Startups in the biotech, biofuels, analytics, and e-commerce spaces have been inking deals in the last week.
—An SEC filing revealed that Forma Therapeutics, a Watertown, MA-based developer of cancer drugs, had raised $10 million in an equity- and rights-based round from two investors.
—Cambridge, MA-based Annovation BioPharma pulled in $8 million in funding to put toward development of its novel anesthesia treatment. The funding comes from Atlas Venture, Partners Innovation Fund, and The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MDCO]]), which also has the option to acquire the startup once it runs a clinical trial in the first half of 2013.
—A week after revealing it had received a $5 million venture loan, Boston-based SimpleTuition announced that it acquired the online textbook marketplace ValoreBooks, which sells 18,000 titles from 20,000 sellers. The purchase is designed to help SimpleTuition achieve its mission of providing tools that help users lower the costs of attending college.
—Agrivida, a Medford, MA-based startup that engineers plants to more efficiently produce biofuels, announced it had nabbed $15 million in Series C financing led by Bright Capital Partners. The investment also came from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DAG Ventures, Prairie Gold, Presidio, Gentry Venture Partners, Northgate Capital, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and Syngenta Ventures. Earlier this summer Agrivida inked a deal to sell its feedstock and processing technology to a subsidiary of the ethanol developer POET.
—FashionPlaytes brought in $5 million in Series B funding to amp up marketing of its e-commerce site that allows tween girls to design custom apparel and accessories, CEO Sarah McIlroy told me on a phone call this week. That startup has raised about $12 million total, with the most recent investment coming from return backers Fairhaven Capital, New Atlantic Ventures, and angel groups, plus new investors Leo Capital Holdings and Spindrift Equities.
—Cambridge-based Localytics said that it nabbed a $5.5 million investment led by Polaris Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors such as New York Angels, Launchpad Venture Group, and Hub Angels. The startup also launched an app marketing platform atop its existing app analytics service.
—Founder Collective, the New York and Cambridge-based seed-stage investment fund, has closed on a $70 million second fund, managing partner Eric Paley announced in a blog post.
—And Tewskbury, MA-based Mitralign secured a $7 million venture loan facility from Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HRZN]]) and Square 1 Bank. In May the maker of cardiac devices announced that it raised $35 million in Series D financing.
