The past week was evidently on the quiet side for Boston-area life sciences firms, with a few exceptions:
—Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) announced it will cut 150 jobs and close a manufacturing plant after Eli Lilly ended a joint project to develop inhaled insulin.
—EyeGate Pharma of Waltham, MA, raised $15 million from Medicis Capital, Ventech, Innoven Partenaires, and the Nexus Group. Neil profiled the company’s efforts to develop a device that delivers drugs into the eyeball without the pain (or creepiness) of a needle.
—Synthetic biology startup Codon Devices of Cambridge closed a second tranche, worth $11 million, of its Series B round of venture capital, according to a report in Mass High Tech. Codon has raised a total of $44 million from the likes of Flagship Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, and Alloy Ventures, according to the Mass High Tech story.
—A dozen very young companies made their pitches at the Early Stage Life Sciences Conference put on by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center. Bob has a report from the conference.
—Polaris Venture Partners and SV Life Sciences co-led a Series B round for Adimab of Lebanon, NH; the value of the deal was not disclosed. Founded by startup veterans from MIT and Dartmouth, Adimab is developing a platform that integrates the whole process of antibody-drug discovery.
