision raises $4M for personalized-medicine diagnostics — The Houston, Texas, biotech ThromboVision said it raised $4 million in a first funding round. Investors included the private-equity firm National Healthcare Services and private investors.

ThromboVision is developing new tests of platelet activity that may help doctors determine which patients are most likely to respond to low doses of blood thinners such as aspirin or Plavix, which are used to prevent clots that can cause heart attacks or strokes. This is similar — in concept, at least — to the FDA’s recent push to require the use of genomic tests to determine the proper dosing of warfarin, another blood thinner. (See our coverage here.)

MachLabs launches two device companies — MachLabs, a Redwood City, Calif., investor partnership founded by entrepreneurs Michael Laufer and John Lonergan, recently launched two medical-device startups, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Lyten is developing a minimally invasive treatment for obesity, while Permatox hopes to introduce a non-invasive alternative to Botox.

TeleMedicine Clinic receives €7M for radiology services — Barcelona-based TeleMedicine Clinic, a center for the outsourced analysis of medical images such as X-rays and MRIs, raised €7 million ($9.7 million), VentureWire reports. Investors included Kennet Partners, Active Capital Partners and an undisclosed European seed investor.

Featured companies: Enobia, F-star, N Spine, Omni Life Science

Enobia splints together $38M for bone disorders — Montreal’s Enobia, a biotech focused on aiming drugs specifically at bone diseases, raised C$40.1 million ($38 million) in a second funding round. Investors included OrbiMed Advisors, CTI Life Sciences Fund, the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, Desjardins Venture Capital, Lothian Partners and T2C2/Bio 2000.

Enobia intends to deliver bone-related drugs directly to bone tissue in order to reduce both dosages and possible side effects. Its first drug candidate targets hypophosphatasia, a genetic disease in which bones fail to absorb minerals correctly because an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase is mutated and fails to work properly. The condition can cause stunted growth and weak or deformed bones, and in its most severe forms can be fatal.

Enobia’s drug is a bone-targeted form of alkaline phosphatase designed to make up for the defective form of the enzyme. The company said the new funding will allow it to take its experimental drug through mid-stage clinical trials.

Orthopedics-device maker Omni Life Science raises $5M in debt — Raynham, Mass.-based Omni Life Science, a maker of hip- and knee-replacement implants, raised $5 million of a planned $12 million convertible-note round, VentureWire reports (subscription required), citing a regulatory filing. Investors including Apex Partners provided the funding.

Omni was founded in 1998 as an orthopedics-device company, but the products it currently sells mostly appear to have originated with Apex Surgical, which Omni acquired in 2005. VentureWire notes that Apex Partners is also located in Raynham, Mass., and is not related to a Florida firm of the same name.

Antibody maker F-star gets €6M — Vienna-based F-star, a developer of “modular” synthetic antibodies for use as drugs, raised €6 million ($8.3 million) in a first funding round. Aescap Venture and Atlas Venture provided the funding.

All told, F-star has raised €10 million to date. The company uses a vast library of antibody features to engineer the large molecules in new ways, potentially yielding smaller antibody fragments that retain the functionality of their larger counterparts or adding additional features to existing antibodies. There’s more here, if you’re into antibody-structure engineering.

N Spine raises $1M for device commercialization — San Diego’s N Spine, a maker of spinal fusion and stabilization devices, raised $1 million in bridge funding, VentureWire reports. Individual investors provided the funding.

From the VentureWire story:

The new funding comes as N Spine has been building a market presence for the NFix II dynamic pedicle screw and rod system, which received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in February. “Our product has been used clinically for a year,” [chief technology officer Jude Paganelli] said. “And in the U.S., we have been selling since March.”

Read the rest of this entry »

OuroBoros, a San Diego developer of devices for minimally invasive spinal fusion, raised $1.17 million in a planned $4 million first funding round, PE Wire reports, citing a regulatory filing. The deal was led by Ascent Medical Ventures.

Orthopedic Development, a Clearwater, Fla., maker of spinal-fusion devices, raised $8 million in an oversubscribed institutional funding round. The private placement, handled by GunnAllen Financial, was entirely funded by individual investors, VentureWire reports (subscription required).

Orthopedic Development’s operating subsidiary, MinSurg, makes and sells a fusion device called TruFuse, which involves the use of small pieces of human bone, rather than plates and screws, to stabilize the spine. The proceeds of the round will be used to accelerate sales of TruFuse and to fund additional research and development.

One odd note about this company: Its Web site flags a “security alert” (the link can’t be reproduced for some reason, but I’ve uploaded the PDF file here; you can also go to Orthopedic Development’s Web site and click on the red “security alert” text at top right) that warns about “deceptive, inaccurate and malevolent e-mails” recently received by the company’s investment bank and advisors. It doesn’t actually say what mysterious allegations these e-mails are supposed to be pushing, but notes that the company’s independent directors have concluded they contain “no credible information.”

This sort of hysterical overreaction to criticism is rarely a good sign, of course. If anyone knows more, feel free to e-mail or leave a comment.