Dealmaking activity was on the light side this week in the New England tech and life sciences sectors, but there are still some interesting items to report.
—Search-engine developer Goby raised $2.5 million from Kepha Partners and Flybridge Capital Partners, both return investors. The Boston-based startup is taking a local-search approach to helping people find events and activities.
—Dicerna Pharmaceuticals nabbed $4 million from SR One, the venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline, bringing the Watertown, MA-based startup’s Series B funding to $29 million. Founded in 2007, Dicerna competes with the likes of Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNM]]) in developing drugs based on RNA interference.
—Cambridge-based ThingMagic, a maker of software and hardware for radio frequency identification (RFID) readers, was acquired by Sunnyvale, CA-based Trimble (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRMB]]). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Greg heard from the companies that the Trimble, a mobile and location technology company, plans to hold on to ThingMagic’s staff and Massachusetts offices.
—Investments in Massachusetts tech and life sciences startups grew modestly in September, totaling $146.8 million, compared to $143.6 million in August. The average deal size climbed as well, as the number of deals dropped from 30 to 25, according to data from New York private company intelligence platform CB Insights.
—Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge sold private equity firm Celtic Therapeutics an option to acquire its lead drug, RX-10045, and license it as a treatment for eye conditions. Celtic also purchased a note that is convertible into Resolvyx stock. No financial details were revealed for either transaction.
—Waltham, MA-based Spryance, a medical transcription services provider that does business under the name Heartland, was acquired by Atlanta-based Transcend Services (NASDAQ:[[ticker:TRCR]]) for $6.5 million.
