Ambit Biosciences has gone through several course changes in the 12 years since it was founded. But Ambit CEO Michael Martino says the San Diego company would not be announcing $25 million raised from existing investors today unless Ambit was making significant progress on its current trajectory. “What the financing represents is a huge vote … Continue reading “San Diego’s Ambit Biosciences Raises $25M to Advance Leukemia Drug”
Author: Bruce V. Bigelow
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Shire, Thesan, ViaCyte, and More
What do Thesan Pharmaceuticals, ViaCyte, and Reflexion Health have in common? Each one disclosed that it raised a significant amount of capital. We have that and more. —San Diego’s Thesan Pharmaceuticals, a newly formed biotech developing innovative drugs for dermatological disorders, said it closed on a $16 million Series A round of financing that was … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Shire, Thesan, ViaCyte, and More”
In San Diego Talk, Venter Says Biofuels ‘Dead’ Without Carbon Policy
Blunt to the bone, human genome pioneer J. Craig Venter flatly declared in San Diego this week that algae-based biofuels “are just dead” unless the federal government sets an effective carbon policy. “It doesn’t matter what the scientific breakthroughs are, there’s no way to beat oil,” Venter said after someone in the audience asked when … Continue reading “In San Diego Talk, Venter Says Biofuels ‘Dead’ Without Carbon Policy”
Sapphire Energy & Institute for Systems Biology Partner on Biofuels
San Diego’s Sapphire Energy and Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) have established a strategic partnership that is intended to significantly expand and diversify the genetic resources that Sapphire needs to commercialize algae-based biofuels. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. In the five years since it was founded, Sapphire Energy has demonstrated how … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy & Institute for Systems Biology Partner on Biofuels”
Veteran Exec Kevin Hell, former DivX Head, Named On-Ramp Wireless CEO
After raising at least $44 million in venture capital and demonstrating its wireless networking technology in smart grid field trials, San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless is ready to significantly expand and diversify its operations. As part of that move, the company today named veteran executive Kevin Hell as president and CEO. His appointment takes effect today. … Continue reading “Veteran Exec Kevin Hell, former DivX Head, Named On-Ramp Wireless CEO”
ViaCyte CEO Says $10M Grant Will Move Stem Cell Therapy to Trial
A $10.1 million grant the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded to ViaCyte last week will be used to move the San Diego diabetes company’s stem cell and cell encapsulation technologies into human clinical trials, according to ViaCyte CEO Paul Laikind. CIRM administers $3 billion in funding for stem cell science that California voters … Continue reading “ViaCyte CEO Says $10M Grant Will Move Stem Cell Therapy to Trial”
Reflexion Health Raises $4.5M to Advance Idea for ‘Prescribed Software’
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, has raised $4.25 million in seed funding from the West Health Investment Fund. Reflexion CEO and co-founder Spencer Hutchins tells me the company plans to use the funding to advance development … Continue reading “Reflexion Health Raises $4.5M to Advance Idea for ‘Prescribed Software’”
Shire Hunts More Deals Amid Reawakening Interest in Stem Cell R&D
[Updated 10/29/09 12:20 pm. See below.] As the Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa convenes its second annual investor and partnering forum in San Diego this morning, Dean Tozer says the last 18 to 24 months have seen a rejuvenation of interest in the commercial prospects for biomedical products arising from stem cell research and … Continue reading “Shire Hunts More Deals Amid Reawakening Interest in Stem Cell R&D”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, AirStrip, Ligand, & More
It’s been a chockablock week for San Diego’s life sciences community, with buyouts, investment deals, and milestone payments. Here’s our roundup. —Accelrys (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ACCL]]), the San Diego scientific software developer, said it’s paying $30 million in cash to acquire Aegis Analytical, a Lafayette, CO-based maker of specialized software that helps drug makers manage quality control … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, AirStrip, Ligand, & More”
After Long Texas Run, WBT Innovation Conference Opens in San Diego
What began a decade ago as an opportunity for scientists from America’s national laboratories to present their ideas and innovations to investors and technology licensing executives begins today at the San Diego Convention Center. The conference was known as the “World’s Best Technology Showcase” when it opened in 2002 at the Arlington, TX, Convention Center. … Continue reading “After Long Texas Run, WBT Innovation Conference Opens in San Diego”
Accelrys Adds Another Scientific Software Company to Its Portfolio
After merging with Symyx Technologies in 2010, acquiring Contur Sofware in 2011, and buying VelQuest earlier this year, San Diego scientific software developer Accelrys (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ACCL]]) says today it is buying Aegis Analytical. Accelrys is paying $30 million in cash for Aegis, a company based in Lafayette, CO, (near Boulder) that makes software used to … Continue reading “Accelrys Adds Another Scientific Software Company to Its Portfolio”
AirStrip Expands Mobile EMR Development with Wellcome Trust Funding
AirStrip Technologies is based in San Antonio, TX, but the startup has been expanding its ties in San Diego since Alan Portela stepped in as CEO almost two years ago. Portela, who was previously a longtime health IT executive with San Diego-based CliniComp International, says AirStrip has been moving from its origins in technology that … Continue reading “AirStrip Expands Mobile EMR Development with Wellcome Trust Funding”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Pfenex, OncoSec, & More
Venture funding for San Diego’s life sciences companies continued to flow at a healthy rate during the third quarter that ended in September, according to data released earlier today. We’ve got that and more. —Former Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: [[ticker:OPTR]]) chairman Michael Chang, who was ousted by the company’s board earlier this year, will lead Taiwan’s … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Pfenex, OncoSec, & More”
San Diego Venture Funding at Odds with U.S. Trend; Our Top 10 Deals
Venture funding in San Diego has been running counter to the downward drift we’ve been seeing nationwide, and third-quarter VC activity was no exception, according to regional data released today as part of the MoneyTree Report. Venture activity has been so strong in San Diego, in fact, that the $957.7 million that venture firms invested … Continue reading “San Diego Venture Funding at Odds with U.S. Trend; Our Top 10 Deals”
Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10
Venture firms invested $6.48 billion in 890 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended September 30, according to the MoneyTree Report being released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Venture activity remained strong during the third quarter in the software sector, but funding for life sciences and … Continue reading “Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10”
Upgrade, Downgrade: Pokki Offers Windows 8 Users a Familiar Menu
Next week, Microsoft is scheduled to officially kick off its marketing campaign for Windows 8, described as the most radical overhaul of the PC operating system since Bill Gates persuaded Mick Jagger to let him use “Start Me Up” to promote Windows 95. Microsoft obviously has a lot riding on its new tile-like startup display, … Continue reading “Upgrade, Downgrade: Pokki Offers Windows 8 Users a Familiar Menu”
San Diego’s Cebix Names CEO, Raises $30.9M to Advance Diabetes Drug
San Diego-based Cebix is moving ahead in its development of C-peptide replacement therapy for treating diabetes-related microvascular problems. Encouraging results from an early stage trial, reported earlier this month at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, have led the company to raise an additional $30.9 million and to recruit … Continue reading “San Diego’s Cebix Names CEO, Raises $30.9M to Advance Diabetes Drug”
ASML Buys San Diego’s Cymer in Leap to Next-Generation Chip Technology
ASML (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ASML]]), the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer, said today it has agreed to acquire San Diego-based Cymer (Nasdaq: [[ticker:CYMI]]), the leading maker of ultraviolet lasers used in lithographic systems to make microcircuit patterns in silicon wafers. The cash-and-stock deal is valued at more than $2.5 billion. The companies say the deal represents a 61-percent … Continue reading “ASML Buys San Diego’s Cymer in Leap to Next-Generation Chip Technology”
Deal Count Rises, But Third Quarter VC Funding Lags Behind ’11 Pace
Venture capital activity continued apace during the third quarter, with $7.5 billion invested in 835 deals nationwide—the highest deals tally since the dot-com era. But the overall funding total for 2012 is expected to decline from the $30.7 billion invested in 2011, according to a report today from New York financial data firm CB Insights. … Continue reading “Deal Count Rises, But Third Quarter VC Funding Lags Behind ’11 Pace”
SD Supercomputer Center Takes Lead in Commercializing Analytics
A broad initiative in predictive analytics that began at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) earlier this year is taking another step today, with a two-day “boot camp” in data mining for local companies. The event is intended to help San Diego companies that specialize in healthcare, drug development, genomics, telecommunications, and other technologies learn … Continue reading “SD Supercomputer Center Takes Lead in Commercializing Analytics”
Rare Disease Science Challenge Offers $400,000 in Cash & Services
San Diego’s Assay Depot, which operates an online marketplace for the life sciences industry, and the nonprofit Rare Genomics Institute say they have joined with 19 life sciences companies in creating a “Rare Disease Science Challenge.” The sponsoring organizations are offering as much as $400,000 in laboratory services, technology, and other resources—along with a $10,000 … Continue reading “Rare Disease Science Challenge Offers $400,000 in Cash & Services”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, CareFusion, Senomyx & More
Here’s our latest roundup of news from San Diego’s life sciences community. —It took awhile, but San Diego’s Pathway Genomics appears to have recovered from the ill effects of a 2010 letter from the FDA that more or less brought its business to a halt. Under a revised strategy, the company has been forming partnerships … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, CareFusion, Senomyx & More”
In the Microsoft Accelerator with SD’s Embarke: ‘This is Not Easy!’
In their first 10 days at the Microsoft Accelerator program, Embarke CEO Al Bsharah says he and co-founder Bryan Hall have worked 16- to 20-hour days every day—“and we’re behind!” Of more than 600 startups that applied, Embarke was the only San Diego startup admitted to the intensive business-mentoring program. The accelerator, which began Oct. … Continue reading “In the Microsoft Accelerator with SD’s Embarke: ‘This is Not Easy!’”
Changes at Active Network Put Emphasis on Sales, Social Networks
After San Diego’s Active Network (NYSE: [[ticker:ACTV]]) disclosed last month that longtime chairman and CEO Dave Alberga would be assuming a new role as “executive chairman,” Alberga says, “The first question from Wall Street was, ‘Are you backing away from the business?’” Alberga says his answer is “No.” The changes are intended to strengthen the … Continue reading “Changes at Active Network Put Emphasis on Sales, Social Networks”
Anametrix Raises $4.4M, Unveils Web-Based B2C Marketing Analytics
San Diego-based Anametrix, a cloud-based provider of digital analytics for business customers, says today it has raised $4.4 million in a Series A round of funding from TVC Capital, the boutique PE firm that specializes in growth-stage software investments and buyouts. The deal marks the first investment from the $75 million that San Diego-based TVC … Continue reading “Anametrix Raises $4.4M, Unveils Web-Based B2C Marketing Analytics”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Regulus, Aragon, Cytori, & More
[Corrected 10/09/12, 1:45 pm. See below.] We saw some significant financing transactions in San Diego’s life sciences community over the past week. Here’s our rundown of those deals, along with other recent developments. It was a busy week! —[Thanks to Greg Greenberg of suburban Kansas City for calling out my error on Astra Zeneca’s stake … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Regulus, Aragon, Cytori, & More”
San Diego’s Regulus Lowers Share Price in Revised IPO Filing
Regulus Therapeutics must be playing to a tough crowd. The San Diego biopharmaceutical startup, which planned to offer 4.5 million shares priced between $10 and $12 a share, revised its IPO filing this morning—and now plans instead to offer 11.25 million shares at $4 a share. The company, which is slated to go public this … Continue reading “San Diego’s Regulus Lowers Share Price in Revised IPO Filing”
Hitachi Data Systems Buys Cofio, Software Infrastructure Developer
Hitachi Data Systems, a Santa Clara, CA-based subsidiary of Japan’s Hitachi conglomerate, has acquired San Diego-based Cofio Software, which specializes in data protection software and related technology. Financial terms were not disclosed, and Cofio CEO Tony Cerqueira did not respond to an email query yesterday. He joined Hitachi Data Systems as a senior director for … Continue reading “Hitachi Data Systems Buys Cofio, Software Infrastructure Developer”
Qualcomm Foundation Awards Scripps Health $3.75M for Digital Health
The Qualcomm Foundation has awarded a three-year, $3.75 million grant to San Diego’s Scripps Health and its Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) to help advance the development of diagnostic tests, wireless devices, sensors, and other digital health technologies. In a statement today, the institute says the funding is intended to support the kind of clinical … Continue reading “Qualcomm Foundation Awards Scripps Health $3.75M for Digital Health”
San Diego’s Innovation Economy Strong, With Some Emerging Concerns
San Diego’s innovation economy showed relatively strong economic growth during the first three months of 2012, according to an in-depth study released by Connect, a San Diego nonprofit group that supports technology entrepreneurship. But the Connect study also highlights some potential concerns, including a sharp drop in the number of software companies that were started … Continue reading “San Diego’s Innovation Economy Strong, With Some Emerging Concerns”
San Diego’s Regulus Therapeutics Readies for IPO This Week
San Diego’s Regulus Therapeutics is among eight companies on deck at the Nasdaq exchange for IPOs this week, according to a report today from Renaissance Capital, the Connecticut-based institutional research and investment management services firm. Regulus, founded five years ago, has been developing microRNA treatments for serious diseases. The company has formed alliances with Big … Continue reading “San Diego’s Regulus Therapeutics Readies for IPO This Week”
Diagnostics Instrument Maker AutoGenomics Files Again for IPO
AutoGenomics, a Vista, CA-based company that specializes in molecular diagnostics systems, has filed for a $65 million Initial Public Offering (IPO), according to a recent regulatory filing. The company, founded in 1999, plans to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AGMX. The filing marks the second IPO attempt for the diagnostic instrument company. AutoGenomics … Continue reading “Diagnostics Instrument Maker AutoGenomics Files Again for IPO”
San Diego Deals Roundup: Deal Current, PCN, BrightScope, & More
Some of San Diego’s tech companies have been raising modest amounts of capital, mostly from individual investors. Here’s a quick rundown. —San Diego-based PCN, which was known as PCN Technology when I profiled the company a couple years ago, said it has raised $5.25 million from Pennsylvania-based EnerTech Capital and a variety of individual investors. … Continue reading “San Diego Deals Roundup: Deal Current, PCN, BrightScope, & More”
Google Acquires San Diego’s Nik Software, a Photo FX Specialist
Google has acquired San Diego-based Nik Software, a 17-year-old company that found its niche making software plug-ins used primarily by professional photographers to create special effects with Adobe Photoshop. Vivek “Vic” Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president for engineering, did not disclose financial terms of the deal in a recent Google+ blog post announcing the acquisition. … Continue reading “Google Acquires San Diego’s Nik Software, a Photo FX Specialist”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Skylight, NuSI, & More
Halozyme Therapeutics got a shot in the arm after the FDA decided that safety concerns over the company’s recombinant enzyme were limited to its drug program with Baxter. Here’s my rundown, along with the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —The FDA allowed San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) and Exton, PA-based ViroPharma (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Skylight, NuSI, & More”
Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups
As a man of many talents, Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella has a tendency to apply a term from one of his fields of interests in a conversation about another. Kinsella’s career as a biotech venture investor has spanned nearly 30 years and more than 100 financings. These include early stage bets on San Francisco-based Onyx … Continue reading “Kinsella Redux: Charting a Way Back for Life Sciences Startups”
Institute Collaborates with Kinect-Based System for Physical Therapy
In a nifty display of healthcare innovation, the nonprofit West Health Institute says today it has developed a prototype system that uses the Microsoft Kinect motion sensing system to help physical therapy patients carry out their exercise regimen. The San Diego-based medical research organization says it also plans to collaborate with the Naval Medical Center … Continue reading “Institute Collaborates with Kinect-Based System for Physical Therapy”
And the World Rushed In: San Diego Meets the Xconomists
It might seem hard to believe, but our recent “Meet the Xconomists” reception marked the fourth anniversary of Xconomy’s arrival in San Diego. As Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs put it in an email, “It doesn’t seem that long, are you sure you are counting correctly?” The reception is our way of saying “Thanks” to the … Continue reading “And the World Rushed In: San Diego Meets the Xconomists”
Nutrition Initiative to Fund Exacting Research in What Makes Us Fat
What better place to meet Peter Attia, president of San Diego’s recently unveiled Nutritional Science Initiative (NuSI), than at our “Meet the Xconomist” reception, where invited leaders of San Diego’s innovation community kibitzed while nibbling appetizers? Before co-founding NuSi (pronounced Nu-see) with the science writer Gary Taubes, Attia worked at McKinsey & Co. as a … Continue reading “Nutrition Initiative to Fund Exacting Research in What Makes Us Fat”
Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars
Corporate venture capital investments started strong and stayed high during the second quarter, with $2.1 billion invested in innovative startups throughout the United States during the three months that ended in June, according to a survey released today. That’s a 16 percent gain over the $1.8 billion that corporate VCs invested during the same quarter … Continue reading “Corporate Venture Activity Rebounds After Slump in Deals and Dollars”
Saban Brands Adds San Diego’s Zui to its Kid Entertainment Holdings
Saban Brands, a Los Angeles-based holding company, said today it has acquired San Diego’s Zui, the kid-friendly Internet startup founded in 2008 as KidZui. The deal includes Zui.com, a search engine for Web content approved for pre-teens, and KidZui, a plug-in Internet browser. Saban said Internet traffic for the combined Web services amounts to about … Continue reading “Saban Brands Adds San Diego’s Zui to its Kid Entertainment Holdings”
Startup Gets First Aid From Revamped West Health Institute
San Diego’s West Health Institute has enrolled the first company in its new startup incubator, a move that advances wireless fetal monitoring technology developed in-house when the nonprofit was known as the West Wireless Health Institute. The institute says it is licensing its Sense4Baby technology to the startup, also called Sense4Baby. The institute says the … Continue reading “Startup Gets First Aid From Revamped West Health Institute”
ShowUhow Expands Online Video Technology, Targeting CRM
At booth 35 on the floor of the Dreamforce 2012 conference in downtown San Francisco this morning, ShowUhow founder and CEO Kim Folsom was demonstrating technology that represents a new initiative and a strategic shift for the San Diego startup. Folsom founded ShowUhow in 2007 to create and host online video user manuals and instruction … Continue reading “ShowUhow Expands Online Video Technology, Targeting CRM”
Synthetic Genomics Gets Rights to Key Genome-Building Technology
Synthetic Genomics, the San Diego startup developing biofuels, industrial chemicals, sustainable animal feed, and other genetically engineered products, says it has acquired worldwide rights to key synthetic genomic technologies from Germany’s Febit Holding. Financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed. “We need to make hundreds to thousands of genomes a day, not one every … Continue reading “Synthetic Genomics Gets Rights to Key Genome-Building Technology”
From San Diego to Boston: ValoreBooks CEO on SimpleTuition Deal
Back in August, I talked with entrepreneur Jonny Simkin about the sale of HubEdu, his San Diego online college textbook and retailing platform, to San Mateo, CA-based Rafter. Last week, Boston-based SimpleTuition said it had acquired ValoreBooks, another San Diego Web startup that enables students to order more than 18 million titles online. Financial terms … Continue reading “From San Diego to Boston: ValoreBooks CEO on SimpleTuition Deal”
Software-Focused TVC Capital Raises $75M, Emphasizes Value Creation
TVC Capital, a boutique private equity firm based in San Diego, has raised $75 million for its second growth equity and buyout fund. The firm targets software companies and software-enabled service businesses that are profitable or growing to profitability, provide customers with a “mission-critical” service or product, and are seeking capital to accelerate growth. TVC … Continue reading “Software-Focused TVC Capital Raises $75M, Emphasizes Value Creation”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Santarus, & More
How the health care community reacts to the arrival of the nonprofit Nutrition Science Initiative could be an interesting experiment in itself. We have details about NuSI, along with the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —San Diego insulin pump maker Tandem Diabetes Care has raised $36.4 million in a new round of equity … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Santarus, & More”
San Diego Cloud Computing Startup Names Former AT&T CTO as CEO
LonoCloud, a San Diego-based startup that has developed a supra-platform for cloud computing, has named Hossein Eslambolchi, a former chief technology officer at AT&T, as CEO. Eslambolchi, who was consulting with the founders, holds more than 1,000 granted and pending patents worldwide and is known for his expertise in IP network design and reliability, and … Continue reading “San Diego Cloud Computing Startup Names Former AT&T CTO as CEO”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Santarus, Shire, Illumina, & More
An appellate court ruling could spell relief for the heartburn that Santarus has been feeling over the past couple of years. We have the latest developments, along with the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —San Diego-based Santarus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTS]]) said it partially won a federal appeals court ruling regarding patents Santarus had asserted … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Santarus, Shire, Illumina, & More”
SweetLabs Offers an Option for PCs in Desperate Need of a Makeover
As a startup aiming to disrupt the personal computing continuum, San Diego’s SweetLabs represents an intriguing challenge to the Microsoft juggernaut. With the new Windows 8 operating system scheduled for general availability next month, SweetLabs recently completed beta testing its Pokki technology for the desktop PC, saying Pokki now has more than 1 million monthly … Continue reading “SweetLabs Offers an Option for PCs in Desperate Need of a Makeover”