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Triangle Pharmaceuticals Acquired for $464 Million


California-based Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq:GILD) has agreed to acquire Durham's Triangle Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:VIRS) for $465 million.

The acquisition will occur in two phases: a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding Triangle Pharmaceuticals common stock at $6.00 per share, followed by a cash merger in which Gilead will acquire any remaining outstanding common stock at $6.00 per share.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2003. Triangle Pharmaceutical's products include the antiviral Coviracil, a drug aimed at treating HIV that the company filed a New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2002. Gilead also focuses its resources on HIV-related products. www.tripharm.com/

Triangle Pharmaceuticals has been a CED member since 2000.

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TargaCept Completes $46 Million Equity Financing


TargaCept, Inc., a Winston-Salem biotechnology company, has completed $46 million in equity financing. Targacept, which focuses on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, will use the funds to advance its current programs into late stage clinical development and to progress its preclinical programs, company officials announced Dec. 5.

Nomura International's Healthcare Private Equity Group, based in London, led the round of financing for Targacept. A combination of new investors and previous investors joined the financing round.

Targacept (www.targacept.com) has products in research and development for treating Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, ulcerative colitis, depression, pain, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.

Targacept has been a CED member since 2001.

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Chapel Hill's Trivirix Nets $25 Million in Private Equity


Chapel Hill's TriVirix International, a manufacturer of electronic medical equipment, has received $25 million in new private equity led by Maryland-based Grotech Capital Group and New York-based Morgan Stanley Venture Partners. MDS Capital, SunTrust Equity Partners, Trelys Venture Partners, and MB Ventures also contributed to the private equity round. With this private equity, Trivirix plans to expand its geographic reach and our service breadth, company officials said.

Founded in 1998, Trivirix (www.trivirix.com) has contracts to manufacture electronic equipment for blood analysis, hearing screening, cardiac measurement, patient monitoring, and various other medical diagnostic applications. TriVirix completed two acquisitions earlier this year when it bought assembly plants from Medtronic and Fujitsu.

TriVirix has been a CED member since 1998.

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Pinpoint Networks Raises Additional $2 Million


Just after raising $4 million from New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in August, Cary-based Pinpoint Technologies has added $2 million from a new investor, Intel Capital. Pinpoint officials said they would use the additional funds to strengthen product development, global sales and business development, and marketing and account management.

Pinpoint (www.pinpoint.com), a provider of software and services to mobile operators, has raised $20 million since its founding in 1999. Existing investors in Pinpoint beyond the new ones include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Massey Burch Capital, Noro-Moseley Partners, the Wakefield Group, the Atlantis Group, and Tri-State Investment Group.

As Intel's strategic investment program, Intel Capital focuses on making equity investments and acquisitions to grow the Internet economy in support of Intel's interests.

Pinpoint has been a CED member since 2000.

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Golden Leaf Foundation to Invest in N.C. Biotech Ventures


The Golden Leaf Foundation has signed a letter of intent with Durham-based BioVista Management to invest up to $30 million in a new venture capital fund that will invest in life science companies. In addition, the organization has committed an additional $10 million to The Aurora Funds, a Durham-based venture-capital firm that specializes in making early-stage investments in life sciences and information technology firms.

The two funds have not identified which companies will receive this money, although Aurora has already begun searching for deals.

With lead financing from Golden Leaf, BioVista Management will create the BioVista Fund, which will invest in biotechnology and bio-pharmaceutical companies that provide or support jobs in North Carolina. The BioVista Fund is targeting total capital for investment of $120 million. BioVista will focus on later-stage, biotech companies that aim to build manufacturing plants. Catalysta Ventures, a venture-management firm based in Durham, will spearhead BioVista's fund-raising efforts and help to manage the fund.

The Golden Leaf investment is part of an $85.4 million economic stimulus package the foundation announced in August. Golden Leaf will be the lead limited partner, according to news reports. www.aurorafunds.com or www.catalystapartners.com/

The Aurora Funds has been a CED member since 1995.
Catalysta Partners has been a CED member since 2000.

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AlphaVax Receives Federal Grant to Combat Bioterror Threat


RTP-based AlphaVax has received a $6.5 million federal grant to help develop a vaccine for a rare but lethal virus that could be used as a weapon by terrorists, the Raleigh News and Observer reported.

The five-year grant from the National Institute of Health calls for AlphaVax to develop a vaccine against the Marburg disease, a deadly organism that one company official called "a first cousin to the Ebola virus." While AlphaVax develops the vaccine against Marburg, the virus itself will be handled by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md.

AlphaVax, which has 40 employees, uses genetic engineering to create a nontraditional vaccine that triggers the body's immune response without the potentially negative side effects triggered by traditional vaccines. Its technology is also expected to enable immunization against diseases not currently preventable by vaccines, according to the News and Observer. www.alphavax.com/

AlphaVax has been a CED member since 1999.

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Tarboro Auto Parts Company Expands, Adds More Employees


Keihin Carolina System Technology Inc., a company that supplies parts for Honda and Acura, will expand its Tarboro operation in Edgecombe County, according to the Business Journal. KCST's expansion will create 40 new manufacturing jobs that will average between $10 and $12 per hour, Gov. Mike Easley's office reported. The expansion, scheduled to be complete in May 2003, is a $10 million investment for Edgecombe County.

KCST, which produces engine control and automatic transmission components, has a parent company headquartered in Tokyo. The company first located to Tarboro in 1997, with mass production beginning in 1998. KCST currently employs 435 people at its Edgecombe County plant.

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NCOE E-News: Report Predicts IT Spending Will Rise in 2003


A new study by IDC Research indicates that worldwide spending for information technology (IT) and communications should grow at a rate of 5.8% in 2003. Although nothing like the growth in the late 1990s, this forecast beats 2002's performance, which IDC researchers said was the worst year in the history of the IT industry. In 2002, the IT industry's growth rate was negative: -2.3%.

New demand for servers, security and network equipment will likely be the primary drivers of these spending increases. Despite the positive forecast, IDC researchers said global IT markets will experience slower growth rates for the next several years as opposed to large booms. To learn more, visit www.idcresearch.com/ and www.ncoe.org/.

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Six Companies Selected for CED'S Venture 2003; Second Application Deadline Slated for December 19th


The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced its choice of six North Carolina companies to present at Venture 2003 - Pittsboro-based

Biolex

, Winston-Salem's

Kucera Pharmaceutical

,

MindValve

from Charlotte, RTP-based

Oriel Therapeutics

, Durham's

Stemco Biomedical

, and Fayetteville's

Total Billings

. The organization also encouraged other interested companies to apply by December 19th for consideration in the next selection round.

"For companies seeking venture financing, I would highly recommend applying to present at CED's Venture conference," asserts Jud Bowman, president and CEO of Pinpoint Networks and a Venture 2002 presenter. "CED's recruitment of high caliber investors to examine the region's strong investment potential was pivotal to our recent success in attracting new venture investors such as New Enterprise Associates - which had not previously invested in a North Carolina company until recently - Massey Burch Capital and strategic investor Intel Capital."

Since 1999, Venture presenters have raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital. The selection committee is seeking high growth companies from an array of industries that are looking to raise either initial or subsequent rounds of professional equity capital. Chaired by Jeff Clark, general partner, The Aurora Funds, the Venture 2003 Selection Committee includes professional venture capitalists and angel investors from throughout the Southeast.

For more information on applying to present or general registration, visit www.cednc.org/venture/2003. The conference, scheduled for April 22-23, 2003 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC, will continue its 20-year tradition of showcasing North Carolina's hottest investment opportunities to venture capitalists and financiers from throughout the United States.

Last year's conference, Venture 2002 drew a crowd of more than 850 investors, service professionals, entrepreneurs and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process from throughout the United States.

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Events Update


December 16th — CED Information Session for Prospective Members

December 17th — Capital Connection Quarterly Luncheon

December 31st — Capital Connection Application Deadline

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