Financings In Brief

CPAC shoots for $45 million: Start-up firm Compact Particle Acceleration Corp. (CPAC) plans to raise approximately $45 million in three phases to help develop a "state-of-the-art," compact, intensity-modulated proton therapy system for cancer treatment featuring a dielectric-wall accelerator, according to co-development partner and investor TomoTherapy Inc. The latter firm will contribute certain intellectual property to CPAC and has the option to acquire from CPAC rights to the medical applications of the accelerator in the future. The accelerator technology, which resulted from defense-related research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is "distinct from current particle accelerator technology in that energies of 200 MeV are expected to be achieved within a relatively compact structure that fits in a standard therapy treatment room," explains TomoTherapy, a NASDAQ-traded Madison, Wis., firm that makes the Hi Art radiation therapy system for cancer treatment. CPAC anticipates closing phase one of its fundraising effort within the next several months