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RTP Fundings – Q4

RTI International partners to enhance worldwide health care
RTI International has received a three-year, $3-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a new initiative for global health investment in collaboration with Commons Capital, a Boston-based, socially-responsible venture capital firm.
RTI will provide technical and business assistance for Commons Capital’s portfolio companies to encourage them to develop devices, diagnostics, and information technology solutions appropriately tailored for underserved markets in developing countries.
The unique technical and business assistance needs for global health product and market development require specialized expertise beyond that needed for developing products focused on industrialized markets.
RTI and Commons Capital will explore new business models and financing mechanisms for global health product development and commercialization. Through this nonprofit initiative known as Venture Investment Technical Assistance (VITA), RTI will provide technical and business assistance to companies while Commons Capital develops new strategies for global health investment based on traditional and social venture capital principles.
VITA will focus first on working with one of Commons Capital’s existing portfolio companies -- Claros Diagnostics, a “point-of-care diagnostics” company committed to developing products for the global health marketplace.
The law firm of Sidley Austin LLP will provide pro bono legal work for the project, and RTI will also partner with JSI Research and Training Institute, a global leader in the area of supply chain management for essential health products.



Cisco Networking Academy to expand across the emirates
CISCO plans to invest up to AED 5.8 billion (USD 1.59 billion) on information and communications technology (ICT) in the United Arab Emirates over the next five years. The investment intends to support the 2015 vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to fuel the nation’s growth and development plans.
As part of this investment, which is expected to create up to 650 new jobs at Cisco by December 2010, Cisco will open a new regional headquarters office in Dubai in April 2008. The regional office will hold one of Cisco’s most advanced customer briefing centers allowing Cisco to showcase the latest innovations in Internet Protocol (IP) networking technology, such as Cisco TelePresence. The company will also open an office in Abu Dhabi in June 2008 to serve the growing customer base in the capital.
Conceived and developed out of Cisco’s Dubai office, the operations will draw on customer experiences in the region to help support continued solutions developed collaboratively at a global level.



Murdock Gives NC State University $2 Million
A $2 million gift from David Murdock, owner of Dole Food Co., will help staff the N.C. Research Campus being developed at Kannapolis with NC State University (NCSU) faculty members who will work to develop more nutritious fruits and vegetables.
The gift will be matched with $1 million from the North Carolina Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund. The $3 million total will be used to create endowments that will fund three David H. Murdock Distinguished Professorships.
The endowments will allow NCSU to create three new faculty positions, says Dean Johnny Wynne, of NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The new faculty will work in Kannapolis on the N.C. Research Campus.
The three positions will be in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and will be located in NCSU’s Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute, which is being developed on the N.C. Research Campus.
Murdock, the billionaire owner of Dole Food Co. and other businesses is collaborating with universities across North Carolina to transform the former textile mill town into a high-tech research center that will focus on developing a better understanding of human nutrition and foods with enhanced nutritional qualities. NC State’s Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute is expected to play a key role in making Murdock’s vision a reality.
The 100,000-square-foot building that will house the Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute is under construction and expected to be completed Aug. 1. Creation of the professorships gives NC State “the tools we need to recruit and retain faculty of the highest caliber,” says NC State Chancellor James Oblinger.


Affinergy awarded $3 million
Durham biotechnology startup Affinergy, developer of coatings to improve the performance of medical devices such as catheters and hip joints, received $3 million in federal Small Business Innovation Research grants.

Landscaping company lands $3.2 million
Horticultural Asset Management Inc., of Cary, which estimates landscaping values primarily for the insurance and real estate industries, raised $3.2 million in Series B financing to expand commercial activity and promote products that provide valuations.

Phase Bioscience secures $1 million loan
Phase Bioscience Inc. (www.phasebio.com), a Durham-based biotechnology company, closed a $1-million secured equipment loan with Silicon Valley Bank of California and is moving to larger headquarters and laboratory facilities in Morrisville.

Chesson Labs raises $3.3 million
Chesson Laboratory Associates, a Durham company working on a liquid bandage and products to treat bites, stings and nail fungus, raised $3.3 million from angel investors. The company plans to continue developing products in key strategic health care markets.

Precision BioSciences repays seed loan
RTP’s Precision BioSciences, Inc. repaid a $750,000 interest-bearing loan from a private group of independent investors. The funds were used to validate the core technology. The repayment was made possible through revenue from Precision’s ongoing operations.

Cary’s Carpio lands $10 million
Carpio Solutions (www.carpio.com), a Cary-based software-services provider, recently closed $10 million from Palladium Equity Partners in New York. The funds will be used to make key acquisitions in Brazil and the U.S.

GlaxoSmithKline refuses state incentives GSK declined at least $1.4 million in state incentives for the expansion of its Zebulon manufacturing plant. GSK did not think it could meet the requirements of the incentive plan in light of its recently-announced restructuring plan and subsequent job cuts.

Biotech Center funds biology lab
The N.C. Biotechnology Center presented a $71,000 grant to Mount Olive College to fund a cell and molecular biology lab at the school near Goldsboro. Plans are already under way for a course in cell physiology and establishing a minor in biotechnology.

State launches green business grant
Entrepreneurs can apply for $1 million in grants to foster eco-friendly and alternative technologies from the Green Business Fund. Businesses under 100 employees are eligible for a maximum of $100,000 per grant. The deadline for grant applications is April 30.