Venture Update Vol. X, #9, September 2006
Done Deals
RTP – IBM (www.ibm.com) has acquired Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems (ISS) in a $1.3 billion deal. The acquisition is the fifth largest in IBM’s history. ISS focuses on network security solutions. The company will become part of IBM’s Global Technology Services group, which has a major presence in RTP. Contact Adam Emery (914.766.4696).
Durham – Motricity (www.motricity.com), a Mobile Marketplace Management company, has received $32 million in funding to advance the company's expansion in the mobile content industry. Advanced Equities Inc. led this most recent funding, with participation from Intel Capital, Wakefield Group, New Enterprise Associates, Noro-Moseley Partners, Qualcomm, Technology Crossover Ventures, Tri-State Investment Group and Sienna Ventures. Contact Les Hamashima (919.287.7345).
Morrisville – Cempra Pharmaceuticals (www.cempra.com) has closed a $14 million financing round which it will use to expand product development and grow the portfolio of products related to treating drug-resistant bacteria in hospitals. Venture capital firm Intersouth Partners and investment banker I. Wistar Morris, III co-led the Series A round. Contact Prabhavathi Fernandes (919.467.1716).
Raleigh – LipoScience, Inc. (www.liposcience.com) has closed its $13 million, Series F financing. Investors in the Series F round include Camden Partners, LLC; GE Capital Equity Investments; INVESCO Private Capital; Pappas Ventures; Sightline Partners; Three Arch Partners; and Varian, Inc. Contact Michelle Turenne at (919.256.1306).
Raleigh – Sicel Technologies, Inc. (www.siceltech.com), a developer and manufacturer of implantable sensors and surface dosimeters, has closed $12 million in additional funding from existing and new investors. Burton Advisers Ltd. acted as the advisor to the company in this funding round. Sicel will use the funds for the commercialization phase of its implantable radiation sensor. Contact Michael Riddle (919.465.2236).
Charlotte – FairPoint Communications (www.fairpoint.com)
has completed the acquisition of Unite Communications
Systems, Inc. for approximately$10.8
million. Unite serves approximately 4,200 access
lines in Kearney and Platte City, Mo., approximately 50
miles north of FairPoint's recently acquired Missouri service
territory. Contact Jennifer Sharpe
(704.227.3629).
Raleigh – Inlet Technologies (www.inlethd.com), a provider of an encoding solutions for digital media, has extended its Series B round of venture financing, and secured an additional $4.4 million. Core Capital Partners, is the largest investor in this round of financing. Inlet’s initial Series B investors, including Technology Venture Partners (TVP), Telecommunications Development Fund (TDF) and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) have committed additional funds to complete the round. Contact Shawn Ramsey (919.782.3262).
Durham – eMinor (www.eminorinc.com), a provider of software tools and services to musicians, has closed a $2 million round of venture financing. The Series A round was led by Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Southern Capitol Ventures. The company will use the investment to support its hiring plans, expand marketing efforts and to fund product development initiatives at ReverbNation.com. Contact Jed Carlson (919.321.2268).
RTP – Bioptigen, a spin-out of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, has closed a $1.3 million series A round of funding to enhance business development activity and grow the team. The Piedmont Angel Network, Inception Micro Angel Fund and other individual investors participated in Bioptigen’s Series A round. Contact Winn Maddrey (704.344.9191).
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New Developments
Greensboro – LiveCargo (www.livecargo.com), a provider of remote data management and collaboration solutions, has landed StarHub, the second largest telecom firm in Singapore, as a partner. StarHub will offer LiveCargo services to its broadband customers. Contact Luisa Lai (+65.6736.3119).
Durham – Expression Analysis (www.expressionanalysis.com) has landed a contract with GlaxoSmithKline to provide the pharmaceutical giant with microarray-based genotyping services. Microarray technology enables researchers to genetic information such as gene “expression” or what genes are “turned on.” Contact Diane Kuehn (919.405.2248).
North Carolina State University (www.ncsu.edu) has been named a finalist for a $450 million Department of Homeland Security research facility. The university’s College of Veterinary Medicine is one of the 18 sites in 11 states that have made the cut. The 500,000 square-foot facility, called the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will focus on developing protections for the country's agricultural and biological infrastructure. Contact Keith Nichols (919.515.3470).
RTP – Quintiles Transnational Corp. (www.quintiles.com) has expanded its global data management network with the opening of a clinical data processing center in Williamston, N.C. The center will provide up to 70 new jobs in the eastern region of the state and build additional capacity for customers seeking services provided by U.S.-based staff. Contact Dick Jones (919.998.2091).
Durham – Argos Therapeutics (www.argostherapeutics.com) announced that dosing has been initiated in a Phase I/II clinical trial to test the activity and safety of AGS-003, a personalized immunotherapy for advanced kidney cancer. Contact Jeff Abbey (919.287.6308).
Charlotte – Conterra Ultra Broadband (www.conterra.com) has closed a private equity investment led by DukeNet Communications, a telecom subsidiary of Duke Energy Corporation, one of North America's largest energy companies, and by GE Commercial Finance. Conterra provides high speed, high capacity broadband network services in rural and outer suburban markets. Contact Jan Wilson (704.382.5665).
RTP – Gentris Corporation (www.gentris.com) has partnered with Japan-based FALCO biosystems Ltd. The exclusive ten-year licensing agreement marks the establishment of Japan's first Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)-compliant pharmacogenomics laboratory, moving Japan into the era of personalized medicine. The partnership will offer pharmacogenomics services to the pharmaceutical industry in Japan. Contact Jonathan Jordan (919.557.7890).
Morrisville – BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (www.biodeliverysciences.com), a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on acute care products, including pain therapies, has signed a collaborative agreement with Swedish specialty pharmaceutical company Meda AB to develop and commercialize BDSI’s flagship BEMA™ Fentanyl product in Europe. BEMA™ Fentanyl is a Phase III product being developed by BDSI for the treatment of “breakthrough” cancer pain. Contact Bill Douglass (212.825.3210).
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On The Up
MD Scientific
Charlotte, N.C.
MD Scientific was founded in 2003 to address identified needs in healthcare and is focused on developing innovative products to meet those needs.
Among those needs, MD Scientific realized the importance of infection control in a hospital setting.
More than 2 million patients contract infections in hospitals annually, resulting in an estimated 90,000 deaths and $50 billion in medical charges.
For three years MD Scientific has been developing the software to curb infection incidence with its first product, EndoTool™ Glucose Management System.
EndoTool is a glucose control software that calculates intravenous insulin dosing. It is designed for critical care applications where tight and accurate blood glucose control is essential. In such situations, high blood glucose levels can compromise the immune system and make patients more susceptible to hospital-acquired infections.
Another important aspect of EndoTool is that it can easily be administered by the hospital staff, requiring less than two minutes to initiate the control program.
The computer software keeps record of all entry and insulin orders, to produce a medical record of the blood sugar values and insulin doses but also an “order set” for that patient’s record. In addition, EndoTool performs the nurse or hospital staff’s secretarial duties for the medical record.
Hospitals currently use written order sets to calculate insulin doses. EndoTool would replace such a time consuming and often error-prone method while also reducing the workload.
In June, MD Scientific received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing EndoTool, a crucial step for MD Scientific’s first product.
EndoTool aims to prevent complications caused by surgical infections and cardiovascular surgeries.
This software leads to prompt control of the glucose level and has a hypoglycemia incidence of less than 0.1 percent of total calculated doses administered which is well below all published reports of tight glycemic control protocols.
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In the Pipeline
Raleigh – Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (www.salix.com) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted COLAZAL additional marketing exclusivity through January 8, 2007. The exclusivity is based upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s acceptance of the clinical package the company submitted on June 20, 2006 in response to a written request received from the FDA for clinical information about the safe and effective use of COLAZAL in pediatric patients between 5 and 17 years of age with ulcerative colitis. Contact Mike Freeman (919.862.1000).
Raleigh – Micell Technologies (www.micell.com), a developer of so-called supercritical fluids for use on medical devices, is expanding its licensing agreement with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The PNNL lab is run by the U.S. Department of Energy. Micell will work with the lab to develop drug-eluting coatings for cardiovascular stents. Contact James McClain, Ph.D. (919.313.2111).
Wilmington – PPD (www.ppdi.com), a global contact research organization, is rolling out a new management system for large-scale clinical trials or registries. PPD GlobalView EventNet is designed to provide customized, expeditious review of safety and endpoint-drive data. The internet-based system is designed to accelerate review of data from multiple sources. Contact Louise Caudle (919.462.4467).
RTP – Talecris Biotherapeutics (www.talecris.com) has granted an exclusive worldwide license to Bausch & Lomb for recombinant Plasmin technology for use in ophthalmology. The companies will co-develop rPlasmin, a recombinant derivative of the human blood component Plasmin, which Bausch & Lomb believes may have potential for use in developing novel therapies for ocular conditions. Contact Lacy McMahon (919.316.6316).
RTP – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org) has confirmed a total of 27 demo technologies for Tech 2006, scheduled for Oct. 11 at North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center in Raleigh. CED has also announced that award-winning entrepreneur Colin Angle, CEO and co-founder of iRobot, will provide featured remarks at the conference. Angle joins previously announced keynotes David Bonderman, founder of Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Newbridge Capital; Marc Lautenbach, General Manager of IBM Americas; and Jim Steele, President of Salesforce.com. Contact Rob Caudle (919.549-7500).
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Mark Your Calendar!
CED’s Tech 2006 Conference
Oct. 10-11, 2006
October 10 – “Un-Conference Kick-Off”
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Research Triangle Park, NC
October 11 – Tech 2006 Conference
North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center
Raleigh, N.C.
CED’s Opportunity 2006 Conference
Dec. 4-5, 2006
Hilton Wilmington Riverside
Wilmington, N.C.
For more information, call 919-549-7500.
Venture Update is published by the
Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
an entrepreneurial support organization located in the Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Robert Albright, editor
P.O. Box 13353, RTP, NC 27709
Phone: 919-549-7500
FAX: 919-549-7405
email: news@cednc.org