Venture
Update Vol. IX, #1, January 2005
Done Deals
Winston-Salem – Targacept, Inc. (www.targacept.com) has closed a $33 million private placement from existing investors, led by London-based Nomura Phase4 Ventures. Targacept will use the funds for clinical development of the company's lead product candidates to treat nervous system disorders. The company focuses on drugs that target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or NNRs, that serve as regulators of nervous system activity. Contact Alan Musso (336.480.2186).
RTP – Amphora Discovery Corporation (www.amphoracorp.com), a developer of small molecule therapeutics, has completed a $20 million Series C financing to accelerate preclinical development of its drug candidates while also furthering drug discovery efforts with its partners. The funding, led by 3i Group, included new investors Novartis Venture Fund and Aventis Capital, along with existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, MPM Capital, Venrock Associates and Versant Venture. Amphora is focused on pathway-based drug using a highly industrialized approach. Contact Tracy Thompson (919.287.6177).
Raleigh – QlikTech (www.qliktech.com) has secured $12.5 million to further develop the company's business intelligence software solutions and to expand internationally. Investors in the round included Accel Partners and Jerusalem Venture Partners. Founded in Sweden, QlikTech has fully owned subsidiaries in Germany and the United States, including its North American headquarters in Raleigh. Contact Christer Berg (888.828.9768).
Raleigh – BioMarck Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (www.biomarck.com), a spinout from N.C. State University focused on the treatment of respiratory diseases and disorders associated with mucus secretion and inflammation, has closed a $5 million series B round from unnamed angel investors. BioMarck, which is in the final stages of animal tests, plans to begin Phase 1 human tests in May 2005 and start Phase 2 tests before the end of 2005. Current funding will take the company into 2006, with the potential for proof of concept in a limited number of sick humans. Contact Tom Roberg (919.872.5601).
RTP – IBM (www.ibm.com) and Chinese firm Lenovo have agreed to a $1.75 billion deal for IBM's personal computer operations. Lenovo will locate its PC business worldwide headquarters in New York, with principal operations in Beijing and Research Triangle Park. About 2,000 IBM employees in PC design and promotion are located in the RTP. Contact John Bukovinski (914.499.6212).
Burlington – LabCorp (NYSE: LH, www.labcorp.com), a pathology reference laboratory focused on cancer testing, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire US Pathology Labs, a provider of anatomic pathology and oncology testing services with a focus on the outpatient market, for approximately $155 million in cash. The transaction, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to close in Q1 2005. Contact Brad Hayes (336.436.4602).
Cary – A4 Health Systems (www.a4healthsystems.com), a provider of electronic health record solutions, has acquired Chapel Hill-based Canopy Systems, Inc., a provider of Web-based solutions for care management, for an undisclosed amount. Structured as a cash and stock-based transaction, the acquisition will broaden A4's software solutions for the hospital market. Canopy's 40 employees will move from Chapel Hill to A4's headquarters in Cary. Contact John McConnell (919.851.6177).
RTP – Adherex Technologies (AMEX: ADH, www.adherex.com), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of cancer therapeutics, has finalized an all-stock reacquisition deal for Cadherin Biomedical. Contact Melissa Matson (919.484.8484).
On The Up
Asklepios Biopharmaceutical, Inc.
Chapel Hill, NC
A spinout from UNC-Chapel Hill is leveraging unique gene therapy technology to potentially treat life-threatening diseases such as muscular dystrophy and congestive heart failure. Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (“AskBio”), named for the Greek god of healing, is developing protein and cellular-based therapies with its proprietary Biological Nano-Particle (BNP) delivery platform.
In the summer of 2003, AskBio (www.askbio.com) obtained exclusive license rights to the BNP technology developed by Dr. Richard Jude Samulski, Director of Gene Therapy at UNC-Chapel Hill. BNPs can be used to deliver a broad variety of biological material to a cell, including therapeutic genes, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and RNAi.
By providing a safe and efficient gene delivery vehicle, company officials said BNPs can ensure long-term sustained gene protein expression and remove significant hurdles in gene therapy.
In July 2004, approximately one year after spinning out from UNC-Chapel Hill, AskBio received a $1.6 million grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association to develop gene therapies to treat Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) - a fatal, childhood-onset disease with no life sustaining treatment. Over 500,000 patients worldwide have been identified with DMD.
The grant funding, administered through MDA's Translational Research Program, is the largest awarded to a private company in MDA's 54-year history. AskBio will launch a Phase I clinical trial for its DMD therapeutic in Summer 2005, said company CEO Sheila Mikhail.
“The financial support provided by MDA will enable Asklepios to aggressively pursue the treatment of DMD on an accelerated pace, for the benefit of all of the patients with this disease,” said Mikhail, who has co-founded three university spinouts and has over 15 years of experience in management consulting and corporate law.
AskBio officials plan to use the data generated from its DMD Phase I clinical trial to validate AskBio's BNP platform technology for other therapeutic uses, such as cardiovascular diseases and subsequently, central nervous system disorders. The same therapeutic that the company develops for the treatment of cardiac distress for DMD patients can be used for the treatment of heart disease for the general population. As a result, AskBio will also pursue developing a therapeutic for the treatment of congestive heart failure.
The company, recently selected to present at CED's 22nd annual Venture conference in Pinehurst in April 2005, is seeking early-stage funds to accelerate clinical trials. Contact Sheila Mikhail (919.933.4990).
New Developments
Winston-Salem – Dell (www.dell.com), headquartered in Texas, will build its North Carolina manufacturing facility on a 189-acre site in Winston-Salem. Construction of a 500,000 square-foot facility in Alliance Park will begin in January 2005, with completion expected in fall 2005. The manufacturing facility will employ about 700 people in its first year of operation and up to 1,500 employees within five years. Contact Lynn Tyson (512.728.7800).
Durham – Southeast TechInventures, Inc. (www.southeasttechinventures.com) has launched an initiative to build a technology accelerator for converting university scientific breakthroughs into products, services and new companies. STI will work with university-based inventors to accelerate the commercialization of technologies and IP in bioengineering, photonics and communications, information technology, materials science, and surveillance and security networks. Dr. Kristina Johnson, dean of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering, is a co-founder of STI. Contact Karen LeVert (919.572.6581).
RTP – The N.C. Biotechnology Center (www.ncbiotech.org) has awarded over $26,000 through its K-12 Mini Grant program for six proposals in the state that strengthen and add biotechnology content in existing K-12 courses. The grant program is one of several Biotechnology Center programs and activities intended to prepare a trained workforce for the state's growing industry. Contact Barry Teater (919.541.9366).
RTP – MCNC (www.mcnc.org) has paid the final installment, $3.5 million, of a $30 million donation to the e-NC Authority to continue spreading high-speed Internet access across North Carolina. Founded in 2000 by the N.C. General Assembly as the Rural Internet Access Authority, the e-NC Authority is a public-private partnership working to connect people to the Internet in all 100 North Carolina counties, with a focus on distressed urban areas and the 85 rural counties in the state. Contact Scott Yates (919.248.1907).
Raleigh – Vital Source Technologies (www.vitalbook.com) announced that 14 schools in districts across the United States are among the first in the country to adopted PC-based digital curriculum through Vital Source's recent partnership with IBM. Vital Source is developing custom curriculum and portable libraries that are eliminating textbook shortages and reducing the need for students to carry heavy backpacks. At all of the schools, IBM preloads the Vital Source's technology on education models of its ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops. Contact Bob Page (919.486.0930).
In the Pipeline
Huntersville – Orthofix International (NASDAQ: OFIX, www.orthofix.com), a global orthopedic products company, has received approval from the FDA to market the company's Cervical-Stim bone growth stimulator as an FDA Class III device. Orthofix officials said their technology is the first FDA-approved bone growth stimulator for use as an adjunct to cervical (upper) spine fusion in high-risk patients. Contact Thomas Hein (704.948.2600).
Chapel Hill – Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (www.liquidia.com), co-founded by renowned chemist and serial entrepreneur Dr. Joseph DeSimone, has completed a licensing agreement with UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University for a platform of fluoropolymer-based technologies. The company, founded in June 2004, has also signed a strategic agreement with CTI Molecular Imaging (www.ctimi.com), a provider of PET/CT imaging equipment and radio-labeled biomarkers. The agreement establishes an exclusive license for CTI to use Liquidia's technology and materials for the production and use of fluoropolymer-based microfluidic devices for disease detection and therapies. Contact Dr. Joseph DeSimone (888.259.6056).
Raleigh – Voyager Pharmaceuticals (www.voyagerpharma.com) and California-based Durect Corporation (NASDAQ: DRRX, www.durect.com) announced that the FDA has accepted an IND and clinical protocol for the companies' Alzheimer's treatment, “Durin,” which is applied through the form of a proprietary, biodegradable implant. Durin will be tested on a series of healthy volunteers to determine the safety and tolerability of the implant. Voyager is also conducting two other Phase II clinical trials for Alzheimer's treatments. Contact Michael Giannini (919.846.4880).
RTP – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org) has chosen the first round of presenting companies for Venture 2005. CED's 22nd annual Venture conference, scheduled for April 26-27, 2005, in Pinehurst, NC, will present over two-dozen company presentations, industry speakers, networking opportunities and investor-only events. NC-based presenting companies selected to date include Durham-based Adigy Corporation, Chapel Hill-based Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc., Pittsboro-based Biolex, RTP-based Integrian, Inc., Raleigh-based Refense Technologies and Durham-based StemCo Biomedical Inc. The final application deadline for NC-based presenting companies is January 31, 2005. Contact Andrea Cook (919.549.7500 x101).
Mark Your Calendar!
CED's Engage: Finance
January 27, 2005
Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center
RTP, NC
www.cednc.org/programs/engage/finance/2005
CED's Venture 2005 Conference
April 26-27, 2005
Pinehurst Resort
Pinehurst, NC
www.cednc.org/venture
Biotech 2005 Conference
May 24-25, 2005
Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center
RTP, NC
www.cednc.org/conferences/biotech/2005
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