Last year, a once-promising Danish biotech named NeuroSearch completed a precipitous fall from grace and announced plans to shut down. But before it did, NeuroSearch managed to ship some of its assets off to other places. A few of them landed in the hands of Atlas Venture, which is giving them a second lease on … Continue reading “Ataxion Emerges From Stealth With $17M, Option Deal With Biogen”
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.
Five Prime, Bristol-Myers Squibb Cut $350M Immuno-Oncology Deal
Five Prime Therapeutics didn’t spring out of the blocks like many of the other members of biotech’s IPO class of 2013. But the South San Francisco, CA-based biotech is now having its day in the sun, because it just cut a deal worth up to $350 million with Bristol-Myers Squibb to team up and discover … Continue reading “Five Prime, Bristol-Myers Squibb Cut $350M Immuno-Oncology Deal”
Intercept Ends Roller Coaster Weekend With Phase 3 Victory
Intercept Pharmaceuticals gave investors a scare on Friday night, but the New York-based company bounced back on Sunday by revealing that its experimental liver drug, obeticholic acid (OCA), aced a late-stage clinical trial. Intercept (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ICPT]]) said that OCA met all of its goals in a Phase 3 study testing the drug in people with … Continue reading “Intercept Ends Roller Coaster Weekend With Phase 3 Victory”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: ImmusanT, NY Disruptors, Tesaro, & More
Immuno-oncology fever still rages. Another Third Rock Ventures-backed company looks primed for an IPO. We’ve got those stories and many more in a jam-packed roundup this week: —People with celiac disease have one option to be symptom-free: steer clear of gluten. But Cambridge, MA-based startup ImmusanT is trying to come up with a vaccine that … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: ImmusanT, NY Disruptors, Tesaro, & More”
Sage Therapeutics Grabs $38M More For CNS Drugs
Sage Therapeutics has just reined in another big financing round and a new group of investors to help rev up its first clinical trial—and perhaps an IPO to boot. The Cambridge, MA-based startup said today it has nailed down a $38 million Series C round of equity financing and brought in several additional backers, among … Continue reading “Sage Therapeutics Grabs $38M More For CNS Drugs”
New York’s Life Science Disruptors: The Photos
A true New York biotech cluster is coming. It’s just going to take some more disruption to get there. That was one of the big themes I took home when I recapped our latest Big Apple biotech event, “New York’s Life Science Disruptors,” on Monday. The event, which took place last Thursday, March 6, consisted … Continue reading “New York’s Life Science Disruptors: The Photos”
Get a Shot, Have Some Bread: ImmusanT’s Plan For a Celiac Vaccine
For people with celiac disease, there’s one way to avoid symptoms: don’t eat gluten. But what if a vaccine and some booster shots could let you eat all the wheat-filled food you want, without all the nasty consequences? That’s the kind of thing a Cambridge, MA-based startup called ImmusanT is trying to prove is possible. … Continue reading “Get a Shot, Have Some Bread: ImmusanT’s Plan For a Celiac Vaccine”
Brushing Off Clinical Setback, Cerulean Tees Up $75M IPO
Cerulean Pharma whiffed on its first attempt to prove that a nanoparticle-based cancer drug its been developing could help terminally ill lung cancer patients live longer. Now the Cambridge, MA-based company is going public to get the financial backing to see if the drug has better luck treating other cancer types. Cerulean aims to raise … Continue reading “Brushing Off Clinical Setback, Cerulean Tees Up $75M IPO”
Seattle BioMed Nabs $10M NIAID Grant to Develop HIV Vaccines
Scientists have tried for years to make an effective HIV vaccine, only to be thwarted by the shifty, mutating virus’s ability to evade the immune system. But vaccine development efforts continue, as evidenced by a bi-coastal collaboration Seattle BioMed has just put together to battle the virus. The nonprofit global health research center today is … Continue reading “Seattle BioMed Nabs $10M NIAID Grant to Develop HIV Vaccines”
10 Takeaways From New York’s Life Science Disruptors
Disruption can come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s an activist trying to shake up a board. Other times it’s a group of local leaders hell-bent on reshaping a city’s life science culture. It might even come in the form of an executive forced to ax 90 percent of a company’s workforce and move … Continue reading “10 Takeaways From New York’s Life Science Disruptors”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: VentriNova, RainDance, Biogen, & More
Plenty of stories dot the roundup this week, as per usual. But on a personal note, I’d just like to say good luck to my colleague Luke Timmerman, who, as most Xconomy readers now know, is heading off to climb his latest mountain—a biography of Lee Hood. He’s a pro’s pro, a class act, and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: VentriNova, RainDance, Biogen, & More”
Biogen, Eisai Join Up in Alzheimer’s Drug Pact
Biogen Idec may be best known for its multiple sclerosis drugs, but the biotech giant is also giving itself a few more chances to succeed in the high-risk field of Alzheimer’s disease therapies. Cambridge, MA-based Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) today cut a wide-ranging deal with Japan’s Eisai. On one hand, Biogen grabbed the rights to co-develop … Continue reading “Biogen, Eisai Join Up in Alzheimer’s Drug Pact”
With Gene Therapy, VentriNova Aims to Mend Broken Hearts
When a baby is born, a pretty important type of gene shuts down. The gene that carries the instructions for making the heart does its job when the baby is in the womb, and it turns off when the baby is born. That gene is everything to a tiny New York-based startup named VentriNova, because … Continue reading “With Gene Therapy, VentriNova Aims to Mend Broken Hearts”
RainDance, Angling For an IPO, Adds $16.5M From GE Ventures, Others
RainDance Technologies has been steadily raising cash from private investors for a few years now. But with the addition of GE Ventures to its group of backers, the Billerica, MA-based company is signaling that its next raise just might come from Wall Street. “We’re not able to confirm or deny that,” says RainDance CEO Roopom … Continue reading “RainDance, Angling For an IPO, Adds $16.5M From GE Ventures, Others”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Sigal, Radius, SHIN-NY, & More
Perhaps the biggest story in the biotech world this week came out west, where Brisbane, CA-based Intermune (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITMN]]) nailed a big late-stage study and saw its shares soar more than 160 percent. But there was plenty of action on the East Coast as well. We’ve got all of it wrapped up below: —Elliott Sigal … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Sigal, Radius, SHIN-NY, & More”
Revamped Radius Health Looks to Cash In With $86M IPO
Radius Health has raised more than $250 million from private investors to develop an osteoporosis drug to pit against Eli Lilly’s teriparatide (Forteo). Now, after switching CEOs three times and kicking off a big Phase III trial, the Cambridge, MA-based company will see if it can get the same type of financial support on Wall … Continue reading “Revamped Radius Health Looks to Cash In With $86M IPO”
New York’s Life Science Disruptors on March 6: Here’s the Agenda
The grass roots biotech movement is in full swing in the New York area. And in just a week, Xconomy will bring together some of the region’s most influential names to talk about it. On March 6, we’ll be hosting our latest biotech event, “New York’s Life Science Disruptors,” at the Apella event space at … Continue reading “New York’s Life Science Disruptors on March 6: Here’s the Agenda”
Elliott Sigal, Bristol’s Former R&D Chief, on Life After Big Pharma
Less than a year ago, Elliott Sigal, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s R&D chief for nearly a decade, stunned the industry. After a lengthy run that saw Bristol morph from a slogging, multifaceted healthcare conglomerate with its fingers in everything from AIDS drugs to baby formula, to a sleeker, pure play biopharmaceutical company, Sigal abruptly walked away in … Continue reading “Elliott Sigal, Bristol’s Former R&D Chief, on Life After Big Pharma”
Isis Shares Climb on Early Data for Rare Spine Disorder Drug
Isis Pharmaceuticals could earn a big check if a drug it’s developing for a rare spinal disorder is up to snuff with Biogen Idec. Though that decision hasn’t been made by the Cambridge, MA-based biotech giant just yet, Isis took a step forward with some early results from a mid-stage study. Carlsbad, CA-based Isis (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Isis Shares Climb on Early Data for Rare Spine Disorder Drug”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: HART, CoStim, Forest/Actavis, & More
[Updated, 3:20 pm ET] Local universities, investment firms, and non-profit groups have been increasingly teaming up of late to get basic research off the ground. A couple more such deals were struck this week. Those stories and much more below: —David Green spent almost two decades leading Holliston, MA-based Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HBIO]]) before taking … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: HART, CoStim, Forest/Actavis, & More”
Immuno-Oncology Fever Rages as Novartis Snaps Up CoStim
How much is Big Pharma salivating over cancer immunotherapy these days? CoStim Pharmaceuticals, a little startup just about a year removed from its first big funding round, has already been snatched up by Swiss pharma giant Novartis. Novartis has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire CoStim, a Cambridge, MA-based startup backed by MPM Capital, Atlas … Continue reading “Immuno-Oncology Fever Rages as Novartis Snaps Up CoStim”
Ex-Harvard Bio Prez Leads Spin-Off’s Plan to Make Engineered Organs
David Green had led Holliston, MA-based Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HBIO]]) for almost two decades when he was faced with a big career choice. The company was about to spin off a new firm that would take with it an ambitious technology Harvard Bio had been developing to make engineered organs—a high-risk, high-reward project. Green had … Continue reading “Ex-Harvard Bio Prez Leads Spin-Off’s Plan to Make Engineered Organs”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Voyager, Concert, Retrophin, & More
(Updated, 9:05 am ET) The East Coast got buried in snow this week—again—but biotech activity was raging regardless. More IPOs priced (of course). A new high-profile startup emerged from stealth. A small acquisition wowed Wall Street. Those headlines and more below: —Third Rock Ventures has had success so far with its first gene therapy portfolio … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Voyager, Concert, Retrophin, & More”
Retrophin Shares Boom Following Manchester Pharma Buyout
Shares of Retrophin on Thursday soared after the company cut a deal to acquire privately-held Manchester Pharmaceuticals and, along with it, a drug that’s long been prescribed off-label for a rare inherited disease. Late Wednesday, New York-based Retrophin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RTRX]]) agreed to pay $29.5 million up front, and $62.5 million total, to snap up Fort … Continue reading “Retrophin Shares Boom Following Manchester Pharma Buyout”
Concert Pharma Heads to Nasdaq, Prices IPO at $14 Per Share
What’s it worth to add a little deuterium to drugs to boost their abilities? In Wall Street’s eyes, about $14 per share. Lexington, MA-based Concert Pharmaceuticals will debut on the Nasdaq today after pricing its IPO at the top of its projected range of $14 per share. The company sold 6 million shares in the … Continue reading “Concert Pharma Heads to Nasdaq, Prices IPO at $14 Per Share”
Third Rock’s Voyager Hunts For CNS Disorders With Gene Therapy
Several biotechs have tried over the years to come up with a way to reverse the course of crippling central nervous system disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s Disease), only to see their efforts fall short. Now, Third Rock Ventures will try to see if gene therapy can succeed where so many drugs … Continue reading “Third Rock’s Voyager Hunts For CNS Disorders With Gene Therapy”
Flexion Prices IPO at $13, Heads to Nasdaq Tomorrow
Flexion Therapeutics is set to become the latest biotech to debut on the Nasdaq. The Burlington, MA-based company, which is developing a group of osteoarthritis drugs, priced its IPO late Tuesday, becoming the 15th biotech to do so just a month into 2014. Flexion sold 5 million shares in the offering at $13 apiece, raising … Continue reading “Flexion Prices IPO at $13, Heads to Nasdaq Tomorrow”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Genocea, Eleven, NIH/Pharma, & More
A couple of local biotechs this week didn’t find their entrée to the public markets so friendly. Meanwhile, Big Pharmas all over the place were banding together to share their resources and run trials together. Those stories and more below: —Cambridge, MA-based vaccine developer Genocea Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GNCA]]) was the first local biotech to price … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Genocea, Eleven, NIH/Pharma, & More”
Eleven Prices IPO Below Projected Range, Grabs $50M
Eleven Biotherapeutics wants to prove that a drug it’s developing can go toe to toe with Allergan’s big-selling dry eye disease drug, Restasis. Wall Street, however, was tepid about the Cambridge, MA-based startup’s prospects to do so. Eleven has priced its IPO, selling 5 million shares to public investors at $10 apiece, raising a total … Continue reading “Eleven Prices IPO Below Projected Range, Grabs $50M”
Vaccine Developer Genocea Prices IPO at $12 Per Share
If the question was how would public investors view a vaccine developer in today’s hot biotech IPO market, the answer Genocea Biosciences got last night was: cautiously. Cambridge, MA-based Genocea sold 5.5 million shares to public investors at $12 apiece, raising a total of $66 million before discounts due to underwriters. It marks a lukewarm … Continue reading “Vaccine Developer Genocea Prices IPO at $12 Per Share”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Dicerna, J&J, Neurophage, & More
[Updated, 8:44 am ET] Local biotechs were out for cash this week. One company saw its share price triple in its first day on the Nasdaq. Three others lined up stock offerings. And one large healthcare conglomerate promised to open its data vault to a group of university researchers. Those stories and more below: —Watertown, … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Dicerna, J&J, Neurophage, & More”
Hunting For Brain Plaques, Neurophage Turns to a Virus
Scientists still have a lot to learn about what’s really going wrong, in the underlying biology, of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. That’s a big reason why it’s such a minefield for little biotech startups and big pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs in those areas. But it also provides room for some creative … Continue reading “Hunting For Brain Plaques, Neurophage Turns to a Virus”
Dicerna Shares Triple on First Trading Day, Close at $46
Investors in Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DRNA]]) are likely a very happy group today. Dicerna priced its IPO last night at $15 per share, already eclipsing the $11 to $13 per share range it had set coming into the offering. Shares then began trading at double that figure, $30 per share. By the time trading wrapped … Continue reading “Dicerna Shares Triple on First Trading Day, Close at $46”
Eric Schadt, Acorda’s Cohen Join NY’s Life Science Disruptors Lineup
Over the past year, New York City has gone to great lengths to stamp itself as one of the nation’s big centers for genomics research. The New York Genome Center, for instance, came together because of a massive collaboration largest between Manhattan’s various medical institutions. Now, we’re happy to say that Eric Schadt, one of … Continue reading “Eric Schadt, Acorda’s Cohen Join NY’s Life Science Disruptors Lineup”
ZappRx Gets $1M From Atlas, SR One to E-Prescribe Specialty Meds
Getting specialty medications can be a big hassle. Dozens of pages of forms are required. Patients rely on call centers to find out the status of their prescriptions, and can go days wondering exactly when the next refill is coming. What if you could handle it all, instead, with just a few clicks on a … Continue reading “ZappRx Gets $1M From Atlas, SR One to E-Prescribe Specialty Meds”
Dicerna Prices Upsized IPO at $15 Per Share, Starts Trading Thursday
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals had little trouble raising cash from Wall Street investors late Wednesday. The Watertown, MA-based company has priced its IPO at $15 per share, blowing past its projected range of $11 to $13 per share. It sold 6 million shares in the offering, up from the 5 million it initially planned to sell. All … Continue reading “Dicerna Prices Upsized IPO at $15 Per Share, Starts Trading Thursday”
Epizyme Heads Back to Wall Street, Plans $140M Raise
Epizyme saw its stock jump up a few weeks ago after hitting a milestone in its big partnership with Celgene. Now it plans to use some of that momentum to raise some more cash from public investors. On Monday morning, Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission showing it … Continue reading “Epizyme Heads Back to Wall Street, Plans $140M Raise”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Enanta, NY Disruptors, Repligen, & More
Perhaps expectedly, it was a slow week for East Coast biotech as many took a deep breath following the JP Morgan madness. But if the crowding IPO queue is any indication, things are about to heat up in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a roundup of all the local headlines, including some Xconomy … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Enanta, NY Disruptors, Repligen, & More”
Enanta, No Longer Obscure, Seeks Slice of Big Hepatitis C Market
When Jay Luly took the reins at a privately-held biotech startup called Enanta Pharmaceuticals in 2003, he thought he was in for a quick fix. A floundering biotech based on a peptide-morphing technology, Enanta needed a new direction. He was an entrepreneur-in-residence at a venture firm at the time, which is a sort of gig … Continue reading “Enanta, No Longer Obscure, Seeks Slice of Big Hepatitis C Market”
Robertson Gives Rockefeller $25M For Drug Discovery
Christmas came late for Rockefeller University, in the form of a $25 million check to help keep some of its promising drug discovery projects afloat. A gift from the Robertson Foundation, formed by former hedge fund manager Julian Robertson and his family, will allow for the creation of the Robertson Therapeutic Development Fund at Rockefeller, … Continue reading “Robertson Gives Rockefeller $25M For Drug Discovery”
Join Us, And New York’s “Life Science Disruptors,” On March 6
There’s something brewing in New York biotech. Call it a grass roots movement. No longer are the region’s scientists, non-profits, and entrepreneurs simply pounding the tables. They’re taking action. Institutions are banding together, forming initiatives hell bent on commercializing local research. Government-backed funds are teaming with local venture firms to put funds together to spur … Continue reading “Join Us, And New York’s “Life Science Disruptors,” On March 6″
Repligen, Continuing Overhaul, Flips Rare Disease Drugs to BioMarin
Waltham, MA-based Repligen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGEN]]) decided a few years ago that it would be better off abandoning drug development and focusing instead on bioprocessing. Today it’s cut a deal to shed some of its remaining therapeutic baggage. Repligen has licensed its portfolio of experimental, preclinical histone deacetylase inhibitors, or HDACs, to Novato, CA-based rare disease … Continue reading “Repligen, Continuing Overhaul, Flips Rare Disease Drugs to BioMarin”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: JP Morgan Edition
[Updated, 9:05 am ET] The biotech world’s official state of the industry lollapalooza—the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco—has come and gone, and taken along with it the sunny weather, the wall to wall investor meetings, the jam-packed presentations, and the late-night cocktail parties (back to the polar vortex for all of us East … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: JP Morgan Edition”
Alnylam Wheels, Deals, and Gets $700M Investment From Genzyme
A few years ago, Genzyme struck a deal with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) to grab some rights to an RNA interference drug program for a rare disease called transthyretin amyloidosis. Clearly, Genzyme liked what it saw, because it’s now ready to write a massive $700 million check to the Cambridge, MA-based company to significantly expand … Continue reading “Alnylam Wheels, Deals, and Gets $700M Investment From Genzyme”
Tal Medical Gets NIMH Backing for Fast-Acting Depression Therapy
If you’re suffering from depression, then going to a doctor’s office, sticking your head into a magnetic coil and getting your brain electronically stimulated might not seem all that appetizing. But what if the antidepressants you’ve been prescribed haven’t helped—and that new procedure, in a half hour or less, just might? That’s the kind of … Continue reading “Tal Medical Gets NIMH Backing for Fast-Acting Depression Therapy”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Gerngross, Akili, Intercept, & More
The (entire) biotech world is preparing to descend on San Francisco next week for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare bonanza. No surprise, then, that a flood of news hit the wires just before everyone headed to the airport. Those stories, and a few Xconomy specials below, recap a frenzied few days in biotech: —You may … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Gerngross, Akili, Intercept, & More”
Intercept Shares Skyrocket After Liver Drug Nails Mid-Stage Study
Those that invested in the Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ICPT]]) IPO last year are likely dancing in the streets today. The New York-based biotech’s shares soared more than 230 percent—from a $72.39 Wednesday close to $239.02—in pre-market trading. Investors are clamoring into the stock after Intercept announced that it stopped a mid-stage clinical trial early because … Continue reading “Intercept Shares Skyrocket After Liver Drug Nails Mid-Stage Study”
Sangamo, Biogen Team up to Make Drugs For Blood Disorders
Sangamo Biosciences has found a second big player willing to place a bet on its zinc finger technology: Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]). Richmond, CA-based Sangamo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]) and Biogen have struck a deal to co-develop a group of drugs to treat hemoglobinopathies, inherited blood diseases—like beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease—that come either from … Continue reading “Sangamo, Biogen Team up to Make Drugs For Blood Disorders”
Tillman Gerngross, the Scientist Turned Scientific Businessman
Tillman Gerngross came to Dartmouth College 15 years ago desperate for a new start. A biochemical engineer in his mid 30s, he’d just watched seven prime career years go by with little but wasted time, a narrow set of skills, and a few tough life lessons to show for it. As it turns out, it … Continue reading “Tillman Gerngross, the Scientist Turned Scientific Businessman”
Flexion Files for IPO, Seeks $86M to Develop Osteoarthritis Drugs
(Corrected, 2/12/14 at 12:11 pm ET) Flexion Therapeutics today became the latest biotech to jump into the IPO queue, looking to public investors to help bankroll the development of its osteoarthritis drugs. The Burlington, MA-based company filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, outlining plans to raise as much as … Continue reading “Flexion Files for IPO, Seeks $86M to Develop Osteoarthritis Drugs”