Metastatix Inc. raised $35 million in a Series B financing to move its lead CXCR4 antagonist, MSX-122, into the clinic for cancer.

Frazier Healthcare Ventures led the round, which included participation by existing investors H.I.G. Ventures, The Aurora Funds, CM Capital, SR One, MedImmune Ventures, Georgia Venture Partners, Centrosome Ventures and the State of Georgia.

Proceeds will support clinical trials with MSX-122, a small molecule shown in preclinical studies to inhibit CXCR4 receptors in cancer cells, preventing them from receiving the SDF-1 chemokine signal needed to drive cell migration and metastasis.

Metastatix also is developing CXCR4 antagonists for HIV and inflammatory diseases. In HIV, the drug works by preventing the virus from entering T-cells and replicating, while in inflammation, it acts as an anti-inflammatory. Metastatix is screening potential lead candidates in both programs.

Metastatix's Series B round follows a $3.6 million Series A round the Atlanta-based company raised in September 2006. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 12, 2006.)

In other financing news:

• Cumbre Inc., of Dallas, said its existing investors provided an undisclosed amount of new capital to assist the company in securing a partnership for its antibiotic, CBR-2092, which recently completed a Phase I trial. The company, which spun off of Tularik Inc., is continuing to both develop and seek partners for its other research programs.

• Genoptix Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., set a price range of $14 to $16 per share for its proposed initial public offering. The offering will include 5 million shares, about 4.3 million of which will be offered by the company, as well as an additional 750,000 shares to cover any overallotments. Genoptix, which applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "GXDX," said it expects the offering to generate net proceeds of $57.7 million. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 2, 2007.)

• MAP Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said the underwriters in its recent initial public offering fully exercised their overallotment option by purchasing an additional 750,000 shares of common stock at $12 per share. That increased the total shares sold in the IPO to 5.75 million, generating gross proceeds of $69 million. MAP's stock (NASDAQ:MAPP) continued to trade up on Tuesday, gaining $2.16, or 13.4 percent, to close at $18.25. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 8, 2007.)

• Osiris Therapeutics Inc., of Columbia, Md., entered a $30 million financing agreement with its largest shareholder, Friedli Corporate Finance Inc. The financing may be accessed by Osiris at its discretion over the next year and will take the form of a common stock issuance at market value or three-year notes at LIBOR plus 4 percent. The money, if utilized, will be put toward general corporate purposes including Phase III trials of stem cell treatment Prochymal.