Digital product placement company MediaSpike raises $5.2m series A funding from investors including Google Ventures.

App marketing platform Appboy raises $7.6m series A from investors including IDG Ventures.

IfOnly, an e-commerce site which sells experiences and goods endorsed by "luminaries", is reported to have raised $12m in series A funding from investors including American Express Ventures and Advance Publications.

University venture fund Osage University Partners backs Sideris Pharmaceuticals in $32m series A.

Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma joins $45m series A funding for Mitokyne, a US biotech focused on discovering drugs to treat mitochondria-related diseases, as well as signing R&D collaboration agreement with option to acquire.

Biotechnology company Biodesy raises $15m series A funding led by 5AM Ventures and including Pfizer Venture Investments and Roche Venture Fund, to develop and commercialize its technology for real-time measurement of changes in protein structure.

Orphan drug accelerator has now raised $26m from investors including Lundbeckfond Ventures and Pfizer, to help create companies focused on rare diseases.