A Michigan company developing a treatment to help restore vision in patients with retinal degeneration hopes to have its lead candidate in clinical trials in 2012.RetroSense Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor startup company, is targeting patients with blindness from retinal pigmentosa (RP) and advanced dry age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD) for its new therapy derived from genes [...]

Hygieia’s glucose monitoring system would allow diabetics to adjust the amount of glucose they inject without visiting a doctor. The device provides dose-by-dose insulin recommendations based on their body chemistry as well as a blood sample. The product is called the Diabetes Insulin Guidance System, but is often described as a GPS for diabetes, adjusting someone’s diabetes goals the way a GPS guides drivers on the road.

Meditrina, which is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is using patents from AstraZeneca to treat women’s health issues including endometriosis and uterine fibroids, which are abnormal growths or tumors that can cause pain and infertility. The company has completed Phase II trials on its two drugs – MPI-676 and MPI-674 – which treat endometriosis and abnormal uterine bleeding, respectively.

“We expect that this collaboration will be a critical advantage for Aastrom as we move our cardiovascular programs into the final stages of clinical development,” said Aastrom CEO Tim Mayleben in prepared remarks.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, biopharmaceutical company Cerenis Therapeutics added $13.9 million to a July investment round that it will use to continue clinical trials of a drug to treat heart disease. Cerenis will use its latest investment to do Phase II clinical trial development of CER-001, which mimics high-density lipid (“good”) cholesterol and can rapidly reverse atherosclerotic plaque.

Compendia Bioscience Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has won a $1.3 million Small Business Innovation Research Fast Track award to create a way for scientists to survey micro-RNA data across databases.

Two University of Michigan MBA graduates have formed Resonant Venture Partners in Ann Arbor to invest in seed-stage IT, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, alternative energy and defense companies in their state.

Molecular diagnostics startup Swift Biosciences Inc. has pulled in a $3 million Series A investment.The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company will sell molecular biology reagents, which help scientists and doctors conduct genetic tests to identify whether patients are susceptible to specific diseases.Reagents are chemicals used in lab settings to determine whether a chemical reaction has occurred, [...]

Cerenis Therapeutics has pulled in a $51.7 million Series C round to fund Phase 2 trials of a drug that treats cardiovascular disease.The company, with operations in France and Ann Arbor, Michigan, has now raised $138 million in venture funding since its 2005 inception, according to a statement. (The company listed its funding amounts in [...]

Adeona Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AEN) has received a $1 million equity investment from a Florida private equity firm as the drug developer looks to bring a drug to market for the first time.The funding comes from the sale of 1.2 million shares to Seaside 88 LP, according to a statement from Adeona.Any source of cash is [...]