• Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it is raising $86.4 million in a private placement equity financing, selling shares at $4.43 each, the closing market price Dec. 11. Proceeds from the placement, expected to close Dec. 17, will be used primarily to support completion of the company's Phase III pimavanserin program, including the planned confirmatory Phase III study in Parkinson's disease psychosis. Jefferies & Co. Inc. and Cowen and Co. LLC acted as joint lead placement agents, while JMP Securities LLC served as co-placement agent. The financing announcement came two weeks after Acadia's shares jumped a whopping 136 percent on news that, after failing two previous studies, pimavanserin met all endpoints in a third Phase III study. Acadia's stock (NASDAQ:ACAD) jumped 58 cents, or 13 percent, to close Wednesday at $5.01. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 28, 2012.)

• Aradigm Corp., of Hayward, Calif., said it agreed to sell common stock to two existing shareholders, including accounts managed by First Eagle Investment Management LLC, in a private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of $6 million. Under the terms, Aradigm agreed to sell 50 million shares priced at 12 cents apiece. Net proceeds of about $5.6 million will support further product development and formation of partnerships for commercialization. Aradigm is developing inhaled versions of antibiotic ciprofloxacin, branded Pulmaquin and Lipquin. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. acted as the sole placement agent. Shares of Aradigm (NASDAQ:ARDM) gained 2 cents, or 16 percent, to close Wednesday at 13 cents.

• Curis Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said it closed its previously announced $30 million debt transaction with BioPharma Secured Debt Fund II Sub Sarl, an investment fund managed by Pharmakon Advisors. The debt is secured with certain future royalties of Erivedge (vismodegib), the Hedgehog inhibitor partnered with South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, and approved early this year for advanced basal cell carcinoma. Curis said it expects to end its cash position in 2012 with about $56 million to $58 million. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 29, 2012.)

• Derma Sciences Inc., of Princeton, N.J., said it closed its public offering of about 3.5 million shares priced at $10.34 apiece, including the exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase 459,300 shares to cover overallotments. Net proceeds totaled about $33.8 million and will be used to support continued development of DSC127 for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, as well as for general corporate purposes. Piper Jaffray & Co. acted as the sole book-running manager, while Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Canaccord Genuity Inc. served as co-managers and Roth Capital Partners served as financial advisor.

• Generex Biotechnology Corp., of Worcester, Mass., said it entered a securities purchase deal with certain institutional investors, who agreed to purchase an aggregate of 750 shares of newly designated nonvoting Series C 9 percent convertible preferred stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 100 percent of the shares of its common stock issuable upon conversion of the convertible preferred stock at the closing. The stock and warrants will be sold in units, with each unit consisting of one share of convertible preferred stock and a warrant, and units will be sold at $1,000 each for a total of $750,000. Net proceeds, expected to total about $725,000, will be used for general corporate purposes.

• Hatchtech Pty. Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, said it completed a $6 million financing led by OneVentures Innovation Fund. Proceeds will enable the firm to start the final stage of development for its head lice treatment, DeOvo, which contains the active compound Ha44, aimed at killing insects in several development stages from eggs through to adults by disrupting metal-dependent targets within the insect. Pending success in the upcoming Phase III program, Hatchtech anticipates filing a new drug application in 2014.

• Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc., of Bethesda, Md., said underwriter Aegis Capital Corp. exercised the overallotment option in the firm's recent public offering, purchasing an additional 450,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 225,000 shares at an offering price of $4 per share and 1 cent per warrant. Total gross proceeds from the offering reached $13.8 million. Northwest, which is developing DCVax personalized immune therapies for cancer, said proceeds will be used to fund R&D activities and for working capital and general corporate puruposes.