Inviragen | Series A $15M and M&A

Inviragen (Ft. Collins, CO) a preclinical-stage vaccine company focused on emerging global infectious diseases, closed a $15M Series A financing and in the process merged the assets of Singapore-based SingVax. Participants in the round include Charter Life Sciences, Venture Investors, Bio*One Capital and Phillip Private Equity. This initial round of institutional capital comes on the heels of a $600,000 grant, announced in September, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to partially support continued development of a dengue vaccine.

The new funding is expected to push a number of vaccine candidates into the clinic and yield proof-of-concept and efficacy data. The lead vax is designed to protect against dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease that threatens 3.6 billion people living in tropical and subtropical regions around the globe; 36 million cases of dengue fever are thought to occur per year WW, the most severe form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever, leads to the deaths of approximately 20,000 people annually.

Rounding out the robust Inviragen pipeline include vaccines against Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile, chikungunya, avian- (H5N1) and swine-origin (H1N1) influenza and, a combination plague and smallpox vaccine for biodefense.

Miragen Therapeutics: Series A $8M

Miragen Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapies for cardiovascular and muscle disease based on microRNA biology has closed an $8M Series A financing co-led by Atlas Venture and Boulder Ventures. The Miragen scientific co-founders include successful academician serial entrepreneurs Eric Olson, Ph.D., Michael Bristow, M.D., Ph.D., and Marvin Caruthers, Ph.D.

This financing should enable the Company to define key microRNA’s, identify clinical indication(s) [perhaps post-myocardial infarction], ramp operations, complete large animal efficacy studies and generate a lead. Critical to the success of Miragen is the capacity to overcome bioavailability challenge of nucleic acid-based therapeutics; the Company may address said issue perhaps by the direct delivery of their miRNA’s to the heart.

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Evolutionary Genomics: Series A Undisclosed

Evolutionary Genomics (Lafayette) an agricultural technology company who addresses the critical need to increase the availability of biofuel feedstocks has closed an undisclosed Series A financing with Denver-based Altira Group; not to be confused with the Altria Group or its much better known previous name Philip Morris (NYSE: MO).

EG’s Adapted Traits Platform is used to screen gene adaptations in biofuel feedstocks such as corn, switchgrass, sugar cane, algae and soybeans to improve yield-related traits, such as grains per plant, grain weight, yield per acre, biomass, drought resistance and disease resistance.

Altria Group focuses their fund thesis on the traditional and renewable energy sectors. The commitment to EG came from their $176M Fund V. Investments from this fund have typically been made in the $5-$10M range with follow-on investments as warranted.

*NOTE* Feel the power of the Colorado BioScience Association (HERE)!
*NOTE* Take a look at the new Boulder Biotech Company Tree (HERE)!
*NOTE* Read the new eBook CLSDF 2007 - What's In A Year? (HERE)!

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Lanx: Series A $25M

Lanx (Broomfield) a medical device company developing and marketing surgical implants and biological products for spinal surgery closed a $25M Series A financing led by Chicago Growth Partners and also included co-investors Goldman Sachs and Oakwood Medical Investors.

The Company currently markets 15 product lines of implants and associated instrumentation for spinal fusion surgery. Lanx is also aggressively developing additional product lines in its core fusion market as well as a broad platform of products in the emerging non-fusion and orthobiologics markets.

This is an incredibly exciting financing for Colorado, there are no Colorado institutional investors participating in this round, top-tier capital attraction came from Chicago, New York and St. Louis.

*NOTE* Feel the power of the Colorado BioScience Association (HERE)!
*NOTE* Take a look at the new Boulder Biotech Company Tree (HERE)!
*NOTE* Read the new eBook CLSDF 2007 - What's In A Year? (HERE)!

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OPX Biotechnologies: Series A $3.6M

OPX Biotechnologies (Boulder) announced the close of a $3.6M Series A financing led by Mohr Davidow Ventures and X/Seed Capital Management.

OPX is enabling renewable fuels and chemicals that are economically and environmentally superior to petroleum-based products by using a pioneering technology platform known as SCALEs to enable massively parallel full genome search and modification to rapidly optimize the microbes used for producing biofuels and biorefined chemicals. The goal is to vastly decrease production costs and capital requirements, thus removing one of the major barriers to the use of renewable fuels and chemicals.

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BaroFold: Raising $12M Series A

BaroFold is raising a $12M Series A to be co-led by HBM BioVentures and Boulder Ventures and will be joined by the Peierls Foundation and other seed investors.

BaroFold has developed and patented a protein processing technology that employs hydrostatic pressure to disaggregate and refold recombinant proteins from aggregates and inclusion bodies. The PreEMT™ process refolds proteins at higher concentrations resulting in higher yields of native protein and safer product formulations. The method is simple, reliable and rapid, and can be engineered to operate on an industrial scale using modified commercially available equipment.

CeraPedics Closes $12.25M PE Financing

CeraPedics (Lakewood, CO) developing products for the orthopedic bone substitute market announced the close of a $12.25M private equity financing from OrbiMed Advisors. The Company’s products utilize a proprietary small peptide called P-15™. This peptide has been identified to play a role in initiating the formation of bone. CeraPedics’ products may provide a safe, efficacious, and economical alternative to autograft and recombinant bone growth factor products for most procedures requiring a bone graft including spine fusion, trauma, and joint reconstruction. CeraPedics’ first product, P-15 Putty, is currently under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical investigation for FDA regulatory approval.

iBalance Rounds Out $13.5M Series A

iBalance Medical (Boulder) is developing an improved method for completing an orthopedic surgical procedure called high tibial osteotomy. The company provides the surgical tools and implant for this knee malalignment corrective surgery. Back in October of 2005 I wrote about the $8.24M first tranche (here). The company has recently announced a second $5.26M tranche (also mentioned on my other blog OnBioVC here, yet another shameless self plug) bringing the total raised to $13.5M. Well done!

Luca Technologies Raise $3M

Luca Technologies, LLC (Golden), has raised $3M from BASF Venture Capital GmbH, the corporate venture capital company of the BASF Group.

Luca develops biotechnology that uses bacteria to reactivate the production of methane (natural gas) from fuels such as coal or oil. The technology platform is based on the discovery, characterization and management of naturally occurring anaerobic microorganisms that metabolize oil, organic-rich shale and coal within the earth into natural gas, thus generating clean renewable energy in a continuous, "real time" fashion. LUCA employs genomics, molecular biology and other tools of biotechnology to detect, classify and study these organisms and the underground "Geobioreactors" in which they act. Company scientists are also developing methods of managing specific consortia's gas production capabilities in situ for the large-scale production of natural gas and potentially, hydrogen.

Snell & Wilmer represented BASF Venture Capital America in the transaction.

15 Million Ark Shells for ARCA Discovery

ARCA Discovery, Inc., a company developing genetically-targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, today announced the completion of a $15 million venture capital financing. The financing was led by Atlas Venture. Boulder Ventures, which provided the original seed financing for ARCA, and Pequot Capital Management also participated in the financing.

This round of financing will enable the filing of a New Drug Application for bucindolol, the first genetically-targeted cardiovascular drug. Bucindolol has been evaluated in Phase III clinical trials involving more than 3,000 patients with advanced heart failure and myocardial ischemia. In conjunction with this financing, Dr. Jean Francois Formela, a Senior Partner with Atlas will join the ARCA Board of Directors along with Kyle Lefkoff of Boulder Ventures, Dr. John Zabriskie, former CEO of Upjohn/Pharmacia and NEN Life Sciences, Dr. Frank Bullock, former SVP of Research at Schering Plough, and Dr. Mike Bristow. Dr. Bristow is also the founder and former Chief Scientific Officer of Myogen, Inc. As President and CEO of ARCA, Dr. Bristow will retain the title of Founder and Scientific Advisor to Myogen, and will remain a member of Myogen's Board of Directors. ARCA's co-founders are Timothy D. Hoogheem and Christopher D. Ozeroff, and its scientific co-founders are Dr. Stephen Liggett of the University of Maryland, and Dr. J. David Port of the University of Colorado.

Colorado 2006 life science fund raising is off to the races…