It’s not all about the IPOs. Two San Diego biotechs took advantage of the continuing favorable market conditions to raise capital through secondary public offerings over the past week. I’ve got details, along with the rest of the local life sciences news. —Despite an independent panel’s recommendation against approval, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Zogenix, Illumina, Sophiris, & More”
Author: Bruce V. Bigelow
Achates Power Signs Joint Development Deal with Fairbanks Morse
San Diego’s Achates Power, which has been advancing a cleaner, more fuel-efficient, and easier-to-manufacture design for opposed piston engines, says it has signed a joint development and licensing agreement with Fairbanks Morse Engine, the leading U.S. maker of opposed-piston engines. Fairbanks Morse, based in bucolic Beloit, WI, and operated by EnPro Industries (NYSE: [[ticker:NPO]]) makes … Continue reading “Achates Power Signs Joint Development Deal with Fairbanks Morse”
SharePoint Users Get Live Data Feed from Seismic Integration
After raising $4.5 million in venture funding two months ago, Encinitas, CA-based Seismic says it is moving up the food chain in content management software. Seismic was founded three years ago, following a lean startup model. CEO Doug Winter tells me the company used much of that time to build out the basic infrastructure of … Continue reading “SharePoint Users Get Live Data Feed from Seismic Integration”
Mitek Introduces Mobile Imaging App to Switch Credit Card Accounts
After introducing mobile check deposit technology in 2008, and mobile bill payment in 2012, San Diego’s Mitek Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MITK]]) is striking into some interesting (virtual) territory by expanding its core technology to enable customers to switch credit card accounts by simply snapping a picture of their statement and sending it to another bank. The … Continue reading “Mitek Introduces Mobile Imaging App to Switch Credit Card Accounts”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Mirati, Auspex, and More
Some big news over the last week came from the Scripps Translational Science Institute, which successfully renewed its grant from the National Institutes of Health. We have details, along with a rundown of other news. —The Scripps Translational Science Institute said it is getting $29 million over the next five years to continue its work … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Mirati, Auspex, and More”
WBT Conference Draws Eclectic Innovation Mix, San Diego Included
Can innovation come in more than one flavor? We have become so accustomed to the Silicon Valley way of doing things that it’s easy to forget that ingenuity engenders a million flowers to bloom. The WBT Innovation Marketplace, an annual tech conference that moved to from Texas to San Diego last year, provides a stage … Continue reading “WBT Conference Draws Eclectic Innovation Mix, San Diego Included”
Embarke, Home from Seattle, Gets $1.25M to Make E-mail Work Better
Last year at this time, Embarke co-founders Al Bsharah and Bryan Hall were working long hours in the Techstars/Microsoft accelerator, a startup crucible in Seattle established under a partnership between the software giant and the Boulder, CO-based startup program. Strengthened by the experience, Bsharah tells me the two-year-old startup has now closed on a $1.25 … Continue reading “Embarke, Home from Seattle, Gets $1.25M to Make E-mail Work Better”
NIH Awards $29M to Renew Scripps Translational Science Institute
[Corrected 10/21/13, 3:45 pm to show Topol sought grant after arriving in San Diego.] Federal funding for the Scripps Translational Science Institute, which cardiologist Eric Topol won after he came to San Diego seven years ago as the chief academic officer of Scripps Health and a professor of genomics at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), … Continue reading “NIH Awards $29M to Renew Scripps Translational Science Institute”
San Diego’s Arcturus Raises $5M for “Best-in-Class” RNAi Technology
San Diego’s Arcturus Therapeutics, founded earlier this year to advance RNA interference (RNAi) technology, says it has secured $5 million in a Series A round raised entirely from individual investors in the United States and abroad. Pad Chivukula, a co-founder, COO, and chief scientific officer, writes in an e-mail that raising that much from private … Continue reading “San Diego’s Arcturus Raises $5M for “Best-in-Class” RNAi Technology”
San Diego’s Top Angel Investors and the Network Effect: A Slideshow
It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that an entrepreneur in possession of innovative technology must be in want of an angel investor. Yet the process of finding an angel who is willing to invest more than just capital—a person who possesses the proper character as well as expertise, experience, interest, and passion—is a complicated … Continue reading “San Diego’s Top Angel Investors and the Network Effect: A Slideshow”
San Diego Bucks U.S. Trend in VC Funding, & Top 20 Area Deals
In contrast to the trend nationwide, more than two-thirds of the venture capital deployed in San Diego during the third quarter went into life sciences startups, according to data released today as part of the MoneyTree Report. Venture funding for life sciences startups has been shrinking nationally, while software is booming. VC firms invested almost … Continue reading “San Diego Bucks U.S. Trend in VC Funding, & Top 20 Area Deals”
VC Funding for Software Jumps in MoneyTree Report, and Top 10 Deals
Venture capital firms invested $7.8 billion in 1,005 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended September 30, according to the MoneyTree Report being released today. It was a 12 percent increase in dollars and a 5 percent rise in deals compared to the second quarter of 2013, when VCs invested close … Continue reading “VC Funding for Software Jumps in MoneyTree Report, and Top 10 Deals”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: IPOs, Illumina, KFx Medical, & More
The surge in U.S. initial public offerings has continued. According to the IPO experts at Renaissance Capital, there have been 44 healthcare IPOs across the country so far this year—the most in any sector. By my tally, at least 10 San Diego companies have filed for IPOs. Details on the latest filings are here, along … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: IPOs, Illumina, KFx Medical, & More”
Two California Startups Create BitDazzle to Take Bitcoin Mainstream
Cashie Commerce, a San Diego startup that provides a purchasing platform for online merchants, has partnered with San Francisco-based Coinbase to create BitDazzle, a new online marketplace that accepts the digital currency Bitcoin. The move comes just weeks after the feds shut down the illicit trafficking website Silk Road—where all transactions were conducted using Bitcoins—and … Continue reading “Two California Startups Create BitDazzle to Take Bitcoin Mainstream”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Ligand, and More
The IPO market for life sciences startups in San Diego and elsewhere remains hot, and diabetes device maker Tandem Diabetes Care joined the local parade of IPOs. We’ve got the overview, along with a wrap-up of the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —San Diego-based Tandem Diabetes Care filed for a $100 million IPO, … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Ligand, and More”
Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High
Venture deal activity hit a 12-year high during the third quarter, and big VC investments in Uber, Kymeta, and Flipboard helped push venture funding for U.S. mobile startups over $1 billion for the first time, according to a report today from CB Insights. The New York financial data firm says the 857 venture deals nationwide … Continue reading “Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High”
Achates Power Refuels with $35M for Cleaner, Fuel-Efficient Engine
San Diego’s Achates Power says today it has raised $35.2 million in a Series C round of venture financing to advance its opposed-piston engine, saying its cleaner and more fuel-efficient design is gaining traction throughout the automotive industry. Although details about the company’s work with automakers remains under wraps, Achates CEO David Johnson says the … Continue reading “Achates Power Refuels with $35M for Cleaner, Fuel-Efficient Engine”
Insulin Pump Maker Tandem Diabetes Plans to Raise $100M Through IPO
Joining a procession of life sciences IPOs, San Diego’s Tandem Diabetes Care has registered to raise about $100 million through an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq market under ticker symbol TNDM. Tandem Diabetes, founded in 2006 to develop an innovative insulin pump designed … Continue reading “Insulin Pump Maker Tandem Diabetes Plans to Raise $100M Through IPO”
San Diego’s PharmAkea Raises Capital, Forms Alliance with Celgene
San Diego-based PharmAkea Therapeutics, founded last year by key scientists from Amira Pharmaceuticals, said it has raised $10 million in Series A funding from San Francisco’s Bay City Capital. PharmAkea, founded by John Hutchinson, Jilly Evans, and Kevin Holme, also secured a $35 million commitment from Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) as part of a three-year collaboration … Continue reading “San Diego’s PharmAkea Raises Capital, Forms Alliance with Celgene”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Fate, Ligand, BioNano, and More
The fate of Fate Therapeutics’ IPO has stirred speculation that the IPO window for life sciences companies may be closing. Forward Ventures’ Standish Fleming also offered some thoughts on biotech IPOs, and we have the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news here. —San Diego’s Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FATE]]) made its debut as a public … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Fate, Ligand, BioNano, and More”
Sanitas Introduces Online Program for Population Health Management
Sanitas, a San Diego health IT startup operating a social networking system for the chronically ill, is rolling out free online program today that is intended to help ordinary people predict their future health risks. The system, called Family Healthware, uses personal and family health histories to identify a user’s genetic predisposition to chronic health … Continue reading “Sanitas Introduces Online Program for Population Health Management”
With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off
After raising $30 million in a Series B round of venture funding announced last week, 3D Robotics is ready to really get its drone business off the ground. The four-year-old startup, based in San Diego (headquarters and engineering), Berkeley, CA, (business and sales), and Tijuana (manufacturing), designs and manufactures aircraft that use open source software … Continue reading “With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off”
BioNano Genomics Raises $10M from Venture Investors
San Diego’s BioNano Genomics said today it has raised $10 million in venture financing to continue commercializing its long-strand gene sequencing technology in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The startup, which licensed its technology from Princeton University a decade ago and moved to San Diego in 2011, says three of its existing investors, Domain … Continue reading “BioNano Genomics Raises $10M from Venture Investors”
Nirvanix, San Diego Cloud Storage Services Provider, is Shutting Down
San Diego’s Nirvanix is headed to a new state of being, but it’s not transcendent. The 15-year-old cloud storage services provider is winding down its business, according to a notice posted on the company’s website over the weekend. Nirvanix had positioned itself as an alternative to Amazon Web Services, the big gorilla in cloud storage services. … Continue reading “Nirvanix, San Diego Cloud Storage Services Provider, is Shutting Down”
San Francisco’s Vista Equity Agrees to Pay $1B for Active Network
San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners, which is managing more than $7 billion in software-related investments, has been doing a lot of shopping in San Diego this year. After paying approximately $1 billion in May to acquire San Diego-based Websense, a public Web security company, and $800 million in August to buy San Diego-based Qualcomm’s Omnitracs … Continue reading “San Francisco’s Vista Equity Agrees to Pay $1B for Active Network”
An Xconomy Slideshow: Moving the Conversation Forward in San Diego
Since the day we were founded in Cambridge, MA, a little more than six years ago, Xconomy has held an annual reception in every city where we have established an outpost to provide business news coverage of the people and ideas that give rise to innovation. It’s our way of thanking the local tech leaders … Continue reading “An Xconomy Slideshow: Moving the Conversation Forward in San Diego”
San Diego Startup OvaPal Gets Angel Ovation for Ovulation Tracker
A San Diego startup that developed a wearable wireless sensor that enables a woman to track her ovulation cycle and optimize the odds of pregnancy was declared the grand-prize winner last night at the San Diego Tech Coast Angels Quick Pitch competition. As the overall winner, OvaPal co-founder and CEO Giovanna Scheidler (pictured above), also … Continue reading “San Diego Startup OvaPal Gets Angel Ovation for Ovulation Tracker”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Evoke, Halozyme, Biocept, and More
The life sciences are on a roll in San Diego, as more companies line up to go public. We have the latest on local IPOs, along with the rest of the local industry news. —Healthcare IPOs are back, according to EY’s U.S. IPO Insights Report. The quarterly report issued by the firm previously known as … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Evoke, Halozyme, Biocept, and More”
Janssen Introduces Mobile Health Manager to Send Med Reminders
For people who forget to take their meds—which is about half of us—Janssen Healthcare Innovation has introduced a free mobile app and Web-based platform designed to help anyone with almost any type of cell phone take their medications as prescribed. Janssen, part of New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson & Johnson, says its Care4Today Mobile Health Manager … Continue reading “Janssen Introduces Mobile Health Manager to Send Med Reminders”
Aiming for Chartbuster, Germany’s BASF Acquires San Diego’s Verenium
San Diego-based Verenium (Nasdaq: [[ticker:VRNM]]), created in 2007 with the merger of Cambridge, MA-based Celunol and San Diego-based Diversa, had all the makings of a country-western song. Diversa was a rambler, and gathered enzymes from the farthest corners of the world. Celunol was an Ivy League moonshiner. They got married—changed their name to Verenium—but times … Continue reading “Aiming for Chartbuster, Germany’s BASF Acquires San Diego’s Verenium”
San Diego’s Connect Begins Search for New Innovation Leader
Connect, the San Diego nonprofit supporting local innovation and entrepreneurship, has hired an executive search firm to help the organization recruit a new leader following the death of Connect CEO Duane Roth. Roth, who led Connect for nearly nine years, suffered a traumatic head injury in a July 21 bicycling accident in the mountains east … Continue reading “San Diego’s Connect Begins Search for New Innovation Leader”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Ex-CEO Shoots Two, OncoSec, & More
[Updated 9/21/13 8 pm. See below.] It was a quiet week for life sciences news in San Diego, except for a shooting spree in La Jolla that wounded two people, including a prominent UC San Diego cancer scientist. Here’s my rundown. —[Updated to show statement by Petersen about Traversa IP is in dispute] Hans Petersen, who … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Ex-CEO Shoots Two, OncoSec, & More”
Total Transit Acquires San Diego Mobile App Developer GoFastCab
Total Transit, a Glendale, AZ-based transportation company and taxi cab operator, has acquired GoFastCab, a five-year-old San Diego startup that had developed mobile apps that enable smartphone users to get a taxi immediately or to schedule a future pickup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GoFastCab founders Josh Komenda and Jeremy Schrage, who … Continue reading “Total Transit Acquires San Diego Mobile App Developer GoFastCab”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Neurocrine, MEI, and More
Isis Pharmaceuticals extended its reach in neurological drugs this week by signing its fourth collaboration agreement with Biogen Idec. We have that and the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news wrapped up here. —Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), the Weston, MA-based maker of multiple sclerosis drugs, agreed to pay $100 million to antisense specialist Isis … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Neurocrine, MEI, and More”
Qualcomm Joins “Formula E” (as in Electric) Auto Racing Series
Auto racing enthusiasts often point out that many of the innovations in today’s standard production automobiles—including disc brakes, direct shift gearboxes, and dual overhead cams—were pioneered in race cars built by elite race teams. So the idea behind the FIA Formula E Championship, a 10-city tour of motorsport races for electrically-powered “formula” cars (Le Mans-type … Continue reading “Qualcomm Joins “Formula E” (as in Electric) Auto Racing Series”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Evoke Pharma, Isis, Otonomy, & More
There was a spate of significant developments following the Labor Day holiday, as San Diego’s life sciences companies continued to take advantage of favorable market conditions. Here’s my rundown from a pretty newsy week. —Otonomy, the San Diego startup founded by Avalon Ventures partner Jay Lichter to advance new treatments for Meniere’s disease and other … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Evoke Pharma, Isis, Otonomy, & More”
Xconomy Q&A: Triton Algae Innovations Co-founder Stephen Mayfield
[Corrected 9/7/13, 3:40 pm. See below.] San Diego’s Triton Algae Innovation’s scientific co-founder Stephen Mayfield was in Japan when the year-old synthetic biology startup disclosed that it had closed on $5 million in Series A funding from Heliae Technology Holdings. From the other side of the world, Mayfield responded to an e-mail I had sent … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: Triton Algae Innovations Co-founder Stephen Mayfield”
Why Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs Will Stifle the Smartwatch He Created
The Toq smartwatch that Qualcomm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:QCOM]]) unveiled yesterday at its annual Uplinq developers’ conference was a pet project that was conceived and shepherded through development by Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm chairman and CEO. But at the end of the day, Jacobs told reporters and analysts, that doesn’t mean the San Diego wireless technologies giant he manages … Continue reading “Why Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs Will Stifle the Smartwatch He Created”
Triton Algae Raises $5M to Bring First Product to Market Next Year
In the spring of 2012, when Jason Pyle announced his departure from San Diego’s Sapphire Energy, he told me he already was deeply involved with a new enterprise that was in stealth mode. Much of the work was being done in San Diego, he said, but nothing beyond that. Today the wraps are coming off … Continue reading “Triton Algae Raises $5M to Bring First Product to Market Next Year”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Orexigen, Volcano, MediciNova, & More
Like an unwelcome advance, an offshore monsoon has San Diego in a hot and humid headlock that is expected to improve only gradually by the Labor Day holiday. Try to stay classy San Diego… Oh! And here is my life sciences briefing. —San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) said it expects to collect enough new … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Orexigen, Volcano, MediciNova, & More”
Greylock’s Andy Johns on Web Growth: “You’re Training a Mentality”
As an authority on getting consumer Web companies to soar along the elusive curve of exponential growth, Andy Johns has succinctly epitomized his expertise in his Twitter handle, “@ibringtraffic.” Last month Johns joined Menlo Park, CA-based Greylock Partners as the venture firm’s first “growth strategist in residence,” a title bestowed on the basis of his … Continue reading “Greylock’s Andy Johns on Web Growth: “You’re Training a Mentality””
San Diego’s Carolus Therapeutics Taps Advocate Group for R&D Support
In an approach that taps the resources of a patient advocacy group, San Diego’s Carolus Therapeutics says it is now working with The Alpha-1 Project (TAP) of Miami to accelerate pre-clinical research focused on diseases associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Alpha-1 antitrypsin is a protein that protects the lungs and other tissue from destructive enzymes … Continue reading “San Diego’s Carolus Therapeutics Taps Advocate Group for R&D Support”
Histogen Wins Legal Ruling in Saga of Entrepreneurial Perseverance
[Corrected 8/27/13, 5:50 pm. See below.] Back in 2011, when a federal judge in San Diego issued a summary judgment for San Diego-based Histogen in a patent dispute, CEO Gail Naughton proclaimed, “We are happy now to have this matter officially behind us.” That didn’t exactly turn out to be the case. SkinMedica, the Carlsbad, … Continue reading “Histogen Wins Legal Ruling in Saga of Entrepreneurial Perseverance”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Sequenom, Sophiris, and More
There was a lot of news for this cowboy to round up in San Diego’s life sciences sector this week. Applied Proteomics and Acutus Medical each raised $28 million from venture investors, while Vical and Sequenom disclosed substantial staff cuts. Here’s my rundown of the good, bad, and ugly. —San Diego’s Vical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VICL]]) said … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Sequenom, Sophiris, and More”
DermTech Raises $5.6M to Develop New Test for Deadliest Skin Cancer
San Diego-based DermTech, which is developing a non-invasive diagnostic test for the deadliest form of skin cancer, said it has raised $5.6 million in Series B funding. Jacobs Investment Co., the Del Mar, CA-based investment arm of Qualcomm scion Gary Jacobs, led the new round of financing, which was joined by new and existing individual … Continue reading “DermTech Raises $5.6M to Develop New Test for Deadliest Skin Cancer”
Applied Proteomics Snags $28M to Look for Disease Markers in Blood
San Diego’s Applied Proteomics, founded in 2007 to automate the process of accurately measuring all the protein fragments in a drop of blood, has raised $28 million in a Series C round of financing. With the addition of the latest round of financing, Applied Proteomics has now raised a total of $57 million over the … Continue reading “Applied Proteomics Snags $28M to Look for Disease Markers in Blood”
Seismic Raises $4.5M to Expand Content Management Technology
Seismic, a content management startup based in Encinitas, CA, has raised $4.5 million in a Series A round to build out its cloud-based platform, which pulls live data from various sources for use in charts, reports, graphics, other types of electronic documents. The technology enables users to easily update their sales and marketing content. In … Continue reading “Seismic Raises $4.5M to Expand Content Management Technology”
Sequenom Discloses 75 Layoffs as Part of Cost-Cutting Reorganization
San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]), which specializes in molecular diagnostics and genetic analysis, plans to lay off 75 employees, or nearly 13 percent of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting plan, according to a regulatory filing today. Most of the employees being terminated were notified today, although voluntary and involuntary layoffs began July 1. … Continue reading “Sequenom Discloses 75 Layoffs as Part of Cost-Cutting Reorganization”
Technology to Assess Neurons Gives New Life to San Diego’s Afraxis
San Diego’s Afraxis, which ceased to exist in January after the neuroscience startup licensed its entire library of drug compounds to Roche’s Genentech, has sprung back to life with proprietary technology that was not part of the $187.5 million deal. Afraxis developed the technology to help assess the effectiveness of potential drug compounds in disorders … Continue reading “Technology to Assess Neurons Gives New Life to San Diego’s Afraxis”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Fate, Arcturus, and More
Amid favorable market conditions for the life sciences industry, another San Diego biotech has filed to go public. We have details, along with other local developments over the past week. —San Diego’s Fate Therapeutics revealed plans to raise as much as $69 million through an IPO. Fate Therapeutics, founded to develop stem cell technology, is … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Fate, Arcturus, and More”