Deerfield Management Co. L.P., of New York, provided a loan to Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., for up to $30 million in financing. The fund will be used to commercialize Surfaxin for respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants and Afectair, an airway connector for infants receiving aerosolized medication. The facility provides for Deerfield to advance $30 million to Discovery Labs in 2013, with $10 million upon execution, and $20 million with first commercial sale of Surfaxin. The loan carries 8.75 percent interest per annum, payable quarterly. Upon disbursement, Deerfield is entitled to warrants to purchase 2.3 million shares of common stock at $2.81 per share. When the $20 million is disbursed, Deerfield will receive warrants to purchase another 4.7 million shares at the same exercise price. Warrants expire six years after the agreement, and each disbursement carries a transaction fee of 1.5 percent.

• Domainex Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, is seeking to raise £1.5 million (US$2.32 million) to advance its kinase-based drug development programs for TBK1/KKe and epigenetics targets. The round had its first close in December 2012, with investments by Longbow Capital, Bury Fitzwilliam-Lay and Partners, and University College London Business. The second close is anticipated at the end of April.

• Elcelyx Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, closed a $20 million Series C financing for its product candidates New Met, for Type II diabetes, and Lovidia, a weight loss product. GSM Fund LLC led the financing, with participation by Morgethaler Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Technology Partners.

• Modulation Therapeutics Inc., of Tampa, Fla., received undisclosed funding from the state of Florida's Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research. Based on technology licensed from the Moffitt Cancer Center, the company is developing MTI-101, a drug with a first-in-class mechanism of action in multiple myeloma. The institute's funding is designed to support preclinical dosing and toxicology studies, with a goal of filing an investigational new drug application by the fourth quarter.

• Odyssey Thera Inc., of San Ramon, Calif., said it received new equity financing comprising new funds and debt conversion, totaling $2.8 million. Additional participants in the financing included HBM Partners, Burrill & Co. and Lonza. In addition, the company has initiated a research service contract with Merck & Co. Inc., of Whitehouse Station, NJ, known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada.