San Diego-based Cebix has closed a $30.9 million Series B venture capital financing round to fund Phase IIb development for the company's C-peptide replacement therapy Ersatta, which may become the first disease-modifying treatment for peripheral neuropathy in type 1 diabetes patients.

The La Jolla, Calif.-based start-up will soon begin a mid-stage trial on Ersatta, a long-acting drug to treat diabetic complications.

Investments in private pharma and biotech companies in November fell by 16% to a still respectable $317.4 million, $13.2 million higher than in the same period last year.