Marcadia Biotech completed a $15 million Series A round of financing for development of products for diabetes and obesity.
Marcadia, of Carmel, Ind., has licensed rights to develop and market certain drug candidates for metabolic diseases from Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. Its founders and senior management were former executives at Eli Lilly and Co. and Guidant Corp., both of Indianapolis. The company also sponsors research at Indiana University.
The company's lead compound is a glucagon analogue designed to be supplied in an injector pen, making it available for quick use in emergency treatment of hypoglycemia.
Marcadia has peptide chemistry technologies and other compounds in its discovery and development pipeline.
Frazier Healthcare Ventures and founding investor 5AM Ventures co-led the financing round. Joining them was another founding investor, Twilight Venture Partners. Seed money was provided to Marcadia about a year ago.
In other financing news:
• BioMS Medical Corp., of Edmonton, Alberta, said it entered an agreement with underwriters for the sale of C$38.5 million (US$35 million) in stock and warrants. It plans to sell 14 million units at C$2.75 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one warrant. Each three-year whole warrant would entitle the holder to purchase one common share at C$4. The underwriting syndicate is co-led by Orion Securities Inc. and Desjardins Securities Inc., and includes Versant Partners Inc., Jefferies & Co. Inc., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC and Rodman & Renshaw LLC. They would have an option to purchase 2.1 million additional units. The offering is expected to close May 23. Funds would be used to expand its clinical trial programs in multiple sclerosis and for other corporate purposes.
• Neosil Inc., of Emeryville, Calif., received $10 million of venture debt financing from Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif. Neosil is developing two dermatological products. One is a peptide designed to promote hair growth in patients with androgenetic alopecia. It showed benefit in a Phase IIa trial in Germany. Neosil's second product is a broad-spectrum topical antimicrobial agent for acne and anti-infective uses. Neosil in November 2004 received a $32 million Series A investment from MPM Capital and Burrill & Co.
• Genomic Health Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., said it plans to offer 3 million shares from a shelf registration in an underwritten public offering. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. is sole book-running manager of the offering, and Lehman Brothers Inc. is co-lead manager. Piper Jaffray & Co. and JMP Securities LLC are co-managers. They would have an option to purchase up to 450,000 additional shares. The company is developing genomic-based clinical diagnostic tests for cancer. Its stock (NASDAQ:GHDX) closed Tuesday at $14.83, down 96 cents.
• MonoSol Rx Inc., of Warren, N.J., filed a registration statement with the SEC for an initial public offering of up to $86.25 million. Cowen and Co. is the sole book-running manager for the offering. CIBC World Markets and Susquehanna Financial Group are co-managers. MonoSol Rx is developing drug delivery technology based on its dissolving thin-film technology.
• SensiGen LLC, of Ann Arbor, Mich., said Ann Arbor SPARK, which works to establish Ann Arbor as a destination for businesses, approved a $250,000 investment in SensiGen from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. The funds will be used to help SensiGen establish a research laboratory in Ann Arbor and to accelerate development of its gene-based molecular diagnostic technology.