Montréal-based MethylGene Inc., a publicly-traded, venture-backed biopharmaceuticals company, has proposed reincorporating in the state of Delaware under a new parent organization called Mirati Therapeutics Inc. As part of the arrangement, Mirati will apply to list shares on NASDAQ. The plan, to be approved by shareholders in June, seeks to increase Methylgene’s financing options and profile in the United States, among other factors. The company’s investors include several Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms, including Baker Brothers, BDC Venture Capital, Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), GeneChem, OriMed Advisors, ProQuest Investments, Tang Capital and Tavistock Life Sciences.

Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc., clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals company focused on cancer treatment, has raised US$32.5 million in the final closing of a private placement of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock. The deal was led by U.S. venture capital firm Valence Life Sciences. Celator, which has offices in Vancouver and Princeton, New Jersey, has been venture-backed since 2002. Its other investors include BDC Venture Capital, Domain Associates, GrowthWorks, Hearthstone Investment, Quaker BioVentures, TL Ventures and Ventures West Capital. 

CA Technologies is to acquire Layer7, according to VentureBeat, writes Reuters. Neither company disclosed the terms of the acquisition. Layer7, founded in 2003, had raised about $20 million from BDC Venture Capital, GrowthWorks Capital, and Shoreline Venture Management.

Ottawa-based BTI Systems Inc. has named software industry veteran Tod Nielsen to the company’s board of directors. Nielsen recently helped establish the EMC/VMware spin-off Pivotal Initiative. Prior to that he was with VMware, Borland and Microsoft. BTI, a provider of intelligent networking software and systems, has been venture-backed since 2000. Its investors include Bain Capital Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Covington Funds, Export Development Canada, GrowthWorks and Kodiak Venture Partners.

Montréal’s Vantrix Corp., a provider of message and video bandwidth optimization software, has raised US$4.5 million in debt financing from NXT Capital’s venture finance group. In December 2012, Vantrix raised US$13.5 million in Series D financing from venture capital firms Summerhill Venture Partners, JK&B Capital, Tudor Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Innovacom and Entrepia Ventures.

Diablo Technologies Inc., an Ottawa, Ontario-based maker of memory system interface products, has raised C$7.5 million in additional financing, expanding its latest venture capital round to C$36 million. The new funds include a first-time investment from U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), with USVP partner Chris Rust joining Diablo’s board of directors. Additional funds came from the company’s existing investors, which include Battery Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Celtic House Venture Partners and Hasso Plattner Ventures.