Venture Update Vol. IX, #7, August 2005
Done Deals
Morrisville – Quintiles Transnational Corp. (www.quintiles.com) has sold three business units to Connecticut-based Aptuit Inc. (www.aptuit.com) for approximately $125 million. Quintiles’ three business units – Preclinical Services, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Trial Supplies – provide services to 19 of the top 20 drug companies worldwide, as well as many of the emerging biotechnology and small to mid-sized pharmaceutical companies. Aptuit will reorganize the units into three global business lines: Preclinical Technologies, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Packaging & Logistics. Contact Greg Connors (919.998.2000).
Durham – Motricity (www.motricity.com), a mobile content and solutions provider, has closed an additional $30 million for global expansion in the mobile content industry. Chicago-based Advanced Equities Inc. led Motricity’s round, with additional support from existing investors Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Intel Capital. Motricity previously raised $27 million in October 2004. Contact Laurie Bowser-Sever (919.287.7345).
Morrisville – BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI, www.biodeliverysciences.com) has received $7 million from Clinical Development Capital, LLC (CDC), for Phase III clinical trials relating to BDSI's “BEMA Fentanyl” product. BEMA Fentanyl is being targeted for use as a treatment for breakthrough cancer pain, which are episodes of severe pain that “break through” the medication used to control persistent pain. BDSI will begin Phase III trials in the second half 2005. Contact Mark Sirgo (919.653.5160).
Raleigh – Inlet Technologies (www.inlethd.com), a provider of professional encoding solutions for content creation and distribution, has closed a $5 million Series B from Technology Venture Partners (TVP), Telecommunications Development Fund (TDF) and Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC). Inlet will use this capital to extend the market reach and penetration of its encoding and analysis technology, which supports post-production, broadcast and Internet-based delivery of data intensive new video format. Contact Neal Page (919.856.1080).
Pittsboro – Biolex Therapeutics (www.biolex.com), a clinical development-stage protein therapeutics company, has acquired LemnaGene S.A., a privately-held, French start-up biotechnology company, for an undisclosed amount. LemnaGene is researching potential applications of the small, aquatic plant Lemna to produce recombinant proteins. Biolex’s patented technology platform, “The LEX System,” uses Lemna as a transgenic host for the development and manufacture of therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies that are difficult to make in traditional recombinant expression systems. Contact John Irick (919.542.9901).
Morrisville – ChannelAdvisor (www.channeladvisor.com), a provider of auction and marketplace management software and services, has acquired Seattle-based SearchMarketing for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will allow ChannelAdvisor to enhance its channel management solutions by adding a natural and paid search suite. SearchMarketing, which provides natural and paid search optimization for online merchants, manages over 1.5 million keywords for over thirty retail clients. Contact Ashley Jones (919.388.9405).
Apex – NCSRT (www.ncsrt.com) has received an undisclosed investment from Inverness Capital Partners to increase manufacturing efficiency and technical support for its filtration technology. NCSRT offers filtration, separation and purification solutions for biotechnology, biopharmaceutical processing, animal healthcare, dairy processing and enzyme manufacturing. Contact Henry Kopf (919.387.8460).
Charlotte – TelecommUSA (TUSA) has been acquired by Kansas-based Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq: EEFT, www.euronetworldwide.com), an electronic payments provider, for an undisclosed amount. TUSA will operate under the name Euronet Payments and Remittance, Inc., and will be part of Euronet's Prepaid Processing Segment. TUSA offers consumer money transfer services, primarily between consumers in the U.S. and Latin America, and bill payment services within the U.S. Contact Patrick Brown (704.409.1416).
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On The Up
Zenph Studios, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
Zenph Studios (www.zenph.com), founded in 2002 by experienced entrepreneurs John Q. Walker and Peter J. Schwaller, is an emerging software company focused on the music industry. With the help of sophisticated computer technology, Zenph is accelerating the development of natural algorithms in music production affecting how music is created, analyzed and preserved.
Zenph has a competitive advantage over other companies that use WAV-to-MIDI decoding. Zenph’s software can evaluate the accuracy of all music characteristics including pitch, duration, release velocities, key angle and pedals.
The company can decode recordings into a format where they can be recreated and altered. For the first time ever, people will be able to see and study performances as computer data. The company can take piano recordings and convert them back into the keystrokes and pedal motions that could be used to encode an identical live performance. This studio-quality, computer-controlled re-performance can, in turn, be re-recorded in the latest high-definition surround sound.
Old recordings that did not sound high-quality for modern standards can be rerecorded and re-released. At the present time, only sounds of the piano can be recreated.
One of Zenph’s strengths is its founding team. John Q. Walker, Zenph’s president and co-founder, was one of the four founders of RTP-based Ganymede Software in 1995. Ganymede was acquired by NetIQ in 2000. Walker, who holds a Ph.D. in software engineering, has written two books and holds a piano degree. Zenph’s vice president, Peter J. Schwaller, was another co-founder of Ganymede. Schwaller holds five patents for his work, and he specializes in software development infrastructures.
In order to advance Zenph’s technology, the company will need larger facilities along with other pieces of equipment, such as self-playing pianos. Zenph is currently seeking funding to accelerate business development efforts and secure world-wide intellectual property rights. Contact John Q. Walker (919.844.3385).
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New Developments
RTP – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org) has completed a merger with Wilmington’s Coastal Entrepreneurial Council (CEC), resulting in the combination of two nonprofit member-based entrepreneurial support organizations. Under the approved merger, CEC will become “CED-Coastal,” a CED division focused on entrepreneurial development in Wilmington and throughout North Carolina’s entire coastal region. Members from both organizations will enjoy all of the same benefits of membership as before, plus access to additional programs and networking. Contact Andrea Cook (919.549.7500 x101).
RTP – Interventional Rhythm Management, Inc. (IRM), a privately held company with a disruptive technology for the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms, has appointed Daniel A. Pelak to serve as the company’s President and CEO effective September 26, 2005. Pelak was the CEO of Closure Medical Corporation until June 2005 when the company was acquired for $370 million by Johnson & Johnson. IRM was founded in 2003 and incubated by Synecor LLC (www.synecor.com), with offices in Northern California and North Carolina, to focus on the management of patients with arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms. Contact William Starling (919.541.9977).
RTP – Arysta LifeScience North America (www.arvesta.com), a crop protection and life science company, has decided to move its headquarters from California to Research Triangle area – creating 65 new jobs in the area. The exact location of Arysta’s North American headquarters in North Carolina has not been determined. The North America business, which grew approximately 30 percent in 2004, recently changed its name to Arysta LifeScience North America from Arvesta Corporation. Contact Mark McLear (519.766.1117).
Morrisville – SciQuest (www.sciquest.com), a provider of on-demand supplier management and e-procurement solutions, has partnered with IBM Business Consulting Services to provide a Spend Management Solution to meet the unique purchasing needs of higher education institutions. Under the agreement, IBM plans to combine its procurement services with SciQuest’s supplier management and procurement automation technology. Contact Chuck Vitello (919.659.2141).
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In the Pipeline
Wilmington – PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI, www.ppdi.com), has received a five-year, $245 million contract to provide comprehensive research management and support to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of AIDS (DAIDS). PPD will work with DAIDS and its other contractors to facilitate clinical research management that integrates work being carried out by both clinical network and non-network systems, which includes existing trial networks as well as individual investigators in eight regions of the world. Research areas include AIDS treatment, transmission prevention and vaccine development. Contact Nancy Zeleniak (919.462.4088).
RTP – Adherex Technologies Inc. (AMEX: ADH, www.adherex.com), a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of oncology products under development, has entered into a licensing and development agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK, www.gsk.com). Adherex has received an exclusive license to GSK’s oncology product (eniluracil), and GSK received the option to license Adherex’s lead biotechnology compound, ADH-1 (Exherin). GSK has also invested $3 million in Adherex’s previously announced private placement. Contact Melissa Matson (919.484.8484).
Morrisville – Xsira Pharmaceuticals (www.xsira.com) has filed an IND application with the FDA for intravenous adenosine. Under the IND, Xsira plans to develop adenosine as an intraoperative infusion to reduce postoperative pain following surgery. Phase II patient enrollment will begin in the fall. Contact Terry Willard (919.248.8000 x8804).
RTP – Affinergy, Inc. (www.affinergy.com), a Duke University spinout with a proprietary site-specific biological delivery system, has received a $256,000 Phase 1 SBIR Grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Affinergy will use the funds to accelerate activities to screen its proprietary peptide libraries to find new molecules that mimic the positive clinical effects of growth factors currently on the market. Contact Peyton Anderson (919.597.6227).
Winston-Salem – Targacept, Inc. (www.targacept.com), a central nervous system-focused biopharmaceutical company, has presented positive clinical research results of ispronicline (TC-1734). Ispronicline was developed using Targacept’s proprietary rational drug design technology known as Pentad to target specific neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (NNRs). NNRs have been validated as key regulators of central nervous system functions such as attention, vigilance, memory and mood. Contact Alan Musso (336.480.2186).
RTP – Tranzyme Pharma Inc. (www.tranzyme.com) has reported positive efficacy data for TZP-101, the company’s lead product for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. TZP-101 is a small molecule ghrelin receptor agonist, which has been shown to selectively stimulate motility of the GI tract. Tranzyme presented new in vivo data showing that potent and selective gastroprokinetic activity of TZP-101 takes place without releasing growth hormones. Contact Vipin Garg (919.313.4760).
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Mark Your Calendar!
CED's InfoTech 2005
October 12, 2005
Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center
RTP, NC
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