DNA is no longer. During a fairly quiet week in the public biotech markets, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche transformed itself into the world’s largest biotechnology company March 25 by completing its $46.8-billion tender offer for the publicly held shares of Genentech (DNA). Eighty-five percent of publicly held shares of DNA were tendered. Roche now owns 96.2 percent of the company. Roche, already a leader in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, will now become the largest biotechnology company in the world. Roche says it hopes to continue Genentech’s culture of innovation, retaining the brand name and company headquarters and workforce in the United States.

 

Venture activity was surprisingly strong during the last week in March, with a significant amount of money invested in several medtech companies. In the largest capital raise of the week, Palo Alto, California-based Ardian completed a $47-million financing round led by Medtronic, one of the world’s largest medical technology companies. Existing investors Advanced Technology Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners, as well as new investor Emergent Medical Partners. Ardian is developing a catheter-based medical device to treat hypertension, instead of using medications such as blood thinners. The company was created by The Foundry, a medical device incubator based in Menlo Park, California.

 

Atritech is also developing a medical device that could be used in lieu of blood thinners. Atritech's device is designed to keep large blood clots from entering the blood stream, potentially causing a stroke. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company raised $30 million, led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners along with Split Rock Partners and insider investments from Prism Ventures, Tullis-Dickerson, and Vector Group.

 

Fremont, California-based NeoVista,an ophthalmic medical device company developing technologies for treating wet age-related macular degeneration, closed a Series D round of private venture financing, with investments led by Essex Woodlands, Versant Ventures, SV Life Sciences, Accuitive Medical Ventures, MPM Capital, and The Carlyle Group. NeoVista's epimacular beta radiation therapy is designed to replace the need for anti-VEGF injections, the current standard of treatment for the condition. The company intends to commercialize its technology in Europe in May 2009 and is currently enrolling patients in a pivotal clinical trial to support an eventual filing for regulatory approval in the United States.

 

Neuraltus Pharmaceuticals, based in Menlo Park, California, has a number of small molecule drugs in the pipeline for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Parkinson's disease, and Gaucher's disease. The company just closed a $17-million series A financing to enable it to conduct and complete Phase I and Phase II clinical trials for each of these disorders. Latterell Venture Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Adams Street Partners joined in the financing.