types of blood cancer. Madison-based Cellectar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLRB]]) said the study, which is supported by a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, will take place at 15 research centers across the U.S. All patients in the trial will be dosed with Cellectar’s drug candidate, which is known as CLR 131; those with multiple myeloma will also receive oral dexamethasone, which is used to treat blood disorders and certain types of cancer. Cellectar said it expects the study to start early next year, and said it could have initial efficacy data by the end of 2017.
—Midwestern BioAg, a Madison-based manufacturer and distributor of fertilizers, seed, and other products designed to improve soil health and increase crop yields, raised $21.3 million from investors. All of the funds and organizations Midwestern BioAg named in its press release announcing the financing round are based outside of Wisconsin. Part of the company’s approach is working with farmers to create farm management plans detailing which Midwestern BioAg products they should use on their crops, and when.
—More fundraising news: Madison-based Simplifide, which is developing digital tools to help verify identities based on physical characteristics, raised $1 million from angel investors. Jeff McAllister, co-founder and CEO of Simplifide, said that organizations his company is targeting as customers, such as hospitals, would be able to have patients transmit photos or finger or eye scans they take themselves. Then, he said, registration desk workers would use Simplifide’s software to verify that patients are who they say they are.
