Chapel Hill drug developer Cempra Pharmaceuticals announced a licensing agreement Tuesday worth up to $70 million and structured to help the underfunded company finance development of its most promising antibiotic treatment.

Under the deal, Toyama Chemical Co. will have exclusive rights in Japan to develop and commercialize solithromycin, Cempra's lead experimental drug. In exchange, Cempra will receive an upfront payment of $10 million and up to $60 million in milestone payments.

Cempra said Japan is the world's second-largest antibiotic market and Toyama "will commit significant resources" to developing solithromycin, a treatment for pneumonia and respiratory tract infections.

The trade associations for credit unions in North Carolina and South Carolina are looking at joining forces.

The N.C. Credit Union League and its counterpart below the border, the S.C. Credit Union League, announced Monday that their boards of directors have recommended consolidating the two organizations. The next step is to bring the matter before their members -- the credit unions of each states.

Several state credit union organizations have consolidated in recent years as their memberships have shrunk, mostly due to credit union mergers, said John Radebaugh, CEO of the N.C. group. Membership of the N.C. league, currently 89 credit unions, has been cut in half since 1991.

The two organizations currently lobby on behalf of their members, provide education and training, and assist credit unions with regulatory compliance, among other services. They already have partnered on compliance, human resources and accounting.

"We do so much together now, it just makes a heckuva lot of sense," said Radebaugh, who stressed that both organizations are "really strong financially."

The North Carolina pension fund reported a 3.53 percent gain on investments in the first quarter thanks to the performance of its stock portfolio.

The office of state Treasurer Janet Cowell reported that total assets of the pension fund -- which provides retirement benefits for more than 875,000 teachers, state employees and other -- were $81.1 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from $78.1 billion three months earlier.

The stock portfolio rose 7.13 percent in the first quarter. Stocks, which account for about 46 percent of the pension fund's total investments, have gained 11.45 percent over the past 12 months.

"Following worries about the 'fiscal cliff' at the beginning of the year," the Treasurer's office noted, "the major markets improved and finished off the quarter with record highs."

Bonds, which account for about one-third of the portfolio, fell one-quarter of a percent in the quarter. Over the last 12 months, however, the bond portfolio has risen 6.51 percent.

The real estate portfolio rose 2.63 percent in the first quarter and 8.08 percent over the last 12 months. The alternatives portfolio, which consists mostly of private equity funds, rose 1.71 percent in the quarter and is up 5.11 percent for the year.

Durham antiviral drug developer Chimerix reported a drop in revenue and a bigger net loss Monday in the company's first quarterly earnings report since going public last month.

Chimerix said its quarterly net loss grew 32 percent to $9.1 million. The per share loss increased 339 percent, to $22.58.

The 46-employee company attributed the outsize per-share loss to the increase in accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock. It was a non-cash charge that doesn't reflect on the company's earnings.

Chimerix stock is booming. The shares have risen to $20.82, up 77 cents in midday trading, in the wake of the earnings release, and several analysts issued reports saying the company's prospects for success look favorable.

Raleigh investment firm Triangle Capital reported a 25 percent gain in net investment income in the first quarter.

Net investment income totaled $15.2 million, or 56 cents per share.

Triangle Capital, which has an investment portfolio valued at $715.5 million, makes loans to midsize, privately owned businesses. It also takes a minority ownership stake in its portfolio companies.

In the first quarter it made six debt investments totaling $8.5 million and equity investments totaling $1.8 million. All those investments were to companies already in its portfolio.

Earlier this month Triangle Capital invested $7.6 million in a company that produces sewing products and seasonal decorations.

As of March 31, Triangle had $37 million in cash and a $165 million credit facility that it can tap into.

Triangle announced its first-quarter earnings earlier this week. On Friday its shares closed at $28.48, up 27 cents. Its shares have risen 12 percent this year.

Federal Capital Partners announced Friday that it will begin construction of the third phase of the West Village project in downtown Durham next month.

The phase includes a six-floor apartment complex with 156 units to be built between W. Main St. and W. Morgan St.

FCP acquired the first phase of the West Village development in 2011, and took a controlling interest in the project's second phase last year.

E-commerce technology company ChannelAdvisor reports in its latest securities filing that it has targeted selling 5.75 million shares of stock at between $12 and $14 per share in an initial public offering.

The shares the Morrisville-based company intends to sell amounts to a 28 percent ownership stake in the business. If the shares fetch $13 per share, the company's market capitalization -- the total value of its outstanding shares -- would be $266.1 million.

Last month ChannelAdvisor filed plans for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but didn't include details such as the target price of the shares it planned to sell. Those blanks were filled Thursday in an updated filing.

The company is looking to raise between $69 million and $80.5 million in its IPO, based on its per-share target of $12 to $14 per share. At $13 per share, the company's net proceeds would amount to $65.6 million after deducting fees and expenses.

The underwriters also have the option to purchase an additional 862,500 shares at the IPO price.

ChannelAdvisor plans to use the money to expand its sales and marketing efforts and possibly for acquisitions, among other uses.

ChannelAdvisor's revenue has been growing at a 21 percent annual clip and totaled nearly $53.6 million last year, but the company hasn't been profitable. In the first quarter its revenue rose 23 percent to $14.9 million, but its loss expanded to $2.7 million.

Nearly 2,000 businesses use ChannelAdvisor's software to integrate and manage their online sales across multiple sales channels, including marketplaces such as eBay and comparison shopping sites such as Nextag. Its software also enable businesses to automatically advertise products on Google and other search engines.

The company had 432 employees at the end of March.

LipoScience has reduced its revenue forecast for the year after reporting disappointing first quarter earnings Thursday.

The Raleigh company, which raised $44.4 million in a public stock offering in January, had revenue of $13.6 million in the first quarter, down 1.2 percent from the same period a year ago.

LipoScience reported a net loss of $2.8 million for the quarter, compared to net income of $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2012.

"We are dissatisfied with our unit growth and revenue performance, and our responses are already underway," Richard Brajer, LipoScience's CEO, said in a statement.

The information technology job market across North Carolina rose a smidgen in April compared to March, the fourth consecutive month that demand has increased.

But the IT job openings posted in the state in April were down 28.1 percent from a year earlier, according to new data from the N.C. Technology Association.

The 3,960 job openings in April were up eight-tenths of a percent, or 30 jobs, from March.

In the first three months of this year, actual hiring -- which lags job postings -- led to an increase of 3,400 IT-related jobs since the beginning of the year.

Postings for IT jobs nationwide were up 1.3 percent in April compared to March. The report was prepared for NCTA by SkillPROOF, which focuses on job market data and research.

The corporate parent of First Citizens Bank reported a 57 percent increase in net income in the first quarter.

Raleigh-based First Citizens BancShares posted $55.6 million in net income thanks to a lower provision for loan losses and higher noninterest income.

The provision for loan losses benefitted from a $22.6 million credit stemming from loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that protects First Citizens against losses arising from banks it acquired after they were taken over by the federal agency.

Noninterest income was bolstered by a net pre-tax gain of $5.5 million from the sale of a portions of its business processing deposits and loans for other banks.

First Citizens has a network of 412 branches and assets of $21.4 billion.

First Citizens shares closed Thursday at $193.55, up $2.18. Its shares have risen 18 percent this year.