Between a battery of snowstorms, there was a parade this past week in Boston, as New Englanders lined the streets to celebrate Pete Carroll’s horrific goal-line call—I mean, a Patriots Super Bowl victory (congrats, Pats fans). In biotech, the theme of the week was volatility. Indices like the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBI]]) vastly underperformed … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Hamburg, Merck, Annovation, WaVe & More”
Author: Ben Fidler
Ben is former Xconomy Deputy Editor, Biotechnology. He is a seasoned business journalist that comes to Xconomy after a nine-year stint at The Deal, where he covered corporate transactions in industries ranging from biotech to auto parts and gaming. Most recently, Ben was The Deal’s senior healthcare writer, focusing on acquisitions, venture financings, IPOs, partnerships and industry trends in the pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics and med tech spaces. Ben wrote features on creative biotech financing models, analyses of middle market and large cap buyouts, spin-offs and restructurings, and enterprise pieces on legal issues such as pay-for-delay agreements and the Affordable Care Act. Before switching to the healthcare beat, Ben was The Deal's senior bankruptcy reporter, covering the restructurings of the Texas Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, GM, Delphi, Trump Entertainment Resorts and Blockbuster, among others. Ben has a bachelor’s degree in English from Binghamton University.
Find Out “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on April 8
Life sciences innovation is moving fast these days, and Boston is right in the center of it. Consider the past year alone: Gene therapy, once an abandoned research field fraught with safety issues, produced real human data suggesting it might be able to reverse a crippling blood disorder. Cellular immunotherapy techniques are showing real promise … Continue reading “Find Out “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on April 8”
Built for a Deal, Annovation Rewards Backers With Medicines Co. Buyout
These days, it seems biotech investors are happy to take all kinds of risk. But there are still times to hedge bets, which Atlas Venture did a few years ago with Cambridge, MA-based Annovation Biopharma. That lower-risk investment is paying off nicely today. The Medicines Co. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MDCO]])—an investor in Annovation that had an option … Continue reading “Built for a Deal, Annovation Rewards Backers With Medicines Co. Buyout”
Join Xconomy, And New York’s Life Science Disruptors, on March 12
It may be freezing in New York, but that doesn’t apply to a biotech scene that continues to gain steam. No, biotech in the Big Apple isn’t yet the bubbling cluster you’ll find in Boston or San Francisco; there is much work still to be done. But if you take a look across various areas … Continue reading “Join Xconomy, And New York’s Life Science Disruptors, on March 12”
WaVe Gets $18M to Solve RNA’s “Underappreciated” Chemistry Problem
The field of RNA-based drugs is moving fast. Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) has an approved drug, and more potentially on the way. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) has a slew of them in development, and a few that could be approved in the next few years. Younger entrants with different approaches, like Moderna Therapeutics are raising … Continue reading “WaVe Gets $18M to Solve RNA’s “Underappreciated” Chemistry Problem”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Biogen, Blizzards, & More
Funny thing happened on the East Coast this week. The so-called Blizzard of 2015 threw us New Yorkers into a panic before unexpectedly veering eastward in a post-Christmas miracle and giving the city little more than a dusting. We weren’t relieved; we were livid—at weathermen for scaring us, politicians for shutting the city down for … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Biogen, Blizzards, & More”
Dendreon Gets $296M Bid From Valeant as Bankruptcy Auction Looms
It looks like someone is interested in salvaging Provenge after all. The ever-acquisitive, Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: [[ticker:VRX]]) made a surprising $296 million all-cash offer late Thursday to buy Seattle’s Dendreon (OTC: [[ticker:DNDNQ]]) out of Chapter 11. The move signals that, at minimum, the struggling proprietor of the cellular immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge) has at least one … Continue reading “Dendreon Gets $296M Bid From Valeant as Bankruptcy Auction Looms”
Biogen Places Gene Therapy Bet in Crowded Hemophilia Space
[Updated, 2:00 pm ET] Like most everyone else in biotech, Biogen Idec bailed out of gene therapy research over a decade ago when it looked like the tantalizing field would never deliver on the hype. But gene therapy’s renaissance is now well underway, catalyzed by better delivery technologies, and importantly, promising human clinical data. And … Continue reading “Biogen Places Gene Therapy Bet in Crowded Hemophilia Space”
Investors Line up For Westphal as Muscle Cramp Startup Upsizes IPO
It seems Christoph Westphal had little trouble convincing public investors to back his plan to obliterate muscle cramps. The serial biotech executive’s latest startup, Boston-based Flex Pharma, priced its IPO on Wednesday, selling 5.4 million shares at $16 apiece. That’s an $86.4 million haul before discounts due to underwriters, and well above the 4,615,000 shares … Continue reading “Investors Line up For Westphal as Muscle Cramp Startup Upsizes IPO”
Exosome Dx, Aiming to Commercialize “Liquid Biopsies,” Seeks $25M
It’s the moment of truth for any emerging diagnostics firm: the transition from startup to commercial-stage company. Time to convince insurers that you have something worth paying for, and doctors in major hospitals and community practices to change how they practice and incorporate your test. That critical point is where Cambridge, MA-based Exosome Diagnostics finds … Continue reading “Exosome Dx, Aiming to Commercialize “Liquid Biopsies,” Seeks $25M”
From Yeast, Yumanity Looks to Give Rise to Critical Neuro Drugs
Two weeks ago, in a sixth-floor room in San Francisco’s Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Market Street, Tony Coles, Susan Lindquist, and Kenneth Rhodes met with one financier after another in a campaign to raise money for their new Cambridge, MA-based startup, Yumanity Therapeutics. Their pitch centered around yeast. “[Yeast] is where statins were first identified,” … Continue reading “From Yeast, Yumanity Looks to Give Rise to Critical Neuro Drugs”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Alnylam, Stock Offerings, Curis, & More
The post-J.P. Morgan hangover set in this week. Biotech news slowed, largely aside from President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative and a parade of follow-on financings, which we’ll detail below. Indeed, as 2015 kicks off, optimism remains unbridled in the sector: the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IBB]]) is hitting record highs. Will we end the year … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Alnylam, Stock Offerings, Curis, & More”
Alnylam CEO: More Cash in Hand Is to Fuel Expansion From Within
Biotechs keep cashing in. The latest is Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), which is entering the most critical juncture in its 13-year history as it tries to enter the rarified realm of biotechs with their own products on the market. The RNA interference firm said Monday it would tap the public markets for a … Continue reading “Alnylam CEO: More Cash in Hand Is to Fuel Expansion From Within”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Foundation, Biogen, Moderna, & Lots More
Well, the circus (the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference) is over. After a few days running around in sunny Union Square in San Francisco, it’s back to reality for us East Coasters—three more months of thick coats and blustery wind. Alex Lash and I will be emptying the notebook from the conference in the weeks and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Foundation, Biogen, Moderna, & Lots More”
More Green For Moderna as Merck Makes $50M Equity Grab, mRNA Deal
Even a week after a $450 million round, the cash keeps flowing into Moderna Therapeutics. The Cambridge, MA-based company announced this morning that Merck has become the latest company angling for a piece of Moderna’s messenger RNA therapeutics. The pharma giant is signing on for a three-year research collaboration to develop mRNA-based treatments and vaccines … Continue reading “More Green For Moderna as Merck Makes $50M Equity Grab, mRNA Deal”
Genentech Redux? Roche Buys Majority Stake in Foundation Medicine
In a deal that shakes up the full-steam-ahead world of cancer diagnostics, the world’s top oncology drug company, Roche, said today it’s spending more than $1 billion for a majority stake in Foundation Medicine and creating a powerful drug-diagnostic collaboration. It’s a significant gamble on the as-yet-unrealized potential of tests that aim for broad genetic … Continue reading “Genentech Redux? Roche Buys Majority Stake in Foundation Medicine”
NPS Pharma’s Long Road Ends With a $5.2B Shire Buyout
It’s been rumored for awhile that NPS Pharmaceuticals was on the verge of a buyout. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the Bedminster, NJ-based company just cut a $5.2 billion deal with Shire on the eve of the healthcare industry’s biggest annual conference—the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which kicks off tomorrow in San Francisco. Dublin-based … Continue reading “NPS Pharma’s Long Road Ends With a $5.2B Shire Buyout”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Pre-J.P. Morgan Preening Edition
It’s here again: J.P. Morgan week. Over the next few days, most everyone in healthcare will head to San Francisco for the industry’s biggest annual conference (a blessing for us East Coasters, who get a reprieve from the sub-zero wind chills). Typically there’s a big deal or two preceding the conference. This year? A stampede … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Pre-J.P. Morgan Preening Edition”
Second Exit for DeCode Investors as Spinout NextCODE Sold to WuXi
How fast is the world of genomic data changing? Consider this: The pioneering Icelandic genomics company deCode Genetics, founded in 1996, had to go through bankruptcy and back before selling itself for a handsome sum to Amgen a few years ago. Its spinout, NextCODE Health, needed just 15 months and a single $15 million round … Continue reading “Second Exit for DeCode Investors as Spinout NextCODE Sold to WuXi”
Moderna Forms Latest Venture, Valera, to Fight Infections With mRNA
Moderna Therapeutics has been talking up plans to create a group of separate venture units based on the preclinical drug programs under its roof. That effort started last year with cancer drug developer Onkaido Therapeutics, and it continues today, as the Cambridge, MA-based company announces the formation of what’s being called Valera. Valera is the … Continue reading “Moderna Forms Latest Venture, Valera, to Fight Infections With mRNA”
With $21M, Retooled Blend Whips up Mini-Smart Bombs For Cancer
Sometimes in biotech, you go in with one plan, and an unexpected discovery changes everything. That’s the case with Blend Therapeutics, which has morphed into a company trying to use nanotechnology to create a new type of cancer therapy. Watertown, MA-based Blend is announcing today that it has raised $21 million in new equity and … Continue reading “With $21M, Retooled Blend Whips up Mini-Smart Bombs For Cancer”
With Massive Venture Round, Moderna Has $450M Reasons to Stay Private
Investment dollars have been pouring into private and public biotechs, but nothing can quite match Moderna Therapeutics. Cambridge, MA-based Moderna says it has raised a $450 million private investment round, the largest ever financing for a privately held biotech company. Moderna has now secured $950 million in venture cash and non-dilutive funding since its inception … Continue reading “With Massive Venture Round, Moderna Has $450M Reasons to Stay Private”
ImmusanT Grabs $12M as Celiac Vaccine Hits Critical Proving Ground
[Updated, 12/22/14, 4:02 pm ET] ImmusanT is trying to prove that a vaccine it’s developing can help celiac patients eat gluten without getting sick. Today, the Cambridge, MA-based company got enough dough to test that theory in real patients. ImmusanT has raised a $12 million Series B round from Vatera Healthcare Partners, the New York … Continue reading “ImmusanT Grabs $12M as Celiac Vaccine Hits Critical Proving Ground”
Enanta Pockets $75M As AbbVie, Gilead Hep C Battle Begins
A high-stakes biotech turf war is about to break out over a very lucrative market, and at the same time, a big check is on its way to Watertown, MA-based Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENTA]]). The FDA today approved a double-pill regimen for hepatitis C to be sold by Chicago-area pharma giant AbbVie (NYSE: [[ticker:ABBV]]), for … Continue reading “Enanta Pockets $75M As AbbVie, Gilead Hep C Battle Begins”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Padlock, CAR-T Fever, & More
One lesson from this week: Regardless how hard biotech is, entrepreneurs will always come back for more. As Tony Coles told me this week after he announced his new company, retirement “never sounded very appealing.” Michael Gilman similarly returned to biotech after selling Stromedix to Biogen Idec, and is moving ahead with his own new … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Yumanity, Padlock, CAR-T Fever, & More”
Déjà Vu For Gilman as New Immunology Startup, Padlock, Gets $23M
Michael Gilman has been in this position before. About 10 years ago, he left an executive research position at Biogen Idec, hooked up with Atlas Venture, and formed a startup called Stromedix—one that got funded, developed a drug, and incidentally was later sold to the big biotech, bringing Gilman back into the Biogen fold. Now … Continue reading “Déjà Vu For Gilman as New Immunology Startup, Padlock, Gets $23M”
Accelerate LI’s Latest Startup Aims to Rewire Viruses With Software
Accelerate Long Island seeded its first batch of startups earlier this year, and today it has circled back with its latest investment—a company purporting to use computer tools to whip up synthetic viruses and create new vaccines. Accelerate LI and its strategic funding partner, the Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund, have invested $100,000 total—$50,000 apiece—in … Continue reading “Accelerate LI’s Latest Startup Aims to Rewire Viruses With Software”
Famed Geneticist Altshuler Bolts Broad Institute for Vertex
How alluring is the pull of industry these days? Vertex Pharmaceuticals just got one of the world’s top geneticists, a founder of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to make the switch. David Altshuler has left his post as the Broad’s deputy director and chief academic officer. He’s been named the chief scientific officer … Continue reading “Famed Geneticist Altshuler Bolts Broad Institute for Vertex”
After Spinning Onyx into Gold, Coles Returns to Lead a CNS Startup
Tony Coles could easily be on a beach sipping mai tais right now. You can plan for an early retirement in biotech when you turn two different companies around and steer the latest one of them into a $10 billion buyout. But the 54-year-old Coles, who helped restructure NPS Pharmaceuticals and then lead Onyx Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “After Spinning Onyx into Gold, Coles Returns to Lead a CNS Startup”
ASH Roundup: Immunotherapy Stars, Gene Therapy Leaps Ahead
Cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy grabbed many of the headlines from this past weekend’s American Society of Hematology meeting in San Francisco, and a number of the companies those fields look primed to cash in with big offerings in the coming weeks. Two such companies are already prepping to do so: Juno Therapeutics of Seattle, … Continue reading “ASH Roundup: Immunotherapy Stars, Gene Therapy Leaps Ahead”
Bluebird 4 For 4 As Gene Therapy Helps More Blood Disease Patients
The story of gene therapy’s recent renaissance is well known at this point. Established pharma companies who abandoned the field a decade ago are returning and building up their own gene therapy divisions. Startups are getting backing from venture firms. Programs are advancing, and starting to produce real clinical data—without the safety setbacks that plagued … Continue reading “Bluebird 4 For 4 As Gene Therapy Helps More Blood Disease Patients”
Independent No More: Cubist Sold to Merck for $9.5B
Cubist Pharmaceuticals is one of biotech’s unlikely stories. Rising from a fortuitous licensing deal to become a leader in the antibiotics field, Lexington, MA-based Cubist made the big leap from startup to profitable mid-cap biotech; one with an established franchise and the cash flow to buy companies of its own. In biotech, however, that type … Continue reading “Independent No More: Cubist Sold to Merck for $9.5B”
With New Data, Agios Plots Quick Turn into Key Late-Stage Trials
Agios Pharmaceuticals has already established itself as a star of the 2013 biotech IPO class. Since going public last year, the company has increased its value nearly six fold—from $18 per share to $105 as of Friday—and shown early signs that two different drugs might have an impact on a deadly blood cancer known as … Continue reading “With New Data, Agios Plots Quick Turn into Key Late-Stage Trials”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Unum, RaNA, Maxwell, Biogen, & More
Over the next few days, it’s all about blood cancer: biotechs will jostle for the limelight at American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting in San Francisco, which kicks off tomorrow morning. But in the meantime, a whole lot of cash was raised by local biotechs this week, including one East Coast company that went public, … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Unum, RaNA, Maxwell, Biogen, & More”
Fast-Growing Maxwell Nets $26M More to Manage Your Healthcare
Two years ago, Maxwell Health started up with 12 employees and a plan to make benefits enrollment more user-friendly than the mind-numbing, paper-wasting process it typically is. Now, the Boston-based company has 70 employees and counting in several cities and barely resembles its former self. It aims to be, essentially, the go-to operating system for … Continue reading “Fast-Growing Maxwell Nets $26M More to Manage Your Healthcare”
With Souped-Up Rituxan, Unum Plots First Foray Into T-Cell Therapy
Unum Therapeutics emerged from stealth a few weeks ago with its own twist on the increasingly crowded field of cellular immunotherapy. Today the Cambridge, MA-based company is disclosing more details, not the least of which is that the technology is ready to be tested in patients. Any cell-based immunotherapy effort is bound to attract attention … Continue reading “With Souped-Up Rituxan, Unum Plots First Foray Into T-Cell Therapy”
After Unlikely Idenix Sale, Renaud Jumps to RaNA to Outfox Junk DNA
When Ronald Renaud sold the company he was leading, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, to Merck for $3.85 billion six months ago, it was one of biotech’s more unexpected recent turnarounds. In 2012, the FDA had halted two of Idenix’s two most advanced drug prospects in the ultra-competitive hepatitis C space, and rivals were moving ahead full steam. … Continue reading “After Unlikely Idenix Sale, Renaud Jumps to RaNA to Outfox Junk DNA”
BioMarin Gambles $840M on Prosensa’s Duchenne Drug
It wasn’t too long ago that Prosensa Holding was kicked to the curb by Wall Street investors. Following a failed Phase 3 trial for its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug and a decision by GlaxoSmithKline to dump a partnership between the two companies, Prosensa lost around 90 percent of its total market value. Since then, however, … Continue reading “BioMarin Gambles $840M on Prosensa’s Duchenne Drug”
MassChallenge Winner From MIT Aims to Kill Cancer With a “Squeeze”
Among the slew of challenges in drug development, there’s this: how can you efficiently get a big molecule, like a protein or nucleic acid, into a cell? That quandary has bedeviled a number of efforts to make and deliver drugs over the years, but it has also provided room for creative thinkers—including one from MIT … Continue reading “MassChallenge Winner From MIT Aims to Kill Cancer With a “Squeeze””
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Vertex, Epizyme, Celldex, & More
One of the year’s biggest cancer meetings took place this week in Barcelona, and many biotechs from the East Coast were angling for the spotlight. Some wowed investors, others, not so much. We’ve got the ups and downs and the rest of the week’s news and tidbits below: —Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGIO]]) was one of … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Vertex, Epizyme, Celldex, & More”
CF Foundation Cashes Out on Kalydeco in $3.3B Sale to Royalty Pharma
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has developed a drug that has changed the way cystic fibrosis is treated for some patients with a specific genetic mutation. And now the non-profit organization that helped fund its development is reaping the rewards in a $3.3 billion deal—the largest, ever, of its kind. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has sold the royalty … Continue reading “CF Foundation Cashes Out on Kalydeco in $3.3B Sale to Royalty Pharma”
Déjà Vu for Agios as Second Drug Shines in Small Blood Cancer Study
Agios Pharmaceuticals turned heads in April when it showed its first drug prospect might be able to treat a devastating blood cancer, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), in people who have a specific genetic mutation. It was the first shred of validation, in humans, for Agios’s work in a raw field of oncology—cancer metabolism—and the company’s … Continue reading “Déjà Vu for Agios as Second Drug Shines in Small Blood Cancer Study”
Juno, Less Than a Year Old, Lines up IPO to Fund Cancer Work
Few biotech startups have burst onto the scene like Juno Therapeutics. The Seattle company secured $310 million in private financing in less than a year, budding out of cancer immunotherapy work at three of the nation’s premier cancer centers in New York and Seattle. With that type of momentum, it was only a matter of … Continue reading “Juno, Less Than a Year Old, Lines up IPO to Fund Cancer Work”
Celldex Touts Brain Cancer Vaccine Data, Talks FDA Strategy
It’s notoriously tough to develop just about anything that helps patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, live longer. It’s just as hard to develop a vaccine that provides any sort of benefit to cancer patients. Yet Hampton, NJ- and Needham, MA-based Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDX]]) is providing some data today indicating that it just … Continue reading “Celldex Touts Brain Cancer Vaccine Data, Talks FDA Strategy”
As Rival Sputters, FibroGen Heads to Nasdaq Via $146M IPO
When it comes to raising money from public investors, timing is everything. And it certainly didn’t hurt San Francisco-based FibroGen’s IPO pitch when one of its rivals released some data that spooked Wall Street investors a few weeks ago. FibroGen is debuting on Nasdaq today under the ticker symbol “FGEN” after pricing 8.1 million shares … Continue reading “As Rival Sputters, FibroGen Heads to Nasdaq Via $146M IPO”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Regeneron, Sage, Tara, Alnylam, & More
The autumn chill has hit New York and Boston, which means one big thing for biotech: conference season is underway. Data are starting to pour in from a variety of scientific meetings, and much more is coming, as companies look to end the year or start 2015 with a bang. We’ve got those stories and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Regeneron, Sage, Tara, Alnylam, & More”
Servier Inks $1B Deal for Intarcia’s Implantable Diabetes Device
It’s been a big year for Intarcia Therapeutics. The Boston- and Hayward, CA-based firm raised a massive round of private financing for its experimental drug/device combo treatment for Type 2 diabetes, and then followed that up with some encouraging data in late-stage clinical trials. Now, with that product, ITCA 650, potentially just a few years … Continue reading “Servier Inks $1B Deal for Intarcia’s Implantable Diabetes Device”
With Wires and Electrodes, Tara Bio Builds a Heart on a Chip
It’s been pretty clear for some time that there’s a big need to improve the efficiency of drug R&D. By industry’s count, drugs cost over $1 billion to develop, and most of them fail. A big reason why is the preclinical studies in petri dishes and animals don’t accurately predict how a drug will behave … Continue reading “With Wires and Electrodes, Tara Bio Builds a Heart on a Chip”
Sage’s Drug For Rare Epilepsy Shows Promise in Small Study
Sage Therapeutics isn’t the company its founders originally intended. Third Rock Ventures started Sage in 2011 to develop drugs for big neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and traumatic brain injury. Along the way, however, the Cambridge, MA-based company decided to focus on rare neurological disorders that could be moved quickly through the clinic. That switch … Continue reading “Sage’s Drug For Rare Epilepsy Shows Promise in Small Study”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Intercept, Idera, Inotek, & More
Abstracts from the American Society of Hematology’s coming annual meeting were released yesterday, leading to a feeding frenzy among investors looking to declare biotech’s immediate winners and losers. In many cases, though, those answers won’t be known until the full details are disclosed in December in San Francisco. Here are the rest of this week’s … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Intercept, Idera, Inotek, & More”