Some local biotechnology companies landed funding deals during the past week. We’ve got that and other highlights below.
—Tioga Pharmaceuticals raised $18 million in private equity to fund a late-stage clinical trial of asimadoline, its experimental drug for irritable bowel disorder.
—San Diego received $4.95 million of $225 million in stimulus funding awarded nationwide to increase educational, training, and placement services for people seeking local life sciences and health care jobs.
—The FDA told Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) it found production problems at the contract manufacturing plant that produces Cadence’s intravenous form of acetaminophen, a situation that must be rectified before the drug can be approved.
—Carlsbad, CA-based Verdezyne raised $9 million in an ongoing $15.2 million venture round. The industrial biotechnology company will use the funds to validate its technology for making adipic acid, a key feedstock chemical for production of nylon.
—There was some good news for a change from Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQMN]]), which said it launched a non-invasive fetal sex determination test.