H. Stewart Parker is the former CEO of Seattle’s Targeted Genetics, a pioneering gene therapy company that fizzled out after nearly 20 years but helped pave the way for a new generation of companies, such as Bluebird Bio and Spark Therapeutics, that are moving gene therapies through the clinic. Parker spent time at the head … Continue reading “Stewart Parker: Biotech Thoughts On Gene Therapy, GOP & Trout Streams”
Author: Alex Lash
I've spent nearly all my working life as a journalist. I covered the rise and fall of the dot-com era in the second half of the 1990s, then switched to life sciences in the new millennium. I've written about the strategy, financing and scientific breakthroughs of biotech for The Deal, Elsevier's Start-Up, In Vivo and The Pink Sheet, and Xconomy.
Synthetic Biology Primer: In Conversation With Richard Kitney, Part 1
“Synthetic biology” has always been a puzzling term to me. Prosthetic limbs are synthetic. Knee replacements are synthetic. Splicing the gene from one organism into another, a practice that began in the 1970s and gave rise to the biotechnology industry, is also a synthetic act. But those things are not “synthetic biology” in the way … Continue reading “Synthetic Biology Primer: In Conversation With Richard Kitney, Part 1”
Thong Le: Biotech Thoughts On Pitches, Prices, Diversity, And Stress
Thong Le is the CEO of Accelerator, a Seattle biotech venture fund and incubator more than a decade old. Le took over in early 2014 and is overseeing a cross-country expansion. A second Accelerator facility opened with fanfare in New York City a year and a half ago. Le said at the time that Accelerator … Continue reading “Thong Le: Biotech Thoughts On Pitches, Prices, Diversity, And Stress”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli, BlackThorn, Unhappy Holiday Layoffs
As welcome rain falls on the West Coast, with snow farther east in our mountains, we wrap the year with—what else?—more Martin Shkreli-related drama at KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, which was about to go belly-up a month ago when he swooped in to buy a majority stake. With Shkreli gone, KaloBios is headed south again. Bad news … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli, BlackThorn, Unhappy Holiday Layoffs”
Pharmabros, Designer Babies, And Other Final Words For 2015
Every three months, Oxford Dictionaries releases its new entries, and modern language mavens everywhere have a field day. A few of my favorites from the summer update: weak sauce, microaggression, cupcakery, and at the risk of perpetuating wholly unfair stereotypes about journalists, beer o’clock. With that, I kick off my final column of 2015, a … Continue reading “Pharmabros, Designer Babies, And Other Final Words For 2015”
Amid Neuroscience Renaissance, BlackThorn Quietly Builds a Business
The past year has seen several new biotech companies announce ambitious goals of tackling neurological disease, a vast, complex, and frustrating region of biomedicine. The academic side of the field has had a shot in the arm, too, from National Institutes of Health funding, to scientific advances at the Allen Institute for Brain Research (now … Continue reading “Amid Neuroscience Renaissance, BlackThorn Quietly Builds a Business”
Fired From KaloBios, Shkreli Defends Himself Against Fraud Charges
Four days after his arrest on fraud charges, Martin Shkreli received his second pink slip, this time from KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KBIO]]), a struggling drug maker that Shkreli took over last month. The KaloBios announcement Monday morning was terse, simply saying Shkreli was terminated and had resigned from the company’s board of directors. Another director, … Continue reading “Fired From KaloBios, Shkreli Defends Himself Against Fraud Charges”
The Day After His Arrest, Martin Shkreli Is Out At Turing Pharma
Martin Shkreli was arrested for securities fraud yesterday, and today he has one fewer business to run. Turing Pharmaceuticals announced this morning Shkreli has resigned his post as CEO. His departure from Turing marks the second time he has built a company, only to leave under no small amount of controversy. The federal government is … Continue reading “The Day After His Arrest, Martin Shkreli Is Out At Turing Pharma”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli Cuffed, KaloBios Halted & More
[Updated, 9:00 am ET] As regular roundup readers know, the continuing saga of Martin Shkreli, the hedge funder-turned-drug price gouger, has a West Coast angle. Now under arrest on fraud charges, Shkreli took over Redwood City, CA-based KaloBios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KBIO]]) last month. It soon emerged he aimed to pursue a strategy similar to his … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli Cuffed, KaloBios Halted & More”
London Notebook: Conversations Inside The Biomedical Golden Triangle
Xconomy had reporters in eight locales when I joined in the spring of 2014. Since then, we have expanded into Texas and North Carolina, adding two more locales where we cover the life sciences and much more. We’re always looking for the next place to put down roots. One big place on our radar is … Continue reading “London Notebook: Conversations Inside The Biomedical Golden Triangle”
With Drugs in Clinic, Constellation Nabs $55M For IPO Push
Cancer drug developer Constellation Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, has reeled in $55 million in what it describes as a mezzanine round of funding, typically a final financial push before a company tries to go public. The news jibes with what Constellation CEO Keith Dionne told Xconomy in August. Dionne was in a mood to celebrate … Continue reading “With Drugs in Clinic, Constellation Nabs $55M For IPO Push”
Rubius Aims To Turn Red Blood Cells Into Engineered Drug Carriers
Treating sick people with healthy blood is nothing new. But a new biotech company wants to treat disease by transforming red blood cells into tiny medicine delivery pods, using genetic engineering techniques that have helped turn other human cells into cutting-edge cancer therapies. The startup is called Rubius Therapeutics, and it’s announcing today a $25 … Continue reading “Rubius Aims To Turn Red Blood Cells Into Engineered Drug Carriers”
At Hematological Meeting, More Than Just Biotech Data Runs Blood Red
[Editor’s note: Deputy Biotechnology Editor Ben Fidler co-wrote this story.] The annual American Society for Hematology meeting, held this year in Orlando, FL, ends today. The meeting is a showcase for new data, drugs, and approaches to treat cancers like leukemia, rare genetic diseases, and other maladies that originate in or otherwise affect blood. But … Continue reading “At Hematological Meeting, More Than Just Biotech Data Runs Blood Red”
Agios COO Duncan Higgons To Step Down After New Year
In a regulatory filing late Friday, Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGIO]]) of Cambridge, MA, reported that chief operating officer Duncan Higgons is leaving the company “to pursue other interests.” Previous to Agios, Higgons was COO of Archemix from 2006 to 2009 and chief commercial officer of Transform Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2005. His final day at … Continue reading “Agios COO Duncan Higgons To Step Down After New Year”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Gene Edit Talk, Not Poor ORIC, BioMarin Sags
[Corrected, 12/4/15, 5:10pm. See below.] In Washington, DC, this week, a three-day meeting brought together scientists, ethicists, and others to discuss the blistering advances in gene editing and the related legal, ethical, and medical implications. David Baltimore, a Nobel Prize winning biologist at the Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology, led the committee that planned the … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Gene Edit Talk, Not Poor ORIC, BioMarin Sags”
Gene Edit Summit Leaders Stop Shy Of Call To Ban Germline Changes
No call for a ban. No moratorium. But the scientists and ethicists who convened this week’s once-in-a-generation summit in Washington, DC, say that the practice of editing human DNA in a way that can be passed to future generations is “irresponsible” until there’s a body of evidence that it is safe, that it works, and … Continue reading “Gene Edit Summit Leaders Stop Shy Of Call To Ban Germline Changes”
New Speakers Join Gene-Edit, Microbiome, Big Data “Disruptors” 12/10
Next Thursday, Dec. 10, I’m hosting Xconomy’s annual San Francisco Bay Area biotech event. This year, we’re calling it the Bay Area’s Life Science Disruptors, and we’re highlighting three areas of biotechnology—gene editing, bioinformatics, and the microbiome—that will have profound effects on the way people conduct science, practice medicine, and even consider what it means … Continue reading “New Speakers Join Gene-Edit, Microbiome, Big Data “Disruptors” 12/10″
Led By Biotech Stars, ORIC Nabs $53M To Fight Drug-Resistant Cancer
Rich Heyman twice made hay developing drugs to treat cancers that depend on hormones to thrive. Now he’s trying it again with a new company markedly different than the previous two. Heyman (pictured) is interim CEO of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, a South San Francisco, CA-based startup that has drawn several biotech boldface names, as well as … Continue reading “Led By Biotech Stars, ORIC Nabs $53M To Fight Drug-Resistant Cancer”
What Three Biotechs Could Tell Us About The Pfizer-Allergan Merger
The long-speculated Pfizer-Allergan merger, announced last week with a $160 billion price tag, is officially in motion and lurching toward inevitability. Inevitability doesn’t equal certainty for many involved in the deal. Tens of thousands of employees could potentially get the axe, while dozens of smaller companies partnered with the two behemoths wait to see if … Continue reading “What Three Biotechs Could Tell Us About The Pfizer-Allergan Merger”
Presage Nabs Cancer Rx To Test In Its Drug Cocktail Injection System
Cancer is an elusive foe. Rarely does a single therapy or intervention knock it out, which is why drug combinations are at the top of the agenda for doctors and researchers, even as cutting-edge treatments such as the latest immunotherapies move the field forward. Presage Biosciences of Seattle has created a way to test combinations … Continue reading “Presage Nabs Cancer Rx To Test In Its Drug Cocktail Injection System”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli, T4 Diabetes, Cella-Done, A16Z+Bio
So much for lying low. Investors led by Martin Shkreli have bought a majority of the shares of failed South San Francisco, CA-based KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, which has been in dire straits for some time after clinical failures and the abrupt departure of its longtime CEO David Pritchard earlier this year. For those of you just … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Shkreli, T4 Diabetes, Cella-Done, A16Z+Bio”
Agenda Posted: Xconomy’s Bay Area Life Science Disruptors On Dec. 10
Our annual San Francisco Bay Area biotech forum is right around the corner. This year we’re highlighting the most disruptive areas of life science and the Bay Area scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors behind them. Spend a few hours with us on Dec. 10 to explore the profound effects these people hope to trigger in healthcare, … Continue reading “Agenda Posted: Xconomy’s Bay Area Life Science Disruptors On Dec. 10”
Keeping Score, Clinical Watchdogs Push Drugmakers For More Open Data
Should drug companies publicly release all data from the tests they conduct on human volunteers? A growing number of parties say yes, and last week, a group of academics unveiled a scorecard to spotlight companies that have recently kept their clinical data hidden from public view—and those that have made the data available. As with … Continue reading “Keeping Score, Clinical Watchdogs Push Drugmakers For More Open Data”
Join Xconomy Dec. 10 To Hear From Bay Area Life Science Disruptors
We’re one month away from our annual San Francisco Bay Area biotech forum on December 10, and we’re excited to share the lineup with you. This year, we’re focusing on the most disruptive biotechnologies to explore their future implications, not to mention the profound effects they’re triggering already in healthcare, business, and society. One highlight … Continue reading “Join Xconomy Dec. 10 To Hear From Bay Area Life Science Disruptors”
Idea Behind Warp Drive’s New Cancer Attack Was Hiding In Plain Sight
[Corrected, 11/12/15, 4:17pm. See below.] The way pharmaceuticals work is often described as keys fitting locks. A drug goes into the body and finds its target because it matches up with a small stretch of biological material within cells or on their surface. But there are all kinds of biological doors which have no locks—no … Continue reading “Idea Behind Warp Drive’s New Cancer Attack Was Hiding In Plain Sight”
With $379M Deal For Ocata, Astellas Buys Stem Cells For Eye Diseases
Japanese drug firm Astellas Pharma announced late Monday it has agreed to buy Ocata Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OCAT]]), which is developing regenerative medicines for eye diseases. It’s an all-cash deal worth $379 million, with the Astellas offer of $8.50 a share representing a 79 percent premium to Ocata’s share price at the end of November 6. … Continue reading “With $379M Deal For Ocata, Astellas Buys Stem Cells For Eye Diseases”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: KaloBios, Atreca, Acadia, Twist & More
There were drips and drabs of news out west this week, but compared to recent weeks with former Silicon Valley darling Theranos taking a beating, or 23andMe revving its engines, it’s been sleepy. The big exceptions come in the form of two Bay Area companies going in opposite directions. The big green blinking arrow pointing … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: KaloBios, Atreca, Acadia, Twist & More”
Seven Major Cancer Centers To Pool Patients’ Gene, Health Data
Here and there, the genetic information of a cancer patient has helped a doctor find that person the right drug or steer her away from the wrong one. But the use of genetic knowledge to improve people’s health is in its infancy. That’s why seven major cancer treatment centers in North America and Europe are … Continue reading “Seven Major Cancer Centers To Pool Patients’ Gene, Health Data”
Evelo Launches With $35M To Fight Cancer With Cocktails of Bacteria
Biotech venture group Flagship Ventures is doubling down on the microbiome. The Cambridge, MA-based firm, which specializes in building new therapeutics companies in stealth mode, today launched Evelo Therapeutics, its second microbiome-based startup, with $35 million in funding to develop cancer treatments fashioned from mixes of bacteria found in nature. The effect of bacteria on … Continue reading “Evelo Launches With $35M To Fight Cancer With Cocktails of Bacteria”
Even With New Crowdfunding Rules, No Easy Path Forward For Biotechs
[Corrected 11/3/15, 1:18pm. See below.] As Xconomy reported Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally filled in the missing pieces in the equity crowdfunding puzzle, giving private startups clearer rules about selling equity to the investor masses through Internet portals. In her opening remarks before the SEC commissioners voted 3-1 to approve nationwide … Continue reading “Even With New Crowdfunding Rules, No Easy Path Forward For Biotechs”
Bought By Utah Rival Tute, Former Genomics High Flyer Knome Bows Out
After eight years, more than $20 million raised, and a handful of different business plans, genomics firm Knome has been acquired by tiny Tute Genomics of Provo, UT, for what appears to be a substantial loss. The parties are not disclosing the purchase price, but it’s likely to be a fraction of what Knome investors … Continue reading “Bought By Utah Rival Tute, Former Genomics High Flyer Knome Bows Out”
At Long Last, SEC Provides Final Equity Crowdfunding Rules
[Corrected 11/2/15, 12:30 pm. See below.] Mom and Pop, you can now buy shares in the bakery down the street, or in your son’s girlfriend’s sister’s tech startup. That, in effect, was the message the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent today, voting to give retail investors the right to buy shares in tiny private … Continue reading “At Long Last, SEC Provides Final Equity Crowdfunding Rules”
Venture Veterans Frazier Commit New $262M Fund To Biopharma Bets
Whether the unprecedented biotech boom has undergone a slight correction or is shuffling toward bear territory, veteran venture group Frazier Healthcare Partners has a new pool of cash to invest. The firm says it has closed on a $262 million fund that it will begin to deploy in 2016, but with a twist on its … Continue reading “Venture Veterans Frazier Commit New $262M Fund To Biopharma Bets”
Enlitic CEO: Deep-Learning Software Could Soon Help Diagnose Patients
“Take two aspirin and call me in the morning” is the punch line to decades’ worth of doctor-diagnosis jokes, but San Francisco software company Enlitic doesn’t see the humor in it. Enlitic is building a computer system to help doctors make faster, more accurate diagnoses, and it’s gotten its first major customer in the Australian … Continue reading “Enlitic CEO: Deep-Learning Software Could Soon Help Diagnose Patients”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Theranos, 23andMe, Invitae, Gritstone, Etc.
Biotech executives and investors gathered in San Francisco this week to size one another up, schmooze, and eat rubber chicken lunches—although the vegetarian ravioli option wasn’t bad. It was the best-attended of the 14 BioInvestor Forums (Fora?) so far, according to its organizers. It certainly beat the 2011 version, which featured creative room-remodeling to hide … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Theranos, 23andMe, Invitae, Gritstone, Etc.”
LabCentral Backers Planning $150M Venture Fund For Biotech Startups
[Corrected 10/29/15, 12:52 am. See below.] Boom or not, there’s always a need for startup capital in biotech. A new source is about to emerge. The founders of LabCentral and Cambridge BioLabs, well-known biotech incubators in Cambridge, MA, are on the verge of closing what they hope to be a $150 million early-stage fund for … Continue reading “LabCentral Backers Planning $150M Venture Fund For Biotech Startups”
What’s Your DNA Worth? The Scramble To Cash In On the Genome
The consumer genome. You’ll hear that phrase enough the next couple years that it will gain both the weight and lightness of inevitability. It will feel inevitable because, as we’ve been hearing for years now, DNA is just another long string of crunchable, malleable, transportable code, so it’s just the next destination for the digital … Continue reading “What’s Your DNA Worth? The Scramble To Cash In On the Genome”
West Coast Biotech Roundup: Caribou, Amgen, CytomX, Arena & More
We were stuck for a couple days in a Nobel vortex. Speculation about a Nobel Prize in chemistry for University of California, Berkeley scientist Jennifer Doudna and her gene-editing research partner, Emmanuelle Charpentier, swirled and swirled until everyone following it got a bit dizzy. On Tuesday, one day before the prize was announced, I stepped … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Caribou, Amgen, CytomX, Arena & More”
Xconomy Forum: The Bay Area’s Life Science Disruptors
Biomedical innovation is shaking up societies around the world, prompting advances no one would have imagined a decade ago, and stirring debates about ethical and financial costs. The San Francisco Bay Area is teeming with people, companies, and ideas at the center of those advances and debates. On December 10, at our annual San Francisco … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: The Bay Area’s Life Science Disruptors”
No Drug Yet In Clinic, But CytomX Raises $80M In Discounted IPO
CytomX Therapeutics has fought through biotech’s downward slide to emerge as a public company. The South San Francisco, CA-based drug maker raised $80 million in its initial public offering, and its shares should start trading on the Nasdaq Thursday under the symbol CTMX. The firm sold 6.7 million shares at $12 apiece. Last week, CytomX … Continue reading “No Drug Yet In Clinic, But CytomX Raises $80M In Discounted IPO”
Amid Nobel Prize Suspense, Making Sense Of Latest Gene-Editing News
There was a meeting Monday in Washington, D.C., to discuss some of the latest advances in gene editing, a field that has profound medical, agricultural, social, and ethical implications for society. At the lunch break, the webcast played over and over a genteel piece of classical music—Albinoni’s string concerto No. 4 in G major, to … Continue reading “Amid Nobel Prize Suspense, Making Sense Of Latest Gene-Editing News”
With $55M, Neon Wants To Make the Cancer Vaccine “Problem” Personal
One year ago, in a paper in the journal Oncoimmunology, three cancer researchers wrote this: “After many years of best efforts and countless dollars, but unmet expectations, cancer vaccines have become a long-standing problem.” The problem has apparently become an opportunity. Those same three researchers are now lending their expertise, along with four other leading … Continue reading “With $55M, Neon Wants To Make the Cancer Vaccine “Problem” Personal”
Crossing Sand Hill: A Q&A With Biotech Venture Vet Nina Kjellson
Nina Kjellson has been a biotech investor for 15 years, having spent the last 13 at InterWest Partners in Menlo Park, CA. Now she’s moving across the street to Canaan Partners. Her new office is literally right across Sand Hill Road, a Silicon Valley thoroughfare synonymous with venture capital, and her new job isn’t far … Continue reading “Crossing Sand Hill: A Q&A With Biotech Venture Vet Nina Kjellson”
CRISPR Update Could Make Gene Edits Easier, Discoverers Say
The popular gene-editing system known as CRISPR/Cas9 has become an indispensable biological research tool, and it also holds profound therapeutic, environmental, ethical, and business implications. Now it has a cousin. Researchers at several institutions, including CRISPR/Cas9 pioneer Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute, have published a paper in the journal Cell describing a CRISPR system that … Continue reading “CRISPR Update Could Make Gene Edits Easier, Discoverers Say”
Exelixis Hires Three Veeps As Market Plans Loom For Two Drugs
San Francisco Bay Area biotech firm Exelixis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXEL]]) is bringing on board three new executives in anticipation of two drugs gaining FDA approval. The company, trying to turn around a bad run the past few years, as Xconomy wrote about in June, hired William Berg as senior VP of medical affairs, Jonathan Berndt as … Continue reading “Exelixis Hires Three Veeps As Market Plans Loom For Two Drugs”
Shkreli Implodes And Provides Hillary A Perfect Medicare Moment
It was already a good political time for Hillary Clinton to unveil her plan to control the cost of prescription drugs. Martin Shkreli made it perfect. As you’ve probably heard by now, the front-running Democratic candidate Clinton on Tuesday outlined about a dozen ways she would aim to alter the American healthcare landscape if elected … Continue reading “Shkreli Implodes And Provides Hillary A Perfect Medicare Moment”
With Termeer Aboard, Artax Tries New Attack On Autoimmune Disease
[Corrected 9/22/15, 10:15am. See below.] Call it the Termeer trickle-down effect. Former Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer has been funding and advising Boston-area startups ever since his company was snapped up for $20 billion in 2011, bringing him a nine-digit payout. The latest startup to gain his imprimatur is Artax Biopharma, a Cambridge, MA-based startup working … Continue reading “With Termeer Aboard, Artax Tries New Attack On Autoimmune Disease”
West Coast Bio Roundup: Google/Insel, SeaGen, Avalon, Alector & More
It’s not specific to the West Coast, but anyone who needs to catch up on the week’s events should read the British Medical Journal’s re-analysis of a long-criticized study, dubbed Study 329, of the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) in an adolescent population. It took place in the 1990s, run by SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline). Paroxetine was … Continue reading “West Coast Bio Roundup: Google/Insel, SeaGen, Avalon, Alector & More”
Alector Raises $32M For Immune-Based Neuro Drug Development
Researchers around the world have explored the ties between the immune system and devastating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. San Francisco biotech Alector wants to exploit those ties to make drugs, and today it announced $32 million in venture funding—with another round likely coming by year’s end—to continue that work. Alector was founded two years … Continue reading “Alector Raises $32M For Immune-Based Neuro Drug Development”
Obama Nominates Duke Veteran Rob Califf To Lead FDA
President Obama has nominated cardiologist Rob Califf to be the next head of the Food and Drug Administration, replacing the outgoing Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg. The nomination is no surprise. Speculation that Califf could be the next commissioner gained momentum in late January when the FDA named him a top deputy. Two weeks later, Hamburg said … Continue reading “Obama Nominates Duke Veteran Rob Califf To Lead FDA”