News roundup 11 March 2018

Big deal: Nightstar shines bright in $800m acquisition
Nightstar Therapeutics, based on Oxford research, stands to receive $800m from Biogen in an acquisition deal that comes a year and a half after completing a $75m IPO.
Imperial internalises tech transfer
ICL will restore internal tech transfer activities from its Imperial White City Incubator, in the process ending its arrangement with commercialisation firm IP Group.
Larter lands at Calgary
Stephen Larter has become Calgary’s associate vice-president for research and innovation, adding to his duties as chief scientist of the university’s CDL-Rockies accelerator for energy startups.
Sarepta rakes in Myonexus for $165m
Sarepta Therapeutics exercised its option to acquire Nationwide Children’s gene therapy spinout Myonexus Therapeutics after paying at least $60m for the right in May 2018.
New Orleans institutions prepare life sciences accelerator
Tulane University and LSU Health Sciences Center have selected New Orleans BioInnovation Center to administer life sciences accelerator services.
Arizona releases Fibronox
Fibronox spun out from University of Arizona’s College of Medicine – Tucson in 2017 to deliver Nox4-inhibiting drugs for fibrotic disorders including lung fibrosis.
Pozyx places $1.5m
Ghent-founded indoor position technology business Pozyx has amassed more than $1.5m having recently completed the launch of its initial product range.
Utah enters Recursion for incubator
University of Utah’s TVC commercialisation office is to open a new incubator with Recursion, itself a Utah spinout, to provide facilities including wet lab and co-working space.
WZL processes Iconpro
Process management technology developer Iconpro was founded out of RWTH Aachen last year and is targeting its services at the manufacturing sector.
Precision Bio pinpoints $100m IPO target
Genomic medicine developer Precision Biosciences plans to raise up to $100m in an upcoming IPO that could hand exits to Duke University and corporates Amgen, EMS and Baxter.
Gintel Technology to purify $30m round
Kao Yuan University’s Gintel has created water quality monitoring systems that can provide information on 50 parameters of toxicity and recommend remedies.
NovaGo collects $10m
Zurich brain injury antibody spinout NovaGo has extended its strategic partnership with immunotherapy company Neurimmune by securing its support in a series A round.
Vilmorin & Cie joins PSL Innovation Fund
Vilmorin & Cie has joined fellow corporates including BNP Paribas, Naval Group and MGEN as an investor in the targeted $87.5m PSL Innovation Fund.
Refeyn rates $3.4m
Oxford-founded biopharmaceutical development instrument manufacturer Refeyn has secured funding from the university and OSI to help scale manufacturing and distribution.
Utec and Blume illuminate Budha accelerator
University of Tokyo’s Utec has extended its foray into Indian VC investments by starting an accelerator in partnership with local venture fund Blume Ventures.
Diamidex emerges from three spinout-merger
Satt Sud-Est spinouts Click4Tag, C4Hydro and C4Biocontrol will merge to boost the commercialisation of microbe monitoring technologies built on research from six institutions.
Araris Biotech arrives from ETH
ETH’s Paul Scherrer Institute has launched Araris Biotech to deliver production technology for site-specific ADCs that enable them to be used without being engineered from each patient.
Beam hits series B with $135m
GV participated as a new investor, as Harvard’s genetic medicine developer Beam Therapeutics completed a round that followed $87m in series A funding last year.
Contrary Capital to settle for $35m
Contrary Capital is seeding a second vehicle to back spinouts and university-linked startups through venture partners based at faculties across the US.
Fitz Gate to contain $30m
Fitz Gate Ventures has started raising the successor to its initial $10m fund mainly focused on spinouts and startups linked to Princeton University.
NemaMetrix clinches $5m
Oregon Venture Fund and Rogue Venture Partners have both backed University of Oregon’s DNA testing services provider NemaMetrix to bring the spinout’s total to $8.5m.
Pallares redeems role at NMSU-backed fund
Pallares, a member of NMSU’s IP advisory committee, has become fund manager of the $1.9m Arrowhead Innovation Fund, which backs New Mexico-based startups.