Clarus Ventures adds to pharmaceutical firm’s $36M

Clarus Ventures LLC, a Cambridge-based life sciences venture capital firm, has co-led a $36 million Series A financing round for small molecule pharmaceutical developer Lycera Corp.

Lycera is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is developing drugs to treat autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. The firm already has received $10 million as a first tranche of the Series A financing round. It stands to receive the remainder of the funds in two tranches as it meets specific milestones. Other investors besides Clarus Ventures include InterWest Partners, ARCH Venture Partners and EDF Ventures, which also led a seed financing in November 2006.  

 

In conjunction with the closing, Clarus managing director Jeffrey Leiden has joined Lycera’s board of directors. Leiden, and other recent additions, has increased board membership to six. 

            

In a statement, Leiden said that Lycera combines two of the “most exciting” new small-molecule approaches to treat autoimmune diseases. The company will use medicinal chemistry and immunology know how in its drug development. The Series A financing will fund Lycera as it advances its first drug candidate through Phase 2 proof-of-concept studies and a second candidate into Phase 1 clinical trials, he stated.          

 

Clarus Ventures focuses on investing in biopharmaceuticals and medical technology companies. Currently, Clarus has $1.2 billion of assets under management across two life sciences-dedicated funds. The firm also has an office in South San Francisco, Calif. 

Ann Arbor pharmaceutical company acquires southern California laboratory

An Ann Arbor pharmaceutical company announced today that it acquired a laboratory in Orange County, Calif., in a move to return the company to profitability.

Adeona Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is developing late-stage drugs to treat such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, acquired Colwell Clinical Laboratories Inc., which serves one of the largest physician markets in the country.

Colwell intends to remain an independent laboratory.

But Adeona hopes to increase the laboratory's ability to diagnose, prevent and treat the effects of patients having incorrect levels of zinc and copper in their bodies. It's part of Adeona's (AMEX:AEN) plan to increase the number of laboratories competent for testing in those areas.

Colwell is an independent CLIA-certified clinical laboratory in Santa Ana. The laboratory serves same-day clinical laboratory needs for physicians and has annual revenues of appoximately $750,000.