Tag: investment

  • Baxter Acquires Sickle-Cell Prevention Drug Developer

    10 July 2014. Baxter International in Deerfield, Illinois is acquiring AesRx LLC, a biopharmaceutical company in Newton, Massachusetts developing drugs for sickle-cell and other rare diseases. Baxter is making an initial payment to AesRx, which will be eligible for future payments tied to development and commercial milestones, but dollar amounts were not disclosed. Sickle cell…

  • Foundation, Biopharm Partner on RNA-Interference Therapy

    19 June 2014. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Alpha-1 Project in Miami are collaborating on advancing Alnylam’s therapy to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a rare genetic condition responsible for liver disorders and a lung disease similar to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. Alpha-1 Project is the for-profit venture division of the…

  • Portfolio Model Proposed for Funding Alzheimer’s Research

    18 June 2014. Financial and biomedical researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California in Santa Barbara, and the biotechnology company Genentech outlined a different approach to funding research on Alzheimer’s disease that supports multiple simultaneous studies addressing various drug targets. The team led by MIT finance professor Andrew Lo published its findings today…

  • Clinical-Stage Biotech Lands $15M in Early Venture Funding

    4 June 2014. Trevi Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in New Haven, Connecticut developing therapies for chronic itching conditions, secured $15 million in its second venture financing round. The funding, the first installment in a projected $25 million round, was led by current investor TPG Biotech and includes current angel investors in the company. Trevi…

  • Epigenetics Biotech Secures $12.9 Million Early Financing

    30 May 2014. Rodin Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in Boston developing therapies based on epigenetics — inherited changes in genetic activity outside of DNA — raised $12.9 million in its first venture funding round. The company is a joint venture of Proteros biostructures GmbH in Munich and Atlas Ventures in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Rodin Therapeutics…

  • Antibody Developer Secures $40M from Foundation Investors

    16 May 2014. Kymab Ltd., a developer of human antibodies from mouse genomes, raised $40 million in its second round of venture investment from the Wellcome Trust, an original backer of the company, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Kymab, based in Cambridge, U.K., is also collaborating with the Gates Foundation in research on discovery…

  • Neurodegenerative Therapies Start-Up Gains $4.8M Seed Funds

    12 May 2014. Lysosomal Therapeutics Inc., a start-up developer of therapies for neurodegenerative disorders in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raised $4.8 million in seed financing, the enterprise’s initial operating funds. The company was begun by and is based on the research of Dimitri Krainc, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Atlas…

  • Biotech Alliance to Humanize Pig Lungs for Transplant

    7 May 2014. Synthetic Genomics Inc. in La Jolla, California and Lung Biotechnology Inc. in Silver Spring, Maryland are developing synthetic lungs from pigs for patients with end-stage lung diseases needing a transplant. While all financial aspects of the deal were not disclosed, United Therapeutics Corporation — the parent company of Lung Biotechnology — is…

  • Immune Therapeutics Start-Up Raises $37.5M in Early Funding

    6 May 2014. Anokion SA in Lausanne, Switzerland, a start-up enterprise developing therapies to treat immune systems disorders, raised 33 million Swiss francs ($US 37.5 million) in its first venture financing round. The round was led by Novartis Venture Fund, and two life-science investment companies — Novo Ventures and Versant Ventures — with participation from…

  • Cisco Venture Arm Backing Internet-of-Things Start-Ups

    1 May 2014. Cisco Investments, the venture capital division of the network technologies company, is taking minority stakes in start-up companies and an accelerator that add Internet connectivity to everyday devices and products, known as Internet-of-Things. The company also plans to make $150 million in early-stage investments over the next two to three years on…