News Briefs

Social gaming giant Zynga has teamed up with Israeli company RocketPlay, in order to distribute RocketPlay’s game called Sports Casino. The Israeli company, which was founded in 2008 under the name Footbo and later changed its name to Gamingo, specializes in sports fantasy games and in the past has collaborated with Fox Sports.

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Israeli drug companies Clal Biotech Industries and BiolineRX sign an agreement for developing and commercializing Clal’s BL-8040, a drug designed for treating acute leukemia and other types of blood cancer. The American FDA has approved the companies’ investigational new drug application.

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Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is in contact with Israeli companies Gamida Cell and TEVA, with intent of commercializing Gamida Cell’s StemEX, a treatments for lymphoma and leukemia (which is partially owned by TEVA). Israeli economics magazine Calcalist reports that if the deal goes through, Gamida cell will receive tens of millions of dollars in advance plus grants for milestones reached. Gamida Cell specializes in developing stem cell therapy projects.

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Israeli just.Ad TV has signed a $500,000 collaboration with Royal Phillips Electronics, to incorporate their smart advertising technology with Phillips’ smart TV’s. The company develops advertisements that can be used on multiple platforms without the need to be reformatted for different devices.

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News agency Bloomberg has ranked Israel as the 6th healthiest country in the world, based on data obtained from the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Bank. According to Bloomberg’s ranking, Singapore is the healthiest country on the planet, followed by Italy, Australia, Switzerland and Japan.

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Israeli electric car venture Better Place has set up an electric taxi service at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. The project, funded by the EU, will include a fleet of 10 Renault Fluence ZE electric taxis that will service passengers travelling from the airport into the city. Better Place also plans a second battery replacement station in Amsterdam to increase the range of service for the first group of electric cabs.

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Israeli venture capital firm Pitango has announced that it has raised $150 million first closing for its sixth fund, Pitango VI. The key to the announcement, made on Sunday, was the commitment made by a main investor, which allows the company to pursue its aim of raising an overall fund of $250 million.

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Israeli private equity fund Fortissimo Capital has announced that it has completed the raising of $265 million for a new investment fund. The company usually invests in later stage Israeli technology companies and this is its third investment fund. Fortissimo says investors include large US pension funds.

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Israeli startup company Intigua, which develops virtualization technology, has won first place in the “new technology” category at the international cloud and virtualization conference VMworld 2012. The company develops software which improves security and management capabilities when utilizing cloud technology. Approximately 100 companies presented at the conference, which is considered the main conference for cloud technology.

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Leumi Partners, Leumi Group’s investment subsidiary, has invested $10 million in Israeli company Powermat, which develops wireless charging surfaces for mobile devices. The investment reflects a market worth of $344 million. Leumi joins other investors, such as Goldman Sachs and the Hudsun Fund. Estimates suggest that Powermat has so far raised a total of $100 million.

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Israeli Supermodel Bar Refaeli has invested in MyCheck, an Israeli company that develops smartphone payment apps. MyCheck developed an app that doesn’t require a chip embedded in the smartphone in order to use it for payment. Refaeli joins other high profile investors such as the Saban, Wertheimer and Elroi families, who together with Refaeli, Invested $1.7 million in the company.

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Wadi Ventures has launched a new micro-seed VC fund focused on Internet and new media startups in Israel. It was initiated by Jonathan Pacifici, General Partner, who has a background of Managing Partner of JP & Partners and consulting to hi tech firms and startups, and Reuven Ulmansky, a veteran of the 8200 technology intelligence unit of the Israeli Defense Force who held a variety of managerial posts in large international and Israeli organizations such as Intel Corporation. The early stage acceleration and investment program will partner with top European investors and industry leaders.

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The Israeli newspaper “Yediot Aharonot” reports that Facebook executives met with executives from the social navigation app company Waze, in its Israeli offices. It is unknown what the representatives of both companies discussed, but the two are reportedly negotiating the possibility to collaborate. Waze has recently announced it passed 20 million users worldwide.

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Royal Philips Electronics and Corindus Vascular Robotics announced a distribution agreement for Corindus’ CorPath 200 System. The system was recently cleared by the (FDA) and is the world’s first robotic-assisted system for the minimally invasive treatment of obstructed coronary arteries in patients with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The financial details of the exclusive distribution agreement were not disclosed. Corindus, founded in 2002 by Prof. Rafael Beyar, the director general of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, currently operates in Massachusetts.

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Enterprise Mobile security startup MobileSpaces announced the close of a $3 million in a Series A investment led by Accel Partners. MobileSpaces offers a security and management solution that protects corporate apps and data on personal mobile devices, helping enterprises address the mobile BYOD “Bring Your Own Device” trend. MobileSpaces was co-founded in 2011 by CEO David Goldschlag and CTO Yoav Weiss. It is headquartered outside of Washington, DC, with offices near Tel-Aviv, Israel.

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