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- Motricity to Acquire InfoSpace Mobile Services Division for $135 Million
- Tengion Raises $33 Million in Third Round
- Aurora Funds Participates in $20 Million Investment in GA-based Pharma Company
- Frontier Capital Invests $6.5 Million in M3TG
- Oriel Therapeutics Raises Third Round of Funding
- DARA Biosciences Acquires Point Therapeutics in Reverse Merger
- Align Pharmaceuticals Acquired by Cyclacel
- Advanced Solutions Acquires Cadre Systems
- INC Research to Add 1,100 Jobs in Raleigh
- Local Universities Receive Federal Grants for Genomics Research
- Entegrion Awarded $2 Million for Development of Trauma Treatment
- eTrials Partners with TransPerfect on Translation Services
- Arbor Pharmaceuticals to Partner with Campbell University on Pediatric Treatment
Motricity to Acquire InfoSpace Mobile Services
Division for $135 Million
Durham, N.C.-based Motricity (www.motricity.com),
a provider of mobile content services and
technology, has signed an agreement to acquire the mobile
services business unit of InfoSpace for
close to $135 million in cash. Investor Carl Icahn, who
has previously invested in Motricity, and Advanced Equities
provided significant investments to lead the funding of
the acquisition. Under the agreement, Motricity will acquire
InfoSpace's mobile services division, which provides mobile
search, storefronts, portals and messaging services for
mobile carriers. The acquisition is expected to provide
over $100 million in additional annual revenues for Motricity.
Motricity is a CED member.
Tengion Raises $33 Million in Third Round
Winston-Salem-based Tengion (www.tengion.com),
a clinical stage biotechnology company, has raised $33 million
in its third round of financing from investors including
Deerfield Partners, Bain Capital, Johnson & Johnson
Development Corp., HealthCap, Quaker BioVentures, Oak Investment
Partners, L Capital Partners, Horizon Technology Finance
and Oxford Finance Corp. The company is developing "autologous
neo-organs and tissues," such as bladders, that are
derived from the patient's own cells and says it has the
potential to enable people with organ and tissue failure
to lead healthier lives without donor transplants or the
side effects of current therapies.
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation is
a CED member.
Oxford Finance Corporation is a CED member.
Aurora Funds Participates in
$20 Million Investment in GA-based Pharma Company
Durham-based Aurora Funds (www.aurorafunds.com),
a venture capital firm, was one of several investment partners
to participate in a $20 million Series B round of financing
in Georgia-based Metastatix, a drug development company
working to develop treatments for HIV and cancer. Also participating
in the round were Frazier Healthcare Ventures, H.I.G. Ventures,
S.R. One, the Georgia Tech Advanced Technology Development
Center, CM Capital, MedImmune Ventures, Georgia Venture
Partners and Centrosome Ventures. Aurora also participated
in the company’s A round of financing in September 2006.
Aurora Funds is a CED member.
Frontier Capital Invests $6.5 Million in M3TG
Charlotte-based Frontier Capital (www.frontierfunds.com),
an investment firm, has invested $6.5 million in Charlotte-based
M3 Technology Group (M3TG), a technology company which provides
consulting and managed services for enterprise messaging,
collaboration and active directory solutions for mid-market
and large corporations. The company will use the investment
to fund new product development initiatives, support the
expansion of its professional and enterprise services teams,
and increase the company’s direct sales and channel marketing
activities.
Oriel Therapeutics Raises Third Round of Funding
RTP-based Oriel Therapeutics (www.orieltherapeutics.com),
a drug delivery and development company, has raised an undisclosed
amount of funding in its third round of venture capital.
The round was led by New Leaf Venture Partners. The company,
a spin out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, develops drug delivery and development methods for
the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostic industries
for the development and commercialization of innovative
pre-metered unit and multi-dose dry powder delivery systems
for medicines for asthma and COPD. Oriel has raised $5 million
in its previous two rounds of venture financing.
Oriel Therapeutics is a CED member.
DARA Biosciences Acquires Point Therapeutics
in Reverse Merger
Raleigh-based DARA Biosciences (www.darabiosciences.com),
a development-stage pharmaceutical company, announced it
will merge with Boston-based Point Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical
company, in a deal which gives DARA stockholders 96.4% of
Point’s outstanding shares and results in Point changing
its name to DARA. This reverse merger allows the privately-held
DARA to take advantage of Point’s public company status,
avoiding the complex and pricey process of an IPO. Terms
of the deal have not been disclosed.
Align Pharmaceuticals Acquired by Cyclacel
Cary-based Align Pharmaceuticals (www.alignpharma.com),
a biopharmaceutical company, has agreed to be acquired by
New Jersey-based Cyclacel, a drug development company, for
as much as $5.3 million in a cash and stock deal. Align,
which develops products for management of radiation and
chemotherapy, will be relocated to the Cyclacel facility
in N.J.. Cyclacel develops products in the areas of oncology
and hematology.
Advanced Solutions Acquires Cadre Systems
Cary, N.C.-based Cadre Systems (www.cadresys.com),
a computer aided design (CAD) implementation firm, has agreed
to be acquired by Louisville-based Advanced Solutions
Inc., a provider of Autodesk software. The terms
of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Cadre Systems,
with offices in Cary and Charlotte, was
founded in 1993 and focuses on installation and support
of CAD systems.
INC Research to Add 1,100 Jobs in Raleigh
Raleigh-based INC Research Inc. (www.incresearch.com),
a contract research organization which specializes in the
development of drugs to treat central system disorders,
cancer, infectious diseases and childhood illnesses, has
received support from the State of North Carolina to expand
its presence in Raleigh. The company plans to add close
to 1,100 jobs and make capital investments of $19.2 million
in Raleigh during the next four years. INC currently employs
362 workers in the state and has a presence in 36 locations
worldwide.
Local Universities Receive Federal Grants for
Genomics Research
Durham-based Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences
and Policy (www.duke.edu)
and Chapel-Hill-based University of North Carolina (UNC) (www.unc.edu)
have been awarded $6.5 and $5.6 million respectively from
the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) (of
the National Institutes of Health) for human genome research.
According to the NHGRI, Duke’s grant is part of the ENCyclopedia
of DNA Elements (or ENCODE) project, a program is designed
to study the “entire human instruction book” as included
in the genome, while the UNC grant will be used to examine
the impacts of discoveries from large-scale genomic research
for individuals, families and populations, with a particular
focus on studies with implications for specific racial,
ethnic or other socially defined groups.
Entegrion Awarded $2 Million for Development
of Trauma Treatment
RTP-based Entegrion (www.entegrion.com),
a life sciences company, was awarded a $2 million Congressional
appropriation for the continued development of the infusible
hemostatic agent Stasix®, a drug that is expected to control
internal hemorrhage in trauma and surgical patients. The
company, along with scientists and physicians at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, develops advanced, practical
and cost-effective therapeutics for limiting bleeding resulting
from combat injuries, civilian trauma, surgery and disease,
including its first product, Stasilon®, a hemostatic wound
dressing, developed in conjunction with the U.S. Office
of Naval Research.
Entegrion is a CED member.
eTrials Partners with TransPerfect on Translation
Services
Morrisville-based etrials® Worldwide Inc. (www.etrials.com),
a clinical trial management software company, is partnering
with TransPerfect, an international communications services
firm, in an 18-month agreement for over-the-phone interpretation
services for international etrials® customers. The agreement
allows etrials® to provide consecutive interpretation without
alteration, addition or omission of content from customer
messages, and allows customers access to interpreters who
will provide a word picture or description when lack of
equivalency exists for a particular concept or term. etrials®
has facilitated over 900 trials involving more than 400,000
patients in 60 countries and has worked with 16 of the top
20 global pharmaceutical companies.
Arbor Pharmaceuticals to Partner with Campbell
University on Pediatric Treatment
Raleigh-based Arbor Pharmaceuticals (www.arborpharma.com),
a pharmaceutical company focused on the licensing, development,
and commercialization of products for pediatricians, announced
it will collaborate with the North Carolina-based Campbell
University Pharmaceutical Sciences Institute (CUPSI) to
develop a novel formulation to treat ear infections in children.
Arbor Pharmaceuticals collaborates with pharmaceutical development
companies and established promotional partners in the pharmaceutical
industry to develop and market their products in order to
serve the needs of pediatricians throughout the US. CUPSI
is a pharmaceutical contracting organization, which provides
quality research, development and small-scale production
services at a competitive price to the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries./p>
Arbor Pharmaceuticals is a CED member.
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