Venture capital firm closes on $250m high-tech fund

A Cambridge venture capital firm, Fairhaven Capital Partners, is set to announce today that it has closed on a $250 million venture fund to invest in early-stage business and consumer technology start-ups. At a time when fund-raising is becoming more difficult, the firm said, it exceeded its initial target of $200 million for the fund. Institutions from North America, Europe, and Asia invested in the new fund. The fund will back high-tech start-ups and early-stage companies in fields like digital media and high-performance materials. The venture firm began investing in consumer electronics, security, and infrastructure start-ups in 2001. Fairhaven is led by managing partner Paul Ciriello and managing directors Jim Goldinger, Rick Grinnell, and Dan Keshian. (Robert Weisman)

TotalMobile Inc., a mobile software company based in Northern Ireland, will open a Massachusetts office with 30 to 40 employees, Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray said. The company develops software designed to run on cellphones and other devices for government agencies and for educational and public safety organizations. Murray planned to meet with TotalMobile's chief executive, Colin Reid, during a trade mission to Ireland and Northern Ireland this month but postponed the trip to help deal with the state's economic problems. (Todd Wallack)

Rituxan, a treatment from Genentech Inc. and partner Biogen Idec Inc., helped ease joint pain and inflammation in patients with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis that required more than one course of treatment, a study found. The research showed that patients who underwent a second treatment with Rituxan six months after an initial dose had a statistically significant improvement in symptoms, compared with those given a placebo the second time. Another trial found Rituxan effective as a first-line therapy. Genentech, of South San Francisco, Calif., is seeking to expand its current US approval for Rituxan. The new use would allow doctors to prescribe the medicine for patients before, instead of after, use of other drugs. (Bloomberg)

The Cambridge biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its third-quarter loss widened as revenue fell and costs rose. The maker of drugs to combat viral diseases reported a loss of $130 million, or 93 cents per share, after posting a loss of $107 million, or 82 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Lower royalty revenue led to a 23 percent drop in total revenue to $31.6 million, from $41 million last year. Research and development expenses increased to $130 million from $128.9 million, and costs to add staff and buy equipment led to higher other expenses. Analysts on average expected a loss of 93 cents per share on revenue of $38 million, according to Thomson Financial. (Associated Press)

Boeing Co. and machinists union leaders agreed on "tentative" terms for a contract that if approved by members would end the third-longest strike in the union's 73-year history and reopen the plane maker's shuttered factories. The agreement for a four-year contract, rather than the usual three years, would provide job security for machinists "and limit the amount of work outside vendors can perform in the workplace," the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in an e-mailed statement. A vote for the union's 27,000 members will be scheduled within the next three to five days, and more details about the proposal will be released today, the union said. The strike by the machinists in Washington state, Oregon, and Kansas started Sept. 6. (Bloomberg)

United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package delivery company, said it will buy hydraulic hybrid vehicles being produced by Eaton Corp. and Navistar International Corp. to cut its fuel costs. The order includes seven of the vehicles, with the first two to be used in Minneapolis starting in next year's first quarter, UPS said. The Atlanta company's chief operating officer, David Abney, declined to say how much the trucks cost. Two UPS drivers tested the vehicle in the Detroit area in 2006 and found that the trucks used about 50 percent less fuel than traditional diesel models, Abney said. The new trucks have diesel engines and store energy to drive the wheels by compressing hydraulic fluid in a large chamber. UPS shares fell $1.87 to 44.68. (Bloomberg)