oligarch with a fortune in mining, retail, and other industries.
—Two Boston-area medtech startups, Daktari Diagnostics and BL Healthcare, offered hope for young companies by raising $2.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively. Daktari appears to be a stealthy Arlington, MA-based firm that is developing handheld devices that can count immune cells using microfluidics and electrochemical sensing technologies. BL Healthcare, of Foxboro, MA, makes systems for TV sets that enable patients to do videoconferences with clinicians, watch health videos on demand, and monitor their vital signs, among other things.
—Investors poured $8 million in private capital into Providence, RI-based NanoSteel, the firm said in an SEC filing. NanoSteel uses iron-based steel alloys to make overlays and spray coatings for customers in the mining, offshore oil drilling, and marine industries. The alloys are made of nano- and micro-scale particles that make the materials harder and less porous than traditional steel.
—Nanogen, a cash-strapped biotech firm based in Branford, CT, agreed to be acquired by San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:LGND]]) in a transaction valued at $11 million. The deal gives Nanogen shareholders a 3-percent stake in Ligand. It’s probably not the exit most Nanogen shareholders were hoping for, but at least the firm’s science and drug programs will survive under Ligand’s ownership.
—On a happier note, Burlington, MA-based healthcare communications provider Silverlink Communications took in $5 million in new financing from previous backers Sigma Partners, HLM Venture Partners, and Kaiser Permanente Ventures. Wade profiled the company, whose services help health workers launch wellness campaigns for patients.
