Charlottesville, VA – Diffusion Parmaceuticals LLC, a clinical-stage drug development company commercializing first-in-class drugs utilizing a novel mechanism of action that enhances oxygen diffusion, today announced the results of a Phase I safety trial of its lead drug candidate, trans sodium crocetinate (TSC). In addition, the company announced the completion of a $4.5 million private placement, the proceeds of which will support the company’s overall growth and advance TSC into Phase II clinical trials in early 2008. (more…)

Fort Lauderdale, FL– Medical device company Mako Surgical Corp. plans an initial public offering of its common stock, according to a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company did not disclose the estimated number or price range of shares to be offered, but indicated the offering price could total up to $86.3 million. It said the total offering price was estimated solely to calculate its registration fee and may change. (more…)

Durham, NC – Aldagen, Inc., a biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of clinical stage regenerative therapies, today announced it has raised an additional $9 million in its Series C financing, bringing the total round size to $23 million. The initial Series C closing was announced in December of 2006. New investors include Tullis-Dickerson and CNF Investments LLC. Existing investors Harbert Venture Partners, LLC and Intersouth Partners also participated in the additional financing. (more…)

Atlanta, GA–Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) for intellectual property covering a series of HIV integrase inhibitors and other antiviral compounds in exchange for an upfront license fee, future milestone payments and royalties on future net sales. Integrase inhibitors are an emerging class of anti-retroviral agents that block the insertion of viral DNA into the genome of the host cell, thereby stopping the virus from replicating. By inhibiting a different molecular target than currently marketed HIV drugs, integrase inhibitors have the potential to treat patients with resistant strains of HIV. (more…)

Atlanta, GA– Southeast BIO (SEBIO) announced today it has selected 24 companies to participate in its Southeastern BIO Investor Forum, an event that brings together the Southeast’s most promising life sciences venture opportunities with the regional and national venture capital community. (more…)

Atlanta, GA- Medical device company OsteoLign Inc. recently secured $10 million from Versant Venture Capital L.P. in Menlo Park, Calif.; SV Life Sciences with offices in Boston, London and San Francisco; and Accuitive Medical Ventures with offices in Atlanta and Rochester, Minn., according to an Aug. 17 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (more…)

Chapel Hill, NC- A tiny treatment for congestive heart failure got a $3.75 million boost this week. Medtronic Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., made the investment in NanoCor Therapeutics of Chapel Hill. Medtronic receives certain rights to exclusively license NanoCor’s treatment for congestive heart failure. (more…)

By Rebecca J. Kaufman (as published in Tech Journal South)

Investment in medical device companies continues to drive record venture capital investment in the life sciences sector nationally. (more…)

Sunrise, FL– Biotechnology company BioHeart Inc. on Thursday filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $45 million in an initial public offering of common stock. (more…)

MORRISVILLE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)— September 5, 2007 — BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDSI) has entered into an exclusive and perpetual license and related supply agreement with Meda for the U.S., Canadian and Mexican commercialization rights to BDSI’s flagship BEMATM Fentanyl product for the treatment of “breakthrough” cancer pain. (more…)