AltheaDx Raises $30M to Help Doctors Personalize Treatment

San Diego-based AltheaDx, a precision medicine company developing diagnostic tests that enable doctors to identify a patient’s optimal course of treatment, has raised $30 million in a Series C financing, according to a statement from the company. WuXi Healthcare Ventures led the deal, which was joined by WuXi PharmaTech, Ally Bridge Group, and ALMA Life … Continue reading “AltheaDx Raises $30M to Help Doctors Personalize Treatment”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Otonomy, Oncothyreon, Gilead, & More

Life sciences news pummeled the West Coast last week like a series of storms barreling out of the North Pacific. Here’s our roundup: —Otonomy (NASDAQ [[ticker:OTIC]]), a San Diego biotech developing new treatments for diseases and disorders of the ear, said Friday the FDA approved its antibiotic gel for treating ear infections among children. It’s … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Otonomy, Oncothyreon, Gilead, & More”

HardTech Labs and Immunology Institute Form Startup Accelerator

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology has established a joint venture with San Diego’s HardTech Labs to operate an accelerator program for startups developing next-generation technologies in human health and well being. Derek Footer, who founded HardTech Labs almost two years ago to help early stage tech companies gain access to low-cost manufacturers … Continue reading “HardTech Labs and Immunology Institute Form Startup Accelerator”

Younity Raises $8M to Build Out “Personal Cloud” for Unifying Media

Younity, a San Diego media startup developing “personal cloud” technology, said it has raised $8 million in a Series A round of venture funding led by Marker, a New York-based venture capital and growth equity firm. Tim Draper’s Draper Associates and PROfounders Capital also participated in the round, which brought total funding for the company … Continue reading “Younity Raises $8M to Build Out “Personal Cloud” for Unifying Media”

San Diego’s EvoNexus Incubator Admits 13 to SoCal Franchise

EvoNexus, the startup incubator supported by the regional tech industry, said it has accepted 13 new companies from 182 applications for free office space in the latest round of its “no strings attached” program. Nine of the startups will be in San Diego. Six are moving into the EvoNexus space in downtown San Diego; three … Continue reading “San Diego’s EvoNexus Incubator Admits 13 to SoCal Franchise”

Heart Drug Safety Concerns Prompt Shutdown at Laguna Pharmaceuticals

San Diego’s Laguna Pharmaceuticals has shut down, after early results from a late-stage trial of the company’s lone drug candidate revealed previously unseen safety concerns. “If you’re going to fail, you want to fail quickly, right?” Laguna CEO Bob Baltera told me last week. “We didn’t fail. The drug failed.” The drug was a 1,4-dialkylpiperazine … Continue reading “Heart Drug Safety Concerns Prompt Shutdown at Laguna Pharmaceuticals”

San Diego’s GreatCall Buys Lively’s Assets

San Diego-based GreatCall, the mobile virtual network operator targeting the 65+ market, says today it has acquired the assets of Lively, a three-year-old San Francisco startup offering gadgets and services to “keep older adults living independently longer.” Financial terms were not disclosed in the statement issued today. GreatCall described the acquisition as a key step … Continue reading “San Diego’s GreatCall Buys Lively’s Assets”

Avalon, TPG Lead $15M Deal to Advance Metformin as Cancer Drug

Metformin has long been the first-line drug of choice for treating type 2 diabetes. While insulin may be better known (it’s been available since the 1920s), metformin was introduced in the UK in 1958 (FDA approval in the U.S. occurred in 1995), and metformin is now believed to be the most widely prescribed anti-diabetic drug … Continue reading “Avalon, TPG Lead $15M Deal to Advance Metformin as Cancer Drug”

Global Hawk Tops Connect List of Most Innovative New Products

Connect, the San Diego nonprofit supporting local innovation and entrepreneurship, has bestowed its highest award for an innovative new technology or product to the Global Hawk, the long-range, high-altitude unmanned surveillance aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman. The aircraft was initially developed in San Diego by Teledyne Ryan under an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program sponsored … Continue reading “Global Hawk Tops Connect List of Most Innovative New Products”

Avecto Raises First External Funding with $49M from JMI Equity

JMI Equity, the specialized growth equity firm based in San Diego and Baltimore, has invested $49 million to establish a minority stake in Avecto, a U.K.-based network security firm that has established its U.S. headquarters in Somerville, MA. Avecto specializes in so-called endpoint security, an approach that protects a corporate network by focusing on the … Continue reading “Avecto Raises First External Funding with $49M from JMI Equity”

Human Longevity Buys Software Specialist Cypher Genomics

[Updated 11/30/2015 at 9:25 pm. See below.] Human Longevity, the San Diego startup founded by human genome pioneer J. Craig Venter, said today it has acquired San Diego-based Cypher Genomics. Financial terms were not disclosed. Cypher Genomics has developed software that it says can address a bottleneck in the practical use of whole genome sequencing by … Continue reading “Human Longevity Buys Software Specialist Cypher Genomics”

New Bio Fund Partner Describes A16Z Investment Strategy

When Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz founded their namesake venture firm in 2009, they laid out a clear-but-narrow vision for investing in a new wave of Web-based innovation. Andreessen, in particular, espoused a net-centric view that was absolute. “No clean tech, no rocket ships, no electric cars. No China or India,” he told Fortune magazine … Continue reading “New Bio Fund Partner Describes A16Z Investment Strategy”

Salk Recruits Nobel Laureate Liz Blackburn as First Woman President

The Salk Institute has named Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel laureate and UC San Francisco professor of biochemistry and biophysics, as its first woman president. Blackburn has been a non-resident fellow at Salk since 2001, and will take over as president on Jan. 1. She is succeeding William Brody, a doctor and biomedical engineer who joined … Continue reading “Salk Recruits Nobel Laureate Liz Blackburn as First Woman President”

“Innovation” a New Campaign Theme for Local Politics in San Diego

Something unusual has been happening to the innovation community in San Diego. Local pols are starting to pay more attention to entrepreneurship, and to the clusters of innovative tech and biotech startups sprouting throughout the region. In contrast to San Francisco, where local politics gets polarized over tech startups like Airbnb and Uber, San Diego’s … Continue reading ““Innovation” a New Campaign Theme for Local Politics in San Diego”

Advancing Drugs at Roche, Sophiris, Coherus, and Other Bio News

An economic impact report released this week by the California Life Sciences Association found that life sciences companies in the Golden State currently have 1,235 new drugs in the development pipeline—and it seemed like this week there was news on each one. Here’s our wrap of the life sciences news from the West Coast —The … Continue reading “Advancing Drugs at Roche, Sophiris, Coherus, and Other Bio News”

Amplyx Raises $40.5M to Advance Drug for Deadly Fungal Infections

Sometime after the Irish drug giant Shire acquired San Diego-based Lumena Pharmaceuticals last year, Lumena CEO Mike Grey went back to work on a new startup—but he wouldn’t say too much about what he was working on. He is now. Grey and a couple of other key executives from Lumena have joined Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, one … Continue reading “Amplyx Raises $40.5M to Advance Drug for Deadly Fungal Infections”

In Significant Reversal, Prostate Drug Met Primary Goal After All

After getting something worse than a lump of coal for Christmas last year, Sophiris Bio got an early present for the 2015 holidays— its experimental prostrate drug met the primary goal of a late-stage study. Shares of Sophiris Bio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SPHS]]) more than quadrupled overnight—opening today at $3.28 from yesterday’s close of 86 cents a … Continue reading “In Significant Reversal, Prostate Drug Met Primary Goal After All”

CB Insights Raises $10M, Expands Private Market Data Capabilities

During the years he led strategic planning and corporate venture investments at American Express, Anand Sanwal says much of the available information about venture funding deals and private company valuations was spotty at best. If he could find an online source for the information he needed, Sanwal says the user interface and user experience “were … Continue reading “CB Insights Raises $10M, Expands Private Market Data Capabilities”

Avalon, GSK Extend Collaboration with Startup Focused on ALS

[Corrected 11/12/15, 9:30 am. See below.] San Diego’s Avalon Ventures has started a new biotech focused on Lou Gehrig’s disease, the neuro-degenerative disease that claimed the life of the Hall of Fame New York Yankees first baseman, whose endurance gave rise to his nickname as “the Iron Horse.” With the launch of the aptly named … Continue reading “Avalon, GSK Extend Collaboration with Startup Focused on ALS”

DermTech Looks to Build on Alternative Test for Skin Cancer

People who are at risk for melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, typically must visit their dermatologist for a full body examination every six to 12 months. If a spot appears suspicious— such as a mole-like lesion that has been changing in size, shape, or color—the doctor usually will remove all or part of … Continue reading “DermTech Looks to Build on Alternative Test for Skin Cancer”

Kura Oncology Drops Price of IPO Shares From $16 to $8

It’s been a slippery slope for Kura Oncology, which slashed the price of its IPO shares and substantially increased the size of its offering tonight. The startup is based in San Diego, and has an office in Cambridge, MA. The company set out to raise as much as $86 million when it filed for the … Continue reading “Kura Oncology Drops Price of IPO Shares From $16 to $8”

Qualcomm Life Q&A: How Capsule Deal Expands Its Reach in Healthtech

Just a few weeks after Qualcomm Life acquired Andover, MA-based Capsule Technologie in September, the FDA cleared the newest version of Capsule’s patient monitoring system, SmartLinx Vitals Plus, for use as a medical device. The timing was fortuitous, and Qualcomm Life says it will begin deploying SmartLinx Vitals Plus to key customers through the rest … Continue reading “Qualcomm Life Q&A: How Capsule Deal Expands Its Reach in Healthtech”

Crinetics Pharma Raises $40M in Comeback for Ex-Neurocrine Bio Team

After spending the past six years scavenging for lab equipment and operating on a shoestring, San Diego’s Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has finally landed its first round of institutional funding. The startup, which is developing new oral drugs for treating an array of endocrine disorders, said today it has raised a $40 million Series A financing led … Continue reading “Crinetics Pharma Raises $40M in Comeback for Ex-Neurocrine Bio Team”

Qualcomm Ends Techstars Robotics Accelerator, Looks for Alternatives

[Updated 11/2/15 1:20 pm. See last three paragraphs below.] Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) has ended its partnership with Techstars, less than two months after graduating the inaugural class of 10 startups from the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator, powered by Techstars. The San Diego wireless giant had indicated the program would continue for three years. The decision to … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ends Techstars Robotics Accelerator, Looks for Alternatives”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Arena, Frazier, Kura, and Theranos

Palo Alto, CA-based Theranos continued its counter-offensive this week, as the private medical laboratory services company sought to rebut questions The Wall Street Journal has raised about the accuracy and reliability of its diagnostic technology. After appearing last week at the Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference in Laguna Beach, CA, Theranos chairwoman and CEO … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Arena, Frazier, Kura, and Theranos”

Enrollment Begins at UCSF in Study of Avelas Cancer Illuminator

San Diego’s Avelas Biosciences says today that UC San Francisco has begun enrolling women who face breast cancer surgery in a clinical trial for AVB-620, a diagnostic agent that helps surgeons differentiate cancerous tissue from healthy tissue in real time. The technology behind AVB-620 was developed by Roger Tsien, a UC San Diego biochemist who … Continue reading “Enrollment Begins at UCSF in Study of Avelas Cancer Illuminator”

Early Biotech Startups Take Stage at Carlsbad Bio Incubator

When Bio, Tech, & Beyond held its first open house a little over two years ago, co-founders Joseph Jackson and Kevin Lustig described it as an experiment in do-it-yourself biology. “We represent an opportunity where [scientists] can come in with their idea, and very inexpensively come up with results,” Lustig said at the time. With … Continue reading “Early Biotech Startups Take Stage at Carlsbad Bio Incubator”

Dev Bootcamp Adds San Diego Program as Coding Schools Multiply

Dev Bootcamp, a San Francisco-based training program for Web developers, has arrived in San Diego. The three-year-old company is accepting applications for its first 19-week course in downtown San Diego, which begins November 9. The company describes itself as a pioneer of the software coding bootcamp model, intensive programs that teach students the fundamentals of … Continue reading “Dev Bootcamp Adds San Diego Program as Coding Schools Multiply”

PatientSafe Solutions Expands Strategy, Buys Merck’s Vree Health

San Diego’s PatientSafe Solutions, which specializes in mobile and digital health technologies, has acquired all assets of Vree Health, a Merck subsidiary in Annandale, NJ, focused on technologies and services to reduce hospital readmissions. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed, PatientSafe CEO Joe Condurso said by phone earlier this week. PatientSafe plans to … Continue reading “PatientSafe Solutions Expands Strategy, Buys Merck’s Vree Health”

Stocktoberfest Moves Fintech Guru Howard Lindzon to Center Stage

[Corrected 10/20/15, 11:20 am. See below.]  A short version of Howard Lindzon’s bio on Angel’s List says he is the CEO and co-founder of StockTwits (a platform for tweeting stock market ideas and insights) and a general partner of Social Leverage, an angel investment fund that has invested in at least 30 startups (according to … Continue reading “Stocktoberfest Moves Fintech Guru Howard Lindzon to Center Stage”

Q3 Venture Funding Surges Near Record Levels, and Top 10 Deals

Buoyed by some giant deals, venture capital continues to flow at near-record levels in 2015, according to just-released data from two nationwide surveys that track quarterly VC activity. While the $16.3 billion that venture firms put into 1,070 deals in the third quarter was down a notch from the previous quarter, according to the MoneyTree … Continue reading “Q3 Venture Funding Surges Near Record Levels, and Top 10 Deals”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Audentes, Fate, Zosano & More

When 23andMe said Wednesday it had raised $115 million in a new venture capital round, Reuters reported that the round implied a total valuation of $1.1 billion for the genomics company—making 23andMe a new member of the rare and wondrous (and growing) unicorn club. (The Wall Street Journal has listed the Mountain View, CA-based company … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Audentes, Fate, Zosano & More”

Driven by Big Deals, VC Funding So Far Already Has Eclipsed 2014

U.S. venture firms invested $19.8 billion in 1,035 companies during the third quarter that ended September 30, putting VC funding on track to reach a five-year high, according to a quarterly Venture Pulse Report being released today by CB Insights and KPMG. While the deal count was lower than the 1,276 companies that got venture … Continue reading “Driven by Big Deals, VC Funding So Far Already Has Eclipsed 2014”

J. Craig Venter Debuts Elite Testing Service Via Health Nucleus

In a move that takes concierge medicine to a whole new level, human genome pioneer J. Craig Venter on Tuesday unveiled a venture that combines whole genome sequencing with advanced clinical technologies to provide comprehensive health exams for self-paying customers. The venture, called Health Nucleus, was formed as part of Human Longevity Inc., also known … Continue reading “J. Craig Venter Debuts Elite Testing Service Via Health Nucleus”

PTC Buys Qualcomm’s Vuforia to Add Augmented Reality to IoT Biz

In a day where EMC’s $67 billion sale to Dell dominated headlines, another New England company made a less attention-grabbing acquisition that advances its move into the “Internet of Things.” PTC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PTC]]), a Needham, MA-based company best known for its computer-aided design and product development software, said it’s buying Vuforia, Qualcomm’s vision-based augmented reality … Continue reading “PTC Buys Qualcomm’s Vuforia to Add Augmented Reality to IoT Biz”

With $3.2M in Funding, Fragmob to Expand Multi-Level Marketing App

Jonathan Shapiro says some 100 million people around the world consider themselves to be in the direct selling business—and it goes without saying that just about all of them have smartphones. San Diego-based Fragmob set out about five years ago to serve that market by developing mobile software that individual sales reps can use at … Continue reading “With $3.2M in Funding, Fragmob to Expand Multi-Level Marketing App”

San Diego Meets the Xconomists 2015: An Experiment in Networking

The clearest sign that our latest San Diego Meet the Xconomists networking reception was a runaway success occurred when the restaurant staff at the Farmer and the Seahorse at The Alexandria turned out the lights at 8 pm. The bar had been closed for 30 minutes, and close to 100 innovation leaders were still networking … Continue reading “San Diego Meets the Xconomists 2015: An Experiment in Networking”

Emida Buys San Diego-based Quippi and Its Gift Card Business

Emida, an Orange County company that specializes in serving the global prepayment industry, said today it is acquiring Quippi, a San Diego startup that offers pre-paid gift cards in Mexico as a no-fee alternative to international money transfers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quippi founder Michael Aleles declined to even tell me … Continue reading “Emida Buys San Diego-based Quippi and Its Gift Card Business”

Arena Pharmaceuticals’ Board Asks CEO Jack Lief to Retire

San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) said that Jack Lief, who has served as Arena’s president and CEO since 1997, has retired from the company and left Arena’s board of directors—effective today—at the request of the company’s board. Lief co-founded Arena 18 years ago with Dominic Behan, a scientist now serving as Arena’s executive vice … Continue reading “Arena Pharmaceuticals’ Board Asks CEO Jack Lief to Retire”

PathSense Finds Way to Grand Prize in “Quick Pitch” Competition

PathSense, a suburban San Diego startup using a “sensor fusion” approach to provide an alternative to battery-draining GPS location technology for mobile devices, was the grand prize winner last week at the San Diego Tech Coast Angels’ ninth annual “Quick Pitch” event. The Cardiff, CA-based company uses a proprietary “predictive routing algorithm” and machine learning … Continue reading “PathSense Finds Way to Grand Prize in “Quick Pitch” Competition”

DFJ Growth Leads $90M Round for Green Lender Renovate America

Renovate America, a San Diego company that finances solar panel installations and other sustainability-focused imrpovements for residential and commercial buildings, said yesterday it has raised $90 million in a growth equity round led by DFJ Growth. Founded in 2009 by J.P. McNeill and Nick Fergis, Renovate America began making clean-energy loans to homeowners in 2011, … Continue reading “DFJ Growth Leads $90M Round for Green Lender Renovate America”

Elcelyx Raises $40M, Begins Late-Stage Trial of New Diabetes Drug

San Diego-based Elcelyx Therapeutics said today it has secured $40 million in a Series E financing—its biggest ever—after receiving official guidance from the FDA for late-stage trials of its oral drug candidate, a delayed-release formulation of metformin. Elcelyx is targeting the 40 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes who can’t tolerate existing formulations of … Continue reading “Elcelyx Raises $40M, Begins Late-Stage Trial of New Diabetes Drug”

Trinity’s Fred Wang on Thinking Outside the Silicon Valley Box

When it comes to investing in technology startups, anywhere beyond Silicon Valley is considered a “secondary market.” It’s just not possible to find a comparable density of super angel investors, venture capital firms, and tech startups anywhere else. Of the nearly $31 billion that venture firms have invested nationwide through the first half of 2015, … Continue reading “Trinity’s Fred Wang on Thinking Outside the Silicon Valley Box”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Conatus, Exelixis, and More

Those of you who thought that DreamWorks’ Shrek franchise ended in 2010 with Shrek Ever After may have been surprised when a new installment played out over the past week with the big green ogre re-imagined as a former hedge-fund-manager-turned biotech executive. Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, called down the wrath of the Twitter-verse … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Gilead, Conatus, Exelixis, and More”

Everyone Counts Gets $20M Vote of Confidence for Electoral Tech

San Diego-based Everyone Counts, founded to provide secure, software-as-a-service voting systems that eliminate the need for outdated voting machines or paper ballots, has raised $4 million from investors in a round led by Draper Associates, the venture firm based in Menlo Park, CA. The company also raised $16 million in a mezzanine debt round led … Continue reading “Everyone Counts Gets $20M Vote of Confidence for Electoral Tech”

12 San Diego Tech Startups to Watch in 2016—and One Still in Stealth Mode

Software is making a comeback in San Diego. It’s not exactly a sea change. But there are more companies now, more investments—and investors—and more startup activity than there was even a few years ago, when a lack of direction in the tech sector here led to unflattering comparisons to the horse latitudes. Some of San … Continue reading “12 San Diego Tech Startups to Watch in 2016—and One Still in Stealth Mode”

CLSA Hires an “Ambassador” to the Life Sciences Community

The California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) has named Holly Smithson as a senior vice president of business strategy and development, saying she will act as an ambassador for CLSA to the life sciences community, according to a recent statement. Smithson, who is based in San Diego, was previously working as a strategic consultant for non-profits … Continue reading “CLSA Hires an “Ambassador” to the Life Sciences Community”

2nd Annual Contextual Robotics Forum at UC San Diego

The University of California, San Diego, will host a one-day event focused on the future of robotics for medicine, autonomous vehicles, first-response scenarios, consumer applications, and more. The 2ndannual Contextual Robotics Forum at UC San Diego features a technology showcase in addition to nine keynote talks from leaders in robotics and related technologies. Speakers include Marc … Continue reading “2nd Annual Contextual Robotics Forum at UC San Diego”

Portfolium Raises $1.2M to Help College Students Land That First Job

Portfolium, a Web-based social network for students preparing to start their careers, said it has closed on $1.2 million in new venture funding, bringing its total funding to $2.1 million since 2013, when the San Diego-based startup was founded. The investors are New York’s University Ventures, an investment firm focused exclusively on global higher education … Continue reading “Portfolium Raises $1.2M to Help College Students Land That First Job”

HouseCall Add-On: Mobile-Centric Home Services Startup Raises $6M

HouseCall, a San Diego mobile software startup that operates a Web-based marketplace for home services, has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by August Capital of Menlo Park, CA. Two existing investors—Michael Beaudoin, a former co-founder and co-CEO of HomeAdvisor, and San Francisco-based e.ventures, joined the round, according to a recent statement … Continue reading “HouseCall Add-On: Mobile-Centric Home Services Startup Raises $6M”