…or really just one great one: Xconomy needs your help. We’re busy cranking out terrific tech and life sciences journalism and putting on stellar events across the six cities in our network, and we’re looking for a kick-ass marketing coordinator to help us get the word out about all of it.

Full details are here, but in a nutshell: This is a full-time position in our Cambridge, MA, headquarters, ideal for somebody who is happiest when juggling a bunch of diverse projects. We need a person who enjoys figuring stuff out as s/he goes along, and has just enough of the old OCD to pull it off without too many embarrassing typos. Some main areas of focus will include marketing our events, managing our social media efforts, and marketing reprints and premium products.

If doing all that in an extremely collegial, slightly wacky startup environment sounds like your idea of a good time we want to hear from you at jobs@xconomy.com.

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Regular visitors to Xconomy.com may have noticed that we did some redecorating over the weekend. Our new look and feel, courtesy of the crazy talented Rob Hunter of True Italic in New York, is the first in a series of changes we’ll be making over the next few months—all aimed at making it easier and more enjoyable for you to read our stories, learn about our events, and soak up the wisdom of the Xconomists.

I know it’s de rigueur for these sorts of posts to step you through each change we’ve made and the rationale behind it, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about our readers in four and a half years, it’s that you guys are exceptionally savvy consumers of online media. Given that, we’d love to get your reactions to the new design—and your suggestions for the next round of changes—unbiased by our own opinions. (Not that you couldn’t guess that we think it’s awfully purdy.) So please send us any comments or questions at editors@xconomy.com.

We look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, let me give a big thanks to Rob, and to our CTO Emeritus Andrew Koyfman, who as per usual convinced WordPress to do things it really didn’t want to do. And stay tuned, because there’s more to come…

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This week New England’s life sciences community saw a couple of cool new companies emerge and a few potentially important new treatments reach key milestones.

—Boston-based Third Rock Ventures launched its newest startup with $35 million to develop a new class of drugs for brain disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Sage Therapeutics’ approach is to fine-tune key receptors in the brain, rather than turning them completely on or off.

—Another Third Rock company, Cambridge, MA-based Foundation Medicine, added Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google Ventures to a Series A financing that now totals $33.5 million. Foundation aims to develop personalized cancer diagnostics based on new understanding of genomics.

—Lexington, MA-based Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN) celebrated the news that an experimental vaccine incorporating its immune-boosting technology provided significant protection against malaria in a study of young African children. Agenus partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), which is developing the vaccine, reported the results in the New England Journal of Medicine.

—Cambridge-based Arteaus Therapeutics emerged from stealth mode, announcing an $18 million funding round and plans to develop a migraine drug with technology licensed from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). Cambridge-based Atlas Venture and New York-based OrbiMed Advisors provided the backing for the startup.

—Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), also of Cambridge, filed an application with the FDA for a new type of drug for cystic fibrosis. The drug, ivacaftor (Kalydeco, aka VX-770), is designed to treat patients with a mutation called G551D—they represent about 4 percent of the 30,000 or so people in the U.S. who have cystic fibrosis.

—Cambridge-based Catabasis Pharmaceuticals began its first human trial of its lead drug, a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. The drug, CAT-1004, which combines two well-known types of anti-inflammatory compounds, could be an important add-on to standard treatments for the disease.

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New England’s tech and life sciences companies have been inking deals all over the place this past week. First up, the big surprise…

—Cambridge, MA-based Endeca Technologies, an enterprise search and e-commerce company that was founded in 1999, agreed to be acquired by Silicon Valley database and business software giant Oracle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

—Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google Ventures joined a Series A financing round for Cambridge-based Foundation Medicine. The startup, which is developing personalized cancer diagnostics, has now collected a total of $33.5 million in the round.

—Ginger.io, a spinoff of the MIT Media Lab that’s developing software to enable monitoring of patients via their mobile phones, raised $1.7 million in an initial financing round. Silicon Valley-based True Ventures led the deal, which was joined by Kapor Capital, Romulus Capital, and angel investors such as Bill Warner, Walt Winshall, James Joaquin, and Ty Curry.

—Worcester, MA-based energy management firm World Energy Solutions (NASDAQ: XWES) acquired Cromwell, CT-based Northeast Energy Solutions, an energy efficiency firm, for some $4.75 million in cash, stock, a promissory note, and potential earn-outs.

—Natick, MA-based TwinStrata, a data storage and backup company, closed a Series B round worth $8 million. Avalon Ventures led the deal.

—Open source development firm Black Duck Software of Waltham, MA, raised $12 million in a round led by new investor Split Rock Partners.

—Another Waltham firm, Care.com, raised $25 million from New Enterprise Associates, Matrix Partners, Trinity Ventures, and others. Care.com is an online portal for finding family caregivers.

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Boston area radio listeners may have noticed something pretty cool on Friday morning: Xconomy’s on-air debut, during “Morning Edition” on WGBH’s 89.7.  The Xconomy Report segment, which will be a regular feature Fridays at 7:49 am, is the product of a new partnership between us and WGBH Radio. It should come as no surprise that several of us on the Xconomy staff are huge public radio dorks, and WGBH is one of the best in the biz, so we’re really excited about this one.

The idea behind the segment is to give 89.7 listeners a weekly dose of news and analysis about how technology, life sciences, and other innovation industries are affecting the economy and our lives. It is part of a broader effort on WGBH’s part to grow its coverage of innovation—and of course it’s a natural extension of what Xconomy does on our website, in our feeds and newsletters, and through our events.

So without further ado, here’s last week’s segment:

Please tune in to WGBH at 89.7 on Fridays at 7:49 to catch future installments of the Xconomy Report. We hope you’ll enjoy it, and look forward to your feedback at editors@xconomy.com.

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A Cambridge, MA-based personal genomics company has raised $5 million from one investor in a round that could eventually total $20 million, according to a regulatory filing. Launched in 2007 by the famed Harvard geneticist George Church, Knome offers wealthy consumers the chance to have their entire genomes sequenced and analyzed by the company’s scientists. But as prices for such services have plummeted over the last few years, the once-profitable company has struggled to get back in the black.

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Sarah Schmid’s high school and mine were rivals, but I’m not holding it against her. In fact, having a home-grown Michigan journalist take up the reins of Xconomy Detroit is so exciting I’m willing to overlook any number of gridiron defeats and any amount of adolescent cooler-than-thou posturing.

Even more exciting is the fact that Sarah is that rare journalist with both a solid background as a beat reporter and firsthand experience in the industry she’s covering. Sarah earned her stripes first at the Missoula Independent (a small Montana paper that she describes as “fiercely muckraking”) and then at the Lansing State Journal, the hometown paper of our youth. Most recently, she worked in communications for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state’s business development office, where she got an up-close view of the public and private efforts afoot to grow an innovation-based economy in the state, and particularly in Detroit.

Sarah says that she finds living in Detroit to be fascinating, and we’re pleased that her new gig as the editor of Xconomy Detroit gives her a chance to work there as well, and to get back to her journalistic roots. She has jumped right in this week with stories about Chinese automotive companies that are setting up outposts in Detroit with the hope of picking up some Motor City mojo and about a new investment initiative from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Dow Chemical that will benefit second-stage growth companies in Michigan.

So please join me in welcoming Sarah at sschmid@xconomy.com, and in forgiving her for her high school affiliation. And ok, let’s be honest—Sarah’s school was way cooler than mine anyway.

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It’s easy to forget that Arlene Weintraub, Xconomy New York’s editor, has been running a one-woman show since joining us in April. Sure she’s had loads of help from her colleagues across the Xconomy network. But still, the whole of New York tech and life sciences is a big monster of a beat for one on-the-ground reporter to tackle—and she’s been making it look easy.

So easy, in fact, that we’ve decided to load a little more on her plate. Effective, well, weeks ago, Arlene is adding “East Coast biotechnology editor” to her list of roles at Xconomy, which means you’ll be seeing her byline more on Xconomy Boston (and seeing her face more on the New York-Boston BoltBus, if that’s the way you roll).

Arlene will be working closely with our national biotech editor, Luke Timmerman, and we’re thrilled that between them we have two of the country’s best life sciences reporters helping us cover the industry across the map. But we have big ambitions for our coverage of tech in the Big Apple too, so we’ve brought in a veteran tech reporter to help Arlene out on that front, João-Pierre S. Ruth.

João-Pierre is a veteran of NJBIZ and blogs on his own site, OpenBandwidth.com. Careful observers of Xconomy will also note that he’s our third writer to go by the name JP, following Juha-Pekka Tikka and Jukka Perttu, journalists from Finland who did fellowships with us in 2009 and 2010, respectively. But, to blatantly steal a line from my colleague Greg, the new JP’s not Finnish, he’s just getting started. So if you’ve got New York tech news to share, feel free to ping him at jpruth@xconomy.com, and if you’ve got Boston life sciences news—or pretty much anything related to New York—Arlene’s got you covered at aweintraub@xconomy.com. And if you have a tip of cross-country proportions, you can always reach the whole editorial team at editors@xconomy.com.

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As if there weren’t already enough reasons to be looking forward to the June 16 Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, today we’re adding a thin, shiny reason with HD video and front and rear cameras. We’re going to throw the names of the first 50 folks to register in June for XSITE 2011 into a drawing for a limited edition Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, provided by Google.

Our own Wade Roush, well known to have a certain, shall we say, fondness for Apple products, deemed this 10.1 inch Android tablet to be a worthy rival to the iPad. And for the Google geeks among you there’s a special bonus: The machine is one of only 5,000 made for last month’s Google I/O Developer Conference and has a custom back imprinted with Google’s “bug droid” logo. Also, did I mention it’s shiny?

We’ll be pulling the lucky winner’s name out of a hat at XSITE 2011, so you have to be there, on the Babson College campus, to claim your prize. (You also have to have a paid, non-student registration to qualify to enter the drawing.) But of course who wouldn’t want to be there? This year’s program features 40-odd speakers—including legendary serial entrepreneur and super angel Desh Deshpande; Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, co-founder of the uber-hot Gilt Groupe; Edward Jung, former software architect of Microsoft and co-founder of Intellectual Ventures; and many many more.

So sign up soon to make sure you’re one of the next 50 49 48…probably best to sign up now. We look forward to seeing you on June 16—and perhaps introducing you to your new Galaxy Tab.

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It’s been less than a month since we launched Xconomy New York, and (to none of our surprise, really) we’re already finding there are more important innovation stories than even Arlene Weintraub, the intrepid editor of Xconomy New York, can tell on her own. So to all you reporters pounding the pavement in NYC’s tech and startup scene, here’s a nice opportunity for a steady (and substantial) freelance gig with one of the fastest growing biz/tech news networks in town.

We’ve said it before but it bears repeating: The ideal candidate will be a resourceful reporter, fearless interviewer, and swift writer with blogging and business news experience and the chops to produce breaking news stories and longer features and profiles on a daily schedule. The ability to work independently (but in close coordination with a world-class team) is key, a sense of humor is nonnegotiable, and experience with Web publishing tools and social media… Well, who doesn’t have that at this point?

If this sounds like you, write us at jobs@xconomy.com. Tell us what you’ve done, what you know about the New York innovation scene, and why you think you’d be a great fit with Xconomy. And don’t forget a resume and clips.

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New England’s tech firms inked a bunch of deals this past week. Here are a few of them.

—Gemvara raised $15 million in a Series C funding round led by London-based Balderton Capital and joined by return investors Highland Capital Partners and Canaan Partners. The Lexington, MA-based online jewelry customization startup, which has now raised a total of $26 million, will put the new funds toward customer service, expanding merchandise, and enhancing the online shopping experience.

—Boston-based Apperian closed $9.5 million in new financing led by North Bridge Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ iFund, with existing investors CommonAngels and LaunchCapital also participating. Apperian makes a software platform to help big companies create, deploy, and manage iPhone and iPad apps. The new money should help the mobile startup go after the growing market for enterprise apps on tablets and smartphones.

—Massachusetts startups raised much less in February than they did in January, according to data provided by CB Insights’ FundingFlash, with the total brought in through equity-based deals falling from $242.5 million to just $130.9 million. Erin has the complete rundown on which companies did (or didn’t) fill their coffers in February.

—Foxboro, MA-based telemedicine startup BL Healthcare added $2 million to its Series A round of equity-, debt-, and rights-based financing, according to a regulatory filing. The round now totals $4.9 million.

—Emo Labs, a developer of invisible loudspeaker technology raised $1.4 million from 22 investors, an SEC filing indicates. The Waltham, MA-based firm is aiming to raise a total of $2.5 million in the equity- and rights-based offering.

—Boston-based private sale website RueLaLa is being spun out of parent company GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC), which agreed to be acquired by San Jose, CA-based eBay for $2.4 billion. RueLaLa and another GSI operation, ShopRunner, will become a separate company headed by GSI founder and CEO Michael Rubin.

—NetScout Systems (NASDAQ: NTCT), a network-performance management firm in Westford, MA, inked a deal to acquire Ipswich, U.K.- and Portsmouth, NH-based software firm Psytechnics for an undisclosed sum. NetScout, which competes with the likes of Seattle-based ExtraHop Networks, reported a profit of about $11 million on roughly $76 million in revenue in the last quarter.

—Longworth Venture Partners and Sigma Partners led a $5 million Series A financing for Boston-based Mobiquity, a mobile services firm. The startups founders are Bill Seibel (previously a founding member of Cambridge Technology Partners and founder and CEO of Zefer) and Scott Snyder (previously president of Breakthru Advisors and CEO of Decision Strategies International).

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New England’s biotech attorneys must be working overtime, if the week’s headlines are any indication.

—Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam (NASDAQ:ALNY) announced it had settled a long-standing legal dispute over the so-called Tuschl I and Tuschl II patent families. The suit, which involved key players in the field of RNA-interference including Alnylam, Max Planck Society, the University of Massachusetts, and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, began in June of 2009 and was slated to go to trial this month.

—No sooner did Alnylam wrap up that litigation than it was hit with a huge lawsuit from its Vancouver, BC-based partner Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, which is accusing Alnylam of misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, and more—and is seeking damages of more than $1 billion. The suit centers on technology for delivering RNAi therapeutics—a notorious challenge in the field. For its part, Alnylam called Tekmira’s complaint “without merit or foundation,” and said it intends to defend itself fully.

—Elsewhere in Cambridge, Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) faced a lawsuit as well. It and Mt. Sinai Medical School are being sued by six patients with Fabry disease over the handling of a rationing system for agalsidase beta (Fabrazyme), Genzyme’s treatment for Fabry. Supplies of the drug were short following a temporary closure in 2009 of the company’s Allston, MA, plant.

—In non-legal news, Cambridge based Tolerx and its partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) reported that otelixizumab, their experimental drug for Type 1 diabetes, failed to meet its main clinical goal in a late-stage study called Defend-1. While the companies are … Next Page »

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Software, tech, and stealth dominated the week’s deals news.

—TechStars Boston, the startup incubator program, raised about a quarter of a planned $2 million funding round. If completed, the round will reportedly support the program through 2014.

—Palo Alto, CA-based Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) acquired Vertica, the Billerica, MA-based database management and analytics software firm, for an undisclosed sum. Sources told Greg that the price tag for Vertica, which is backed by Highland Capital Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, might exceed $200 million—a testament to big companies’ growing desire to corner the “big data” market.

—Boston-based wireless firm Skyhook inked deals with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Citysearch. The former will integrate Skyhook’s location-finding technology into its chips, and the latter will incorporate it into mobile and deals apps for Android devices.

—Massachusetts tech and life sciences startups took in more than 25 percent more equity-based funding in January than they did in December, with 32 startups raising a total of $242.5 million, according to data from our partner CB Insights’ FundingFlash. The healthcare sector was the big winner, accounting for $146.5 million across 13 deals. Erin gave a rundown of other interesting tidbits from the January data.

—Portland, ME-based CashStar, a digital gifting and incentives startup, raised $5 million in a deal led by San Francisco-based Passport Capital and joined by Allen & Company.

—A stealthy Nashua, NH-based startup called Plexxi reported to the SEC that it had raised $8.3 million in an equity offering.

—A similarly stealthy firm, Concord, MA-based VisionScope Technologies, raised $6.3 million in equity-based funding, according to a regulatory filing. Representatives of Mi3 Venture Partners, Bracebridge Capital, and WFD Ventures are members of the VisionScope board of directors.

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San Diego-based drug developer Meritage Pharma raised $2 million in a round of equity-based financing planned to total $5.5 million, an SEC filing indicates. Meritage is out to develop a treatment for a little-known ailment  called eosinophilic esophagitis, in which an allergic reaction causes a patient’s esophagus to swell, sometimes to the point where food becomes lodged in it. Previous investors in Meritage, which launched a trial of its treatment in January 2009, include Domain Associates, Latterell Venture Partners, and The Vertical Group.

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Southeast Michigan, please be kind to Tom Lee. Thanks to some lame, opaque rues at an airline which shall remain nameless, the newest addition to the Xconomy team—who starts today as our Detroit editor and national med tech editor—endured a 10 hour drive this weekend instead of the two-hour flight he was expecting.

But weary though he may be from the trip—which took him from his previous home in Minneapolis, where he was the Minnesota bureau chief for MedCity News, to his new home base in Ann Arbor—Tom is tireless when it comes to covering the ins and outs of innovation. Prior to his time at MedCity News, he did stints at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Seattle Times, and China Daily USA, covering telecom, software, alternative energy, biotech, medical devices, venture capital, startups, patents, investment tax credits, innovation policy, public companies, startup, tech transfer….. You get the idea—if there’s an issue or theme that’s important to Southeast Michigan’s innovation community, chances are Tom’s written about it at some point in his career. And did I mention all of his awards? I don’t want to embarrass him too much on his first day, but you can read about some of them here.

We’re thrilled to have Tom bringing his wealth of experience and his keen eye for a good story—and his even keener nose for a bogus one—to bear in expanding both our efforts in the Detroit area and our coverage of med tech across all of the cities in our network. There are just more important stories to tell in each area than we could handle without Tom. So please join me in welcoming him (in the comments or at tlee@xconomy.com), and cross your fingers that his furniture shows up soon—he needs a comfortable spot to park his butt as he gets to work.

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Dealmaking activity in New England’s tech and life sciences sectors continued at a blizzardy pace this week. Hold on to your hat…

—Marlborough, MA-based biofuels developer Qteros raised $22 million from new and existing investors in the first tranche of a Series C financing.

—IT services provider MindShift Technologies of Waltham, MA, acquired Alpheon, a Morrisville, NC-based IT firm focusing on healthcare clients.

—Somerville, MA-based XL Hybrids, which converts commercial vehicles into hybrids, took in $2 million from undisclosed investors and forged an alliance with U.K.-based retrofit kin maker Ashwoods Automotive.

—Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), the Natick, MA-based medical devices giant, acquired Boston-based Intelect Medical, a developer of deep brain stimulation technology, for about $60 million in cash.

—Waltham-based On-Q-ity inked a deal with Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE:LH) to commercialize On-Q-ity’s technology for detecting tumor cells circulating in the blood.

—Civitas, a Chelsea, MA-based spinout of Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) focusing on inhaled drug-delivery technology, raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Longitude Capital and Canaan Partners.

—Cambridge-based Epizyme, a developer of drugs based on the emerging science of epigenetics, partnered with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in a deal worth $20 million upfront and up to $630 million more in milestones fees.

—Barre, VT-based Wind Power Holdings, the parent company of wind turbine developer Northern Power Systems, raised $12.7 million in equity-based funding from 33 investors, according to an SEC filing.

—Boston-based educational software maker Jenzabar acquired the assets of Allurent, the e-commerce firm reported to be defunct last month, and will invest a “seven-figure sum” in Allurent over the next 12 months, according to Jenzabar CEO Robert Maginn.

—Antibiotic developer Rib-X Pharmaceuticals of New Haven, CT, raised $20 million in a financing round led by Warburg Pincus.

—A number of other startups scored venture dollars as well: Concord, MA-based KnowledgeVision Systems ($2 million from GrandBanks Capital and others); Cambridge, MA-based Labtiva ($2 million); Newton, MA-based Life Image ($12M from Cardinal Partners and Galen Partners); Waltham, MA-based EyeGate Pharmaceuticals ($5.9 million); Acton, MA-based Neuroptix ($4.6 million); Waltham-based DynaTrace Software ($4 million); Southbury, CT-based Doctors Research Group ($7.7 million); and Cambridge-based Dekkun ($9.9 million).

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I’ve got Frank Sinatra on endless mental replay today and I’ll tell you why: I’m looking for a stellar journalist to start spreading the news about innovation in New York, New York. (Look, nobody’s groaning louder than me about that one.  Let’s move on…)

My Xconomy colleagues and I are fascinated by the stories emerging from New York’s startup and venture capital scene, its burgeoning life sciences sector, and, of course, its formidable digital media and finance industries. We’re looking for a journalist on the ground to help us tell those stories and more.

The ideal candidate will be a resourceful reporter, fearless interviewer, and swift writer with blogging and business news experience and the chops to produce breaking news stories and longer features and profiles on a daily schedule. The ability to work independently (but in close coordination with a world-class team) is key, a sense of humor is nonnegotiable, and experience with Web publishing tools and social media will score you some serious bonus points.

If this sounds like you, write us at jobs@xconomy.com. Tell us about yourself, your knowledge of the New York innovation scene, and why you think you’d be a great fit with Xconomy—and don’t forget a resume and clips. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.

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2001 is off to a running start for dealmakers in New England’s tech and life sciences sectors, it seems.

—Cambridge, MA-based Genocea Biosciences pulled in a tidy $35 million in a Series B funding round. The vaccine developer, a spinout of Harvard, saw contributions from new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, MP Healthcare Venture Management, and Skyline Ventures. Existing Genocea backers Auriga Partners, Cycad Group, Lux Capital Management, Morningside Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, and SR One also participated in the deal.

—Rave Wireless, the Framingham, MA-based maker of security and emergency alert software for mobile phones, reported to the SEC that is has raised $4 million in an equity offering. Rave’s previous investors include Sigma Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and RRE Ventures.

—Boston’s Longwood Founders Management capped its first fund at $85 million. The biotech-focused firm, whose partners include Rich Aldrich, Christoph Westphal, and Michelle Dipp, has already made investments in Alnara Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) in July 2010, and Verastem.

—Littleton, MA-based Movik Networks raised $3 million in a debt offering, according to an SEC filing. Investors in the startup, which makes software for delivering content to mobile devices, include North Bridge Venture Partners and Highland Capital Partners.

—Medical device maker Augmenix raised $3 million in an equity and debt financing round. Catalyst Health Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, and Versant Ventures have all previously invested in the Waltham, MA-based firm, which makes hydrogel implants for reducing the side effects of radiation therapy.

—Newton, MA-based Zeo, a maker of sleep-tracking gizmos, took in $12.3 million of a planned $15.4 million round of equity financing. Previous backers of Zeo include iD Ventures America and Trident Capital.

—Belmont, MA-based CQuotient, a developer of analytics software for retailers, confirmed that it recently raised $3 million in Series A financing from Bain Capital Ventures. Rama Ramakrishnan, CQuotient ‘s founder and CEO, chatted with Greg about the stealthy startup’s genesis, strategy, and “secret sauce.”

—Location-based gaming startup, SCVNGR, raised $15 million in a funding round led by London-based Balderton Capital and joined by return investors Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners. TechCrunch reports that the deal put the Cambridge-based startup’s valuation at just over $100 million.

–Affirmed Networks of Acton, MA, raised $1.7 million out of a planned $3.2 million equity offering, according to an SEC filing. Members of Charles River Ventures and Matrix Partners sit on the telecomm startup’s board of directors.

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New England’s life sciences companies headed into the holiday break with mostly good news.

—Syndax Pharmaceuticals reported results from a mid-stage clinical trial which suggest that its lead drug, entinostat, might help lung certain cancer patients with a particular molecular marker live longer. The Waltham, MA-based startup, co-founded by researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 2005, will have to confirm the results in future studies. The company is also testing the drug’s effectiveness as a breast-cancer treatment.

—Semprus BioSciences, an MIT spinoff based in Cambridge, MA, raised $18 million in Series B equity financing. New investors SR One and Foundation Medical Partners led the deal and return backers 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures joined in, bringing Semprus’ total equity financing to $28.5 million.

—The drawn-out saga of Sanofi-Aventis’ attempt to buy out Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) was drawn out a bit farther, when the French drug giant extended the deadline for its tender offer for Genzyme stock until January 21. Sanofi is offering $69 per share, or $18.5 billion total, for Genzyme, which thinks the price is too low. Shareholders are betting that the bids will continue to go higher, as Genzyme stock closed yesterday at $69.87.

—The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) made a $5.7 million grant to Lexington, MA-based Pulmatrix to fund development of an inhaled therapy that could treat and prevent lung infections caused by naturally occurring microbes and bioweapons. Pulmatrix’s dry-powder technology, which originated at MIT and Harvard, is also under development to address respiratory ailments such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

—Lebanon, NH-based Adimab announced that Genentech, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), and Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI) have joined the roster of pharma companies using its technology for discovering antibody-based drugs. The new agreements bring Adimab’s number of antibody discovery partnerships to a whopping 15.

—Cardiac pump maker HeartWare International (NASDAQ:HTWR) of Framingham, MA, raised $143.8 million in a public offering of convertible notes.

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Lots of nice deals to report this week from New England’s tech and life sciences sectors.

—E-mail archiving provider Sonian indicated to the SEC that it had raised $4 million in an equity offering that could total $9 million. Previous backers of the Needham, MA-based firm include Prism VentureWorks and Summerhill Venture Partners.

—BG Medicine of Waltham, MA, set the targeted price range for its proposed IPO at $13 to $15 per share. With 4.75 million shares in the offering, that means the diagnostics firm could raise up to $71.25 million.

—Cambridge, MA-based Semprus BioSciences, an MIT spinoff out to commercialize new coatings for medical devices, raised $18 million in Series B equity financing. SR One and Foundation Medical Partners, both new investors, led the deal, which was joined by existing backers 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures.

—Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO), the Waltham-based provider of research tools and services, agreed to shell out $2.1 billion in cash for the outstanding shares Sunnyvale, CA-based Dionex (NASDAQ: DNEX).

—French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis extended its tender offer for the shares of Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) until January 21. Genzyme has repeatedly said that the unsolicited $69 per share offer, worth $18.5 billion in total, undervalues the company and its pipeline of drugs.

—Woburn, MA-based video game developer 8D World closed a Series B financing round worth $5.25 million. Japan’s Mizuho Capital and return backers Spark Capital and Gobi Partners participated in the deal.

—Nano-Terra of Cambridge raised $17.2 million in an offering of equity and rights. The round appears to be the biggest one yet for the 5-year-old nanotech development firm, which is out to commercialize technology from the lab of Harvard chemist George Whitesides.

—Rive Technology, also of Cambridge, raised $25 million in a Series C financing round led by new investor Blackstone Group and joined by Charles River Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures, and Nth Power. The cash will help Rive do commercial tests of its MIT-developed catalyst technology, which is designed to let oil refiners get more useable fuel out of crude oil.

—Boston’s SensorLogic, a provider of cloud-based platforms for deploying applications across multiple devices, raised $5 million from existing investors. Sevin Rosen Funds and Boston Millennia Partners led the deal and UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund and Covera Ventures joined in.

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