Doyleston, PA-based Novira Therapeutics reports that Versant Ventures, a high-profile biotech venture group, has added $7.5 million to their Series A, which now stands at $25 million. Novira's working theory is that by interfering with capsids--a viral protein involved in replication and transmission--the company can introduce a new treatment for viral diseases. 5AM Ventures and Canaan led the first close of the round. WuXi PharmaTech as well as existing investors BioAdvance, Mid-Atlantic Angel Group, Robin Hood Ventures and Delaware Crossing Investment Group joined the round earlier. The co-founder of the biotech is Osvaldo Flores, who had been director of antiviral research at Merck ($MRK). Release