Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA of Lausanne, Switzerland has raised €9.5 million in a Series A round to support development of its implant technology for deep brain stimulation which would complement drug therapy for major neurological disorders.
A new UK spin-out dedicated to the technology of DNA repair has received £6 million in Series A funding from a venture capital syndicate led by Sofinnova Partners. The technology comes from the laboratory of Prof Stephen Jackson.
UK-listed Ark Therapeutics Plc has reported revenue of £0.4 million for the first half of 2011, unchanged from a year as it shifted its business strategy to bio-manufacturing and early-stage research and sold its wound-care business.
Novo A/S and SV Life Sciences have committed £8 million in a Series A round to a new UK ophthalmology company that has a portfolio of preclinical assets which are expected to be developed for diabetic macular edema.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc has spun out technology for the treatment of hearing disorders into a new company called Autifony Therapeutics Ltd. The company is receiving £10 million in Series A funding from Imperial Innovations and SV Life Sciences.
Galápagos NV has extended for the third time a drug discovery agreement with Genentech (Roche) that involves the use of a number of technologies to discover new chemical entities against targets defined by the Roche group subsidiary.
Evolva Holding SA has become the latest European company to negotiate a standby equity facility with YA Global, a US-based investment group. The facility amounts to CHF 30 million (€27.1 million) and will extend the company’s cash runway by a year.
Vectura Group Plc has given an undisclosed partner US rights to a generic version of a therapy for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that is being developed for delivery in a dry powder inhaler. The upfront payment is $10 million.
Shire Plc reported revenue of $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2011, up by 25% from a year earlier on increased sales of products for rare diseases and for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). GAAP operating income was $283 million.
SkyePharma Plc has initialed a licensing agreement with Sanofi SA under which the French multinational will pursue marketing authorisation applications for the asthma drug, Flutiform, in Mexico, and Central and South America.