Helix BioPharma, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the field of cancer therapy, has raised a total of $5.28 million by way of private placements completed during September 2004. The latest placement raised gross proceeds of $618,750 and resulted in the issuance of 225,000 units. This latest placement follows the issuance earlier this month of a total of 2,190,000 common shares and 2,190,000 common share purchase warrants for gross proceeds of $4,664,700.

Helix intends to use its financing proceeds to fund the pre-clinical and clinical development of products in its pipeline and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The company is actively developing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of cancer based on its proprietary technologies. Helix's product development initiatives include its Interferon-alpha cream, for the treatment of conditions caused by the human papilloma virus and its novel DOS47 new drug candidate.

Accera gets $6 M financing

Accera Inc., a drug development company focused on Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative diseases, has recently closed a series A financing round of $6 million. The financing was led by inventages Venture Capital GmbH of Geneva, Switzerland and joined by San Diego-based POSCO BioVentures. As part of the financing, Dr Robert Schier, partner of inventages Venture Capital and Charlotte P Clark, managing director at POSCO BioVentures will be joining the Accera board of directors.

"This financing is a vote of confidence from our investors in our unique therapeutic approach to diseases of memory and cognition. We are pleased to be working with experienced European and US investors who have access to large industry partners for our growing clinical development program," said Dr Steve Orndorff, president and CEO of Accera.

Accera, Inc. is a privately held, Broomfield, Colorado based biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases caused by defective energy metabolism in the brain. The company's lead product, AC-1202, is currently in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease. Accera will develop AC-1202 and other small molecule compounds in its pipeline with corporate partners for a variety of markets and clinical indications.

Biopure raises $7 M

Biopure Corp., a leading developer and manufacturer of intravenously administered pharmaceuticals that deliver oxygen to the body's tissues, has raised approximately $7 million in net proceeds through the sale of 21,371,461 shares of its Class A common stock at $0.39 per share to institutional and individual investors. The company also issued these investors warrants to purchase an aggregate of 10,685,730 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.42 per share, which if exercised would provide Biopure with additional proceeds of approximately $4.5 million. Biopure sold these shares and warrants under a shelf registration statement previously filed with and declared effective by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. CE Unterberg, Towbin, LLC acted as the agent for the offering.

Under Biopure's current operating plan the company believes that its cash on hand should fund operations through January 2005. The company intends to aggressively manage its expenses while seeking additional capital through sales of equity securities and/or corporate collaborations to share development and commercialization costs for its investigational oxygen therapeutic-Hemopure.

Biopure is developing Hemopure for a cardiovascular disease indication and with the US Naval Medical Center, for a trauma indication. As part of those efforts, the company is currently conducting two Phase II clinical trials, one in Europe and one in South Africa.

Genospectra raises new funds for gene expression and cell-based assays

Genospectra Inc., developer of innovative products and technologies for Parallel Quantitative Biology (PQB) has announced the close of a $16.4 million series C financing. Battelle Ventures of Princeton, New Jersey, led the round, which included additional new investors, Agilent Ventures, 5AM Ventures, Aravis Ventures, Allen & Co. and other private investors. The company's existing investors, including Dr Alex Zaffaroni, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, HBM Bioventures, Novartis Bioventures, BioOne Capital (the dedicated biomedical investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board), Bay City Capital, and Affymetrix also participated in the financing.

"Genospectra's combination of proprietary, innovative technologies and a management team that delivers is a winning one for both investors and the life sciences community, " said Ron Hahn, partner at Battelle Ventures.

Dr Frank Witney, Genospectra's CEO said, "We are pleased to welcome five outstanding new institutional and strategic investors, each with firm commitments to the company's mission." Genospectra, Inc. is a privately-held life science company developing technologies. Genospectra's first product line, the QuantiGene Reagent System was launched in July 2003, and is powered by the FDA approved and proprietary branched DNA technology for gene expression analysis in cell-based assays.

Sopherion raises $47 M

Sopherion Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of anti-cancer therapies, announced the completion of a $47 million series B venture funding. The financing was led by TL Ventures and included the Sprout Group, ProQuest, Canaan Partners, HealthCap, NewSpring Ventures, Commerce Health Ventures, and Seaflower Ventures.

In connection with this financing, Sopherion also announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Zeneus Pharma Ltd for the future commercialization of Myocet in North America. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Myocet has been approved by the European and Canadian regulatory agencies for first line therapy in combination with cyclophosphamide for patients with metastatic breast cancer. As per the agreement, Sopherion intends to launch Myocet in Canada no later than the second quarter of 2005. In the US, Sopherion will manage the regulatory process and pending FDA approval, be responsible for the marketing and sales of this therapy. To date, several large clinical trials of Myocet have been completed in the US and Europe. Currently, the company intends to conduct additional clinical studies prior to filing a new drug application.

In addition to the Myocet initiatives, the proceeds of the Series B will be used to validate a widely applicable lead discovery platform and to fortify Sopherion's infrastructure. "We are developing from a research-oriented company into a fully integrated oncology company with commercial, clinical and regulatory capabilities. We are now ramping up to launch Myocet in Canada and finalizing our US regulatory strategy," stated Ronald H. Goldfarb, president and CEO of Sopherion Therapeutics.

Pain Therapeutics proposes public offering of common stock

Pain Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, plans to offer approximately eight million shares of common stock pursuant to its currently effective shelf registration statement. The company also intends to grant the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase an additional 1.2 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and UBS Securities LLC are acting as lead underwriters for the proposed offering. A preliminary prospectus supplement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is available on the SEC's website. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying preliminary prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, when available, can be obtained upon request in writing to Citigroup Global Markets Inc.