San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Halozyme, Zogenix, & More

A big drop in biotech stocks set the backdrop for much of the news out of San Diego’s life sciences community this week. The tide rises, and the tide falls. But the surf is forever—at least in San Diego. —A broad selloff in biotech stocks has prompted widespread concern that the biotech bubble is popping. … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Halozyme, Zogenix, & More”

Celladon Gets FDA’s “Breakthrough Therapy” Status for Gene Therapy

[Corrected 4/10/14, 12:25 pm. See below.] The FDA has granted its “breakthrough therapy” designation for a gene therapy treatment in mid-stage development by San Diego’s Celladon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDN]]), for patients with advanced heart failure. The FDA notified the company in a letter sent by fax Wednesday from the Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, … Continue reading “Celladon Gets FDA’s “Breakthrough Therapy” Status for Gene Therapy”

Software VC Tucks Fund for UC San Diego Deals into New Venture Fund

David Schwab, a managing director at Sierra Ventures, has created a new venture fund with an unusual provision—20 percent of the capital raised will be focused on commercializing innovations coming out of UC San Diego. Schwab, who joined Menlo Park, CA-based Sierra Ventures 18 years ago, said in a phone call yesterday that he is … Continue reading “Software VC Tucks Fund for UC San Diego Deals into New Venture Fund”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, NuVasive, Lumena, and More

[Corrected 4/8/14, 12:15 pm. See below.] It was a relatively quiet week for San Diego’s life sciences community. Here’s my wrap up of the latest developments over the past week. —The share price of San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) fell by $3.16, or 27 percent, in heavy trading Friday, after the company said it … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, NuVasive, Lumena, and More”

San Diego’s Lumena Files for IPO to Fund Liver Drug Trials

Lumena Pharmaceuticals has filed for a $75 million IPO, just a few weeks after the San Diego biopharmaceutical company raised $45 million in venture funding. Lumena was founded in 2011 to develop oral drugs for treating a rare group of metabolic disorders that cause bile acid to build up in the liver. Bile acids facilitate … Continue reading “San Diego’s Lumena Files for IPO to Fund Liver Drug Trials”

With Tepid Growth in Software Startups, San Diego Turns to “Swarm”

San Diego’s software sector, struggling to gain some footing against a litany of setbacks, might be taking a step forward—but it will take a collective effort. A proposal to establish an investor forum that would draw dozens of local software and Internet investors to meet with selected Web entrepreneurs and tech founders is gaining momentum. … Continue reading “With Tepid Growth in Software Startups, San Diego Turns to “Swarm””

In California Pilot Trial, AirPooler Offers Ride-Sharing in the Sky

How long are you willing to drive for a weekend getaway? Steve Lewis figures most folks are willing to drive two or three hours each way. If you live in the Bay Area, that means you might get as far as Mendocino. If you live in San Diego, sandwiched between the ocean and the desert, … Continue reading “In California Pilot Trial, AirPooler Offers Ride-Sharing in the Sky”

Countdown to the Rock Stars of Innovation Summit: Whats Going On

We’re just a few days away from “The Rock Stars of Innovation Summit,” which is bringing together San Diego’s best and brightest innovation leaders to talk about the ideas spinning out of our local clusters in the life sciences, wireless technologies, and active lifestyle industries. The show begins at 8 a.m. this Friday, April 4, … Continue reading “Countdown to the Rock Stars of Innovation Summit: Whats Going On”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Zogenix, Arena, Sorrento, and More

San Diego’s Zogenix ran up against new political opposition to its opioid pain-killer, Zohydro. I have a rundown on the latest chapter in the ongoing Zohydro saga, along with the rest of the local life sciences news. —Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a statewide public health emergency last week to combat the growing abuse of … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Zogenix, Arena, Sorrento, and More”

West Health Investment Fund Sinks $7.5M into Reflexion Health

The Gary and Mary West Health Investment Fund said it has invested $7.5 million in Reflexion Health, a San Diego startup developing a system that uses Microsoft’s Kinect motion sensing system to help physical therapy patients with their rehab. Reflexion Health raised $4.25 million in seed funding from the same investment fund when the company … Continue reading “West Health Investment Fund Sinks $7.5M into Reflexion Health”

AirStrip Acquires Sense4Baby for Monitoring High-Risk Pregnancies

AirStrip, a mobile healthtech company based in San Antonio, TX, has acquired FDA-approved technology developed by San Diego’s Sense4Baby that enables doctors and other healthcare providers to monitor maternal-fetal vital signs on a smartphone or tablet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The San Diego-based Gary and Mary West Health Investment Fund put … Continue reading “AirStrip Acquires Sense4Baby for Monitoring High-Risk Pregnancies”

San Diego’s RuiYi Raises $15M for Pipeline of Biologic Therapeutics

San Diego-based RuiYi said has raised $15 million to advance its lead biologic drug candidate in China, and to expand its technology for generating additional monoclonal antibodies that represent a potential new class of biologics for treating a variety of diseases. In a statement yesterday, RuiYi says its lead compound, RYI-008, is the vanguard in … Continue reading “San Diego’s RuiYi Raises $15M for Pipeline of Biologic Therapeutics”

Rock Stars of Innovation Present: Have You Ever Seen the Rainmakers?

Not everyone who goes into the biopharmaceutical business gets to catch lightning in a jar. It took Carol Gallagher only about 28 months to experience one of those life-changing moments as the CEO of Seattle’s Calistoga Pharmaceuticals—and she has a story to tell. So does Tom Lee, a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, … Continue reading “Rock Stars of Innovation Present: Have You Ever Seen the Rainmakers?”

Global Analytics Buys Workpays.me, Plans “Disruptive” Entry in U.S.

When San Diego-based Global Analytics raised $30 million in debt financing last summer, CEO Michael Thiemann said he planned to introduce its online financial services business in the United States once its Zebit operating company was well established in England. Today Global Analytics is announcing a slight change in plans. The San Diego financial analytics … Continue reading “Global Analytics Buys Workpays.me, Plans “Disruptive” Entry in U.S.”

TakeLessons Takes in $7M to Expand Its Online Market for Classes

San Diego’s TakeLessons might just be one of those startups that works for years before suddenly becoming an overnight success. It’s been eight years since the company was founded as an online marketplace where music teachers could find students and vice versa. Today TakeLessons says it has raised $7 million in new funding to continue … Continue reading “TakeLessons Takes in $7M to Expand Its Online Market for Classes”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Digirad, AMN Healthcare, and More

With the exception of a new buyout-focused diagnostics company, it seemed to be the week for relatively small deals for San Diego’s life sciences companies. Here’s my roundup. —Former Gen-Probe CEO Carl Hull and strategist Eric Tardif have formed Maravai Life Sciences and entered into a partnership with GTCR, a Chicago private equity firm, to … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Digirad, AMN Healthcare, and More”

San Diego Industry Study Leads to Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

[Updated 3/20/14 11:45 am. See below.] A group of San Diego civic and network security leaders, angling to catch a rising wave in the computer security industry, are establishing a Cyber Center of Excellence here to help accelerate the regional growth of cybersecurity jobs and technologies. The new center reflects a growing nationwide demand for … Continue reading “San Diego Industry Study Leads to Cybersecurity Center of Excellence”

Former Gen-Probe CEO Partners with PE Firm in Hunt for Buyout Deals

Carl Hull, who was Gen-Probe CEO when Bedford, MA-based Hologic agreed to pay $3.7 billion to acquire the San Diego diagnostics company in 2012, has embarked on a new venture backed by GTCR, the Chicago private equity firm. Hull and Eric Tardif, a former investment banker who was a managing director at Gen-Probe, founded San … Continue reading “Former Gen-Probe CEO Partners with PE Firm in Hunt for Buyout Deals”

Cross-Border Innovation Groups Establish Manufacturing Accelerator

An effort to strengthen San Diego’s tech startup community by working more closely with the innovation ecosystem in Tijuana has led to the formation of HardTech Labs, a cross-border accelerator program intended to give startup founders access to low-cost manufacturing. HardTech Labs would initially operate as a kind of virtual umbrella group to help entrepreneurs … Continue reading “Cross-Border Innovation Groups Establish Manufacturing Accelerator”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Zogenix, Ignyta, AnaptysBio, & More

[Updated 3/18/14 10:05 am. See below.] Here is a quick rundown of the strategic partnerships, funding deals, clinical trials, and other developments that kept San Diego’s life sciences sector hopping last week. —San Diego-based AnaptysBio and Waltham, MA-based Tesaro (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSRO]]) agreed to collaborate in the development of certain antibody drug candidates that could be … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Zogenix, Ignyta, AnaptysBio, & More”

After Raising More Cash, PatientSafe Solutions Eyes Foreign Markets

PatientSafe Solutions, the digital health technology company based in San Diego, says it has inked a couple of deals that mark the company’s first move into markets outside the United States. The company, which introduced its PatientTouch handheld smart device for nurses in 2011,  first announced a Series C round of financing more than a … Continue reading “After Raising More Cash, PatientSafe Solutions Eyes Foreign Markets”

Partnership with AnaptysBio Gives Tesaro Entrée to Immuno-Oncology

San Diego’s AnaptysBio has cut a deal with with Tesaro (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSRO]]) that gives the Waltham, MA-based biopharmaceutical a new opening in the hot field of cancer immunotherapy. Under the deal, Anaptys has granted Tesaro exclusive worldwide rights to preclinical antibody programs that target three “checkpoint” receptors (PD-1, TIM-3, and LAG-3) that regulate T cells, … Continue reading “Partnership with AnaptysBio Gives Tesaro Entrée to Immuno-Oncology”

TaxJar Raises $600K as Congress Resumes Debate on Internet Sales Tax

When TaxJar CEO Mark Faggiano introduced himself to Bay Area angel investor and 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure in San Diego recently, he explained that TaxJar is a local Web startup that helps online merchants track how much sales tax to pay, and where to pay it. “Your life is about to get very interesting,” … Continue reading “TaxJar Raises $600K as Congress Resumes Debate on Internet Sales Tax”

Amid Cyber-Theft Onslaught, Calit2 Begins New Program Focused on IP

In a recent issue of his weekly newsletter, the IT futurist Mark Anderson writes that the nature of Internet-based security threats—like a lot of other things on the Web—underwent a wholesale metamorphosis after 2003. Before 2003, Anderson says U.S. network administrators and security experts spent most of their time dealing with “old school” cyber threats … Continue reading “Amid Cyber-Theft Onslaught, Calit2 Begins New Program Focused on IP”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Acadia, Ignyta, Tracon, & More

An ambitious bid to build the world’s biggest human genome sequencing operation in San Diego dominated the region’s life sciences news this week. Here are the details, along with other local developments. —J. Craig Venter, one of the pioneers of human genetic research, said he has co-founded a new San Diego-based company called Human Longevity … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Acadia, Ignyta, Tracon, & More”

Dave McClure: Inspired by Dr. Seuss and Disrupting Venture Capital

[Corrected 3/7/14, 6:45 am. See below.] In the four years since Dave McClure co-founded the venture fund and incubator program 500 Startups, he has acquired a reputation as an outspoken geek, an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur, and an irreverent Silicon Valley insider who invests in Internet startups. When he came to San Diego last week, McClure was … Continue reading “Dave McClure: Inspired by Dr. Seuss and Disrupting Venture Capital”

International BIO Conference 2014 in San Diego

The BIO International Convention is the biotech industry’s largest global event. The conference provides key networking and partnering opportunities as well as insights on major trends affecting the industry and breakout sessions on a variety of science and business topics. More information and online registration is here.  

SDEE: Life Sciences Networking with Neighbors

The San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange, a grassroots organization for local life sciences entrepreneurs has organized an exhibit and networking event. Look for collaborators, vendors, customers, advisors, jobs, employees, and fellow entrepreneurs in your neighborhood. More information and online registration is here.  

San Diego’s Connect Names Pharma Executive Greg McKee as CEO

Connect, San Diego’s nonprofit program that supports technology innovation and entrepreneurship, today named Greg McKee, a healthcare and financial industry executive, as CEO. He is the fourth leader at Connect, an organization founded in 1985 to help innovators start and build new biotech and technology companies. McKee, 50, succeeds the late Duane Roth, who led … Continue reading “San Diego’s Connect Names Pharma Executive Greg McKee as CEO”

Craig Venter’s Latest Startup Gets $70M To Sequence Loads of Genomes

J. Craig Venter, the human genome pioneer, today unveiled a new San Diego-based venture with an ambitious goal of providing whole genome sequencing and cell-therapy-based diagnostic services for patients. Venter said he co-founded the company, Human Longevity Inc., or HLI, with Robert Hariri, who oversaw Celgene Cellular Therapeutics and Peter Diamandis of the X Prize … Continue reading “Craig Venter’s Latest Startup Gets $70M To Sequence Loads of Genomes”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Thesan, Zogenix, Illumina, and More

The battle continues over an extended-release formulation of a potent opioid painkiller developed by San Diego’s Zogenix. I have the details, along with the rest of the region’s life sciences news over the past week. —San Diego’s Thesan Pharmaceuticals said it has raised $49 million in a Series B round of equity funding to advance … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Thesan, Zogenix, Illumina, and More”

San Diego’s StackIQ Gets First-Day Funding Boost on OurCrowd Website

StackIQ, which provides Software-as-a-Service for managing “Big Data” computing systems, said today it is the first San Diego startup selected to raise capital from accredited investors through OurCrowd, the online crowdfunding firm based in Jerusalem. StackIQ, founded in 2006 with technology out of the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, had raised about … Continue reading “San Diego’s StackIQ Gets First-Day Funding Boost on OurCrowd Website”

Innovations in Equity Crowdfunding Take Center Stage in San Diego

Securities regulators are still formulating new rules that would allow startups to use Kickstarter-like campaigns for equity crowdfunding. But in the meantime, a couple of investment groups have put together Internet crowdfunding platforms for people who qualify as accredited investors under existing law. One of the crowdfunding portals, OpenRound, was unveiled last October by Roth … Continue reading “Innovations in Equity Crowdfunding Take Center Stage in San Diego”

Celladon Could Go Far Under Servier Collaboration, Licensing Deal

San Diego-based Celladon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDN]]) said it has granted France’s Servier an option to license a new class of small-molecule drugs that could someday be used to treat type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases. The clinical-stage biotech, which raised gross proceeds of roughly $44 million in its IPO last month, specializes in treating calcium … Continue reading “Celladon Could Go Far Under Servier Collaboration, Licensing Deal”

With $1.7M in New Funding, Sightly Takes Aim at Video Ad Marketing

After securing $1.7 million in new funding last month, a San Diego Internet startup is making its debut this week with technology that is intended to provide the same kind of automated personalization in online video advertising that certain software tools do with e-mail and online documents. Sightly founder and CEO John McIntyre says the … Continue reading “With $1.7M in New Funding, Sightly Takes Aim at Video Ad Marketing”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Lithera, CardioCell, and More

ResMed founder Peter Farrell was characteristically outspoken, funny, and acerbic as he talked about the origins of Carlsbad-based ResMed at a luncheon in his honor. I have the details, along with the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news over the past week. —Lithera, a San Diego biotech developing an injectable drug for reducing belly … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Lithera, CardioCell, and More”

New San Diego Biotech Charts Stem-Cell Therapies for Heart Disease

CardioCell, a new San Diego biotech spun out of privately held Stemedica Cell Technologies, stepped into the light today, saying it is beginning a mid-stage clinical study in the United States to evaluate the use of its proprietary stem cells to treat patients with heart attacks. The company says it’s also beginning a late-stage trial … Continue reading “New San Diego Biotech Charts Stem-Cell Therapies for Heart Disease”

Lithera Raises Additional $8M for Injectable Drug to Melt Belly Fat

San Diego-based Lithera says it has secured an additional $8 million to close its Series C round of financing that began more than a year ago. The aesthetic biotech, founded in 2007, has been advancing FDA-registered drugs already approved for use in other indications. Lithera’s lead drug is intended for use as an injectable drug … Continue reading “Lithera Raises Additional $8M for Injectable Drug to Melt Belly Fat”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Cadence, Mast, Illumina, and More

Last year’s biotech buyout spree continued apace last week with the acquisition of San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals. I’ve got the details, along with the rest of the local life sciences news. —Looking to accelerate growth in its specialty pharmaceuticals business, Irish Big Pharma Mallinckrodt (NYSE: [[ticker:MNK]]) said it plans to buy San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Cadence, Mast, Illumina, and More”

MD Revolution Raises $7M for Web-based Health and Fitness Program

MD Revolution, a San Diego startup that has developed online technology to help people improve their health, says today it has closed on $7 million in a Series B round of funding. All of the funding came from individual investors, and the round brings total funding for the startup to $8 million, a spokeswoman said. … Continue reading “MD Revolution Raises $7M for Web-based Health and Fitness Program”

Qualcomm Ventures’ QPrize Contest Pulls in VCs, Especially Overseas

It’s been a few weeks since Qualcomm Ventures kicked off the fourth edition of its international QPrize competition, an initiative that seems to be taking on a life of its own. The contest began in 2009 as a kind of global hunt for innovation—a way to find the next generation of promising, early stage companies … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures’ QPrize Contest Pulls in VCs, Especially Overseas”

After $2M Round, San Diego’s Quippi Aims to Disrupt Money Transfer

Each year, an estimated 6 million American households send money abroad to help support their families and friends around the world. While major banks and companies like Western Union, MoneyGram, Xoom, PayPal, and Viamericas offer a variety of money transfer services at widely varying rates, Michael Aleles says he sees an opportunity to provide an … Continue reading “After $2M Round, San Diego’s Quippi Aims to Disrupt Money Transfer”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Auspex, Biocept, Halozyme & More

There was a certain symmetry in the great circle of life that played out in San Diego’s life sciences industry over the past week, with two IPOs and two buyouts. Here are the details, along with the rest of the local life sciences news. —San Diego’s Auspex Pharmaceuticals priced its IPO at $12 a share, … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Auspex, Biocept, Halozyme & More”

TakeLessons Nets Betterfly, Boosts Web Learning Platform

TakeLessons CEO Steven Cox is thinking like Amazon. After starting the San Diego Web company eight years ago as an online marketplace that connects certified music instructors to students, TakeLessons says today it has completed its first acquisition—of Chicago-based Betterfly. As Cox told me by phone yesterday, TakeLessons is following a strategy similar to the … Continue reading “TakeLessons Nets Betterfly, Boosts Web Learning Platform”

Peregrine Semiconductor Bets Big on Industry Shift in Wireless Chips

A few months ago, San Diego’s Peregrine Semiconductor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PSMI]]) acknowledged that it was no longer the sole supplier of a specialized wireless chip that is a key component in Apple’s new iPhone 5S and 5C. While Peregrine would continue to supply all of the “diversity RF switch” chips in the new iPhone models, Peregrine … Continue reading “Peregrine Semiconductor Bets Big on Industry Shift in Wireless Chips”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, Celladon’s IPO, and More

A buyout offer for Accelrys, a new stem cell center of excellence, and an IPO. Not bad for one week of life sciences news. But wait, there’s more… —French software developer Dassault Systèmes agreed to pay $750 million in cash to buy San Diego’s Accelrys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACCL]]), a smaller American rival that specializes in scientific … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, Celladon’s IPO, and More”

France’s Dassault Systèmes to Buy San Diego’s Accelrys for $750M

Dassault Systèmes, a French software developer specializing in 3D product design and product lifecycle management, has agreed to acquire Accelrys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACCL]]), the San Diego scientific software developer, for roughly $750 million in cash. The acquisition extends Dassault Systèmes’ software lineup in a variety of product lifecycle management industries, including consumer packaged goods and food-and-beverage, … Continue reading “France’s Dassault Systèmes to Buy San Diego’s Accelrys for $750M”

$40M Establishes New Center for Stem Cell Genomics in Bay Area, SD

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine today awarded $40 million to create a new Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics, to be led by Stanford University molecular geneticist Michael Snyder and including major research groups in San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Palo Alto. Snyder was at the center of an important paper published in 2012 … Continue reading “$40M Establishes New Center for Stem Cell Genomics in Bay Area, SD”

Epic Sciences Compiling Data on Ultra-Sensitive Cancer Diagnostic

San Diego’s Epic Sciences said today it has signed an agreement with LabCorp (NYSE: [[ticker:LH]]) to help speed up European clinical trials that are using Epic’s technology to identify tumor cells in the blood. LabCorp, the Burlington, NC, company officially known as Laboratory Corporation of America, operates one of the world’s largest networks of medical … Continue reading “Epic Sciences Compiling Data on Ultra-Sensitive Cancer Diagnostic”

With Record $275M Gift, Sanford-Burnham Unveils New 10-Year Plan

San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute says today it has landed a $275 million pledge from an anonymous donor, just as the institute is embarking on a new 10-year strategic plan. The plan sets forth a vision for aligning the nonprofit institute’s basic biomedical research, translational research, and drug discovery and development. In a statement … Continue reading “With Record $275M Gift, Sanford-Burnham Unveils New 10-Year Plan”