Venrock gets lean and mean with $350M venture fund

Smaller and more tightly focused will be the dominant style for Venrock Associates' new venture fund. The venture group--a busy player in the biotech space--says that it closed its new healthcare fund with $350 million--a sharp drop from the $600 million it was able to gather for its last fund launched in 2007. "We were proactive on the size of the new fund," Bryan Roberts, a Venrock partner, told the Wall Street Journal. "It fell out of who we had (at the firm). If we could find great people...

Alimera shares leap on FDA filing for lead program approval

Alpharetta, GA-based Alimera Sciences managed to buck a rough morning on Wall Street as its shares were buoyed by the announcement that the developer has submitted its lead therapy of diabetic macular edema for FDA approval. ALIM shares were up about eight percent on the news, touching $8.70. Alimera submitted Iluvien, (fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal insert), a sustained drug delivery system which releases tiny quantities of fluocinolone acetonide for DME. And the company says that it...

Alimera slashes IPO price while Codexis delivers at low end

The biotech industry got a mixed read on investors' appetite for IPOs yesterday. The biotech Codexis launched its IPO at the low end of its price range on Wednesday, raising $78 million as it continues to build its business for enzymes that are used by drug manufacturers as well as in biofuels. Alimera Sciences, meanwhile, didn't fare as well. The Alpharetta, GA-based biotech sold 6.55 million shares at a bargain basement price of $11 after trying to push them for $15 to $17. Alimera raised $72...