|
===================================================
NEW ENGLAND TECH WIRE -- Jan. 2, 2002
===================================================
To Subscribe For Free: http://www.newenglandtechwire.com
o Rib-X Raises $22 Million First Round
o Altus Raises Additional $15 Million for Second Round
o Report: Connecticut a Center for Fuel Cell Technology
o Kronos Acquires Third-Generation Mass. Family Business Simplex
o VINA Technologies Acquires Metrobility Technology Asset
o Briefly Noted: ManagedOps - Mission Ventures, Elcom International,
TowerGroup, Centra - Moshi Moshi Hotline
_____________________________________________
o Rib-X Raises $22 Million First Round
New Haven, Conn. -- The brainchild of three Yale University scientists,
New Haven-based Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, a developer of new anti-infectives,
has raised about $22 million in a first round of venture capital co-led by
SR One Limited/EuclidSR Partners and Oxford Bioscience Partners. Other
investors in the round include ABS Ventures, Axiom Ventures, Cardinal
Partners, Connecticut Innovations and Zero Stage Capital. Rib-X's
integrated research approach combines computational analysis, x-ray
crystallography, medicinal chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry. The
company has exclusive access to drug-design software developed by William
Jorgensen, one of the Yale-affiliated company's co-founders. Rib-X also
has licensed a high-resolution crystal structure of the ribosome to
discover new antibiotic agents, developed by the company's co-founders
Thomas Steitz and Peter Moore, both of Yale. Susan Froshauer, the new
company's president and CEO, previously was a member of the strategic
alliances group at Pfizer.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cpdkt0bWbtLLxmde0&FQ
_____________________________________________
o Altus Raises Additional $15 Million for Second Round
Cambridge, Mass. -- In probably the largest round of venture capital for a
New England biotech company in 2001, Cambridge-based Altus, a developer of
protein crystallization technology, announced last week that it has raised
$15 million, bringing the total for the round raised so far to more than
$50 million. The latest investment was from CMEA Ventures and China
Development Industrial Bank (CDIB), with additional participation from
Hotung International Co. and the Palladian Group. Nomura International and
U.S. Venture Partners led the earlier second-round investment of more than
$35 million. Altus has developed a protein crystallization technology,
known as Crystalomics, which allows for the rapid commercialization of
protein-based products. The company said that it expects to double its
current staff of more than 50 over the next 12 to 18 months.
http://www.altus.com/altustest/company/new/press/pr26DEC2001(Financing).html
_____________________________________________
o Report: Connecticut a Center for Fuel Cell Technology
Hartford, Conn. -- An article in the latest issue of DG Insight, a monthly
newsletter providing commentary and analysis on the latest trends in the
distributed energy generation industry, reports that Connecticut is
quickly becoming one of the leading drivers of fuel-cell technology. The
Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CEF), which was created by the state
legislature in 1998, has resulted in several investments and related
projects that have created a center for research and development of fuel
cells, the article says. Among its investments and incentive projects, the
fund has awarded a $1.25 million contract to FuelCell Energy Inc. to build
a fuel-cell unit to be be installed next year at a University of
Connecticut campus. CEF also has signed an agreement with Proton Energy
Systems, providing $1.5 million to accelerate commercial deployment of its
UNIGEN fuel-cell product family.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cpdkt0bWbtefxmdmX&FQ
_____________________________________________
o Kronos Acquires Third-Generation Mass. Family Business Simplex
Chelmsford, Mass. -- In a deal involving two Massachusetts-based labor
management technology companies, Chelmsford-based Kronos Inc. has acquired
the Westminster-based workforce solutions division of SimplexGrinnell.
Details of the cash transaction were not disclosed. "As a result of this
agreement, Kronos has acquired SimplexGrinnell's integrated labor
management software customer base, which includes approximately 8,000
organizations in the U.S. and Canada - 90% of which are mid-size
organizations," said Mark Ain, CEO of Kronos. His company said it will
retain key personnel of SimplexGrinnell Workforce Solutions in the
engineering, sales, service and support groups. The retained employees
will form the nucleus of a newly created Kronos WinSTAR Group, which will
operate out of the company's corporate campus in Chelmsford, Mass. Kronos
offers a suite of applications for managing employee time and activity
data. Simplex is a third-generation family business founded in 1894.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020102/22165_1.html
_____________________________________________
o VINA Technologies Acquires Metrobility Technology Asset
Merrimack, N.H. -- Saying that the acquisition will strengthen its product
development efforts, California-based VINA Technologies, a developer of
broadband network technology for the metro access market, has acquired the
optical concentrator technology of Merrimack-based Metrobility Optical
Systems, Inc., a privately held firm backed by Sierra Ventures. The
transaction involved about 2.2 million shares of VINA stock valued at
about $2.6 million. VINA sells its optical networking technology into the
transportation, manufacturing, financial and telecommunications market, as
well as to some major universities and government agencies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011227/sfth002_1.html
_____________________________________________
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New England Tech Wire has launched the New England Tech Directory, an
online directory and RFP engine that facilitates the search and
negotiation process between buyers and sellers.
http://netechwire.newmediary.com/0905netwem1
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_____________________________________________
Briefly Noted:
(Norwood, Mass.) Norwood, Mass.-based Elcom International, a provider
Internet-based transaction software, has sold its U.K. subsidiary to a
group led by managers of the subsidiary. Financial terms of the deal were
not disclosed. The newly independent company has licensed the name "Elcom"
for its own use, and will operate under the moniker Elcom Information
Technology (EIT).
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cpdkt0bWbtKvxmdeY&FQ
(Needham, Mass.) A new report by Needham-based TowerGroup, a provider of
research, advisory and consulting services to the financial services
industry, predicts that the U.S. will continue to lead the world in the
introduction and adoption of electronic bill presentment and payment.
Wireless devices will serve as a critical delivery channel in regions such
as the European Union and Asia, where PC and landline phone penetration
lag North America, according to the report.
http://www.towergroup.com/public/presscenter/pressreleases/010202.htm
(Lexington, Mass.) Lexington-based Centra, a provider of business software
for e-learning and online collaboration, said on Wednesday that it has
been chosen to provide its platform to Japan-based Moshi Moshi Hotline,
one of Japan's largest telemarketing firms. Centra's technology has been
licensed by Moshi Moshi for use in over 20 of its nationwide branch
locations.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020102/22097_1.html
===================================================
To subscribe to New England Tech Wire, go to:
http://www.newenglandtechwire.com
For Job/Event Posting Rates, go to:
http://www.newenglandtechwire.com/posting.htm
Questions or comments? Send email to:
info@newenglandtechwire.com
News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@newenglandtechwire.com
To change your subscription email address, please unsubscribe the old
address and then subscribe your new email address at:
http://www.newenglandtechwire.com
|