SD Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Gen-Probe, Organovo, and More

Here’s our wrap-up of news from San Diego’s life sciences sector since last week. —San Diego’s Celladon raised $43 million to recapitalize the company and to conduct a 200-patient study of a gene therapy intended to help people with advanced heart failure. Celladon had previously raised more than $73 million in venture capital, according to … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Gen-Probe, Organovo, and More”

Xconomist of the Week: Peter Kuhn on Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells

Worrying whether a solid tissue tumor might spread elsewhere in the body represents one of the biggest unknowns for many cancer patients, according to Peter Kuhn, an associate professor of cell biology at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego. “As long as the disease is confined to the primary tumor, the oncologists can deal … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Peter Kuhn on Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells”

Celladon Raises $43M, Wins Fast-Track Status for Heart Treatment

It’s been more than a year and a half since San Diego’s Celladon revealed that its gene therapy treatment might help people suffering from heart failure, a period of quietude that left some folks wondering if the life sciences startup still had a heartbeat. But Celladon sprang to life today with some major news. The … Continue reading “Celladon Raises $43M, Wins Fast-Track Status for Heart Treatment”

AirHop and InterDigital Working to Combine “Network of Networks”

San Diego-based AirHop Communications and InterDigital (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDCC]]) have been collaborating to integrate AirHop’s technology for self-organizing networks with InterDigital’s bandwidth management technology, according to a statement today. The companies plan to demonstrate their new capability at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of this month. The joint effort to optimize bandwidth … Continue reading “AirHop and InterDigital Working to Combine “Network of Networks””

FDA Approves New Gen-Probe Test for Men at Risk of Prostate Cancer

The FDA has approved a new diagnostic assay for prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3), according to San Diego’s Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GPRO]]), which says the test gives doctors a new diagnostic tool for men who are at higher risk for developing prostate cancer. The company says the test can help determine if additional prostate biopsies are … Continue reading “FDA Approves New Gen-Probe Test for Men at Risk of Prostate Cancer”

Organovo Raises $6.5M, Lists on OTC, in Alternative Public Offering

Shares of San Diego-based “bio-printing” company Organovo are set to begin trading over the counter today, following a reverse merger and $6.5 million in private placement financing, which Organovo CEO Keith Murphy collectively describes as an alternative public offering. Events leading up to the announcement were fairly complex, based on recent filings with the Securities … Continue reading “Organovo Raises $6.5M, Lists on OTC, in Alternative Public Offering”

San Diego Tech Roundup: Ecor, Qualcomm Life, Applied Proteomics

Get your week started with our San Diego technology news briefing. —The Qualcomm Life Fund made a strategic investment in San Antonio, TX-based AirStrip Technologies, solidifying their alliance to develop technology for wireless home monitoring of patients with congestive heart failure. AirStrip did not disclose the size of Qualcomm’s investment.  AirStrip already has an FDA-approved … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Ecor, Qualcomm Life, Applied Proteomics”

SD Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Applied Proteomics, & Tocagen

—It wasn’t exactly news when the board at San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) said it had rejected the $5.7 billion hostile takeover offer from Swiss drug maker Roche. Now Wall Street’s arbitragers are placing their bets on whether Roche can prevail. The most intriguing news about the deal, however, came from The Wall Street Journal, … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Applied Proteomics, & Tocagen”

The 9th Annual San Diego MIT Wine Social

The San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum wine social, held annually, is one of the premier networking event for San Diego’s technology and biotechnology community. With more than 700 founders and executives of growth companies, business development personnel, investors, and service providers, this industry networking social creates an opportunity for technology sector leaders and entrepreneurs across … Continue reading “The 9th Annual San Diego MIT Wine Social”

When Green is Not Enough: Lessons from a Cleantech CEO

Funding for clean technology startups has increased substantially in recent years, with 323 U.S. companies raising a total of $4.3 billion in 2011, according to the recently released MoneyTree Report. In the San Diego area, the same report shows that four cleantech startups raised $78 million last year, including $15 million that went to SG … Continue reading “When Green is Not Enough: Lessons from a Cleantech CEO”

OncoSec Medical Advancing Inovio’s Technology Against Cancer

OncoSec Medical CEO Punit Dhillon tells me the startup he helped establish in San Diego last March is beginning mid-stage safety and efficacy trials of its proprietary technology for enhancing drug delivery in treatments of several types of skin cancer. The technology, which OncoSec acquired from Blue Bell, PA-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: [[ticker:INO]]) almost a … Continue reading “OncoSec Medical Advancing Inovio’s Technology Against Cancer”

Applied Proteomics, Co-Founded by Danny Hillis, Gets New CEO, $22.5M

Applied Proteomics hasn’t exactly been operating in stealth mode since it was founded five years ago. Co-founders David Agus, a cancer specialist at USC, and Danny Hillis, the MIT-trained computer scientist, gave TedMed talks about the startup’s technology, which provides a 40-gigabyte snapshot of all the proteins circulating in a drop of blood. By pure … Continue reading “Applied Proteomics, Co-Founded by Danny Hillis, Gets New CEO, $22.5M”

San Diego Tech Roundup: Web Startups Heat Up, New Incubator Opens

We’re starting to see fresh signs of life among the Internet software startups in San Diego. Check out this news. —During a visit last week, TechStars CEO David Cohen talked with the leaders of San Diego’s grassroots Web startup community about the factors that help to create and sustain entrepreneurial communities. One crucial issue confronting … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Web Startups Heat Up, New Incubator Opens”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Amylin, Optimer, and the Economy

—San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals says Bydureon, its new once-a-week drug for treating Type 2 diabetes can hit the market as early as next month, after the FDA cleared Bydureon. The FDA rejected the Amylin’s drug twice before. An estimated 26 million people in the United States, or roughly 8 percent of the population, have type … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Amylin, Optimer, and the Economy”

7 Lessons from TechStars’ David Cohen on Building a Startup Culture

When it comes to tech startups—especially in Internet software and app development—San Diego has been adrift in the horse latitudes. That’s the term Spanish mariners had for the waters where the trade winds died out for days and even weeks at a time. Becalmed sailors desperate to gain some headway would heave their horses overboard … Continue reading “7 Lessons from TechStars’ David Cohen on Building a Startup Culture”

San Diego Life Sciences Strengthened in Recession, Outpacing Nation

Employment in San Diego’s life sciences sector grew by 15 percent over the past two years, as biopharmas, medical device companies, and other employers added roughly 5,550 jobs here—raising employment in the sector to 41,937 in 2011, according to a report released today by Biocom. The report says overall employment in San Diego increased by … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Strengthened in Recession, Outpacing Nation”

StockTwits Expands Services Through Alliance, Hints of More to Come

San Diego’s StockTwits is developing a bit of a Canadian accent, eh, through a partnership being announced today with Toronto-based Q4 Web Systems, which provides online investor relations services for publicly traded companies throughout North America. StockTwits is an online social media network that enables traders and shareholders to share their market insights, ideas, charts, … Continue reading “StockTwits Expands Services Through Alliance, Hints of More to Come”

Sigma Partners Leads $10M Venture Round in San Diego’s MOGL

San Diego’s MOGL, a Web-based customer loyalty and rewards program for restaurants and bars, says it has raised $10 million in venture funding to fuel its expansion into San Francisco, New York, and other markets. The Menlo Park, CA, office of Sigma Partners led the Series B round, which was joined by San Diego’s Avalon … Continue reading “Sigma Partners Leads $10M Venture Round in San Diego’s MOGL”

San Diego Tech Roundup: Qualcomm, TechStars, Apps Challenge & More

—Peter Clarke of EE Times reported that San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) has acquired Andover, MA-based Pixtronix, a startup founded in 2005 to develop Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) display technology. Qualcomm, which confirmed the deal with EE Times but provided no details or press release about the deal, reportedly spent between $175 million and $200 million … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Qualcomm, TechStars, Apps Challenge & More”

2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom

It’s that outlook time of year, and Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), was in San Diego earlier this week, talking about the 2012 outlook for venture capital. Today he’ll make a similar presentation to the New Jersey Technology Council. Next week,  John Taylor, the NVCA’s director of research is set … Continue reading “2012 Venture Outlook: Some Bright Spots and Some Gloom”

J&J’s Janssen Launches $250,000 Challenge to Improve Transition Care

Janssen Healthcare Innovation, part of Johnson & Johnson’s reconstituted R&D operation in San Diego, is announcing an incentive prize challenge with awards totaling $250,000 for technology solutions that improve care for patients who’ve just been discharged from a hospital. Janssen says it’s working with the National Transitions of Care Coalition to establish criteria and to … Continue reading “J&J’s Janssen Launches $250,000 Challenge to Improve Transition Care”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More

The unsolicited $5.7 billion offer that Roche made for Illumina will no doubt dominate San Diego’s biotech news for weeks to come. We have it and more. —Switzerland’s Roche offered $5.7 billion, or $44.50 a share, for San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]] in a hostile bid disclosed yesterday. Roche’s bid to stake a claim in … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More”

EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather”

If you were in the business of supplying heating oil in the Northeast, do you think it would be useful to know if a big winter snowstorm is likely to arrive with sub-zero temperatures in Massachusetts next month? How would fire chiefs in the brushy backcountry of Southern California react if they knew the odds … Continue reading “EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather””

San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More

—Venture capitalists invested $269 million in 23 deals in the San Diego area during the last three months of 2011, according to the MoneyTree Report from the National Venture Capital Association, PwC, and Thomson Reuters. That was almost a 20 percent gain in dollars, but a 28 percent slide in deal count from MoneyTree data … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More”

In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning

As early stage biotech startups advance their drug candidates into pre-clinical development, many must decide at some point whether to start working with a big pharmaceutical or biotech partner to continue to pursue their program through clinical trials. It’s no small decision, and a topic of increasing industry interest, especially since initial public offerings (IPOs) … Continue reading “In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning”

San Diego VC Activity at Ebb Tide in 2011 and Top 10 Local Deals

Money pumped into San Diego’s regional economy by venture capital firms hit an eight-year low in 2011, with a total of $829 million invested in 104 startups throughout the year, according to the MoneyTree VC survey being released today. The 2011 deal count was the lowest seen in San Diego since 1997. The 2011 numbers … Continue reading “San Diego VC Activity at Ebb Tide in 2011 and Top 10 Local Deals”

SD Life Sciences News: Auspex, BrainCells, and J&J’s Startup Center

Here’s our weekly roundup of San Diego’s life sciences news. —Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), briefed reporters in San Diego on his efforts to make the regulatory review of new medical devices more predictable, transparent, and efficient. Shuren is undertaking reforms at a time when eight out … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences News: Auspex, BrainCells, and J&J’s Startup Center”

FDA’s Shuren Makes West Coast Swing, Talks About Regulatory Reform

Since he set out last year to revamp the way the FDA reviews medical devices, Jeff Shuren of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) has often met with industry leaders to hear their feedback and ideas for how to improve medical device regulation. Last week, he met with industry leaders in San … Continue reading “FDA’s Shuren Makes West Coast Swing, Talks About Regulatory Reform”

SG Biofuels Raises $17M in Move Toward Agricultural Production

San Diego’s SG Biofuels, an agricultural biotech developing the Jatropha plant to produce biofuels, says today it has raised $17 million in a Series B round of financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners. San Diego-based Finistere Ventures also joined the round, along with existing investors, Carlsbad-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) and Flint Hills Resources, … Continue reading “SG Biofuels Raises $17M in Move Toward Agricultural Production”

San Diego Life Sciences News: AnaptysBio, Life, NeuroGenetic & More

There was a whole lot of life sciences news over the past week. Here’s my roundup. —Carlsbad-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) said it’s taking orders for a benchtop genome sequencer that can to decode an individual’s DNA within 24 hours and at a cost of roughly $1,000. The company priced its new Ion Proton Sequencer … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences News: AnaptysBio, Life, NeuroGenetic & More”

Q4 Venture Deals, Dollars Stayed Strong, Making 2011 Best in a Decade

Venture capital deals backed off just a tad during the last three months of 2011, but remained strong enough to carry VC activity during the year to a new high-water mark, according to data being released today by CB Insights, a financial data firm that maintains a venture capital database. VCs invested $7.6 billion in … Continue reading “Q4 Venture Deals, Dollars Stayed Strong, Making 2011 Best in a Decade”

Slain Biotech Investor Leaves $1 Million to Support Entrepreneurship

The San Diego members of Southern California’s Tech Coast Angels (TCA) have established a $1 million nonprofit foundation in the name of John G. Watson, the late San Diego life sciences executive and investor who was slain here almost two years ago. In a touching afterward to the tragedy, TCA president Stephen Flaim tells me … Continue reading “Slain Biotech Investor Leaves $1 Million to Support Entrepreneurship”

Prescription Skin-Care Specialist SkinMedica Acquires Colorescience

Carlsbad, CA-based SkinMedica says it has acquired Dana Point, CA-based Colorescience, a mineral makeup company that provides cosmetics to remedy and camouflage skin discolorations and other defects while also protecting skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Financial terms were not disclosed. In a statement, SkinMedica indicates that it plans to operate Colorescience as … Continue reading “Prescription Skin-Care Specialist SkinMedica Acquires Colorescience”

Motorola Venture Arm Puts $6.5 Million Into MicroPower Technologies

San Diego’s MicroPower Technologies, founded in 2008 to develop ultra-low power wireless video surveillance products, said it has landed the first installment of a $6.5 million round of funding from Motorola Solutions Venture Capital and an undisclosed private fund. The Series C funding represents MicroPower’s first institutional investment. Motorola Solutions Venture Capital is the investment … Continue reading “Motorola Venture Arm Puts $6.5 Million Into MicroPower Technologies”

Cebix to Raise $20 Million for Pivotal Trial of Diabetes Supplement

San Diego’s Cebix, founded in 2008 to develop a new supplemental treatment for complications arising from type 1 diabetes, intends to raise more than $20 million in a Series B round needed to fund pivotal trials, according to VentureWire. Cebix CEO James Calloway told VentureWire the startup raised $28.5 million from Sofinnova Ventures, InterWest Partners, … Continue reading “Cebix to Raise $20 Million for Pivotal Trial of Diabetes Supplement”

San Diego BizTech Roundup: Active Network, Accelrys, Entropic, & More

—San Diego’s Active Network (NYSE [[ticker:ACTV]]), which provides online event registration and related services, acquired Philadelphia-based StarCite for about $51 million in stock and cash. StarCite, which provides Web-based event management services for companies around the world, has about 300 employees. The Active Network said StarCite will become part of its newly launched “Business Solutions” … Continue reading “San Diego BizTech Roundup: Active Network, Accelrys, Entropic, & More”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Elevation, Proacta, and More

As the time draws near for the annual J.P. Morgan Global Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, it seems as if there has been a surge in deals for local life sciences companies. Here’s our rundown: —Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) agreed to pay Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) $29 million, with the potential for more … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Elevation, Proacta, and More”

With StarCite Deal, Active Network Deepens Focus on Business Events

[Updated 1/5/12 8:05 am. See below.] San Diego’s Active Network (NYSE: [[ticker:ACTV]]) made roughly 50 acquisitions since it was founded (in 1998), but the company has become more deliberate about its deals since it paused in 2010 to overhaul its Software as a Service technology and prepare for last year’s IPO. The Active Network provides … Continue reading “With StarCite Deal, Active Network Deepens Focus on Business Events”

As Internet TV Soars, Verimatrix Software Keeps the “Pay” in Pay-TV

Since it was founded in 2000, San Diego-based Verimatrix has raised about $50 million in institutional venture funding and spent untold hours of software programming to address a relatively simple problem nagging the pay-TV industry for more than a decade. As Verimatrix CEO Tom Munro puts it, “We keep people from watching television without paying … Continue reading “As Internet TV Soars, Verimatrix Software Keeps the “Pay” in Pay-TV”

Novo Leads New $30M Round for San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals

San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals says today it’s raised $30 million in Series B funding, which is expected to carry the startup through its mid-stage trials for a new aerosol drug for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The fresh round was led by Denmark’s Novo Ventures life sciences fund, which keeps an office in San … Continue reading “Novo Leads New $30M Round for San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals”

SD BizTech Roundup: Qualcomm, Razer, Avalon’s Zynga Windfall, & More

Been on vacation? Get back up to speed with our end-of-the-holidays roundup of San Diego tech news. —Almost half of the top 50 venture-backed startups had at least one founder who was an immigrant, according to a study from the National Foundation for American Policy. Such findings led author Stuart Anderson, who also is executive … Continue reading “SD BizTech Roundup: Qualcomm, Razer, Avalon’s Zynga Windfall, & More”

Counting Coups: Better, Fewer Deals in 2011 for Venture-Backed Cos.

2011 was a year of bigger deals and fewer exits for venture-backed companies, according to data being released today by Dow Jones VentureSource. VentureSource says that venture-backed companies netted $53.2 billion through a total of 522 deals of all kinds in 2011—mergers, buyouts, and IPOs. That was a 14 percent decline in the number of … Continue reading “Counting Coups: Better, Fewer Deals in 2011 for Venture-Backed Cos.”

The Top 10 Traffic-Getting Stories at Xconomy San Diego

A decade ago, when newspaper and magazine editors prepared their rundown of the year’s most important news stories, they really were just choosing the articles that they thought had the most impact. That was old media. Today, everything is measured and anything can be quantified—at least on the Internet. In cyberspace, people vote with their … Continue reading “The Top 10 Traffic-Getting Stories at Xconomy San Diego”

A Sweet Deal: How Amira Reinvented Itself as a Drug Discovery Engine

The sale of Amira Pharmaceuticals will likely go down as one of the standout life sciences deals of 2011—it certainly ranks as one of the biggest payouts in San Diego, where Amira was founded in 2005. But what may be more significant than hitting the bell in the strongman game at the biotech carnival is … Continue reading “A Sweet Deal: How Amira Reinvented Itself as a Drug Discovery Engine”

Avalon’s Kinsella Toasts Debut Vintage of Another Venture

Avalon Ventures founder Kevin Kinsella has demonstrated his prowess in biotech deals, and even in backing an occasional Broadway musical. Now, just in time for the holidays, he’s uncorking the debut vintage of cabernet sauvignon from Kinsella Estates, a winery he and his wife Tamara acquired in Northern California’s Sonoma County four years ago. “The … Continue reading “Avalon’s Kinsella Toasts Debut Vintage of Another Venture”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Intellikine, Somaxon, and More

—Merry Christmas, Troy Wilson! Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to pay $190 million upfront, plus another $120 million in future milestone payments, to acquire Intellikine, the San Diego biotech that CEO Wilson co-founded in 2007. Takeda wants to combine Intellikine’s portfolio of small molecule drugs in the PI3 kinase pathway, a hot target in cancer biology, … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Intellikine, Somaxon, and More”

Game Peripheral Maker Razer Raises $50M in First Round

Carlsbad, CA-based Razer bills itself as a maker of “professional gaming” hardware, which always struck me as an oxymoron, like “jumbo shrimp.” Nevertheless, Razer just demonstrated how serious it is, raising $50 million in a Series A round venture round led by the IDG-Accel China Capital Fund, a global investment fund established by IDG and … Continue reading “Game Peripheral Maker Razer Raises $50M in First Round”

Immigrants Fill Top Ranks of Venture-Backed Tech Startups

Immigrant entrepreneurs are playing important roles at U.S. technology startups, with immigrants serving in key management and product development positions at 37 of the top 50 venture-backed companies—or roughly three out of every four of the startups—according to a study released yesterday. “It’s clear that America gains a great deal when we’re open to talent, … Continue reading “Immigrants Fill Top Ranks of Venture-Backed Tech Startups”

Qualcomm Co-Founder Irwin Jacobs Plans to Retire from Board

San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) says founding CEO Irwin Jacobs plans to retire from the board this spring, marking his final separation from the San Diego wireless technology giant. Jacobs, 78, co-founded Qualcomm in 1985, and served as chairman and CEO through the company’s first two decades. During the trying early years, Jacobs led a … Continue reading “Qualcomm Co-Founder Irwin Jacobs Plans to Retire from Board”