Category: Finance
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Monsanto, Venture Company to Fund Life Science Start Ups
Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri and Atlas Venture, a venture capital firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, agreed to jointly explore investments in early-stage life sciences companies. Monsanto is a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals; Atlas Venture invests in early-stage technology and life sciences businesses. Under the agreement, Monsanto and Atlas will identify investments in several agricultural…
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NSF Grant Awarded for Nanotech Color-Enhanced MRI Scans
An engineering faculty member at University of Houston received a grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on a process that adds color to the standard black-and-while MRI image. The three-year, $300,000 grant supports the work of mechanical engineering professor Li Sun (pictured left), as well as colleagues at Houston and the University of…
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Q1 2011 Venture Fund Raising Up in U.S., Down in Europe
Venture capital (VC) funds in the U.S. raised $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2011, nearly double the $3.9 billion raised in the first quarter of 2010, according to Dow Jones LP Source. Early-stage funds — those that invest in start up companies, such enterprises begun by university researchers — were among the VCs…
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Business Council Releases Ecosystem Valuation Guide
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in Geneva, Switzerland released today its Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation (CEV), to help businesses better understand the benefits and value of ecosystem services like fresh water, food, fiber, and natural hazard protection. The CEV guide can be downloaded free of charge from the WBCSD Web site.…
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Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development
The Department of Energy has awarded three sets of grants to promote development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes in the U.S. The $112.5 million awards over five years are part of the department’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make large-scale solar energy systems cost competitive without subsidies by the end of the decade.…
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SBIR Grant Awarded for Drug-to-Drug Interactions Research
Optivia Biotechnology Inc. in Menlo Park, California received a $1.85 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from National Institutes of Health to determine the mechanisms that underlie certain drug-to-drug interactions, to help improve medication safety. The award was made by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH. The phase 2 SBIR grant…
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BARDA Contract Awarded for Antiviral Influenza Drug
The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a contract to Biota Scientific Management Pty in Melbourne, Australia for an antiviral drug to combat influenza. The contract for advanced development and testing of the drug is valued at $231 million over five years. The drug, CS-8958, is a long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor, which prevents…
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Venture-Backed Exit Value Up, Numbers Down in Q1 2011
The number of exit deals for new companies in the U.S. backed by venture capital (VC) in the first quarter of 2011 dropped, while the total value of the deals increased compared to the same period in 2010. Science-based companies figured prominently in the first-quarter deals involving VC-backed enterprises. Data on exits, where enterprises backed…
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Universities Form Appalachian Enviro. Research Initiative
Seven universities in the Appalachian region of the U.S. have formed a consortium to study environmental impacts of the production and use Appalachia’s energy resources, particularly coal. Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will house the new Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science (ARIES). ARIES is expected to involve researchers representing a range of disciplines from Virginia…
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Merck to Offer Biotech Funding, Incubator in Israel
The global pharmaceutical company Merck in Darmstadt, Germany has opened the Merck Serono Israel Bioincubator Fund, to support Israeli biotech and materials science start up companies. Merck’s chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley announced the initiative yesterday during meetings with officials in Israel. Merck’s incubator program covers pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and high-performance materials. The program will offer start…