PrintU.S. venture-backed companies raised close to $200 million in announced financings. Investors have shown a lot of interest in waste-to-renewables companies this year with several large financings that have included a $75 million round for Fulcrum Bioenergy for its waste-to-ethanol process, $45 million for Genomatica for its waste-to renewable chemicals technology, and now $51.7 million for Harvest Power, which converts organic waste to renewable energy and fertilizer products.
The series B financing was led by Generation Investment Management, a London-based firm, with participation by DAG Ventures, Keating Capital, and existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Munich Venture Partners, TriplePoint Capital, and Waste Management. Waste Management, one of the biggest waste haulers in the United States, is also an investor in Genomatica and Canadian waste-to-power company Enerkem.
Harvest Power manages organic waste using an advanced technology platform that produces renewable energy, in the form of electricity and natural gas, and high value soil and organic fertilizer products. The company has broken ground on a commercial scale high solids anaerobic digestion facility in Vancouver, British Columbia. With this new capital, the company intends to expand its platform throughout North America and add to its toolkit of technologies. Founded in 2008, Harvest says its revenues are growing and it is profitable.
Omthera Pharmaceuticals raised $33.9 million in a series B funding round led by new investor New Enterprise Associates, with participation by Sofinnova Partners. The New Jersey-based specialty pharma will use the funds partly for the late stage clinical development of its novel omega-3 fatty acid compound, Epanova, for the treatment of patients with very high triglycerides. Data from a recent trial of Epanova comparing it to Lovaza, the current industry standard treatment, showed that the bioavailability of Epanova was dramatically superior to Lovaza. Omthera licensed worldwide rights to Epanova from privately held Swill biotech Chrysalis Pharma.
“Omthera continues to generate very positive data indicating that Epanova has the potential to become the best-in-class therapy in the nearly $2 billion worldwide Rx Omega-3 market and an important treatment for the millions of patients suffering from high triglycerides,” says Jerry Wisler, president, CEO, and co-founder of Omthera.
Philadelphia-based BioNanomatrix closed a $23.3 million series B round of equity financing led by Domain Associates, with participation by new investor Gund Investment and existing investors Battelle Ventures, Innovation Valley Partners, and KT Venture Group. BioNanomatrix is developing nanoscale, single-molecule imaging and analysis platforms designed to reduce the time and cost needed to analyze the genome.
German biotech AMSilk specializes in the development and manufacture of high performance materials based on spider silk. The company raised $7.1 million in a series B financing round from several MIG Fonds, as well as AT Newtec to advance commercialization of its high performance polymers. The company produces its Spidersilk in bacteria using a sustainable and environmentally friendly process.
Quest Diagnostics’ acquisition of Celera for $657 million was the biggest life sciences M&A deal this week. Quest, a leading provider of diagnostic testing and lab services will acquire genetic diagnostics developer Celera, a pioneer in the field and the company that mapped the human genome at the same time as the Human Genome Project. Quest will pay $8 per share, representing a transaction value of approximately $344 million, net of $327 million in acquired cash and short-term investments.
DEALS FOR THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 18, 2011
| Global Venture Financings | |||
| Company | Location | Amount Raised (USD M) | Principal Activity |
| Harvest Power | Waltham, MA | 51.7 | Waste-to-energy |
| Omthera Pharmaceuticals | Bedminster, NJ | 33.9 | Specialty pharma |
| BioNanomatrix | Philadelphia, PA | 23.3 | Imaging technology |
| Cytovance Biologics | Oklahoma City, OK | 22.5 | CRO/Protein production |
| Veran Medical Technologies | St Louis, MO | 15.0 | Medical devices |
| NxThera | Minneapolis, MN | 12.6 | Medical devices |
| Advanced Animal Diagnostics | Durham, NC | 11.0 | Animal health diagnostics |
| Doximity | San Mateo, CA | 10.8 | Digital Health |
| Kalidex Pharmaceuticals | Menlo Park, CA | 8.2 | Antibiotics |
| Polyplus Transfection | Strasbourg, France | 3.5 | Tools/Technology |
| AE Biofuels | Keyes, CA | 3.5 | Cellulosic biofuels |
| Chronix Biomedical | San Jose, CA | 2.8 | Genetic tests |
| AMSilk | Martinsried, Germany | 7.1 | Biopolymers |
| Runfold Medical | Hampshire, UK | 4.1 | Medical devices |
| Activiomics | London, UK | 0.8 | Tools/Technology |
| Total Raised US | 198.8 | ||
| Total Raised Non-US | 12.0 | ||
| Grants | |||
| Company | Funding Agency | Amount Raised (USD M) | Principal Activity |
| bluebird bio | French Muscular Dystrophy Association | 4.2 | Gene/cell therapy |
| DRVision | NHLBI SBIR | 3.4 | Imaging technology |
| InDevR | NIAID 3-year Phase II SBIR | 3.0 | Influenza assay |
| TriLink BioTechnologies | NIH Phase I SBIR | 0.1 | Tools/technology |
| Total Grants | 10.7 | ||
| Public Financings | |||
| Company | Ticker | Amount Raised (USD M) |
Financing Type |
| BioTie Therapies (Finland) | HEL:BTH1V | 37.8 | PIPE |
| Threshold Pharmaceuticals | THLD | 30.1 | Registered direct offering |
| Futura Medical (UK) | AIM:FUM | 5.1 | Placing |
| Opko Health | OPK | 101.3 | Follow on |
| Affymax | AFFY | 50.0 | Follow on |
| Protalix Biotherapeutics (Israel) | PLX | 22.0 | Follow on |
| Illumina | ILMN | 800.0 | Debt |
| Waters | WAT | 200.0 | Debt |
| Pharming (Netherlands) | Euronext:PHARM | 7.2 | Warrant exercise |
| Vystar | OTC:VYST | 3.0 | Credit facility |
| Titan Pharmaceuticals | OTC:TTNP | 20.0 | Credit facility |
| NeoVista | Private | 20.0 | Credit facility |
| Total Public Financings-US | 1,224.4 | ||
| Total Public Financings-Non-US | 72.1 | ||
| M&A | |||
| Acquirer | Target | Deal Value (USD M) |
Focus |
| BP (United Kingdom) | CNAA (Brazil) | 680.0 | Industrial/Ag |
| Quest Diagnostics | Celera Corporation | 657.0 | Diagnostics |
| DJO Global | Rikco International | 254.6 | Medical devices |
| Roche (Switzerland) | PVT (Germany) | 119.0 | Diagnostic solutions |
| Astellas Pharma (Japan) | Perseid | 76.0 | Biologics |
| Edwards Life Sciences | Embrella Cardiovascular | 43.0 | Medical devices |
| Cortex Pharmaceuticals | Biovail (Valeant-Canada) | 30.3 | Respiratory depression |
| Biomedical Structures | Concordia Medical | N/A | Medical devices |
| Alliances | |||
| Company/Licenser | Company/Licensee | Deal Value (USD M) |
Focus |
| FivePrime Therapeutics | Human Genome Sciences | 495.0 | Cancer license |
| Depomed | Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) | 12.5 | Drug delivery license |
| BioPorto Diagnostics (Denmark) | Werfen Group (Spain) | 2.9 | Biomarkers license |
| MediciNova | Zhejiang Medicine (China) | 1.2 | Inflammation joint venture |
| Cell Signaling Technology | Ventana Medical (Roche-Switzerland) | N/A | Personalized cancer diagnostics license |
| Chroma Therapeutics (United Kingdom) | Cell Therapeutics | N/A | Cancer license |
| Celexion | AbCheck (Czech Republic) | N/A | Tools/technology license |
| Celexion | BioAmber | N/A | Industrial/ag license |
| Oxford Nanopore (United Kingdom) | Accelrys | N/A | Tools/technology partnership |
| Medical & Biological Laboratories (Japan) | Envoy Therapeutics | N/A | Tools/technology license |
| BASF (Germany) | Monsanto | N/A | Agbiotech collaboration |
| Complete Genomics | DNAnexus | N/A | DNA sequencing collaboration |
| Genomatica | Tate & Lyle (United Kingdom) | N/A | Industrial/ag partnership |
| Genfit | Sanofi-Aventis (France) | N/A | Cardiometabolic collaboration |
| Arcadia Biosciences | SESVanderHave (Belgium) | N/A | Agbiotech license |
| Public/Private Partnerships | |||
| Company | Institution | Deal Value (USD M) |
Focus |
| Cellectis (France) | Etablissement Francais du Sang (France) | 29.0 | Hematology |
| Pluristem (Israel) | New York University Medical Center | N/A | Diabetes |
| Anacor Pharmaceuticals | Medicines for Malaria Venture | N/A | Malaria |
| AstraZeneca (United Kingdom) | Sage Bionetworks | N/A | Cancer |
March 18, 2011
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