For your reading pleasure, this week’s News Net brings in investment news from Russia, agbiotech in the Philippines and advice on handling your board from the hardest working VC in the blogosphere.

• Government-owned RusNano is partnering with US venture firm Domain Associates on a $760 million initiative that will invest in about 20 life sciences companies and construct a pharma manufacturing center in Russia to produce next-gen therapies. The two groups plan to concentrate on viral infections, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other afflictions. Read all about it here.
• The Philippine Star reports on the commercial production of locally developed agbiotech products. Mature technologies developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños include biofertilizers, enzymes, pesticides, animal probiotics, and plant disease diagnostic kits. Dig in here.
• In Forbes, life science VC and Trade Secrets blogger Bruce Booth (http://blogs.nature.com/tradesecrets/author/bbooth) looks at what it takes to maintain a highly functional and productive board of directors ? crucial for an early-stage biotech company. Read his tips here.  You can also follow him on Twitter.