Venture
Update Vol. VIII, #6, June 2004
Done Deals
RTP - Chorus Systems (www.chorussystems.com) has closed a $1.6 million series A round that was oversubscribed by an estimated 50 percent. MCNC Ventures led the round with participation from Tri-State Investment Group IV. Chorus Systems - which provides solutions that automatically detect, diagnose and resolve PC and server-related problems throughout an enterprise - will seek additional capital later this year to finance sales and marketing expansion. Contact Sirus Chitsaz (919.248.9393).
RTP - Qualyst, Inc. (www.qualyst.com) has disclosed more financial details of its series A round, which closed in February 2004. The oversubscribed financing round, estimated at $2.75 million, will support operations and the company's growing customer base. Qualyst, a spin-off from UNC-Chapel Hill, has developed technology that allows researchers to predict with improved accuracy the effect of a particular drug within the human body. The company has also created a scientific advisory board that includes former Quintiles CEO Dr. Pamela Kirby. Contact Scott Neuville (919.313.6500).
RTP - Quintiles Transnational Corp. (www.quintiles.com) has signed an agreement to sell assets relating to its specialty dermatology products company, Bioglan Pharmaceuticals, to NJ-based Bradley Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in a deal valued at approximately $183 million, plus direct costs for transferred inventory. Quintiles first acquired certain assets relating to Bioglan in March 2002 as part of its strategy to invest in pharmaceutical products or companies that need additional resources to achieve their full market potential. Contact Greg Connors (919.998.2000).
Winston-Salem - SilkRoad Equity has acquired Pendulab (www.pendulab.com), a developer of Web-based collaborations software, in an undisclosed all-cash transaction. Pendulab will partner with SilkRoad technology, another SilkRoad Equity company, to fully integrate its solutions into SilkRoad's technology applications. Contact Matthew Roszak (866.329.3363).
Youngsville - Law Enforcement Associates (www.leacorp.com), a surveillance and security technology company, has acquired certain assets of Audio Intelligence Devices (AID), Inc., a privately held manufacturer of electronic surveillance equipment to law enforcement and government agencies. The deal was for $200,000 in cash, $340,000 payable over 34 months and 2.4 million shares of restricted common stock. AID develops surveillance equipment for law enforcement and government agencies. Contact Ed Levens (919.863.2393 x213).
Greensboro - RF Micro Devices (www.rfmd.com), a provider of radio frequency integrated circuits for wireless communication applications, has completed its acquisition of Silicon Wave, a California-based supplier of Bluetooth technology for wireless personal area networks. The deal will complement RF Micro's position in the handset market. Silicon Wave's Bluetooth product portfolio includes highly integrated single-chip radio processors, as well as stand-alone radio modem products. Contact Dean Priddy (336.664.1233).
On The Up
Noverant, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
Companies in the biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries are facing increasingly stringent regulatory compliance requirements from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Companies in these industries that are not compliant are subject to a variety of actions from the FDA including fines, product recalls and consent decrees.
In response to these regulatory requirements, Raleigh-based Noverant is providing solutions to automate regulatory compliance and mitigate the risks that FDA-regulated companies face.
Noverant's Compliance Framework (CF) is a collection of integrated software modules that helps automate regulatory compliance. The Employee Qualification (EQ) module of the framework allows companies to manage and track employee knowledge and training. Features of the EQ module include employee transcripts, assessments, competencies and electronic signatures. The Advanced Document Management System (ADMS) module provides document management and approval routing. Noverant's ADMS module, which is tightly integrated with the EQ module, will be available in the early fall of 2004.
The CF also includes a Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) module and an Electronic Batch Records (EBR) module. The company plans to add these features to the CF in the future either through internal development or interfaces to products from other vendors.
Noverant's CF has been selected by a number of companies in the biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries to automate their regulatory compliance.
“The market for Noverant's software is expanding rapidly as companies see our solutions as a way to help them ensure better compliance with FDA regulations,” said Kimo Kong, the newly appointed CEO of Noverant. “The consequences of FDA actions can be devastating. Our customers see our solutions as a part of their overall insurance policy against that occurrence.”
Since inception in 2002, Noverant has raised early-stage funding from Raleigh-based Research Triangle Ventures and Durham-based Catalysta Partners. The 13-employee company, which presented at CED's Venture 2004 conference in April, is currently raising another round of capital to expand sales and marketing activities and to further develop its products. Contact Jeff Messenger (919.861.4540).
New Developments
Durham - Constella Group (www.constellagroup.com) and Cary-based SAS Institute (www.sas.com) are partnering to provide an integrated offering that allows life sciences companies to merge the day-to-day planning and execution of clinical trials with data integration and analysis. The joint offering - called “Constella Orion Powered by SAS Drug Development” - works through an ASP platform to provide U.S.-based customers with direct visibility into the total clinical project through a single interface. Contact Katherine Smart (919.313.7612).
RTP - StrikeIron, Inc. (www.strikeiron.com) has released its Web Services Business Network (WSBizNet) that provides an integrated set of services and graphical tools for working with and publishing Web services. StrikeIron plans to deliver Web services software as a service rather than a shrink-wrap or per-license product sale. WSBizNet offers users both free and premium choices in working with, capitalizing on and publishing Web services. Contact Richard Holcomb (919.405.7010).
Cary - Research Triangle Software (www.rtsz.com), a developer of secure and branded electronic commerce solutions, has released CryptoBuddy 3.0, the latest version of the company's encryption technology. The company's CryptoStick portable flash memory device comes pre-loaded with the CryptoBuddy software. The company also reached a distribution agreement with TigerDirect, a multi-channel retailer of computer products, components and accessories, to resell RTS' CryptoStick on the TigerDirect Web site. Contact Ed Levens (919.863.2393 x213).
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill - The Triangle area ranks third out of a list of all major U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of biotech resources, according to a report released by the non-profit Milken Institute (www.milkeninstitute.org). At the top of the list is San Diego, followed closely by Boston and the Triangle. San Jose and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett rounded out the top five. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill was first in the human capital and biotech workforce categories. The rankings are based on broad factors such as a region's biotechnology innovation pipeline and an area's success in bringing ideas to the market and creating companies, jobs and products. Contact Skip Rimer (310.570.4654).
In the Pipeline
Durham - Merix Bioscience (www.merixbio.com) has partnered with the Pharmaceutical Division of Japan's Kirin Brewery to develop and commercialize dendritic cell vaccines in all applicable areas, including cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and transplantation. As part of the agreement, Kirin made an equity investment in Merix and will appoint a member to Merix's board of directors. Each party will contribute an estimated $45-65 million during the first three years of the collaboration. Contact Clint Dederick (919.287.6300).
RTP - Tranzyme Pharma (www.tranzyme.com), a privately held drug discovery and development company, and Gentris Corporation (www.gentris.com), a clinical pharmacogenomics testing and diagnostic products company, have inked a research agreement. The two Triangle-based companies will collaborate on the development of novel cell lines to serve as genetic controls for diagnostic assays used to evaluate patients' response to drug treatment. Contact Vipin Garg (919.820.6840).
RTP - Paradigm Genetics, Inc. (www.paragen.com) has received two Fast Track SBIR funding contracts. Paradigm's first contract is a SBIR Phase I/II contract from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health to support Paradigm's efforts to discover biochemicals in urine, serum and liver tissue that predict the early onset of drug-induced liver injury. In addition, Paradigm has received a second Fast Track SBIR Phase I/II contract from the National Institutes of Health to support the application of biochemical profiling to the discovery of biomarkers for alcohol-related diseases. Contact Brian Ritchie (212.845.4200).
Durham - Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.inspirepharm.com) has initiated a Phase III trial of diquafosol tetrasodium for the treatment of dry eye. Inspire received an approvable letter for diquafosol from the FDA in December 2003 and met with the agency in January 2004 to clarify requirements for approval. The FDA indicated that an additional clinical study would be required to provide additional evidence of the efficacy of this potential treatment. Company officials expect to report results and, if positive, submit an amendment to their New Drug Application by the middle of 2005. Contact Mary Bennett (919.941.9777 x245).
Raleigh - Sicel Technologies, Inc. (www.siceltech.com), a developer and manufacturer of implantable sensors and surface dosimeters, has received FDA clearance to manufacture and market OneDose - a wireless, pre-calibrated, patient dosimetry system. The single-use device has a built-in memory enabling it to be archived as a permanent record of the radiation dose received by the patient. Sicel and its exclusive distribution partner, MED-TEC, will officially launch OneDose at a conference in late July 2004. Contact Glenn Seymour (919.465.2236).
Pittsboro - Biolex (www.biolex.com) has expanded its collaboration with Centocor Inc., a Pennsylvania-based based biopharmaceuticals subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The extended agreement includes a limited scale-up of the first three Centocor proteins expressed using Biolex's Lemna Expression System, or LEX. Centocor has also added a fourth protein to its collaboration with Biolex. Contact John Irick (919.542.9901).
Durham - KBI BioPharma, Inc. (www.kbibiopharma.com), has launched its biopharmaceutics practice with the opening of state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical development services laboratories at its 370,000 sq. ft. campus in Durham. The practice and laboratories will provide analytical method development and validation, preformulation, and other development and stability testing services on a contract basis for recombinant proteins and small molecule drugs. Contact Timothy Albury (919.479.9898 x2006).
Wilmington - Merrion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.merrionpharma.com), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oral drug delivery, has established its worldwide headquarters in Wilmington, NC. The new company will develop products and seek collaboration opportunities with life science partners. Dr. Michael J. McKenna, most recently vice president of science and technology at RTP-based A.M. Pappas & Associates, has been named CEO. Contact Michael McKenna (910.799.1847).
Mark Your Calendar!
CED's InfoTech 2004 Conference
October 8, 2004
RTP Sheraton Imperial Hotel
www.cednc.org/infotech
For more information, visit the CED Web site (www.cednc.org) or 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.
Lisa Rowe-Ralls, editor
P.O. Box 13353, RTP, NC 27709
Phone: 919-549-7500
FAX: 919-549-7405
email: news@cednc.org