Neil W Gibson of OSI Pharmaceuticals

Jeffrey Settleman,  Harvard Medical School and MGH Cancer Center

David Bailey of Chemoventures

N Claude Cohen of Synergix

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Dec. 1, 2005 -- The two major deals -- Roche/Biocryst and Genentech/PIramed --may be getting the most attention, but it was a good week for biotech all round, as several other smaller firm raised some decent money as well, including: * Alimera Sciences Inc., an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, completed a Series B financing, securing $31.8 million. Venrock Associates led the new round, and all four original Series A firms continued their investment. The new cash will go towards developing Alimera's retinal portfolio, including  Medidur -- a Phase III-stage treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME). Alimera also plans to expand its commercial organization. "The company, together with our partners, is prepared for the next stage of product development and commercialization," said Dan Myers, president and chief executive officer of Alimera Sciences, according to a company press release.

* CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a start-up central nervous system disorder developer, completed $18.5 million in series A financing. CeNeRx is both acquiring and developing early- stage compounds. The company has a series of reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase (RIMAs) in preclinical / phase I development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. The financing "...positions CeNeRx to advance critical research and development with ample reserves to support its future business growth initiatives," according to the company press release. The round was led by the Perseus-Soros BioPharmaceutical Fund, with active participation from L Capital Partners, A.M. Pappas & Associates, and Wistar Morris.