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FormScape Raises $5 million


Morrisville-based FormScape, provider of enterprise information delivery technologies, has received $5 million in second round venture capital funding. The funding was led by London-based MTI Partners, which first invested in FormScape in 2000. Founded 12 years ago, FormScape provides XML-based software that enables the delivery and exchange of electronic documents between an organization's customers, suppliers and employees. The company said that it now has a customer base of 6,000, which is growing by a rate of about 500 per quarter. FormScape had revenues of $9.3 million last year. The funding will be used for marketing and sales. www.formscape.com

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Noverant Formally Launches with New Funding


Raleigh-based Noverant Inc. announced its corporate launch recently as a spin-off from Entrinsik, a company that has been operating since 1987. Noverant begins its operations with funding from Research Triangle Ventures and Catalysta Partners. The company is focused on providing systems and services to control and streamline regulatory compliance. "Noverant is focused on solving a problem that is a very acute pain for FDA regulated companies," said Bud Whitmeyer, General Partner with Research Triangle Ventures and Noverant Board Member. The funding will be used for product development. www.noverant.com

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Sustainable Jobs Fund, L.P., Invests in RYLA Teleservices, Inc.


Durham-based Sustainable Jobs Fund, L.P. (SJF), a fund which invests in enterprises whose rapid growth provides quality entry-level employment in the Eastern United States, has invested $500,000 in RYLA Teleservices, Inc., a Woodstock, GA, provider of value-added call center services for the business information industry. Mark Wilson, President and CEO of RYLA, was introduced to SJF as a result of the fund's participation in the Southeast i-DealFlow Forum held in Atlanta in November, 2001. SJF's investment will help RYLA ramp up operations at its Woodstock call center, which is expected to employ 120 individuals in the next 12 months. RYLA's current customers include information provider giant D&B and LexisNexis. RYLA is Sustainable Jobs Fund's 12th portfolio company. www.sjfund.com

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CED Beats Goal with $4M Fundraising Campaign


Despite the difficult economic times, CED recently put an official cap on its Innovation to Impact fundraising campaign at $4 million, a third more than its original goal of $3 million. The campaign's success reinforces the fact that challenging times create an even stronger need for entrepreneurs and the programs that support them.

Thanks to the support of many generous donors, CED's Innovation to Impact initiatives will enable the organization to provide programs and services for the entrepreneurial community for the foreseeable future. Innovation to Impact and Endowment donors will be recognized and will celebrate success at a "victory party" Monday night. For more information, please visit www.cednc.org/innovation.

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PharmaNetics Forms Deal with The Medicines Company


Raleigh-based PharmaNetics, Inc. (Nasdaq/NM: PHAR), a theranostic management company specializing in managing the delivery of therapeutics affecting coagulation, recently formed an agreement with The Medicines Company (TMC) (Nasdaq/NM: MDCO). Under the terms of the agreement, TMC will purchase Ecarin Clotting Time (ECT) tests for the rapid evaluation of the anticoagulant effects of Angiomax®(bivalirudin), TMC's direct thrombin inhibitor. The terms of the agreement also provide that TMC will furnish data from their clinical trials of Angiomax in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery for PharmaNetics to pursue FDA clearance to market the test cards for use with Angiomax. There are over 500,000 CABG procedures performed each year in the United States, and PharmaNetics estimates that the market for the ECT in this indication has the potential to exceed 1.0 million tests annually. PharmaNetics develops, manufactures and markets rapid turnaround diagnostics to assess blood clot formation and dissolution. www.pharmanetics.com

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SciQuest Named Fastest Growing Tech Company in the State


RTP-based SciQuest, a publicly traded provider of software and services for research-based organizations, has been named first in Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast 50 program for North Carolina, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the state. The ranking is based on revenue growth over the last five years. www.sciquest.com

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MediaSpan Partners with Art.com


Durham-based MediaSpan, a provider of online retail music and movie stores to radio, recently announced a partnership with Raleigh-based Art.com, an online marketplace for prints, posters, photographs, and custom framing. Through this partnership, MediaSpan radio affiliates can now provide their listeners access to over 100,000 posters and prints through their stations' Music and Movie store. www.mediaspangroup.com; www.art.com

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Gentris Forms Deal with Wisconsin Firm


RTP-based Gentris Corporation, a startup clinical pharmacogenomics testing and diagnostic products company, and Promega Corporation, a Madison WI-based supplier of biological reagents and reagent systems, have entered an agreement to jointly pursue development of clinical pharmacogenomic products. The agreement will combine both companies' technologies into a "robotic liquid handling platform" to produce clinical pharmacogenomic products. Tests of this type will enable physicians to make decisions regarding appropriate prescription drugs and dosing for their patients, the companies say.

Gentris develops products to predict drug efficacy and to decrease adverse drug reactions and provides pharmaceutical research organizations with pharmacogenomic solutions to improve the efficiency and predictability of drug development. Founded in 1978, Promega has eight branch offices and over 50 distributors throughout the world with annual sales exceeding $125 million. www.gentris.com

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Events Update


September 24th — HR Roundtable - Healthcare Benefits Options

September 24th — Marketing Roundtable - Building Credibility Through Customers

September 24th — RTP Wireless Initiative - Dylan Brooks, Jupiter Media Metrix & Kick-off, Special Interest Groups

September 25th — CEO Roundtable - E-Commerce and Your Web Site

September 27th — Springboard: Southeast 2002

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