Everything else around here is frozen solid this week (hello, minus two degrees real-feel!), but the tech and life sciences deals are flowing.
—Two Massachusetts firms—Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) of Cambridge and Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CBST]]) of Lexington—inked a marketing deal focused on Alnylam’s RNAi-based treatment for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. Under the terms of the deal, Cubist will pay Alnylam $20 million upfront, with an additional $82.5 million in future milestone-based payments on the table as well.
—Newton, MA-bases student-loan-search toolmaker SimpleTuition reportedly closed a $6 million Series C funding round from Atlas Venture, Flybridge Capital Partners, and North Hill Ventures, among others.
—Software maker StreamBase Systems of Lexington, MA, reportedly raised $6.24 million in a Series D funding round from return investors Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and In-Q-Tel.
—Cancer drug developer Kolltan Pharmaceuticals of New Haven, CT—a spinoff of Yale University Medical School—closed a Series A round worth an impressive $35 million.
—Another cancer drug company, Cambridge, MA-based Forma Therapeutics, inked a license and option agreement with Novartis potentially worth more than $200 million.
—Woburn, MA-based Kiva Systems gained an important new customer—Gap Inc. Direct, which handles online orders for clothing chains Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime—for its system of robotic warehouse workers.
—Software maker WebLayers of Cambridge, MA, announced it had raised $3 million in an equity financing from Ascent Venture Partners, Cedar Fund, and Veritas Venture Partners.
—Boston-based Ze-gen raised $20 million in a Series B round of financing led by
