Innovation Summit Highlights Drug Development, Cleantech, and Potential Impact of Drought

The La Jolla Research & Innovation Summit held yesterday at the Salk Institute was a smaller and a much more modest affair than the inaugural summit that Connect CEO Duane Roth organized last year. I have some impressions from the morning presentations: —Climatologist Dan Cayan of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography explained why multiple computerized … Continue reading “Innovation Summit Highlights Drug Development, Cleantech, and Potential Impact of Drought”

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Set Back by FDA, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Can’t Cure Shareholder Apathy, Regulus Signs Another Deal With Glaxo, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

There was a flurry of San Diego life sciences news over the past week, but we’ve got it all sorted for you here. —Politicians sometimes complain about voter apathy, but consider the plight of San Diego’s La Jolla Pharmaceutical. The biotech, which failed to develop a drug for lupus, has been unable to muster enough … Continue reading “Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Set Back by FDA, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Can’t Cure Shareholder Apathy, Regulus Signs Another Deal With Glaxo, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Qualcomm CEO Sees Company Driving Wave of Mobile Internet Innovation

Some people in the audience began to gasp audibly as Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs neared the end of his presentation at the San Diego wireless company’s annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday. The exclamations came about 40 minutes into Jacobs’ address, as he began explaining how various aspects of Qualcomm’s technology are expected to come … Continue reading “Qualcomm CEO Sees Company Driving Wave of Mobile Internet Innovation”

San Diego Biotechs Raise Cash for Novel Drugs to Treat Cancers, Broad Disease Spectrum

A number of biotechs and medical device companies in the San Diego area have disclosed funding deals in recent weeks. As I noted last month, San Diego-based ProActa raised about $1.1 million to continue its anti-cancer drug development work. I found some more deals while reviewing filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission: —Auspex … Continue reading “San Diego Biotechs Raise Cash for Novel Drugs to Treat Cancers, Broad Disease Spectrum”

Tech Coast Angels’ Dollars Invested and Number of Deals Declined in 2009

Investments by Southern California’s Tech Coast Angels dropped in 2009, as the network of individual investors helped raise a total of $61.7 million in direct investments by TCA members and affiliated investors. The angel investor group says it participated in seven new deals and 17 follow-on deals last year, according to a statement. The organization, … Continue reading “Tech Coast Angels’ Dollars Invested and Number of Deals Declined in 2009”

San Diego’s Printer Industry Veterans Offer Some Insights Into Memjet’s Technology

One of the most surprising personnel moves announced in San Diego so far this year came in early January, when former Qualcomm COO Len Lauer was named to head Memjet, a startup the Wall Street Journal described as “a closely held company most people have never heard of.” Lauer’s move was puzzling. As a wireless … Continue reading “San Diego’s Printer Industry Veterans Offer Some Insights Into Memjet’s Technology”

Awarepoint Raises $10M to Accelerate Its Sensor Network for Hospitals

JAFCO Ventures of Palo Alto, CA, has stepped in as lead investor in a $10 million round announced today by San Diego’s Awarepoint, which provides wireless sensor systems to help hospitals monitor the real-time location of equipment and patients. Existing investors Cardinal Partners and Venrock Associates joined in the Series E round. As I explained … Continue reading “Awarepoint Raises $10M to Accelerate Its Sensor Network for Hospitals”

Enrollment Begins at Founder Institute After Inaugural Class Completes Training

School’s out for the Founder Institute’s inaugural class in San Diego, which started with 22 students in November and last week graduated 13 entrepreneurs who are moving forward to develop 12 startup companies, according to Jeanine Jacobson, a San Diego organizer. After starting the four-month mentoring program for startup founders in San Francisco a year … Continue reading “Enrollment Begins at Founder Institute After Inaugural Class Completes Training”

Qualcomm Ventures Leads Funding for Visage Mobile, Venture Deal Terms Favor Investors (Still), Leap Wireless Forms Joint Venture, & More San Diego BizTech News

It was a light week in San Diego for tech news, perhaps balancing the blizzard of life sciences news that blanketed our region. Good thing that’s the only kind of blizzard we see around here. —When I met last summer with Qualcomm Venture’s Nagraj Kashyap, he told me the corporate venture arm of San Diego’s … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures Leads Funding for Visage Mobile, Venture Deal Terms Favor Investors (Still), Leap Wireless Forms Joint Venture, & More San Diego BizTech News”

FDA Refuses to Accept Adventrx Pharma’s New Drug Application

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (NYSE Amex: [[ticker:ANX]]), the San Diego biotech that sprang back to life in January with a new drug application, says in a statement today that it has received a “refuse to file letter” from the FDA—which basically means it’s back to the drawing board. Adventrx cut its workforce to just two employees almost … Continue reading “FDA Refuses to Accept Adventrx Pharma’s New Drug Application”

AFraxis CEO Outlines Biotech’s Success With Ultra-Lean Pre-Clinical R&D in Russia

AFraxis, a mostly stealthy San Diego biotech, is getting ready to come out with a big announcement in the next week or so, but CEO Jay Lichter previewed some key parts of the story yesterday during a presentation before the San Diego Venture Group. He says the biotech has completed pre-clinical testing of a promising … Continue reading “AFraxis CEO Outlines Biotech’s Success With Ultra-Lean Pre-Clinical R&D in Russia”

The X Lists Debut: San Diego’s Online Reference Library for Innovators and Entrepreneurs

If Xconomy had a storefront in downtown San Diego instead of a Web address, it might be easier for readers to see what we’ve got under construction, because people could peer behind the plywood fencing and the signs reading “Pardon Our Dust.” Instead, curious visitors who clicked on the tab that says “resources” only got … Continue reading “The X Lists Debut: San Diego’s Online Reference Library for Innovators and Entrepreneurs”

Synthetic Genomics Recruits Illumina Exec

Synthetic Genomics, the San Diego biofuels developer, today named a top executive from San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the maker of genetic sequencing tools, as its chief operating officer. Joel McComb, a senior vice president and general manager of Illumina’s $650 million life sciences business unit, will start March 1 and report to J. Craig … Continue reading “Synthetic Genomics Recruits Illumina Exec”

Leap Wireless Combines its Cricket Service With Pocket Communications in South Texas

Call it an example of newfound pragmatism among the flat-rate wireless service providers, which are coming under growing pressure to consolidate. San Diego’s Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LEAP]]) announced today that it’s forming a “joint venture” with San Antonio, TX-based Pocket Communications that will provide pre-paid wireless services to customers of both companies in South Texas. … Continue reading “Leap Wireless Combines its Cricket Service With Pocket Communications in South Texas”

Qualcomm Ventures Leads New Investment Round in Revived Visage Mobile

San Diego’s Qualcomm Ventures is showing its confidence in Visage Mobile‘s back-from-the-dead strategy by leading a new investment round in the San Francisco-based company. Tim Weingarten, who stepped in as Visage CEO in 2008, tells me the company has secured $4.5 million in its second round venture funding since 2008, when the company sold most … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures Leads New Investment Round in Revived Visage Mobile”

NIH Chief Stresses Economic Impact of Federal Biomedical Funding

Cancer and certain types of mental illness are diseases that appear ripe for research breakthroughs, according to Francis Collins, who just marked his sixth month as director of the National Institutes of Health. “I’m always loath to say what’s on the brink of some big breakthrough,” says Collins, who met with local reporters while attending … Continue reading “NIH Chief Stresses Economic Impact of Federal Biomedical Funding”

Survey Finds Venture Deal Terms Improving, But Still Below Historical Levels

Even though venture capital funding plunged dramatically in 2009, it was nevertheless encouraging when the VC surveys that came out in January showed an uptick in venture deals during the fourth quarter—like a ski jump into 2010. Now the Cooley Godward Kronish Venture Financing Report for the fourth quarter of 2009 gives us another piece … Continue reading “Survey Finds Venture Deal Terms Improving, But Still Below Historical Levels”

Sony Electronics Outlines its 3D Strategy, Fallbrook Files For IPO, Electronics Recycler EcoATM Raises Venture Round, & More San Diego BizTech News

It was a great week for innovation in San Diego, with Fallbrook Technologies filing for an IPO and Sony Electronics previewing its 3D strategy (along with some new products) after opening the doors of its new $160-million North American headquarters. —Sony Electronics showed off its new 11-story North American headquarters building in San Diego during … Continue reading “Sony Electronics Outlines its 3D Strategy, Fallbrook Files For IPO, Electronics Recycler EcoATM Raises Venture Round, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Hollis-Eden Now Harbor BioSciences

San Diego drug developer Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals says it has changed its name to Harbor BioSciences, nearly a year after the company fired Richard Hollis, the biotech’s namesake founder and CEO, for cause unknown. Harbor BioSciences also changed its ticker symbol to (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HRBR]]), saying that shares would begin trading under the new ticker today. The … Continue reading “Hollis-Eden Now Harbor BioSciences”

Renewable Energy Investor Says Wind Industry Ripe for Innovation

You could say I blew into the wind power event that Cleantech San Diego organized here last week. The canapés were gone by the time I arrived, but the show was just getting started. I got there in time to hear keynote speaker Jim McDermott of energy investment fund U.S. Renewables Group describe a somewhat … Continue reading “Renewable Energy Investor Says Wind Industry Ripe for Innovation”

San Diego-Based Sony Electronics Ready to Talk About 3D And Other Innovations

Sony Electronics usually maintains a low corporate profile at its North American headquarters, even though it ranks among San Diego’s biggest private employers—with roughly 2,000 workers here. That seemed especially true after its corporate parent announced a massive reorganization at this time last year, which included hundreds of Sony layoffs in San Diego. So it … Continue reading “San Diego-Based Sony Electronics Ready to Talk About 3D And Other Innovations”

Fallbrook Technologies Files for $50M IPO

San Diego’s Fallbrook Technologies, a cleantech venture developing a proprietary transmission that offers improved efficiency for a variety of vehicles, intends to raise $50 million through an IPO, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A Fallbrook spokesman declined to comment on the stock offering. In its filing, Fallbrook says its … Continue reading “Fallbrook Technologies Files for $50M IPO”

Qualcomm Previews Flo-Enabled Content

Qualcomm, the San Diego wireless technologies giant, says it is previewing a variety of new applications at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that enable certain features of its Flo-TV technology to run on netbooks equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor. Qualcomm says its technology combines live mobile TV programming with real-time Web content and … Continue reading “Qualcomm Previews Flo-Enabled Content”

San Diego Gets $4.95M to Boost Life Sciences Employment

A $4.95 million grant from the federal stimulus package will be used to boost education, training, and placement services for people who are seeking jobs in San Diego’s life sciences and health care professions, according to local biotech and education leaders. The grant is part of more than $225 million in stimulus funds awarded by … Continue reading “San Diego Gets $4.95M to Boost Life Sciences Employment”

Veoh Networks RIP, Connect Is Recruiting an Innovation Lobbyist, Envision Solar Goes Public, & More San Diego BizTech News

The big news last week came from venture-backed Veoh Networks, which is filing for bankruptcy liquidation. Founder Dmitry Shapiro told me Veoh was the biggest Internet company that San Diego has ever seen (see below). —San Diego’s Veoh Networks, a video streaming website, was officially launched in 2005. It raised $70 million in venture capital, … Continue reading “Veoh Networks RIP, Connect Is Recruiting an Innovation Lobbyist, Envision Solar Goes Public, & More San Diego BizTech News”

VoxOx Debuts Translator-in-the-Cloud for Instant Messaging, E-mails, Texting, Social Media

Today San Diego-based TelCentris is announcing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that it has incorporated a new free offering—a “universal translator”—as part of VoxOx, its free, cloud-based, unified communications service. Some online services, such as Babelfish.com, currently enable users to copy and paste in foreign language text to get a translation. But TelCentris … Continue reading “VoxOx Debuts Translator-in-the-Cloud for Instant Messaging, E-mails, Texting, Social Media”

After Pulling Plug, Veoh Networks’ Dmitry Shapiro Says Litigation “Choked Off Our Oxygen”

In the beginning, San Diego’s Veoh Networks had the support of several prominent VCs, and some of the biggest names in the media business. Venture firms like Boston’s Spark Capital, and names like Michael Eisner, the former Disney titan. After five years, founder Dmitry Shapiro tells me the site had 23 million unique visitors a … Continue reading “After Pulling Plug, Veoh Networks’ Dmitry Shapiro Says Litigation “Choked Off Our Oxygen””

Verdezyne Raises $9M

Carlsbad, CA-based Verdezyne, an industrial biotechnology company developing methods for using yeast to make industrial chemicals, has raised $9 million in an ongoing $15.2 million venture round, according to spokeswoman Risa Goldman Burgess. She said today the funding is being used to validate technology, which Verdezyne recently disclosed, for making adipic acid, a key feedstock … Continue reading “Verdezyne Raises $9M”

Shutdown Reported at Veoh Networks, Backed by Boston’s Spark Capital and Other VCs

The lights are on, but is anybody left at Veoh Networks? We’re seeing multiple accounts of sweeping layoffs at Veoh, the San Diego-based Internet TV service, with several citing a report by Media Memo’s Peter Kafka, who says a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation is expected soon. I sent a quick e-mail to Veoh CEO Dmitry … Continue reading “Shutdown Reported at Veoh Networks, Backed by Boston’s Spark Capital and Other VCs”

Envision Solar Reveals Move to Become Public Company

San Diego architect (and Xconomist) Bob Noble says that Envision Solar, the solar development firm that he founded in 2005, will soon begin trading shares over the counter after completing a reverse merger with a dormant public company. He announced the move at a reception held last night for about 75 friends and colleagues, which … Continue reading “Envision Solar Reveals Move to Become Public Company”

Wind Power Industry Convenes in San Diego Amid Howls Over Which Way Stimulus Funds Are Blowing

The movers and shakers in wind power are gathering in San Diego this week for what some renewable energy advocates view as the U.S. industry’s most important annual meeting—the Wind Power Finance & Investment Summit. They may be in for a chilly reception, though, with recent news accounts that foreign energy companies have been reaping … Continue reading “Wind Power Industry Convenes in San Diego Amid Howls Over Which Way Stimulus Funds Are Blowing”

As Advertisers Expand Online, Covario Adds Web-Based Tools to Measure Their Success

A new generation of corporate marketing executives was in attendance last week when San Diego-based Covario convened its fourth annual corporate partners conference at the downtown Hard Rock Hotel. As a rock band jammed onstage, the gathering crowd included JP Morgan Chase’s vice president of search governance, Amgen’s senior marketing manager for oncology, and the … Continue reading “As Advertisers Expand Online, Covario Adds Web-Based Tools to Measure Their Success”

Sequenom Gets Rights to Genetic Test for Vision Disorder

San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) says it has obtained rights to develop and commercialize a diagnostic test from New Haven, CT-based Optherion to predict a patient’s genetic predisposition to late-stage, age-related macular degeneration, a progressive eye disorder that can lead to a loss of central vision. Financial terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Sequenom Gets Rights to Genetic Test for Vision Disorder”

Novatel Claims First LTE Data Call

In what may be a pre-emptive announcement before next week’s GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, San Diego’s Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVTL]]) says it has successfully made a data transmission call using Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G technology. LTE is one of several next-generation wireless technology standards that promise increased capacity as cell phone users … Continue reading “Novatel Claims First LTE Data Call”

Connect Creates Post for Innovation Lobbyist in Washington DC

Connect, the San Diego non-profit that supports local technology and entrepreneurship, says it is opening an office in Washington D.C. “to be part of the process,” and to represent the interests of San Diego’s innovation community. Establishing a lobbyist in Washington was a key part of an initiative that Connect CEO Duane Roth unveiled last … Continue reading “Connect Creates Post for Innovation Lobbyist in Washington DC”

Quattrone Predicts VC Shrinkage, ViaSat CEO Says Bandwidth Was Key to Internet Satellite, UCSD Scientists Win Google Grant, & More San Diego BizTech News

With online video consuming more and more bandwidth, ViaSat’s decision to design its own high-capacity satellite for Internet service is looking more and more prescient. We’re beaming that and the rest of the news to you now, so take off your foil hats and tune in. —Frank Quattrone, a former investment banker and controversial figure … Continue reading “Quattrone Predicts VC Shrinkage, ViaSat CEO Says Bandwidth Was Key to Internet Satellite, UCSD Scientists Win Google Grant, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Fallbrook Technologies Spinoff Viryd Raises Another $5M for Wind Power Innovation

Viryd Technologies, a wind turbine technology startup spun out last May by San Diego’s Fallbrook Technologies, has secured a $5 million investment that includes a Chinese maker of automotive components. Viryd was founded near Austin, TX, to integrated Fallbrook’s proprietary transmission technology in power-generating wind turbines for the renewable energy. Unlike a conventional transmission, which … Continue reading “Fallbrook Technologies Spinoff Viryd Raises Another $5M for Wind Power Innovation”

Verdezyne Identifies First Product

When I profiled Verdezyne in November, the Carlsbad, CA-based startup didn’t want to disclose the first feedstock chemical it is aiming to displace by using genetically engineered yeast in a fermentation tank instead of a petrochemical refinery. Today Verdezyne is announcing it can use its proprietary sustainable processes to make adipic acid, a primary ingredient … Continue reading “Verdezyne Identifies First Product”

7th Annual Life Sciences Career Counseling Workshop

Biocom’s Education Subcommittee, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, Southern California Biotech Center, and San Diego County Office of Education have organized this 6-hour networking event and workshop. Career counselors from K-12, community colleges, four-year schools and one-stop career centers are welcome. Registration is limited to career counselors and related professionals. More information and online registration … Continue reading “7th Annual Life Sciences Career Counseling Workshop”

The Outlook for Solar: Q&A With Borrego Solar CEO Mike Hall

While venture investments in cleantech startups declined last year, technology advances in renewable energy remain a hot area of interest for both cleantech innovators and investors. In an effort to gain a better understanding of the solar energy market, especially in the photovoltaic segment of the industry, I sought insights from Mike Hall, the CEO … Continue reading “The Outlook for Solar: Q&A With Borrego Solar CEO Mike Hall”

Carl Icahn Nominates Scripps Researcher to Biogen Idec Board, BrainCells Pursues New Drug Combo for Depression, Illumina Adds to Oxford Nanopore Investment, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

San Diego-based aFraxis is working to advance a possible drug treatment for Fragile X syndrome identified by MIT’s Susumu Tonegawa. Meanwhile Waltham, MA-based Syndax Pharmaceuticals is developing an anti-cancer drug that came out of Ron Evans’s lab at San Diego’s Salk Institute. That’s life sciences, and this is Xconomy: —San Diego-based aFraxis CEO Jay Lichter … Continue reading “Carl Icahn Nominates Scripps Researcher to Biogen Idec Board, BrainCells Pursues New Drug Combo for Depression, Illumina Adds to Oxford Nanopore Investment, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

ViaSat on New Trajectory Following Deal to Create Satellite-Based High-Speed Internet

It was a big deal in October when ViaSat (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]), the Carlsbad, CA-based specialist in satellite-based communications technologies, announced it was acquiring WildBlue Communications, a suburban Denver, CO-based internet service provider. The acquisition, once revealed, made a lot of sense. As a satellite-based provider of high-speed Internet service in mostly rural communities, WildBlue made … Continue reading “ViaSat on New Trajectory Following Deal to Create Satellite-Based High-Speed Internet”

Frank Quattrone, Star Banker of Technology Ventures, Talks Wistfully of the Good Old Days—Before Netscape’s IPO

[Editor’s note 2/3/10, 3:15 pm: Robert Kibble, who conducted the chat with Frank Quattrone at this event, took issue with aspects of this story. See comments below.] At a time when the IPO market appears to be loosening a bit, controversial former investment banker Frank Quattrone appeared before a regular meeting of the San Diego … Continue reading “Frank Quattrone, Star Banker of Technology Ventures, Talks Wistfully of the Good Old Days—Before Netscape’s IPO”

Concerro Acquires RES-Q

San Diego-based Concerro, a venture-backed provider of software-as-a-service-based systems for hospital shift and emergency workforce management, says today it acquired RES-Q Healthcare Systems of Calabasas, CA, for an undisclosed amount. RES-Q provides similar software applications for healthcare management and scheduling. RES-Q president Michael Meisel is joining the combined business as vice president of product management … Continue reading “Concerro Acquires RES-Q”

Verari Founder Tells Death and Life Story, IPO Activity Increasing, Aptera Looks to Sell Through Best Buy Stores, & More San Diego BizTech News

Was there any BizTech news besides Apple iPad news last week? The answer is yes, but not a lot. We’ve got it here, plus a little speculation about San Diego’s iPad connection. —Diego-based V-Vehicle raised $62.3 million in venture capital in 2009, enough for the stealthy startup automaker to rank No. 2 in Southern California … Continue reading “Verari Founder Tells Death and Life Story, IPO Activity Increasing, Aptera Looks to Sell Through Best Buy Stores, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Wind Power: Leading a Renaissance in Renewable Energy

Cleantech San Diego has organized this showcase, which includes a keynote presentation by Jim McDermott of the U.S. Renewables Group and a panel discussion featuring regional wind developers and technology companies. The program will explore the opportunities and challenges of wind in powering the nation’s economic recovery, and in meeting renewable energy goals. Online registration … Continue reading “Wind Power: Leading a Renaissance in Renewable Energy”

Ernst & Young Counts More IPO Filings as Sign of Increasing Activity

A study released today by Ernst & Young shows that 53 companies submitted the necessary paperwork during the fourth quarter of 2009 to hold initial public offerings—the highest number of new registrants in a quarter since 2007. At of the end of December, Ernst & Young counted 54 companies in the U.S. that were ready … Continue reading “Ernst & Young Counts More IPO Filings as Sign of Increasing Activity”