Marconi Society Awards Prize to San Diego’s Jacobs & Wolf

The Marconi Society, a group established in Palo Alto, CA, to recognize the creative spirit of Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi in today’s scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs, has named Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and computer theorist Jack Kiel Wolf as winners of this year’s Marconi Prize. Jacobs, 77, was cited for his contributions to digital … Continue reading “Marconi Society Awards Prize to San Diego’s Jacobs & Wolf”

Halozyme Licensing Deal Valued at $63M

San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) and Foster City, CA-based Intrexon have agreed to use Halozyme’s recombinant human hyaluronidase to develop an injectable formulation of an Intrexon drug for treating alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that damages the lungs and liver. Under the exclusive worldwide licensing agreement announced yesterday, Intrexon will make a $9 … Continue reading “Halozyme Licensing Deal Valued at $63M”

Assay Depot Raises $1.7M to Expand Online Commerce for Biotech Industry

Assay Depot, a five-year-old startup that provides online e-commerce platforms for contract researchers serving the life sciences industry, says it has raised $1.7 million from private investors. The company launched a public marketplace in 2008 that automates the process of hiring a contract research organization, a job that can take a principal investigator days or … Continue reading “Assay Depot Raises $1.7M to Expand Online Commerce for Biotech Industry”

WaterSmart Seeks to Build Out Web-based Services to Conserve Water

[Corrected 6/8/11, 1:10 pm to show Peter Yolles is CEO, instead of Rob Steiner.] WaterSmart Software was founded two years ago in San Francisco, but co-founder Rob Steiner lives in San Diego. So when the cleantech software developer recently raised $900,000 in seed funding, I sat down with Steiner to discuss WaterSmart’s plans for developing … Continue reading “WaterSmart Seeks to Build Out Web-based Services to Conserve Water”

Scenes from the Uplinq Conference: How Qualcomm’s Strategy is Playing Out

If there was a single moment during Qualcomm’s mobile developer conference last week that showed just how much the San Diego wireless giant has changed over the past decade, it would have to be when Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs introduced Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as a keynote speaker. “Up next is somebody that … Continue reading “Scenes from the Uplinq Conference: How Qualcomm’s Strategy is Playing Out”

Tioga Drug Gets Fast Track Status

San Diego’s Tioga Pharmaceuticals, a virtual biotech with the equivalent of three full-time employees, said the FDA has granted “fast track” designation to asimadoline, a compound Tioga is investigating for treating patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Tioga is in a late-stage clinical trial of the drug, which is being conducted under a special protocol … Continue reading “Tioga Drug Gets Fast Track Status”

Qualcomm Cuts Deal With Creative Artists; PowerGenix Targets Micro-Hybrid Market, Ferruolo Moves to USD Law School, & More San Diego BizTech News

The Memorial Day holiday made it a short week for high-tech news in San Diego. Here’s what you need to know from last week. —About 2,000 mobile app developers and others attended the two-day Uplinq conference hosted by San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the world’s largest wireless chipmaker. A new partnership with Hollywood’s Creative Artists … Continue reading “Qualcomm Cuts Deal With Creative Artists; PowerGenix Targets Micro-Hybrid Market, Ferruolo Moves to USD Law School, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Histogen Interprets Court Ruling as Victory in Patent Infringement Suit

San Diego-based Histogen, a four-year-old biomedical startup, claimed a key victory today after a federal judge issued a series of findings in a patent infringement case filed in 2009 against the company by a cross-town rival, Carlsbad, CA-based SkinMedica. Before the suit was filed, Histogen had plans to develop products derived from skin cells grown … Continue reading “Histogen Interprets Court Ruling as Victory in Patent Infringement Suit”

Sapphire Energy Executive Killed in Crash

The corporate controller at San Diego’s Sapphire Energy was killed earlier this week when an out-of-control sport-utility vehicle swerved into a bike path while he was bicycling home from work. A close friend told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Poway, CA-resident Nick Venuto, 40, was an avid bicyclist and married father of two. Venuto was … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy Executive Killed in Crash”

Life Technologies’ Ion Machine Speeds Analyses of Deadly European Illness

Rapid genetic analysis made possible by Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies’ new semiconductor sequencing technology strongly suggests that the cause of a deadly foodborne outbreak sweeping Europe is an aggressive mutant type of two pathogenic E. coli strains. The illness has left 18 dead in Germany, where the outbreak is focused, and sickened thousands in nine … Continue reading “Life Technologies’ Ion Machine Speeds Analyses of Deadly European Illness”

FDA Approves Optimer Antibiotic, Amylin Wins Legal Round Against Lilly, Investors Excited by Orexigen Move, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

The long Memorial Day weekend made for a short roundup of life sciences news this week. So we’ll be brief. —The FDA approved Optimer Pharmaceuticals‘ drug application for fidaxomicin (Dificid) as a new treatment for the nasty intestinal infection caused by the Clostridium difficile bacterium. Optimer says its treatment cures patients about 90 percent of … Continue reading “FDA Approves Optimer Antibiotic, Amylin Wins Legal Round Against Lilly, Investors Excited by Orexigen Move, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

USD Names Lawyer Stephen Ferruolo as Law School Dean

The University of San Diego today named San Diego lawyer (and Xconomist) Stephen Ferruolo as dean of its law school. Ferrulo has served as chairman of the San Diego office of the Goodwin Procter law firm since 2007, when the international firm set up shop here, and was a partner in the firm’s business law … Continue reading “USD Names Lawyer Stephen Ferruolo as Law School Dean”

Qualcomm Going Hollywood in Bid to Expand Mobile Content

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), lifted the curtain today on a new partnership with Hollywood’s powerful Creative Artists Agency, setting the stage for a new generation of mobile apps that can take advantage of CAA’s portfolio of movie stars, athletes, musicians, and video games. Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs revealed the new partnership today at Uplinq, … Continue reading “Qualcomm Going Hollywood in Bid to Expand Mobile Content”

Somaxon Fighting Fresh Challenge from Generic Drug-Makers

San Diego’s Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, which overcame setbacks before winning FDA approval for its insomnia drug last year, is now facing some stiff new challenges, according to an interesting story by Keith Darcé of The San Diego Union-Tribune. As we explained last year, Somaxon already was facing stiff competition from over-the-counter sleeping aids and other generics … Continue reading “Somaxon Fighting Fresh Challenge from Generic Drug-Makers”

San Diego’s PowerGenix Engineers a New Strategy for Nickel-Zinc Battery

Dan Squiller concedes that the rechargeable lithium-ion battery has become the dominant power source for electricity-hungry technologies that include everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles. But he contends lithium-ion batteries have some drawbacks too—they’re expensive, potentially flammable, and difficult to recycle. As the CEO at San Diego’s PowerGenix, Squiller also maintains that there is … Continue reading “San Diego’s PowerGenix Engineers a New Strategy for Nickel-Zinc Battery”

Active Network Shares Rise, Accelrys Buys Sweden’s Contur, Mitek Raises $15M, & More San Diego BizTech News

The IPO market is clearly improving, with San Diego’s Active Network serving as the latest example in a slew of new stock offerings. We have that and all the other tech news you need to start your week. —Shares of the Active Network (NYSE: [[ticker:ACTV]]) steadily gained altitude last week after the San Diego-based provider … Continue reading “Active Network Shares Rise, Accelrys Buys Sweden’s Contur, Mitek Raises $15M, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Fueled by Mobile Transaction Technology, Mitek Systems Raises $15M for Nasdaq Move

In the years after the Berlin Wall crumbled, San Diego’s Mitek Systems was one of many local defense contractors left high and dry by a receding tide of Pentagon spending. These days, however, the company is riding a wave of success with new technology that enables a person to use a smartphone camera to deposit … Continue reading “Fueled by Mobile Transaction Technology, Mitek Systems Raises $15M for Nasdaq Move”

Nestlé Acquires Prometheus, Trius Raises $30M in Private Placement, Canaan’s Bloch Discusses Advanced BioHealing Deal, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

We’ve been seeing some big life sciences deals in recent weeks, the latest being Nestlé’s acquisition of San Diego’s Prometheus Labs. Here’s our wrap-up of the past week. —Switzerland’s Nestlé Health Science agreed to acquire San Diego’s Prometheus Laboratories in what one analyst estimated as a $1.1 billion deal. The Nestlé subsidiary has been on … Continue reading “Nestlé Acquires Prometheus, Trius Raises $30M in Private Placement, Canaan’s Bloch Discusses Advanced BioHealing Deal, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Ford Lists Top 25 EV Cities, Highlights Pacific Coast Corridor for Future EV Road Trips

With the average price of gasoline reaching almost $4 a gallon nationwide, it’s safe to say a lot of people are curious about the all-electric vehicles (EV) that many automakers have been showing off lately. Still, it’s hard to justify the $100,000-plus sticker price for a Tesla Roadster or the $33,000 price of a Nissan … Continue reading “Ford Lists Top 25 EV Cities, Highlights Pacific Coast Corridor for Future EV Road Trips”

Active Network Shares Begin Trading

Shares of the Active Network, the San Diego-based provider of online registration services for conferences, recreational licenses, sporting leagues and other events, gained more than a dollar in morning trading today, after the company priced its IPO yesterday at $15 a share. That was below the expected range of $16 to $18 a share, which … Continue reading “Active Network Shares Begin Trading”

San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics Creates Options for the Next Generation of Antibiotics

San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics, like Zogenix and Pacira Pharmaceuticals, was among the local IPOs that got caught in the jaws of the amazing life sciences valuation-shrinking machine of 2010. Trius initially filed its IPO in late 2009 to raise as much as $86 million by March 2010, so the company could price its shares in … Continue reading “San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics Creates Options for the Next Generation of Antibiotics”

En Route to IPO, San Diego’s Prometheus Labs Detours to Nestlé Buyout

[Updated 5/24/11 9:25 am. See below.] San Diego’s Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharma and diagnostics company in registration for an IPO, has instead agreed to a buyout offer from Nestlé Health Science, a new subsidiary of Switzerland’s Nestlé S.A. [Updated with estimated buyout range.] Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a statement … Continue reading “En Route to IPO, San Diego’s Prometheus Labs Detours to Nestlé Buyout”

Accelrys Buys Sweden’s Contur

San Diego-based Accelrys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACCL]]), which outlined its scientific Software-as-a-Service strategy for me just a couple months ago, says it has acquired privately-held Contur Software AB of Stockholm, Sweden, in a deal valued at $13.1 million. Accelrys says Contur provides Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) software that enables scientific organizations to document their R&D. and to … Continue reading “Accelrys Buys Sweden’s Contur”

IPO Pipeline Pumps Up the Volume in First Quarter

A recent study of IPO filings by the Ernst & Young accounting firm shows that 47 companies filed for initial public offerings during the quarter that ended March 31, and a total of 125 companies are waiting to go public on U.S. markets. Of the 125 companies in the pipeline, 25 are based in California, … Continue reading “IPO Pipeline Pumps Up the Volume in First Quarter”

Qualcomm Identifies First GPS+Glonass Smartphone

Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs said earlier this month the San Diego wireless giant has developed technology that enables smartphones to use either GPS or Russia’s Glonass satellite location capabilities. Today, Qualcomm says the first GPS+Glonass-capable phone is the MTS 945, available from Russian mobile operator and retailer MTS. It’s an Android-based phone made … Continue reading “Qualcomm Identifies First GPS+Glonass Smartphone”

Active Network Teed Up for IPO This Week, InterDigital Opens Local Lab, Aptera Ready to Move Production Out of California, & More San Diego BizTech News

The big news this week, if it happens, will be the Active Network’s IPO. But we’ve also rounded up all the other important developments from San Diego’s tech community, and our briefing begins now. —The San Diego-based Active Network could have a market valuation that is close to $1 billion if its IPO takes place … Continue reading “Active Network Teed Up for IPO This Week, InterDigital Opens Local Lab, Aptera Ready to Move Production Out of California, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Multiple Pathways to the Exit: Canaan’s Bloch on Advanced BioHealing Buyout

The $750 million sale of Advanced BioHealing to the Irish drug giant Shire Pharmaceuticals, announced on Tuesday, has been hailed as a rare win for regenerative medicine, with an extraordinary 15x return for Canaan Partners, the venture firm that helped to found the company just five years ago. But as I noted in a 2009 … Continue reading “Multiple Pathways to the Exit: Canaan’s Bloch on Advanced BioHealing Buyout”

Shire Pays $750M for Advanced BioHealing, Amylin Sues Lilly, Pacira CEO Describes His Most Difficult Task, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

Our roundup of San Diego’s biotech news is short, but we had some important developments over the past week. Your update begins now. — Westport, CT-based Advanced BioHealing, which makes Dermagraft bio-engineered skin patches in San Diego, agreed to a $750 million buyout offer from Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPGY]]), the Irish pharmaceutical drug maker. The deal … Continue reading “Shire Pays $750M for Advanced BioHealing, Amylin Sues Lilly, Pacira CEO Describes His Most Difficult Task, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Polaris Expands Ludwig Collaboration

The San Diego-based Polaris Group has agreed to expand its collaboration with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research on their work together in developing pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20), a promising anti-cancer compound. We recently profiled the company here. Under their expanded collaboration, Polaris and the institute hope to identify other enzymes with potential anti-tumor … Continue reading “Polaris Expands Ludwig Collaboration”

SDG&E, Soitec Add 2 Local Solar Sites

San Diego Gas & Electric has added two more 25-year contracts with French-based Soitec, which will supply a total of 125 megawatts from solar energy sites using Soitec’s Concentrix CPV (Concentrating Photo-Voltaic solar panel modules. In a statement today, the two companies say Soitec Solar Development will manufacture the modules in a new factory to … Continue reading “SDG&E, Soitec Add 2 Local Solar Sites”

InterDigital Opens San Diego Outpost in Quest to Ease “Bandwidth Crunch”

InterDigital (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDCC]]), a company that invents new wireless technologies and counts Samsung, Research in Motion, and HTC among its biggest customers, has opened a satellite R&D lab in San Diego. The new facility is initially focused on developing technologies to improve the capacity of wireless networks, according to Bill Merritt, the company’s CEO. Merritt, … Continue reading “InterDigital Opens San Diego Outpost in Quest to Ease “Bandwidth Crunch””

Active Network Sets IPO Price Range, MIR3 Expands Platform, Qualcomm Collaborates on $10M Tricorder X Prize, & More San Diego BizTech News

It has taken about 12 years and more than $275 million in venture capital for San Diego’s Active Network to get into the starting gate for an IPO. We have details on that and the rest of San Diego’s tech news. —San Diego’s Active Network, which provides online registration services for sporting events and other … Continue reading “Active Network Sets IPO Price Range, MIR3 Expands Platform, Qualcomm Collaborates on $10M Tricorder X Prize, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Halozyme Deal Could Yield $83M, Wireless Health Leaders Converge, Readers Vote on Worst Drug Names, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

Much of the action this week was taking place downtown, at the 6th annual Convergence Summit hosted by the nonprofit Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance. The three-day conference included CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and innovators—and we’ve got the highlights of that and other area life sciences news wrapped up here. —San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), the largest … Continue reading “Halozyme Deal Could Yield $83M, Wireless Health Leaders Converge, Readers Vote on Worst Drug Names, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

A Startup Rival Offers His Perspective on Enormous Microsoft-Skype Deal

On Tuesday, the sun set in the East. Water ran uphill. And Redmond, WA-based Microsoft agreed to pay $8.5 billion in cash for an Internet company that gives away much of its service for free. The news could only be more de-polarizing if Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies had developed its Internet-based telephone service as open source … Continue reading “A Startup Rival Offers His Perspective on Enormous Microsoft-Skype Deal”

Active Network Ready to Pull IPO Trigger

[Corrected 5/20/09, 5:00 pm. See below.] The Active Network is in the starting blocks for its IPO. The San Diego Internet company, which provides online event registration services for sporting event organizers, churches, campgrounds, and other customers, set a price range between $16 and $18 a share for its initial stock offering in a regulatory … Continue reading “Active Network Ready to Pull IPO Trigger”

Sapphire Getting Gas from Linde

San Diego algae biofuels developer Sapphire Energy said today it has signed a multi-year agreement with the Linde Group of Munich, Germany, to co-develop a low-cost system for supplying carbon dioxide to commercial-scale, open-pond, algae-to-fuel cultivation systems. Linde, the leading commercial supplier of carbon dioxide in the United States, agreed to deliver carbon dioxide to … Continue reading “Sapphire Getting Gas from Linde”

Proximetry Names Chief Strategist

San Diego-based Proximetry, which I profiled last summer, today named Andres Carvello as executive vice president and chief strategy officer. In its statement today, Proximetry says Carvello was previously the chief information officer at Austin Energy and chief architect of the first fully deployed smart grid in the United States. He will be responsible for … Continue reading “Proximetry Names Chief Strategist”

Nukona, Integer Wireless Offer Wireless Health Security

San Diego-based Nukona, a startup developing security management software for mobile devices, has formed a partnership with Integer Wireless, a Newport Beach, CA, engineering firm that provides HIPAA-compliant wireless networks for hospitals, physician groups, and other healthcare providers. Under a partnership announced this week at the Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance’s annual Convergence Summit in San Diego, … Continue reading “Nukona, Integer Wireless Offer Wireless Health Security”

Smart Grid Startups Unveil Partnership

San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless says it has formed a partnership with Sacramento, CA-based GridSense that will combine On-Ramp’s low-power wireless networking technology with GridSense’s TransformerIQ technology. In a statement today, the companies say that combining their technologies will enable electric utilities to monitor their distribution networks at a lower cost, improve outage restoration, and improve … Continue reading “Smart Grid Startups Unveil Partnership”

News From the Wireless Health Summit: Topol Plans a Medical School for Techies, the X Prize Plans a Challenge for Trekkies, & FDA Official Shows ‘Telepresence’

Some big names were on the agenda yesterday at the 2011 Convergence Summit, which is being held in a downtown San Diego hotel under the auspices of the nonprofit Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance. A couple of the speakers actually delivered some interesting news: —Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs made the first unexpected announcement … Continue reading “News From the Wireless Health Summit: Topol Plans a Medical School for Techies, the X Prize Plans a Challenge for Trekkies, & FDA Official Shows ‘Telepresence’”

Halozyme Could Get $83M in Licensing Deal

San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) says it will receive an upfront payment of $9 million and potential future milestone payments of $74 million under an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Exton, PA-based ViroPharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VPHM]]). Halozyme is licensing the use of its recombinant human hyaluronidase in the development of a subcutaneous formulation of human … Continue reading “Halozyme Could Get $83M in Licensing Deal”

Jitterbug Offers Personal Emergency Service

Jitterbug, the San Diego-based subsidiary of mobile virtual network operator GreatCall, says it has launched its 5Star mobile personal emergency response system to subscribers who use the Jitterbug J phone. The service, available for an additional $15 a month, enables users to press 5 and * (5Star) to get connected to a customer service representative … Continue reading “Jitterbug Offers Personal Emergency Service”

Scentsa Media Gets Series A Funding

San Diego’s Huntington Capital Fund II has made a Series A preferred investment in Carlsbad, CA’s Crescent House Publishing, which operates Scentsa, the technology software and services platform focused on fragrances and perfumes, and the Scentsa Media Networks. Partner Tim Bubnack says Huntington is not disclosing the size of the deal, which is at the … Continue reading “Scentsa Media Gets Series A Funding”

Qualcomm and the X Prize Foundation Move to Energize Diagnostics with $10M ‘Tricorder Prize’

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs revealed today that the San Diego-based wireless technology giant has been working with the X Prize Foundation to develop criteria for a new $10 million X Prize grand challenge that is straight out of Star Trek—a “Tricorder X Prize.” The idea—which is still being distilled—is to offer … Continue reading “Qualcomm and the X Prize Foundation Move to Energize Diagnostics with $10M ‘Tricorder Prize’”

San Diego’s MIR3 Expands Mass Notification Technology to Social Media Networks

On the day a Magnitude 9 earthquake and major Tsunami struck Japan, customers of MIR3 used the San Diego company’s automated notification system to transmit more than 650,000 real-time messages around the world. “The minute it happened, I checked with engineering and our customers were using every modality of communications—SMS [text messaging], e-mail, phone calls,” … Continue reading “San Diego’s MIR3 Expands Mass Notification Technology to Social Media Networks”

Verdezyne Closes Funding Round

Carlsbad, CA-based Verdezyne, which has been developing industrial biotechnology processes for making adipic acid and other sustainable chemicals and fuels, says today it has closed a new funding round. While the amount of funding was not disclosed, Verdezyne says two of the investors, BP Alternative Energy Ventures and DSM Venturing B.V., joined in the round … Continue reading “Verdezyne Closes Funding Round”

ImThera Raises $1.8M

San Diego’s ImThera Medical has raised about $1.8 million of a planned $2 million financing round that includes both equity and rights to acquire securities, according to a recent regulatory filing. ImThera, which has been developing an implantable neurostimulation device for treating obstructive sleep apnea, says the funds will be used for the next phase … Continue reading “ImThera Raises $1.8M”