San Antonio — Galena Biopharma, a San Ramon, CA-based biotech that is developing a cancer vaccine created by a San Antonio researcher, has hired Canaccord Genuity to see if it can sell or merge the company, license its assets to another business, or make some other move to keep the drug research going. The news comes … Continue reading “Biotech With Drug Developed by San Antonio Researcher Explores Sale”
Author: David Holley
David is the national correspondent at Xconomy. He has spent most of his career covering business of every kind, from breweries in Oregon to investment banks in New York. A native of the Pacific Northwest, David started his career reporting at weekly and daily newspapers, covering murder trials, city council meetings, the expanding startup tech industry in the region, and everything between. He left the West Coast to pursue business journalism in New York, first writing about biotech and then private equity at The Deal. After a stint at Bloomberg News writing about high-yield bonds and leveraged loans, David relocated from New York to Austin, TX.
He graduated from Portland State University.
More Women, Minorities Join Angel Investor Group, Austin’s CTAN Says
Austin—The Central Texas Angel Network says it’s growing, and that the diversity of its membership is, too. The organization known as CTAN says its member base has increased to more than 160 individuals from about 120 two years ago, and that the group includes more women and minorities. Women now make up 25 percent of … Continue reading “More Women, Minorities Join Angel Investor Group, Austin’s CTAN Says”
Bluegrass Vascular Gets Funding, Signs Distribution Deal With Merit
San Antonio — Bluegrass Vascular Technologies, a San Antonio company whose system for regaining access to obstructed veins received European regulatory approval last summer, has signed a deal that gives the medical device company a new equity investor and a distributor in Europe. Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MMSI]]) made the investment, which is the company’s … Continue reading “Bluegrass Vascular Gets Funding, Signs Distribution Deal With Merit”
Evestra Signs Deal with Glemark for Generic Version of NuvaRing
San Antonio — Evestra, an early stage drug developer focused on women’s health, has made a deal with the U.S. division of Mumbai-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to try to bring its generic version of the NuvaRing birth control product to market. San Antonio-based Evestra’s product is still in development, and the companies say they are hoping … Continue reading “Evestra Signs Deal with Glemark for Generic Version of NuvaRing”
StemBioSys Lands Experimental UT Tech That Finds Young Stem Cells
San Antonio — StemBioSys, the life sciences company with a system for growing stem cells, has licensed an experimental technology from University of Texas Health San Antonio that may help identify healthy young adult stem cells among large pools of other cells. There’s plenty of research examining how to possibly use adult stem cells as treatments … Continue reading “StemBioSys Lands Experimental UT Tech That Finds Young Stem Cells”
Xenex Gets $38M From Essex Woodlands, Others for Germ-Zapping Robots
San Antonio — Xenex Disinfection Services, the maker of a robot that rids hospital rooms of tiny bacteria and viruses that can potentially cause deadly infections, has raised $38 million of venture funding to hire new salespeople and spend more on research and development. Xenex’s technology, called LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots, uses an inert gas, pulsed … Continue reading “Xenex Gets $38M From Essex Woodlands, Others for Germ-Zapping Robots”
To Spin Out of Rackspace Means New Life and, In One Case, Mark Cuban
San Antonio—It’s getting hard to keep track of the number of new startups that have spun out of Rackspace to make a go of it as private companies in the city’s downtown tech corridor, from Mailgun earlier this week and HelpSocial in 2014, to many others in the years between. But HelpSocial, which provides software … Continue reading “To Spin Out of Rackspace Means New Life and, In One Case, Mark Cuban”
Rackspace Spinout Mailgun Raises $50M for API-Focused E-mail Service
San Antonio—For businesses sending out thousands or millions of receipts and marketing materials over e-mail to customers every year, there’s plenty to monitor. You have make sure those e-mails are delivered, that they stand out among the spam (or aren’t mistaken for it), that any customer replies go to the right employees, and that any … Continue reading “Rackspace Spinout Mailgun Raises $50M for API-Focused E-mail Service”
Rhythm Raises $41M to Bankroll Late-Stage Push For Obesity Drug
Rhythm, a Boston biotech developing drugs for rare, life-threatening metabolic disorders, has raised $41 million from a group of crossover investors, a signal that an initial public offering could be on the way. Rhythm plans to use the new funding to push testing of its drug, setmelanotide, into Phase 3 clinical trials for two different … Continue reading “Rhythm Raises $41M to Bankroll Late-Stage Push For Obesity Drug”
After CEO Hire, uShip Adds $25M to Further Freight Shipping Software
Austin—UShip, one week after announcing it hired a new CEO, said the company has raised a $25 million round of funding from German shipping logistics company DB Schenker, which uShip signed a deal with last year. Schenker announced in July that it signed a five-year agreement to use uShip’s enterprise freight-focused software to match freight … Continue reading “After CEO Hire, uShip Adds $25M to Further Freight Shipping Software”
EO2 Concepts Aims to Impress CME With Med Device Study, Gain Funding
San Antonio — For chronic wounds, there’s a bevy of treatment options attracting the dollars spent on care, from stalwarts like Acelity’s negative-pressure therapies to more standard, basic dressings. Now, a San Antonio medical device company has a product that it believes can potentially be more effective than other treatments and limit healthcare costs. And EO2 … Continue reading “EO2 Concepts Aims to Impress CME With Med Device Study, Gain Funding”
Starting a Medtech Company? Try Skipping Venture Capital, VCs Say
San Antonio — What’s the best way to build a startup? Bootstrap it, raise little or no VC funding, and (ideally) sell it for hundreds of millions—or billions—of dollars, according to two venture capitalists. That’s what they did at least. Andrew Farquharson, now the managing director of InCube Ventures in San Jose, CA, was the chief … Continue reading “Starting a Medtech Company? Try Skipping Venture Capital, VCs Say”
With Rackspace Layoffs, Eyes Turn to Rising San Antonio Tech Economy
San Antonio—There’s never a good time to be laid off. But maybe some times are better than others? Rackspace is cutting about 270 jobs in the U.S.—some 6 percent of its 4,500-person workforce—the company’s CEO Taylor Rhodes announced yesterday, almost five months after it was acquired by private equity firms for $4.3 billion. The layoffs … Continue reading “With Rackspace Layoffs, Eyes Turn to Rising San Antonio Tech Economy”
New CEO of Shipping Software Maker uShip Eyes Mobile, International
Austin—Shipping logistics software developer uShip has hired a new CEO, Mike Williams, two months after co-founder and CEO Matt Chasen announced he was resigning from the Austin, TX, company to pursue other early stage startup work. Williams was previously the general manager of corporate real estate services at Accruent, another Austin company that sells software … Continue reading “New CEO of Shipping Software Maker uShip Eyes Mobile, International”
Royalty Pharma Pays $90M to Cytokinetics for Heart Drug Royalties
Royalty Pharma, a New York-based company that buys up rights to royalty streams of potentially revenue-producing drugs, is paying $90 million for a for a chance to reap 4.5 percent royalty on possible sales of an experimental heart drug being developed by Cytokinetics and its partner, Amgen. South San Francisco-based Cytokinetics (Nasdaq:[[ticker:CYTK]]) plans to use … Continue reading “Royalty Pharma Pays $90M to Cytokinetics for Heart Drug Royalties”
Well Beyond Care Wins CTAN-Rice Alliance Pitch Competition in Austin
Austin—A group of early stage startups pitched to a movie theater full of attorneys, investors, and others in the Austin, TX startup world for a chance to win funding from the Central Texas Angel Network, ATX Seed Ventures, Aquila Commercial, and Corsa Ventures. Of the 10 pitches, one winner was picked: Well Beyond Care, an … Continue reading “Well Beyond Care Wins CTAN-Rice Alliance Pitch Competition in Austin”
Polish Subsidiary of San Antonio Firm Gets $4.6M for Endometriosis
San Antonio — A subsidiary of Evestra, a San Antonio life sciences company focused on women’s health, has received a $4.6 million grant to develop an experimental drug for endometriosis, a painful condition related to overgrowth of tissue in the uterus. Evestra Onkologia Sp., Evestra’s Polish-based subsidiary that’s focused on oncology therapeutics, is using the … Continue reading “Polish Subsidiary of San Antonio Firm Gets $4.6M for Endometriosis”
RealCo Accelerator Opens in San Antonio for Internet Tech Startups
San Antonio—There is a new startup accelerator in San Antonio that provides early stage funding, mentorship, and more for business-to-business Internet tech companies. RealCo’s accelerator program lasts up to 15 months and offers startups as much as $125,000 in early operating capital for a small equity stake in return. The accelerator is led by partners … Continue reading “RealCo Accelerator Opens in San Antonio for Internet Tech Startups”
Cytori Buys San Antonio-based Azaya’s Drug Delivery Tech for Stock
San Antonio — Cytori Therapeutics, a San Diego, CA-based developer of drugs that use patients’ own fat tissues to make cellular therapies, is buying the assets of San Antonio-based Azaya Therapeutics in a mostly stock deal, with potential future payments that are dependent on the progress of two drug candidates Cytori is acquiring. Azaya shareholders … Continue reading “Cytori Buys San Antonio-based Azaya’s Drug Delivery Tech for Stock”
StemBioSys Taps VWR to Distribute Stem Cell Products in U.S., Canada
San Antonio — StemBioSys has signed a deal to have its stem cell production products distributed in the U.S. and Canada by VWR (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VWR]]), a distributor of lab products to the life sciences industry, according to CEO Bob Hutchens. StemBioSys had a busy 2016, signing similar deals to have companies in Japan, Sweden, and South … Continue reading “StemBioSys Taps VWR to Distribute Stem Cell Products in U.S., Canada”
Jungle Disk Gets Additional Funding A Year After Rackspace Spinout
Jungle Disk, a data backup company that spun out of Rackspace about a year ago, has raised more funding to help the company market itself and add more customers. Jungle Disk isn’t disclosing how much it raised or whom it’s from. The money comes on top of the $11 million in venture funding the company … Continue reading “Jungle Disk Gets Additional Funding A Year After Rackspace Spinout”
Seeking Profitability, Favor Reverses Expansion to Focus on Texas
Austin—Favor, the startup with a mobile app that offers to deliver anything, is closing all of its operations outside of Texas, including in cities such as Boston and Denver. The move to work only in Texas, where Austin, TX-based Favor offers its app-based delivery service in 15 cities, is an attempt to push the company … Continue reading “Seeking Profitability, Favor Reverses Expansion to Focus on Texas”
U-M Gets $2M to Study Xenex Robots’ Ability to Sanitize Hospitals
San Antonio—With $2 million in funding from the NIH, researchers at the University of Michigan are going to study the effectiveness of a San Antonio company’s robot that disinfects hospital rooms. Xenex Disinfection Services sells robots that use pulses of xenon-based ultraviolet light to kill so-called drug-resistant “superbugs”—organisms like Clostridium difficile (C. diff) or methicillin-resistant … Continue reading “U-M Gets $2M to Study Xenex Robots’ Ability to Sanitize Hospitals”
Vertex Deals Cancer Drugs to Merck KGaA for $230M, Following Plan
[Updated 1/23/17, 3:17 p.m. See below.] Vertex Pharmaceuticals is unloading a group of ancillary research programs in its portfolio, announcing today it will out-license the potential cancer treatments to Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck KGaA. Merck KGaA is paying Boston-based Vertex $230 million up front for the drug candidates, which include experimental clinical-stage cancer therapies that target … Continue reading “Vertex Deals Cancer Drugs to Merck KGaA for $230M, Following Plan”
Dropped Call? San Antonio’s Carnegie Technologies May Have An Answer
San Antonio — Like many in this tech-addicted world, I often fill the time I spend walking from my home to point B by reading e-mails or making a call. But that is inevitably interrupted, albeit briefly, by a confusion that consumes my phone when it disconnects from my home’s broadband WiFi network. The phone can’t … Continue reading “Dropped Call? San Antonio’s Carnegie Technologies May Have An Answer”
LiveOak Gives Infocyte $3.4M Series A For ‘Threat-Hunting’ Software
San Antonio—[Updated 1/10/17, 10:57 a.m. See below.] Infocyte, a San Antonio cybersecurity company that uses a so-called threat-hunting method to seek out hidden or dormant hackers before any malicious software can strike, has raised a $3.4 million Series A round of funding led by Austin, TX-based LiveOak Venture Partners. Infocyte plans to use the funding … Continue reading “LiveOak Gives Infocyte $3.4M Series A For ‘Threat-Hunting’ Software”
Allergan, Eying More Neurodegenerative Drugs, Gets Right to Buy LTI
Allergan now has the right to acquire Lysosomal Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based drug developer for Parkinson’s disease seeking to exploit the link between neurodegeneration and a family of rare genetic disorders. The Dublin-based pharmaceutical giant purchased an option right to acquire Lysosomal Therapeutics (LTI) after LTI completes a Phase 1b trial for its lead drug, LTI-291. … Continue reading “Allergan, Eying More Neurodegenerative Drugs, Gets Right to Buy LTI”
Frequency, Led by MIT’s Langer, Aims to Fight Hearing Loss With Drugs
Concerts, power tools, screeching subway trains—they are among the many loud noises that can cause hearing loss by killing off the hair cells in our inner ear that pick up sounds. A new Cambridge, MA-based biotech, founded by famed MIT researcher Bob Langer and Harvard Medical School’s Jeff Karp, believes it has drugs that can … Continue reading “Frequency, Led by MIT’s Langer, Aims to Fight Hearing Loss With Drugs”
‘Creepy Bird’ Anyone? Meet San Antonio’s Retro Video Game Developer
San Antonio—Video games are big business, and highly dynamic. From the Xbox to virtual reality, how players play has changed quite a bit since the Atari and the NES brought home gaming to the masses. One San Antonio video game developer is riding a wave of renewed interest in older gaming systems, starting a business … Continue reading “‘Creepy Bird’ Anyone? Meet San Antonio’s Retro Video Game Developer”
Gates Foundation Sends $140M to Intarcia for HIV Version of Pump
Intarcia Therapeutics, a Boston biotech that’s developing a tiny, implantable drug-delivery pump for type 2 diabetes, is now broadening its focus to HIV backed by as much as $140 million in grant and equity funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. About $90 million of the money is non-dilutive and is being used to … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Sends $140M to Intarcia for HIV Version of Pump”
Artificial Intelligence Startup Neurala Lands $13.7M in Funding
Neurala, the Boston artificial intelligence startup aimed at helping machines like robots learn and interact with the world, has raised about $13.7 million in a new round of funding, according to a regulatory filing. The filing didn’t specify who the investors in the new round are, though the company has previously received about $2 million, including … Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence Startup Neurala Lands $13.7M in Funding”
Acelity Sells LifeCell Tissue Repair Unit to Allergan for $2.9B
San Antonio — Acelity, the San Antonio maker of wound healing technologies and tissue repair products, has sold one of its business units called LifeCell to Dublin-based biopharmaceutical company Allergan for $2.9 billion. The sale of Acelity’s so-called regenerative medicine division, LifeCell, is an attempt by the company to focus its business on its core wound … Continue reading “Acelity Sells LifeCell Tissue Repair Unit to Allergan for $2.9B”
CytoBiosciences Buys Alabama Company in ‘Multi-Million Dollar’ Deal
San Antonio — CytoBioscience, a San Antonio maker of technology that’s used to screen drug formulations, has acquired Birmingham, Alabama-based Soluble Therapeutics, which sells another screening technology. CytoBiosciences has a high-throughput device to screen a drug formulation’s safety and efficacy, helping scientists observe how multiple formulations might interact with a cell’s ion channel. Meanwhile, Soluble’s … Continue reading “CytoBiosciences Buys Alabama Company in ‘Multi-Million Dollar’ Deal”
Jungle Disk CEO: After Machines Learn, Hacking Methods Will Evolve
San Antonio—[Corrected 1/17/2017, 5:05 p.m. See below.] When people consider the potential downside of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it often leans toward the extreme: “The Terminator” or, perhaps, “The Matrix.” But other threats that may be less ominous are likely far more realistic. An example: A hacker could use an artificial intelligence tool, which … Continue reading “Jungle Disk CEO: After Machines Learn, Hacking Methods Will Evolve”
In San Antonio, an NBA Star Helps Launch City’s First Angel Network
San Antonio—In a crowd of sport coats, collared shirts, and Oxford shoes, it was easy to spot Brent Barry, and not only because the former NBA player towers above almost everyone. He was also dressed more casually, trading in business attire for a warm jacket, beanie, jeans, and a pair of New Balances. Barry’s outfit … Continue reading “In San Antonio, an NBA Star Helps Launch City’s First Angel Network”
Geekdom Touts Five-Year Rise of Downtown San Antonio’s Tech Scene
San Antonio—Downtown San Antonio has been better known for its tourist attractions in recent decades than its business activity. In the last five years, however, a tech corridor has emerged in the sprawling city’s urban core. Multiple co-working spaces, various accelerator programs, and infrastructure investments like a new tech-focused high school are helping San Antonio’s … Continue reading “Geekdom Touts Five-Year Rise of Downtown San Antonio’s Tech Scene”
San Antonio Company Cytocentrics Renames Itself CytoBioscience
San Antonio — Cytocentrics, the maker of instruments that can be used to screen if and how cells might react to drugs, has changed its name to CytoBioscience. The name change is happening in part because the San Antonio company is expanding its footprint in bioscience, CEO James Garvin said in a press release. The … Continue reading “San Antonio Company Cytocentrics Renames Itself CytoBioscience”
Nantero Lands $21M Financing for Its Carbon Nanotube Computer Memory
Nantero, a nanotech company building a new type of computer memory that it says is stronger than steel and less dense than aluminum, has raised $21 million in new financing. The company has now raised $110 million since its founding in 2001. Based in Woburn, MA, Nantero is using its new funding to get its … Continue reading “Nantero Lands $21M Financing for Its Carbon Nanotube Computer Memory”
StemBioSys Takes In $2.7M, Signs New U.S. Distribution Deal
San Antonio — [Updated 12/7/2016, 12:32 p.m. See below.] StemBioSys, a small life sciences firm that sells stem cell products, has raised $2.7 million in equity and debt, according to a regulatory filing. The San Antonio company is in the process of raising an additional $3 million in equity funding, about half of which it … Continue reading “StemBioSys Takes In $2.7M, Signs New U.S. Distribution Deal”
San Antonio Cybersecurity Firm With Federal Government Ties Gets $3M
San Antonio—A cybersecurity firm in San Antonio called Delta Risk, which has owners and board members who once held high-ranking federal government posts, has raised $3 million only a few months after acquiring a Philadelphia-based competitor, according to a regulatory filing. Delta Risk hasn’t responded to a request for comment on how they plan to … Continue reading “San Antonio Cybersecurity Firm With Federal Government Ties Gets $3M”
Goldman Funnels $51M Into Cloud Tech Company That Fights Fake Drugs
An increased incidence of counterfeit drugs around the world has people worried about the health problems they can cause, among other issues. That’s sparked a wave of interest in companies that are creating technologies to potentially sniff out counterfeit drugs. Now, a Massachusetts business that tracks and documents the authenticity of pharmaceutical drugs globally has … Continue reading “Goldman Funnels $51M Into Cloud Tech Company That Fights Fake Drugs”
Biomed Researchers at San Antonio’s UT Health Pitch for $25K Awards
San Antonio — For biotech researchers, even a few thousand dollars in early funding can provide that extra runway that turns a simple (or complex) idea into a startup. At the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, that thinking created a fund that provides researchers who work at the university up to … Continue reading “Biomed Researchers at San Antonio’s UT Health Pitch for $25K Awards”
Bellicum, Molecular Templates Granted $32M for Immuno-Oncology Work
Austin — The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded about $32 million in grants to two Texas immuno-oncology drug developers working on blood cancer treatments. Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BLCM]]) has been awarded $16.9 million to work on developing its T-cell therapy called BPX-501 for acute myeloid leukemia, says CPRIT, the cancer research … Continue reading “Bellicum, Molecular Templates Granted $32M for Immuno-Oncology Work”
Geekdom Fund Raising Up to $15M For Second Startup Investment Fund
San Antonio—Geekdom Fund, an early stage San Antonio venture capital firm focused on IT startups, has raised $6.7 million for a new fund, Geekdom Fund II. The firm may raise as much as $15 million, according to a regulatory filing. Founded in 2014 by Michael Girdley, Don Douglas, Mike Troy, and Cole Wollak, Geekdom Fund … Continue reading “Geekdom Fund Raising Up to $15M For Second Startup Investment Fund”
Prytime Medical Gets OK to Sell Anti-Hemorrhaging Device in Europe
San Antonio — [Updated 11/15/16, 4:15 p.m. See below.] Prytime Medical Devices, a Texas-based company with a medical device that’s used in trauma patients, has received approval to sell its lead product in Europe. Prytime, which is headquartered near San Antonio in Boerne, TX, sells a catheter that can be used in emergency and critical care situations … Continue reading “Prytime Medical Gets OK to Sell Anti-Hemorrhaging Device in Europe”
This Old Coffee Factory in San Antonio Might Upend Manufacturing
San Antonio—There’s an industrial factory about two miles southeast of downtown San Antonio that was built for a coffee company but, sometime after the 1970s, it became home to an HVAC business. That was lucky, the factory’s current owner says, because there’s at least one room in the 26,000-square-foot complex with air conditioning. That’s the … Continue reading “This Old Coffee Factory in San Antonio Might Upend Manufacturing”
RealSavvy May Add SF, LA to Social Real Estate Apps After Funding
Austin—RealSavvy, the Austin, TX-based startup behind a real estate app with Pinterest-like qualities for home buyers and agents, is looking to expand to cities outside of the state after receiving a new round of funding last month, co-founder and CEO Rick Orr tells Xconomy. The company received $1.6 million in October from FF Angel, an … Continue reading “RealSavvy May Add SF, LA to Social Real Estate Apps After Funding”
Golf Apparel Startup Wins $25K at San Antonio Pitch Contest
San Antonio—An e-commerce golf clothing business called The Country Club Collection won the $25,000 top award at the Stumberg Prize Competition hosted by Trinity University in San Antonio. The Country Club Collection liquidates unsold inventory from country club pro shops and golf outlets through its website, according to Luis Martinez, the director of Trinity’s Center … Continue reading “Golf Apparel Startup Wins $25K at San Antonio Pitch Contest”
Nonprofit LifeNet Acquires Biotech With San Antonio Presence
San Antonio — Virginia nonprofit LifeNet Health has acquired the assets of a biotech company that has a top executive based in San Antonio. In acquiring Birmingham, AL-based Vivo Biosciences, LifeNet gets a cell-based technology used to test and analyze the safety and effectiveness of experimental drugs. The nonprofit, which claimed $217.9 million in assets at … Continue reading “Nonprofit LifeNet Acquires Biotech With San Antonio Presence”
San Antonio’s Fountainhead Raising Money to Back Up Biomed Incubator
San Antonio—A San Antonio venture capital firm that recently created a biotech and medical device incubator is raising additional funding and may make investments in the coming months, according to managing partner Brian Kieser. Fountainhead Investment Partners has about $3 million committed to its FIP Venture Fund and plans to invest in biotech and medical … Continue reading “San Antonio’s Fountainhead Raising Money to Back Up Biomed Incubator”