Lexington, MA-based Pulmatrix, which is developing inhalable therapies for a variety of lung disorders, said today it is promoting chief scientific officer Robert Clarke to CEO. He will be replacing former CEO Robert Connelly, who is leaving Pulmatrix to become CEO of Cambridge, MA-based startup WikiCell, which he co-founded. Connelly will remain on the board … Continue reading “Pulmatrix Names Clarke CEO, Releases Promising Data on Lung Drug”
Author: Arlene Weintraub
Arlene is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences and technology. She was previously a senior health writer based out of the New York City headquarters of BusinessWeek, where she wrote hundreds of articles that explored both the science and business of health. Her freelance pieces have been published in USA Today, US News & World Report, Technology Review, and other media outlets. Arlene has won awards from the New York Press Club, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Her book about the anti-aging industry, Selling the Fountain of Youth, was published by Basic Books in September 2010.
NYC Bio Luminaries to Gather Oct. 4th for Xconomy Xchange
Xconomy is gearing up for what’s sure to be a stimulating panel event, Xconomy Xchange: Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model for the Big Apple, which will be held the evening of Thursday, October 4. But the early bird discount is ending in just a couple of days, so order your tickets today. The evening will feature … Continue reading “NYC Bio Luminaries to Gather Oct. 4th for Xconomy Xchange”
OvaScience, Founded by Sirtris Vets, Plans IPO
Boston-based OvaScience, which is developing infertility treatments based on stem cell science, filed documents with the SEC announcing its plans to go public. According to the filing, the company intends to register 7.6 million shares that have been sold to private investors and to trade on the over-the-counter exchange. OvaScience was founded on technology developed at … Continue reading “OvaScience, Founded by Sirtris Vets, Plans IPO”
Ziopharm Awaits Cancer Drug Data as Wall Street Withholds Judgment
Jonathan Lewis, the CEO of New York-based Ziopharm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZIOP]]), was stunned earlier this year when he ran across a commercial on YouTube produced by his company’s biggest investor, Fidelity. In the video (see below), a young man makes a bold prediction: “Within 50 years we could have more life forms invented in the lab … Continue reading “Ziopharm Awaits Cancer Drug Data as Wall Street Withholds Judgment”
Alnylam Inks $29M Deal With Monsanto for New Bio Tools for Farmers
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) said today it has formed a 10-year strategic alliance with St. Louis-based agricultural giant Monsanto (NYSE: [[ticker:MON]]) to develop biotech solutions for the farming industry. Under the terms of the deal, Monsanto will receive exclusive worldwide rights to Alnylam’s RNAi-based technology for agricultural use, in return for $29.2 million in upfront … Continue reading “Alnylam Inks $29M Deal With Monsanto for New Bio Tools for Farmers”
Sherpaa Aims to Streamline Healthcare for Startups
After Jay Parkinson completed his residency at Johns Hopkins and started practicing medicine in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2007, he set out to make doctor-patient communications as seamless as possible. His patients logged onto his Google calendar to make appointments and note their symptoms, which triggered an alert on Parkinson’s iPhone. He made house calls and … Continue reading “Sherpaa Aims to Streamline Healthcare for Startups”
Merck on Track to Seek Approval for Two Heart Drugs in ’13
Whitehouse Station, NJ-based pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) provided an update Sunday on three of its experimental drugs to treat cardiovascular conditions during the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich. In a statement the company said it plans to file for approval next year in the United States and Europe for the anti-clotting drug vorapaxar. The experimental compound … Continue reading “Merck on Track to Seek Approval for Two Heart Drugs in ’13”
EnVivo Forges Ahead With Alzheimer’s Drug
The pharmaceutical world went into shock on August 6, when Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Elan Pharmaceuticals pulled the plug on bapineuzumab (“bapi”), a highly anticipated experimental drug they were co-developing to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The folks at Watertown, MA-based EnVivo Pharmaceuticals were among those watching the drug’s demise with interest. Just a few weeks earlier, … Continue reading “EnVivo Forges Ahead With Alzheimer’s Drug”
TG Therapeutics Builds Pipeline Around Cancer and Immune Diseases
On August 16, New York-based TG Therapeutics (OTCBB: [[ticker:TGTX]]) announced that it had formed a deal with a Swiss company called Rhizen Pharmaceuticals to co-develop a drug to treat blood cancers and autoimmune diseases. It was TG’s second transaction in the last five months related to “B-cell diseases,” which are disorders involving key cells in … Continue reading “TG Therapeutics Builds Pipeline Around Cancer and Immune Diseases”
Happtique Offers E-Prescribing Platform for Health Apps
Anybody with diabetes who searches their iPhone for an app to help them monitor their blood sugar will likely be overwhelmed by the choices. A simple search using the word “glucose” pulls up more than 150 results in the app store—all from companies claiming to offer the best solutions for managing diabetes. Yet very few … Continue reading “Happtique Offers E-Prescribing Platform for Health Apps”
Best Doctors Raises $45.5M for Second-Opinion Service
Boston-based Best Doctors, which was founded by Harvard physicians in 1989, has brought in $45.5 million in new funding, according to an SEC filing. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. provided the funding, vice chairman Evan Falchuk told VentureWire. The company previously raised $20 million. Best Doctors maintains a database of 50,000 doctors, who can be called … Continue reading “Best Doctors Raises $45.5M for Second-Opinion Service”
Visible Market Catches Wall Street’s Eye With Stock-Tracking App
Ever since Jennifer Johnson started working in financial services in the 1990s, she felt something was missing in all the technology available to traders who want to get information about stocks. “With the way [the data] is presented, it’s really hard to get a sense of what’s happening in the overall market,” she says. Sure, … Continue reading “Visible Market Catches Wall Street’s Eye With Stock-Tracking App”
Two Years After Rising from Ashes, Aegerion Preps for Drug Debut
When Marc Beer joined Cambridge, MA-based Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AEGR]]) as CEO in August 2010, the company was $4 million in debt, nearly insolvent, and “not following a clear path,” he says. By October of that year, Beer, a former Genzyme executive, had worked out a development plan for the Aegerion’s cholesterol-lowering drug and taken the … Continue reading “Two Years After Rising from Ashes, Aegerion Preps for Drug Debut”
In Wake of Alzheimer’s Disaster, Wall Street Revisits Pfizer and J&J
The Alzheimer’s drug being jointly developed by New York area drug giants Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, along with Ireland’s Elan Pharmaceuticals, was so fondly anticipated on Wall Street over the past few years that analysts even adopted a nickname for it: bapi. But the drug—full name bapineuzumab—failed a late-stage trial, the companies said late … Continue reading “In Wake of Alzheimer’s Disaster, Wall Street Revisits Pfizer and J&J”
Innovimmune Pursues Pharma Partners, Shuns VCs
When Anderson Gaweco started his biotech company in New York in 2010, he planned to follow the standard entrepreneurship blueprint-for-success and pursue venture capital financing. But the more Gaweco learned about the two compounds his company had developed to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, the more convinced he was he didn’t need VC financing. “We … Continue reading “Innovimmune Pursues Pharma Partners, Shuns VCs”
Enlight Bio’s Knode Advances Social Network for Pharma
Enlight Biosciences, a pharma industry-backed entrepreneurial venture, unveiled its newest portfolio company today, Knode. The Cambridge, MA-based startup, which is developing a LinkedIn-like social networking tool for drug companies, has formed strategic partnerships with AstraZeneca and other industry and academic partners, says David Steinberg, founding CEO of both Enlight and Knode. Enlight was co-founded in … Continue reading “Enlight Bio’s Knode Advances Social Network for Pharma”
Actinium Advances Armed Cancer Drugs, Preps for Wall Street Debut
In the annals of cancer medicine, radiation has a long and distinguished reputation as a potent weapon. But like all cancer treatments, radiation can cause side effects, because it attacks healthy cells, as well as diseased ones. In 2000, New York physician David Sheinberg started a company, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, around an idea for making radiation … Continue reading “Actinium Advances Armed Cancer Drugs, Preps for Wall Street Debut”
Fall Xconomy Xchange to Focus on Reinventing Biotech for the Big Apple
New York City has everything to offer to anyone interested in working in biotech, from top-notch science programs at colleges like Columbia and NYU, to access to top venture capitalists. So why do so many biotech entrepreneurs leave New York? Many fear there’s not enough affordable wet-lab space, or they can’t attract enough scientific talent … Continue reading “Fall Xconomy Xchange to Focus on Reinventing Biotech for the Big Apple”
Mersana Brings in $27M and New Investors NEA and Pfizer
Cambridge, MA-based Mersana Therapeutics announced today it has raised $27 million in a Series A-1 financing. The company brought in new investors Pfizer Venture Investments and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Existing investors Fidelity Biosciences, ProQuest Investments, Rho Ventures, and Harris and Harris Group also participated. Mersana had raised a total of more than $50 million in … Continue reading “Mersana Brings in $27M and New Investors NEA and Pfizer”
TSI Preps for Trials of New Clot-Busting Drug
Ever since Genentech’s clot dissolver known as tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, hit the market 15 years ago, the pharmaceutical industry has been laboring to come up with something to solve the drug’s main drawback: It has to be given within three hours of a stroke. The folks at Cambridge, MA-based Thrombolytic Science International (TSI) … Continue reading “TSI Preps for Trials of New Clot-Busting Drug”
TrueOffice Turns Boring Corporate Training Into a Game
It’s the memo every new employee dreads: “We need you to go to a drab, windowless conference room for a half-day session on compliance. During the meeting, we’ll bore you with details about our company’s policies on IT security, sexual harassment, confidentiality, and the like. If you don’t show up, you’ll be fired. Have a … Continue reading “TrueOffice Turns Boring Corporate Training Into a Game”
Lantos Raises $3.8M to Push 3D Ear Scanner Closer to Market
When Cambridge, MA-based Lantos Technologies filed SEC documents earlier this month indicating that it raised $3.8 of a planned $6.6 million funding round, the company was pretty much mum on the matter—no press releases or announcements of any kind. But when Xconomy reached Doug Hart, the MIT mechanical engineering professor who founded the company in … Continue reading “Lantos Raises $3.8M to Push 3D Ear Scanner Closer to Market”
Bluebird Bio Snags $60M From Existing VCs and Newcomers Like Shire
Cambridge, MA-based Bluebird Bio said today it raised $60 million in an oversubscribed Series D financing to further development and testing of its gene therapy platform to treat severe genetic diseases. The round included existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Third Rock Ventures, TVM Capital, and Forbion Capital Partners, along with new investors Deerfield Partners, RA … Continue reading “Bluebird Bio Snags $60M From Existing VCs and Newcomers Like Shire”
Pet Dogs Help Biotech Startups Find New Weapons to Fight Cancer
A few weeks back, a black-and-white terrier mix named Chance entered a clinical trial for a drug that may offer a completely new way to combat cancer—not only in dogs, but in people, too. The drug, made by San Diego-based Genelux, uses a genetically engineered virus to annihilate tumor cells. Genelux made two different versions … Continue reading “Pet Dogs Help Biotech Startups Find New Weapons to Fight Cancer”
From One Japanese Backer to Another: Galenea Advances Brain Drugs
When Cambridge, MA-based Galenea wrapped up a five-year, $90 million partnership with Japanese pharma company Otsuka in 2011, CEO Mark Benjamin feared the biotech’s days might be numbered. “We thought if we didn’t get a VC in the door within a few months, we’d be done,” Benjamin says. Much to Benjamin’s surprise, Galenea not only … Continue reading “From One Japanese Backer to Another: Galenea Advances Brain Drugs”
From Big Data to Games: NYC Startups Pitch FinTech Innovations
For the second year in a row, New York’s FinTech Innovation Lab is holding its demo day during a brutal heat wave. But perhaps the weather serves as an apropos metaphor: financial technology is hot, particularly in New York City, home to many of the companies these startups are targeting. The FinTech Innovation Lab, a … Continue reading “From Big Data to Games: NYC Startups Pitch FinTech Innovations”
Stealthy Gen9 Rolls Out BioFab for Large-Scale Gene Manufacturing
For the past three years, Cambridge, MA-based Gen9 has been quietly building something that its founders believe has been sorely lacking in biotech: an affordable and efficient way to synthesize genes on a massive scale. Those founders are pioneers in the field of synthetic biology: Joseph Jacobson, an MIT professor and specialist in the field … Continue reading “Stealthy Gen9 Rolls Out BioFab for Large-Scale Gene Manufacturing”
WebCollage Takes Ad Copy Mobile for Top Retailers
If you click to the product page for L’Oreal Healthy Look Sublime Mousse medium brown hair color on Walgreens.com, you’ll pull up a detailed product description, a list of ingredients, and even a video review from a happy customer named Jen. Search for the same product on CVS.com and you’ll find identical content pertaining to … Continue reading “WebCollage Takes Ad Copy Mobile for Top Retailers”
ImmunoGen Emerges from Genentech’s Shadow With Novel Cancer Drugs
When ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) said yesterday that it had started human trials of a new drug to treat ovarian cancer and other solid tumors, the announcement marked a coming out of sorts for the Waltham, MA-based company. That’s because for most of the past decade or so, ImmunoGen has been inextricably linked with biotech giant … Continue reading “ImmunoGen Emerges from Genentech’s Shadow With Novel Cancer Drugs”
MedStartr Offers Crowdfunding for Health IT Firms, Including Itself
A couple years ago, when Alex Fair was tossing around ideas on how to raise money for his new healthcare marketplace, FairCareMD, he knew that putting the startup on the uber-popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter would be out of the question. Kickstarter has collected $250 million for 24,000 projects since it was founded three years ago, … Continue reading “MedStartr Offers Crowdfunding for Health IT Firms, Including Itself”
Lux Bio Resurfaces With Defined Path for Pill for Rare Eye Disease
After Lux Biosciences announced in August 2010 that the FDA declined to approve its experimental drug to treat an inflammatory disorder of the eye called uveitis, the company pretty much went silent. No more press releases, few scientific publications, very little visibility beyond some presentations at medical meetings by outside investigators. Under the tutelage of … Continue reading “Lux Bio Resurfaces With Defined Path for Pill for Rare Eye Disease”
PetFlow Paws its Way to the Top of Facebook, Sniffs Out Growth Path
In February 2011, the website Business Insider quoted PetFlow.com co-founder Alex Zhardanovsky criticizing the pioneer of the online pet-supply business—Pets.com, which famously blasted onto the Web in the early 2000s and then shut its doors when it couldn’t find a path to profitability. In the article, Zhardanovsky contended that Pets.com got in trouble by selling … Continue reading “PetFlow Paws its Way to the Top of Facebook, Sniffs Out Growth Path”
Ventrus Struggles to Reassure Street After Loss of Hemorrhoid Drug
When New York-based Ventrus Biosciences went public in December 2010, the promise that the company might have the first FDA-approved prescription drug to treat hemorrhoids sent the stock from $6 to as high as $21 a share, before it settled into a trading range of $10 to $12. So when Ventrus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VTUS]]) announced on … Continue reading “Ventrus Struggles to Reassure Street After Loss of Hemorrhoid Drug”
NPS Rejiggers Amgen Deal, Sees $75M Extra Cash
Bedminster,NJ-based NPS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NPSP]]) said today it had amended its licensing agreement with biotech giant Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) for sales of cinacalcet HCl (Sensipar), a drug used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism. NPS originally licensed the drug to Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen in 1996 and gets a 10 percent royalty on sales, which totaled $894 million in 2011. … Continue reading “NPS Rejiggers Amgen Deal, Sees $75M Extra Cash”
Corporate VC Investing Drops in Q1, Mobile Funding Poised to Jump
Deals made by the venture capital arms of major companies fell for the fourth straight quarter—a clear sign that corporate VCs are being more conservative than independent investment firms are—according to a report released today by New York-based deal tracker CB Insights. Corporate VCs participated in 11 percent of all venture deals in the first … Continue reading “Corporate VC Investing Drops in Q1, Mobile Funding Poised to Jump”
NJ Shocker: Roche to Shutter Nutley R&D Site
Swiss drug giant Roche said today it would close its 80-year-old research site in Nutley, NJ—a move that will slash 1,000 jobs in the U.S., as the company consolidates its R&D activities in Basel and Schlieren, Switzerland and Penzberg, Germany. The company will continue to maintain a separate biotech research site in South San Francisco, where … Continue reading “NJ Shocker: Roche to Shutter Nutley R&D Site”
Roche Deal Gives Seaside a Leg Up in Autism Race
Two years ago, Xconomy pinpointed a growing “autism mini-cluster” in Boston—a bevy of startups seeking to develop drugs to treat the condition and other brain disorders. Now one resident of that cluster has a major partner on board to help it meet that goal: Cambridge, MA-based Seaside Therapeutics, which announced on June 19 that it … Continue reading “Roche Deal Gives Seaside a Leg Up in Autism Race”
NPS Rallies as Good News Flows for Two Rare-Disease Drugs
Shares of Bedminster, NJ-based NPS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NPSP]]) jumped 14 percent to $8.21 on Friday after a panel of drug experts in Europe recommended that the regulatory agency there approve teduglutide (Gattex), the company’s experimental drug to treat a rare intestinal disorder called short bowel syndrome. The stock is moving again today, following the company’s weekend … Continue reading “NPS Rallies as Good News Flows for Two Rare-Disease Drugs”
Gamification Hits Healthcare as Startups Vie for Cash and Partners
Would working out at the gym be easier if you earned cash every time you hopped on the treadmill? Boston-based startup GymPact is betting that millions of Americans will answer that question with a resounding “yes,” and at least some members of the VC community agree. The startup uses GPS to track how much time … Continue reading “Gamification Hits Healthcare as Startups Vie for Cash and Partners”
Context Matters Helps Pharma Execs Make Sense of Drug Data
S. Yin Ho, founder and CEO of New York-based pharmaceutical data provider Context Matters, isn’t impressed with all the entrepreneurial excitement around “big data”—the effort to lasso all the information being collected about consumer buying patterns and the like and use it to improve business strategies. As far as Ho is concerned, it’s not the … Continue reading “Context Matters Helps Pharma Execs Make Sense of Drug Data”
MedTech: Big Market, Big Idea, Big Execution
This half-day conference, organized by Life Science Angel Network and Elsevier, will take a wide-ranging look at innovation in medical technology. The day will include a keynote lunch, three panel discussions, and a networking reception. Speakers include Howard Levin of CorIdea, Dennis Purcell of Aisling Capital, and Nancy Briefs of InfoBionics. Register here.
Rhythm Drums Up $25M to Advance Diabetes and Obesity Drugs
Boston-based Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is announcing today it has raised $25 million in a Series B financing round, bringing the total amount of capital hauled in by the two-year-old company to $65 million. Existing investors MPM Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and Third Rock Ventures participated in the funding, along with new investor Ipsen, the Paris-based drugmaker. … Continue reading “Rhythm Drums Up $25M to Advance Diabetes and Obesity Drugs”
Merck Sleep Drug Hits Trial Goals, Raising Hopes for New Blockbuster
At the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston today, drug giant Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) released promising data from two late-stage human trials of its experimental insomnia drug, suvorexant. The compound—which promotes sleep through an entirely different pathway in the brain than those targeted by the drugs on the market today—achieved 15 … Continue reading “Merck Sleep Drug Hits Trial Goals, Raising Hopes for New Blockbuster”
Bristol-Myers Wrangles Top Academics to Study Immunity in Cancer
On May 29, New York-based drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) announced a major international cancer-research initiative—news that got a bit overshadowed by the biggest cancer conference of the year, which started in Chicago just a few days later. But the new group that the company unveiled that day, called the International Immuno-Oncology Network, is … Continue reading “Bristol-Myers Wrangles Top Academics to Study Immunity in Cancer”
FDA Rejects Ariad/Merck Sarcoma Pill, Wall Street Unfazed
When the FDA gave the thumbs-down last night to ridaforolimus (Taltorvic)—a drug being co-developed by Ariad Pharmaceuticals and Merck to treat metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma or bone sarcoma—investors barely flinched. Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Ariad (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) closed last night at $16.20, dropped a bit in after-hours trading, but were up to $16.68 just after the opening … Continue reading “FDA Rejects Ariad/Merck Sarcoma Pill, Wall Street Unfazed”
Bayer Oncology Dubs ASCO “Turning Point” for Cancer Efforts
If one were to list the top cancer drugmakers of all time, it’s fair to say Bayer wouldn’t make the top 10. Despite the German drug giant’s leadership position across the healthcare spectrum—from over-the-counter aspirin to diabetes glucose-testing meters—it has never made much of a splash in cancer. In 2000, Bayer’s (OTCBB: [[ticker:BAYRY]]) top executives … Continue reading “Bayer Oncology Dubs ASCO “Turning Point” for Cancer Efforts”
NYC’s Radiator Labs Nabs MIT Clean Tech Prize, Vies for New US Crown
Marshall Cox moved into graduate housing at Columbia University a couple years back and immediately ran into a problem that plagues many New York City residents. His apartment was too hot. Cox couldn’t adjust his radiator because all of the heat for the building came from a single steam generator. So the only way he … Continue reading “NYC’s Radiator Labs Nabs MIT Clean Tech Prize, Vies for New US Crown”
Merck Oncology Chief Heads to ASCO With High Hopes for New Drugs
At the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), starting tomorrow in Chicago, drug giant Merck will be presenting no less than 100 abstracts detailing its efforts to develop new cancer drugs. The company’s oncology franchise head, Gary Gilliland—who left a 20-year faculty position at Harvard to join New Brunswick, NJ-based Merck … Continue reading “Merck Oncology Chief Heads to ASCO With High Hopes for New Drugs”
N-of-One Names CEO, Forms Pact With Foundation Medicine
Waltham, MA-based N-of-One announced today several milestones in its quest to provide tools that can help oncologists design personalized treatment regimens for their patients. The company, founded in 2008 by Harvard-trained physician Jennifer Levin Carter, formed a partnership with Boston-based Foundation Medicine to transform genomic data from individual cancer patients into treatment strategies. N-of-One has … Continue reading “N-of-One Names CEO, Forms Pact With Foundation Medicine”
Flexion Overhaul Bears Fruit With Upbeat Data From Arthritis Trial
[Updated 5/30/12 8:30 am. See below.] Today Woburn, MA-based Flexion Therapeutics announced that its treatment for osteoarthritis met its goal of significantly relieving joint pain in a mid-stage trial. Even though it’s a bit early to declare the drug a success, the results come as welcome news to the executives of Flexion, who have spent … Continue reading “Flexion Overhaul Bears Fruit With Upbeat Data From Arthritis Trial”