North America

Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics nabs $15 mln

Sofinnova Partners has led a $15 million round for Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics Inc. Also, Osage University Partner participated in the financing. Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on the modulation of RNA to treat cancer and other human diseases.

StraightPath Venture Partners is raising two $100 mln funds for investing in Pre-IPO companies

SDTC partners with accelerators to seed cleantech companies

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has unveiled a pilot project to support clean technology companies in partnership with incubators and accelerators. The project, which will partner with up to eight accelerators, will provide up to 30 grants of $50,000 to $100,000 each this pilot year. SDTC announced initial grants for four companies. They are: Brisk Synergies, a Waterloo-based automated traffic safety analysis platform; Intelline, a Waterloo-based maker of mechanical cryocoolers; Direct-C, an Edmonton-based leak detection monitor for the energy industry; and SoilReader, a Winnipeg-based precision soil analysis specialist.

2048 Ventures collects $27 mln for initial fund

2048 Ventures has raised $27 million for its inaugural fund, according to a blog post on its site. The New York City-based venture firm invests in founders creating B2B and B2C companies.

Evident ID snags $20 mln Series B

Evident ID Inc, a platform that powers identity and credential verification for many of the world’s fastest-growing companies, has raised $20 million in Series B financing. Aspect Ventures led the round.

Neural Analytics lands $22 mln

Los Angeles-based Neural Analytics Inc, a medical robotics company, has raised about $22 million in funding. Alpha Edison was the lead investor.

Cyber insurance firm Coalition inks $40 mln

San Francisco-based Coalition, a cyber insurance company for small and mid-sized businesses, has raised $40 million in funding. Ribbit Capital led the round with participation from Greenoaks Capital and Hillhouse Capital.

Pulmonx Corp scores $65 mln

Redwood City, California-based Pulmonx Corporation, a provider of diagnostic and therapeutic pulmonary device technologies, has raised $65 million in financing. Ally Bridge Group led the round with participation from other investors that included RTW Investments, ArrowMark Partners and Driehaus Capital Management. In addition to the funding, Pulmonx has appointed Dr. Derrick Sung as its chief financial officer.

Venture-backed Milestone prices Nasdaq IPO to raise $111 mln

Montréal-based cardiovascular drug maker Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc has priced its Nasdaq Stock Market initial public offering of 5.5 million common shares at US$15 per unit. The company expects to see proceeds of about $111 million (US$82.5 million). Founded in 2005, Milestone is the developer of etripamil, a nasal spray formulation of calcium channel blockers used to terminate episodes of transient cardiovascular conditions. Milestone raised roughly $220 million in financing. This includes $105 million raised last year, led by RTW Investments and joined by BDC Capital, Domain Associates, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Forbion, GO Capital, Novo Holdings, Pappas Capital, Tavistock Group, Tekla Capital Management and Venrock.

Pfizer to buy VC-backed biotech firm Therachon

Pfizer has agreed to acquire Therachon, a biotech company focused on rare diseases, for $340 million upfront with an additional $470 million in contingent payments. Goldman Sachs is serving as financial adviser to Therachon on the deal with Cooley LLP and Homburger AG providing legal advice. And, Arnold & Porter and Lenz & Staehelin are serving as legal advisers to Pfizer. Therachon is backed by Novo Holdings, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Pfizer Ventures, Tekla Capital Management LLC, Versant Ventures, OrbiMed, Bpifrance and Inserm Transfert Initiative.