This week saw a variety of small-to-medium deals—and one potentially huge one.
—Avila Therapeutics of Waltham, MA raised $5 million from existing investors in a debt and options financing that could reach up to $20 million, according to an SEC fling. Avila is developing drugs that form strong, covalent bonds with target proteins.
—Ashaway, RI-based greenBytes raised $7.5 million of an $8 million round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The startup, a provider of efficient data storage systems, did not disclose the investors participating in the deal.
—Elixir Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, raised $12 million in a funding round led by MPM Capital and joined by ARCH Venture Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners, the Omega Fund, and Physic Ventures. The Cambridge firm also granted Swiss drug giant Novartis an option to acquire the entire company should Elixir successfully complete a Phase IIa clinical trial of its oral diabetes drug. That deal, should it come to pass, could be worth more than $500 million in initial and milestone payments.
—Marlboro, MA-based Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ESLR]]) announced a public offering of $60 million in common stock. Evergreen, a manufacturer of low-cost silicon-based solar power products, plans to use the proceeds for the construction of a new factory in Wuhan, China, and the expansion of a facility in Midland, Michigan.
—Stylefeeder of Cambridge, MA, raised $500,000 from return investors Highland Capital Partners and Schooner Capital. Stylefeeder, which runs an online personalized shopping recommendation service, is profitable—and hiring.
—BigBelly Solar, a Needham, MA-based maker of solar-powered, trash-compacting public waste bins, reported in a filing with the SEC that it has raised $3.2 million in additional financing. The investors were not disclosed.
