Finance, Grants, Deals

ITI Life Sciences, a Scottish agency that finances medical research, is making £2 million to £5 million available for synthetic biology projects over a period of 18 to 36 months.

Oxford NanoLabs Ltd, a British developer of DNA sequencing technology, has raised £10 million through a private placement of shares.

Pieris AG, a closely-held German company that is developing proteins similar to monoclonal antibodies, has raised €25 million through a series B placement of new shares.

The decision of 3i, one of Britain’s largest private equity firms, to stop investing in start-ups and early-stage companies will reduce the financing options for a number of small companies. But the amount of money involved is relatively small compared with 3i’s total assets under management, the company said.

Alizyme Plc said that it has raised approximately £10 million before expenses following the placement of 20 million new ordinary shares with institutions.

Galapagos NV, the Belgian company that develops genomics-based drugs, is delisting its shares on Britain’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and offering a facility for trading the shares in the US over-the-counter market through the issuance of American Depository Receipts (ADRs). The company’s shares will continue to trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam and Brussels.

PanGenetics Bv has raised €23 million in a Series C financing from six institutional investors led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.

The European Commission expects to issue the first call for proposals to do research under the new Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) in April 2008, with decisions on funding announced by the end of the year, according to Irene Norstedt, deputy head of the Commission’s biotechnology unit.

Phytopharm Plc, which develops medicinal products from plants, is to raise £8.6 million through a placing and open offer of shares on the London Stock Exchange.

CeNeS Pharmaceuticals Plc said it is in discussions which may or may not lead to an offer for the company.