• Adenosine Therapeutics LLC, of Charlottesville, Va., secured $4.5 million in growth capital financing from San Francisco-based ATEL Ventures Inc. That debt and equity financing package will support further development of the company's portfolio of drugs targeting adenosine receptor subtypes. The company's most advanced product is Apadenoson, a selective A2A agonist in Phase III development as a stress agent in cardiac imaging. Adenosine Therapeutics also is developing products in asthma, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, cancer, ophthalmic disease and inflammatory indications.

• Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, filed a $100 million shelf registration, which would allow it to raise funds publicly, from time to time. Specific terms would be determined at the time of any offering. The company anticipates proceeds to fund clinical and preclinical development and general corporate purposes. Shares of Cadence (NASDAQ:CADX) closed at $13.45 Friday, down 31 cents.

• Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, is raising $6.5 million through the sale of its 7 percent convertible preferred stock and warrants in a registered offering to several institutional investors, including certain of its existing securities holders. Rodman & Renshaw acted as the exclusive placement agent. The company intends to use the proceeds toward its purchase of Zevalin from Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Idec Inc., and for general corporate purposes. CTI reported in August plans to buy Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma therapy, for $10 million, plus up to $20 million in milestone and royalty payments to Biogen. Shares of CTI (NASDAQ:CTIC) closed at $2.59 Friday, up 4 cents. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 17, 2007.)

• Neuro-Hitech Inc., of New York, agreed to sell 1.3 million shares of common stock and warrants to buy 625,000 shares in a $5 million private offering. Net proceeds are expected to enable the firm to complete a Phase II trial of Huperzine A, which is being tested in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease patients. Pending successful results from that study, some of those funds will be put toward preparations for a Phase III trial. Neuro-Hitech also plans to conduct a Phase I study of a transdermal formulation of Huperzine A. The company's stock (NASDAQ:NHPI) gained 10 cents Friday to close at $4.30.