San Diego-based Zogenix, a developer of needle-free, delivery systems for the treatment of acute migraines and cluster headaches, has filed for a $90M IPO. The IPO is being underwritten by Wells Fargo Securities, Leerink Swann, Oppenheimer & Co., and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel. The firm is venture backed by Domain Associates, Clarus Lifesciences, Scale Venture Partners, Thomas McNerney & Partners, Chicago Growth Partners, Abingworth Bioventures, and others.
More
By the Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. surged Thursday after the drugmaker said it signed a $1 billion co-development agreement for its experimental obesity drug Contrave with Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
Under the deal, Orexigen will receive $50 million upfront from Takeda, Japan's largest drugmaker. Takeda will get exclusive rights to market Contrave in the U.S., Mexico and Canada and Orexigen will keep co-marketing rights in the U.S. The California drugmaker will be eligible for payments of up to $1 billion for certain milestones along with royalty payments. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a regulatory decision on Contrave by Jan. 31.
Orexigen shares jumped 84 cents, or 18.3 percent, to close Thursday at $5.43 on seven times average daily volume.
''We believe the deal terms provide significant opportunity for Orexigen shareholders to benefit from the commercial success of Contrave and view Takeda as a strong partner that can capture significant share in the anti-obesity market,'' JMP Securities analyst Charles Duncan wrote in a note to clients.
More
By Dean Takahashi
Mobile game publisher Glu Mobile has raised $13.5 million in a private placement as it aims to expand its position in smartphone games.
The money will be used to fully implement the company’s cross-platform expansion plans, said Niccolo de Masi, chief executive of San Mateo, Calif.-based Glu in statement. “We have an exciting roadmap which will roll out beginning in October of this year,” he said.
In an interview last week, de Masi (pictured right, at our MobileBeat conference) said he has recruited several key executives and revamped the company’s operations since he joined as CEO in January. The company, which has 450 people, has developed a big presence in the past nine years as a maker of games for feature phones. But it has been adapting its product line-up to focus on smartphones for a couple of years now.
More
By Greg Sterling
MerchantCircle is now building a network of local writers in a bid to boost its content and retain its place in search results among other objectives. It has previously used Q&A to generate unique local content. It also not long ago announced a deal with content farm Demand Media.
I didn’t get a chance to speak to MerchantCircle about this new effort but my guess is that Demand hasn’t really delivered. I could be wrong on that. If I am please correct me.
More
By Leena Rao
Hyperlocal business directory MerchantCircle is getting into the content game today with the launch of a “Local Content Studio.” Merchant Circle, which has been steadily growing, is a business directory for merchants in smaller towns and currently lists 1.3 million small businesses. MerchantCircle has local business members in 95% of the 24,600 U.S. cities and towns with populations over 200.
The Local Content Studio aims to bring bring short-format information and articles that focus on the long tail of consumer local interest. The idea behind the studio is to create in-depth local content designed to connect customers with merchants. And MerchantCircle is encouraging business owners on its site to contribute the content. A typical submission would focus on “the best fishing tips for Five Lake, in Talkeetna, Alaska,” written by a local bait shop owner. More
By Robin Wauters
Interactive marketing software and services provider ExactTarget this morning launched ExactTarget Australia, following the acquisition of its reseller mPath Global in Sydney and Melbourne. Terms of the acquisition of its 5-year long partner were not disclosed, but all mPath employees are said to have accepted positions with ExactTarget Australia.
The new operation will expand ExactTarget’s suite of offerings to the more than 150 clients throughout Asia Pacific previously supported by mPath, including companies like Fairfax Digital, Lend Lease, ING Australia and Tennis Australia. The teams in Sydney and Melbourne will also support marketing campaigns in Asia for ExactTarget clients headquartered in Europe and North America.
More
Great Day SA
Sean Pate of MerchantCircle speaks with Bridget Smith, Great Day SA.
By Bruce Bigelow
It took centuries for the basic concept of a syringe—a plunger that fits tightly in a tube—to evolve into the medical hypodermic syringe, which uses a hollow needle to inject medication beneath the skin.
The founders of San Diego’s Zogenix say they have developed a faster and simpler method for subcutaneous injections—and on a much faster track.
More
By Michael Learmonth
Real-time buying and selling of ads through automated Nasdaq-like exchanges are the rage in online display advertising. So it would make sense that the same trend would take hold in video advertising, right? Well, no, partly because the formats themselves aren't standardized and sites use a complex array of different technologies to attach ads to video.
But that could soon change. BrightRoll, one of the biggest video ad networks in the world (third in reach behind Hulu and Tremor Media, per ComScore), has built a technology platform to create an automated market for buyers and sellers of video ads, much like a great many display ads are bought and sold today.
The company has been building the system over the past several months and is taking the service, BrightRoll Exchange, live on Wednesday. "A huge part of the value we bring to our buyers is we've found a way to get a lot of non-standard inventory into a standard platform," said CEO Tod Sacerdoti.
More
By John Carroll
Apparently undaunted by the rough reception biotech companies have received on Wall Street this year, Horizon Pharma has floated plans to raise a total of $86.25 million through an IPO.
Northbrook, IL-based Horizon, which started out as Nitec in 2004, has two drugs that have made it through late-stage trials and plans to use the money to finish the regulatory work and boot up commercialization efforts. Over the past six years the developer has raised $54 million from a list of venture groups, including Atlas Venture, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, NGN Biomed, Sutter Hill Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Global Life Sciences Ventures and TVM, according to Private Equity Hub.
More