Venture Update Vol. IX, #2, February 2005
Done Deals
Durham - Constella Group (www.constellagroup.com) has raised $61 million in equity and debt financing from Wachovia Capital Partners and Wakefield Group. The funding - the first institutional equity financing in Constella's 22-year history - will be used to expand the company's services and grow market presence through acquisitions. In addition, Constella has acquired Futures Group, Inc., a provider of public health program in developing countries, in a deal that nearly doubles the size and revenues of Constella and greatly expands its international presence. Contact Katherine Smart (919.313.7612).
Charlotte - Chelsea Therapeutics (www.chelsearx.com) has completed a Series A offering of preferred stock worth $14.5 million. Paramount BioCapital acted as placement agent for the deal. Chelsea will use the funds to pursue its lead drug candidate, an oral antifolate that could be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and certain cancers. Chelsea has also signed a definitive reverse merger agreement with publicly-traded Ivory Capital. Contact Nick Reihle (704.341.1516).
Raleigh - HyperBranch Medical Technology (www.hyperbranch.com), a medical device company that creates products for ocular surgery, has raised a $6 million series A round led by Durham-based The Aurora Funds with support from Miami-based H.I.G. Ventures. HyperBranch will use the funds to expand its R&D team and accelerate the preclinical and clinical development of their lead products in the cataract surgery and ophthalmic suture markets. Contact Anthony Sherbundy (919.845.8223).
RTP - Trinity Convergence, Inc. (www.trinityconvergence.com), a provider of embedded communications software for developers of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and video and voice over IP (V2IP) end-points, has closed a $5.6 million Series C round of funding to drive the company's sales and marketing and product development. The round was co-led by Core Capital Partners, Intersouth Partners and Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, all of which had participated in previous rounds of financing for Trinity Convergence. The company has now raised $16.1 million in capital over the last four years. Contact Alli Blakebrough (919.433.7004).
Raleigh - Accipiter Solutions, Inc. (www.accipiter.com) has secured a $2 million round of venture financing from Charlotte-based Frontier Capital. The funding is the first for Accipiter since management retook control of the company from Engage, Inc. in 2002. Accipiter, a developer of online advertising solutions, will use the funding to hire additional personnel in sales, marketing, development and technical support, with 30% employee growth expected in 2005. Contact Shawn Ramsey-Kroboth (919.359.0947).
Durham - Rapidata.net, Inc. (www.rapidata.net) has been acquired by Greenfield Online, Inc., for $5.5 million in cash, subject to certain post closing adjustments. Greenfield Online, based in Connecticut, provides Internet survey solutions to marketing research and consulting companies. Rapidata, founded in 1989, enables pharmaceutical market researchers to access health care providers and their patients for marketing research purposes. Contact Cynthia Brockhoff (203.846.5772).
RTP - BridgePoint, a provider of supply chain information to synchronize inbound and outbound logistics processes, has been acquired by New Jersey-based Management Dynamics, Inc., for an undisclosed amount. Management Dynamics provides global supply chain services for the international transportation industry. Through this acquisition, Management Dynamics plans to expand its portfolio of solutions for importers, exporters, logistics service providers and carriers. Contact Jim Preuninger (201.935.8588).
On The Up
Liquidia Technologies
Chapel Hill, NC
In the evolving field of nanotechnology and microfluidics, new innovations are essential to a company's future success. Since its inception in June 2004, Chapel Hill-based Liquidia Technologies is fast on its way to becoming a pioneer in the field.
Liquidia (www.liquidia.com) arose from a fluoropolymer materials discovery by Professors Joseph DeSimone and Edward Samulski at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The company develops and markets applications based on the Liquidia Material Platform, a breakthrough in materials research that combines the properties of silicone elastomers and glass. These groundbreaking fluoropolymers are liquid at room temperature but cure to Teflon-like elastic solids when exposed to light.
A spinout of UNC-Chapel Hill's Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative, Liquidia's innovations have applications in many areas, including chemical, life science, electronic, and consumer goods companies. Liquidia is forming strategic alliances with an array of innovative companies seeking to develop applications in microfluidics, soft lithography and particle technologies. It provides the appropriate materials, expertise in materials science, and collaboration in application development. For nanoparticles, it provides monodisperse, shape-specific nanostructures.
Recently, CTI Molecular Imaging, the leading provider of PET imaging equipment and radiolabeled biomarkers, entered into a partnership with Liquidia to co-develop microfluidic devices that will synthesize radioisotope-labeled biomarkers in CTI's advanced medical imaging equipment.
In December 2004, Liquidia signed a licensing agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University for a platform of fluoropolymer-based technologies.
“Our future is very bright,” said co-founder Joseph DeSimone. “We have a platform technology with many avenues to pursue. Our product has a practical implication that is filling an unmet need right out of the gate. Those aspects, combined with the support we have received from the local community, will ultimately result in the success of our company.”
Liquidia Technologies was recently selected as an early-stage presenting company at CED's 22nd annual Venture Conference in Pinehurst in April 2005. For more information on Liquidia, contact Bruce Boucher (919.522.4374).
New Developments
RTP - RTI International (www.rti.org) has begun construction on a new $20 million, 78,000 square-foot science and engineering building at its RTP headquarters. The first stage of construction is slated for completion in mid-2006. The new science and engineering building - RTI's largest construction project to date - will be home to research programs in energy technology, analytical chemistry, microanalytical sciences, exposure analysis research, and aerosol technology. Contact Patrick Gibbons (919.541.6136).
Durham - Motricity (www.motricity.com) has hired Matthew Petzold to serve as the company's CFO. Petzold was previously the CFO of Verestar, a $250 million satellite services provider, and before that served as VP and CFO of UUnet Technologies, a Virginia-based Internet company that grew from 130 employees to several thousand before going public. Motricity raised $27 million in venture capital earlier this year, and has raised over $50 million in its history. Contact Lynn Vitello (919.287-7345).
RTP - A.M. Pappas & Associates (www.ampappas.com) has added Dr. Charles Hsu as a venture partner and Dr. Geoffrey R. Barker as Executive-in-Residence. Dr. Hsu, an active venture investor since 1990, will be based in San Francisco and will focus on identifying new life science investments for the firm in California. Dr. Barker, previously the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of Quintiles Transnational, will provide clinical development support to portfolio companies while also assisting with analysis of potential portfolio companies. Contact Ford Worthy (919.998.3330).
In the Pipeline
RTP - RTI International (www.rti.org) plans to spin-off a new company that will commercialize ultra-thin film, thermoelectric superlattice devices developed by RTI's Dr. Rama Venkatasubramanian in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. Jesko von Windheim, entrepreneur in residence at RTI and one of the founders of Cronos Integrated Systems, will also be working at the new start-up with about 20 other RTI employees. The spin-off's technology allows for efficient transfer of heat and energy between the solid state components of computer microchips, eliminating "hot spots" generated within high-speed microprocessors. Contact Patrick Gibbons (919.541.6136).
Durham - Trimeris (NASDAQ: TRMS, www.trimeris.com) and its partner, Roche, announced a new study showing that a needle-free injection device called the Biojector 2000 can administer a dose of their AIDS drug FUZEON with the same effectiveness as a standard needle and syringe. The study, which involved 27 patients who received FUZEON for the first time, showed that patients who were administered a single dose with the Biojector 2000 achieved equivalent drug levels in the blood compared to those who received the drug with a needle. Contact Alex Dusek (919.408.5016).
Pittsboro - Biolex Inc. (www.biolex.com) has submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA for BLX-833, a form of alpha interferon. The company hopes to begin Phase I trials on BLX-833, which would be the first product manufactured using Biolex's proprietary LEX System. Pre-clinical trials of BLX-833 showed that the drug had the same specific responses in in-vitro anti-viral and anti-cancer assays as the current commercially available alpha interferon, called “Intron A.” Contact Jan Turek (919.542.9901).
Winston-Salem - Cervius, Inc., has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for use of the Cervical Specific Antigen (CSATM) blood test that is used to detect cervical cancer. In clinical studies, the CSATM test has been shown to accurately detect cervical cancer during its first stages and effectively monitor therapy. The CSATM test will be available commercially through major clinical diagnostics laboratories. Contact Eric Button (336.725.1880).
Durham - Serenex (www.serenex.com) has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (www.gsk.com) that will allow Serenex to utilize its Proteome Mining technology with compounds that are being developed by GSK. The use of Serenex's technology will help GSK to determine which compounds to move forward into later pre-clinical development. Contact George J. Young (919.281.6003).
RTP - Metabolon (www.metabolon.com) plans to collaborate with the High Q Foundation on a new biomarker study for Huntington's Disease (HD) - a degenerative brain disorder that at present has no effective treatment or cure. Metabolon and High Q researchers will use Metabolon's platform technology to analyze plasma samples for HD signatures. Contact John Ryals (919.572.1711).
RTP - The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org) has chosen the second round of presenting companies for Venture 2005. CED's 22nd annual Venture conference is scheduled for April 26-27, 2005, in Pinehurst, NC. The NC-based presenting companies selected in the second round include Raleigh-based Inlet Technologies, Chapel Hill-based Liquidia Technologies Inc., Morrisville-based Mardil, Inc., Durham-based Oriel Therapeutics Inc., Raleigh-based Respirics, Inc., Cary-based Stonewall Networks and Winston-Salem’s Triad Semiconductor, Inc. Six other companies were chosen during the first selection round in December 2004. The final round of presenting companies selected for Venture 2005 will be announced in late Feburary. Contact Andrea Cook (919.549.7500 x101).
Mark Your Calendar!
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