Angioblast Closes $10M Financing

NYC-based Angioblast Systems, Inc. closed a $10M equity-based financing round in August. Angioblast is a private biotech company focused on the development of novel biological treatments for cardiac and vascular disorders.

Keryx to Raise $20M

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals will sell 8 million shares of stock to select institutional investors. Valued at about $20M, the proceeds from the offering will be used to fund upcoming Phase III programs for its lead drug candidates, Perifosine and Zerenex. In addition, Keryx recently received orphan-drug designation for Perifosine from the FDA for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell. NYC-based Keryx is focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of renal disease and cancer.

ZIOPHARM Announces Private Placement of $5M

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. has entered into investor agreements to raise approximately $5.05M in gross proceeds. Ziopharm will use the proceeds from the financing for working capital and general corporate purposes, including ongoing clinical development of its three product candidates. Ziopharm’s shares recently soared upon positive interim data of a randomized Phase II trial of palifosfamide for treating patients with unresectable or metastatic soft tissue sarcoma. Based in NYC, ZIOPHARM Oncology is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of a diverse portfolio of small molecule cancer drugs.

City Launches Fund For Bioscience

NYCEDC and NYC Investment Fund (NYCIF) have partnered in a funding initiative that will advance biomedical research from the lab to the market. The first annual BioAccelerate NYC competition will award up to five researchers with grants of up to $250,000 for high-risk high-reward research beyond the appetite of private investors. In addition to funding, winners will receive mentoring from veteran bioscience entrepreneurs, who will help move projects along the commercialization pipeline. The fund is part of a multi-year effort by the City and NYCIF to build up a bioscience sector capable of capitalizing on significant research taking place in New York.

Venture Capital Road Show in New York City

On October 30, All Things Life Sciences 2009, the first venture capital forum exclusively for women-led life sciences companies, will present its NYC Forum. The Forum will showcase 24 early-stage, high-growth investment opportunities to an audience of active angel, venture, and corporate investors. These companies were recruited, screened, and coached by a committee of over 200 life sciences executives, investors, attorneys, industry experts, business development professionals, and seasoned entrepreneurs.

Rockefeller Professor Receives National Medal of Science

The White House has awarded NYC's Rockefeller University Professor Elaine Fuchs the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor. Fuchs is being honored for her pioneering work in cell biology and molecular genetics to understand the basis of inherited diseases in humans, as well as her notable investigations of adult stem cells, cancers and genetic syndromes.

Tap into a $2.5B R&D Resource

NYCEDC will host an exclusive one-day workshop on SBIR/STTR proposal preparation on October 29 and present a panel on alternative funding programs. The workshop is open only to NYC bioscience companies and NYC life science academic research faculty. For more information email sbir@nycedc.com or visit our site.