Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.

PacBio Seeks $200M IPO, Complete Genomics Adds $39M, Siluria Envisions Cleaner Plastics, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

The movement toward better/faster/cheaper gene sequencing dominated the Bay Area life sciences beat this week. Serious money is flowing into this industry. —Pacific Biosciences lit a spark for gene sequencing this week, when it released an investor prospectus that says it hopes to raise $200 million through an IPO. The Menlo Park, CA-based company is … Continue reading “PacBio Seeks $200M IPO, Complete Genomics Adds $39M, Siluria Envisions Cleaner Plastics, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Complete Genomics Adds $39M

Complete Genomics, the Mountain View, CA-based provider of low-cost gene sequencing, said today it has raised $39 million in a Series E round of venture financing. A new investor, Sands Capital, led the round, which included existing investors Essex Woodlands, Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners, Prospect Venture Partners, OrbiMed Advisors, Highland Capital Management, and San … Continue reading “Complete Genomics Adds $39M”

Siluria, Backed by Arch, Alloy, and Kleiner Perkins, Seeks Cheaper & Cleaner Plastics

Kristina Burow of Arch Venture Partners was itching to tell me something back in mid-June when we met at her office in San Francisco’s Mission Bay district. It involved a startup, had something to do with her chemistry training, and clearly had her excited. The startup wasn’t quite ready to come out of stealth mode … Continue reading “Siluria, Backed by Arch, Alloy, and Kleiner Perkins, Seeks Cheaper & Cleaner Plastics”

Lee Hood & Team Moving to South Lake Union, Mirina Vs. Marina, Trubion Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

We had some noteworthy personnel moves, a big real estate deal, and some legal battling on the biotech beat this week. —The Institute for Systems Biology made it clear early this year it was scoping out the former Rosetta Inpharmatics building in South Lake Union as its future home, and this week the nonprofit research … Continue reading “Lee Hood & Team Moving to South Lake Union, Mirina Vs. Marina, Trubion Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Institute for Systems Biology Makes it Official: It’s Moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union

The worst kept secret in the local biotech real estate market is now official: The Institute for Systems Biology is moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, into the modern building once occupied by Merck’s Rosetta Inpharmatics unit. Leroy Hood, the biotech pioneer who heads up the Institute for Systems Biology, told me back in … Continue reading “Institute for Systems Biology Makes it Official: It’s Moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union”

BioMarin Buys ZyStor For $115M

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]), the Novato, CA-based maker of drugs for rare diseases, said it has agreed to acquire Milwaukee, WI-based ZyStor Therapeutics for $22 million upfront, plus another $93 million if certain milestones are met, bringing the total value of  the deal to $115 million. ZyStor is developing enzyme replacement therapies for lysosomal storage … Continue reading “BioMarin Buys ZyStor For $115M”

Seattle Children’s Moves in at Prominent Biotech Address as Targeted Genetics Moves Out

There’s a changing of the guard happening over at one of the historic addresses in Seattle biotech—1100 Olive Way. This former car dealership, which for more than 15 years was home to Targeted Genetics’ leading-edge gene therapy work, is now going to be the center of a new initiative in pediatric cancer studies at Seattle … Continue reading “Seattle Children’s Moves in at Prominent Biotech Address as Targeted Genetics Moves Out”

Calypso Inks EU Deal With Siemens

Calypso Medical Technologies, the Seattle-based maker of technology to pinpoint radiation therapy to reduce side effects, is announcing today that Siemens Healthcare has agreed to distribute its system throughout Europe. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, although it gives Siemens non-exclusive rights to sell the Calypso system in Europe for three years. Last November, … Continue reading “Calypso Inks EU Deal With Siemens”

Life Tech, In Competitive Frenzy for Cheap DNA Sequencing, Buys Ion Torrent for $375M

Life Technologies just made a very aggressive move in the ultra-competitive world of fast and cheap gene sequencing. The Carlsbad, CA-based maker of life sciences instruments (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) said today it has agreed to acquire Ion Torrent Systems for a whopping $375 million in cash and stock. And that’s not the end of the deal. … Continue reading “Life Tech, In Competitive Frenzy for Cheap DNA Sequencing, Buys Ion Torrent for $375M”

Sound Physicians Taps Into Hospitalist Movement, Builds Fast-Growing Healthcare Delivery Business

One of the fastest-growing companies in the Northwest has little to do with high-tech, biotech, or cleantech. Tacoma, WA-based Sound Physicians owes its rapid rise to an innovative form of healthcare delivery that hospitals are flocking to as part of their ongoing quest to save money and improve patient care. Sound Physicians has got to … Continue reading “Sound Physicians Taps Into Hospitalist Movement, Builds Fast-Growing Healthcare Delivery Business”

KaloBios, Seeking to Apply Antibodies Beyond Cancer, Sets Sight on Killing Deadly Lung Invader

The people at Genentech have created an enduring perception about antibodies, which says these Y-shaped protein drugs are really good at specifically targeting cancer cells. When I was at Bloomberg News a few years ago, I learned that investors paid close attention to multi-billion dollar sales trends of the big three antibody drugs for cancer—bevacizumab … Continue reading “KaloBios, Seeking to Apply Antibodies Beyond Cancer, Sets Sight on Killing Deadly Lung Invader”

Mirina Vs. Marina: The Looming Court Battle Over Biotech Company Names

[Updated: 9:53 am Pacific, 8/17/10] Two Seattle-area biotech companies vying for a place among the nation’s elite developers of RNA-based drugs are now battling in court over names that make them sound like they’re in the yachting business. Mirina Corporation, a startup founded in August 2008 inside Seattle’s venture-backed Accelerator, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit … Continue reading “Mirina Vs. Marina: The Looming Court Battle Over Biotech Company Names”

PacBio Seeks $200M IPO to Gain Edge in Booming DNA Sequencing Market

Pacific Biosciences, the Menlo Park, CA-based company developing faster and cheaper gene sequencing technology, has filed a regulatory prospectus in which it says it hopes to raise as much as $200 million through an IPO. The PacBio investors who stand to gain the most from an IPO are Mohr Davidow Ventures (12 percent ownership), Kleiner … Continue reading “PacBio Seeks $200M IPO to Gain Edge in Booming DNA Sequencing Market”

MLC Dx Raises $6M

MLC Dx, a San Francisco-based maker of molecular diagnostics, has secured $5.9 million in a Series B financing, according to a report in VentureWire. Mohr Davidow Ventures participated in the round, VentureWire said. MLC Dx  is led by CEO Thomas Willis, who previously ran another Mohr Davidow portfolio company, ParAllelle Bioscience, before it was sold … Continue reading “MLC Dx Raises $6M”

Affymax Isn’t Dead Yet, ZeaChem Pursues Wood Chip Ethanol, Third Rock Heads West, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

This was a light week on the biotech beat, because yours truly was out climbing mountains for a couple days in the Northwest. But I’m here in SF for the Xconomy open house from 5 pm to 9 pm today. Come have a glass of wine and say hi if you can. —Affymax (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFY]]), … Continue reading “Affymax Isn’t Dead Yet, ZeaChem Pursues Wood Chip Ethanol, Third Rock Heads West, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Report: Former Sirtris Execs Ordered to Stop Selling Resveratrol Dietary Supplement Online

[Updated: 12:03 pm Eastern] The former executives of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals have apparently gone off the resveratrol reservation. GlaxoSmithKline, the U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant, has ordered Christoph Westphal and Michelle Dipp to stop online sales of their dietary supplement version of resveratrol through their nonprofit venture, according to a report in TheStreet.com. Glaxo called for an end … Continue reading “Report: Former Sirtris Execs Ordered to Stop Selling Resveratrol Dietary Supplement Online”

Trubion Pharmaceuticals Gets Acquired by Emergent BioSolutions for $97M Upfront

[Updated: 2:25 pm Pacific] Trubion Pharmaceuticals, a one-time highflier in Seattle’s biotech community, said today it is getting acquired for less than $100 million upfront. The buyer is Rockville, MD-based Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: [[ticker:EBS]]). Shareholders in Trubion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]) will get a total of $96.8 million in an upfront payment from Emergent, plus as much … Continue reading “Trubion Pharmaceuticals Gets Acquired by Emergent BioSolutions for $97M Upfront”

Third Rock Ventures, Firm With Hunger for Audacious Biotech Ideas, Sets up SF Shop

Boston’s Third Rock Ventures, the relatively young firm with an appetite for investing in some of the most disruptive ideas in biotech, is opening up a new office in San Francisco’s Mission Bay district. Third Rock principal Jake Bauer is moving to San Francisco, and will be joined by another partner at the firm. The … Continue reading “Third Rock Ventures, Firm With Hunger for Audacious Biotech Ideas, Sets up SF Shop”

SonoSite’s Chairman, Kirby Cramer, Retires to ‘Refresh’ Board With New Blood

Kirby Cramer, one of the most successful all-around life sciences executives in the Northwest, said today he’s retiring after 12 years as the chairman of the board of SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]), the maker of portable ultrasound machines. Cramer, 74, has been SonoSite’s chairman since the Bothell, WA-based company was originally spun off from ATL Ultrasound … Continue reading “SonoSite’s Chairman, Kirby Cramer, Retires to ‘Refresh’ Board With New Blood”

Nuon Adds $10M Debt, Options

Nuon Therapeutics, the San Mateo, CA-based developer of treatments for autoimmune diseases, has raised $10 million in a financing composed of debt and option securities, according to a regulatory filing. The document doesn’t say who invested, although its board of directors includes representatives from Domain Associates, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, and GBS Venture Partners. Affymax CEO … Continue reading “Nuon Adds $10M Debt, Options”

Allozyne Inks Sigma-Aldrich Deal

Allozyne, the Seattle-based developer of protein drugs, is announcing today it has obtained a license from Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SIAL]]) to chemical technology for linking certain compounds to protein drugs. Terms of the license to Sigma’s cycloaddition technology weren’t disclosed, although it covers drug and diagnostic uses that Allozyne may pursue in the future. Allozyne didn’t … Continue reading “Allozyne Inks Sigma-Aldrich Deal”

ZeaChem, Pursuing the Dream of Ethanol from Wood Chips, Faces First Large Scale Test

The political classes chattered about cellulosic ethanol after President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address. Bush used that speech to raise the profile of fuels made from ordinary biomass like wood chips, cornstalks, or sugarcane, making it sound like a potential key to the U.S. strategy to break the addiction to foreign oil. Four … Continue reading “ZeaChem, Pursuing the Dream of Ethanol from Wood Chips, Faces First Large Scale Test”

Montgomery Says Goodbye Gilead, Kaleetan’s Plan to Be the Next Dendreon, Calypso’s CEO Exit, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

This week’s roundup is short and sweet, because, as you Tweeps out there know from following me on Twitter, I took a few days off to summit Mt. Baker and Mt. Hood with an old college buddy. —Before I headed to the wilderness with no BlackBerry access, I broke the story on Bruce Montgomery‘s decision … Continue reading “Montgomery Says Goodbye Gilead, Kaleetan’s Plan to Be the Next Dendreon, Calypso’s CEO Exit, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer

Lots of biotech companies around the country are grasping for the title of “the next Dendreon,” including one fledgling startup here in Seattle, Kaleetan Pharmaceuticals. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has become one of the nation’s hottest biotech stories of the year, after it made history in April, winning the first FDA approval for a prostate cancer … Continue reading “Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer”

Affymax Lives to Fight Another Day, In Bid to Challenge Amgen’s Monopoly

Affymax, as one analyst put it last week, is “not dead yet.” That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but given what has happened to the Palo Alto, CA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFY]]) this summer, it has to count as some kind of progress. Affymax spent years of concentrated effort, and hundreds of millions … Continue reading “Affymax Lives to Fight Another Day, In Bid to Challenge Amgen’s Monopoly”

Genentech Inks Antibody Deal, Cytokinetics Sticks With Science First, BioMarin Scraps Drug, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

A lot of the Bay Area news this week sent ripple effects up and down the West Coast, to our other Xconomy network cities of Seattle and San Diego. —Genentech, the U.S.-based unit of Roche, expanded an alliance with Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) to develop “empowered antibodies” against cancer. Genentech is paying $12 million upfront, … Continue reading “Genentech Inks Antibody Deal, Cytokinetics Sticks With Science First, BioMarin Scraps Drug, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Gilead’s Lung Drug Ace, Bruce Montgomery, Hits Free Agent Market, Scopes Startup Ideas

Bruce Montgomery, the prolific drug developer and a leader of Seattle’s biotech cluster, has become a free agent, Xconomy has learned. Montgomery, 57, has told colleagues at Gilead Sciences that he is resigning from his full-time operating job as senior vice president of Gilead’s respiratory drug division in Seattle. He plans to continue working for … Continue reading “Gilead’s Lung Drug Ace, Bruce Montgomery, Hits Free Agent Market, Scopes Startup Ideas”

Dendreon Shows Provenge Demand, Seattle Genetics Inks Big Deal, Corey Gets Top Hutch Job, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

The biotech world has been dying to know how Dendreon is doing with the market introduction of its groundbreaking prostate cancer drug, and this week we found out. —Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) had a big week in the news. Investors were eagerly awaiting the first quarterly report from the Seattle biotech company reflecting actual product sales … Continue reading “Dendreon Shows Provenge Demand, Seattle Genetics Inks Big Deal, Corey Gets Top Hutch Job, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

BrainCells Inc. Buys Neuro Drug

BrainCells Inc., the San Diego-based developer of drugs for depression and other neurological disorders, said today it has acquired a drug from London-based Proximagen that could have potential against various psychiatric diseases. BrainCells has agreed to pay as much as $51 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on future product sales, for the … Continue reading “BrainCells Inc. Buys Neuro Drug”

EE Tech Gets $280K; Army Backing

Empowering Engineering Technologies, the Seattle-based company that seeks to help disabled people walk around better, said today it has secured $280,000 out of a Series A financing round that could be worth as much as $750,000. Part of the investment came from Wings, the medical device angel network supported by the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical … Continue reading “EE Tech Gets $280K; Army Backing”

Genzyme, Isis Cholesterol Drug Passes Pair of Clinical Trials; Shares Fall Anyway

Genzyme has been all over the news in the past week because of takeover speculation, but today when fundamental news came out about one of its most important assets for the future, investors yawned. Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) and its partner, Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) said today that their drug for people … Continue reading “Genzyme, Isis Cholesterol Drug Passes Pair of Clinical Trials; Shares Fall Anyway”

Cytokinetics, Defying the Fashion in Biotech, Sticks with Gradual Science-Based Strategy

Cytokinetics isn’t trying to do the most popular thing at the moment. The company is taking time to do a lot of basic science and methodical clinical trials to do the best it can to make sure it has something that works. That’s not exactly the most fashionable thing in today’s high-speed investing environment, when … Continue reading “Cytokinetics, Defying the Fashion in Biotech, Sticks with Gradual Science-Based Strategy”

Dendreon Conference Call Notebook: The Tale of a Provenge Launch Ramp-Up

Dendreon’s drug isn’t as simple as a pill in a bottle, and neither is telling the story about how it performs in the marketplace. But the Seattle-based biotech company offered a lot of information in a conference call today about how its groundbreaking prostate cancer drug is performing in its first few months on the … Continue reading “Dendreon Conference Call Notebook: The Tale of a Provenge Launch Ramp-Up”

Dendreon Misses Wall Street’s (Already Low) Expectations for Provenge Sales

Dendreon, in its first two months on the market, sold a lot less of its groundbreaking drug for prostate cancer than analysts were expecting. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said it generated $2.81 million in sales of its first FDA-approved product, sipuleucel-T (Provenge) for prostate cancer. That’s less than the $4.4 million average estimate … Continue reading “Dendreon Misses Wall Street’s (Already Low) Expectations for Provenge Sales”

Genentech Agrees to Pay Seattle Genetics Up to $900M for “Empowered Antibodies”

Genentech and Seattle Genetics have been working together for eight years on how to make antibody drugs that can really firebomb cancer cells, and today they are raising the ante in a big way. Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today that Genentech, the U.S.-based unit of Roche, has agreed to pay $12 million in upfront … Continue reading “Genentech Agrees to Pay Seattle Genetics Up to $900M for “Empowered Antibodies””

Dendreon Watchers: Buckle Up for Action in First Quarterly Report With Actual Sales

Dendreon followers, it’s time to get ready for another spin on the great NASDAQ merry-go-round later today. The Seattle-based biotech firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), a poster child for wild and sometimes irrational stock market swings, is preparing to release its first quarterly report this afternoon as a company with actual sales from a product. Whatever Dendreon … Continue reading “Dendreon Watchers: Buckle Up for Action in First Quarterly Report With Actual Sales”

BioMarin Scraps Muscular Dystrophy Drug

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]) said today it has halted development of an experimental drug for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy after an early-stage clinical trial showed it was unlikely to be effective. While the result was discouraging for BMN 195, the company said in a separate statement that another drug, PEG-PAL, is showing “encouraging trends” in a … Continue reading “BioMarin Scraps Muscular Dystrophy Drug”

Larry Corey, Virus Hunter With Midwest Roots, Seeks to Unleash Health Innovation at Hutch

Raising her son in a middle class home in the Detroit area in the ’50s and ’60s, Larry Corey‘s mother dreamed he’d become a doctor. Now he’s set his sights much higher, as the new president and director of one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutes, a place that seeks to do no less … Continue reading “Larry Corey, Virus Hunter With Midwest Roots, Seeks to Unleash Health Innovation at Hutch”

Hutch Names Larry Corey as New President, To Build on Hartwell’s Growth Legacy

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the world’s leading centers for biomedical research and innovation, has found its new leader after a year of searching. Larry Corey, the international HIV vaccine expert, has been named to replace the retiring Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell, 70, in the top job at the Seattle-based nonprofit research … Continue reading “Hutch Names Larry Corey as New President, To Build on Hartwell’s Growth Legacy”

Gates Foundation’s Tachi Yamada: Biotechies and VCs are Missing Out on Global Health

Tachi Yamada was a big name in Big Pharma before he took the top global health job at the world’s richest charitable organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But no single organization—not even a multi-national, multi-billion dollar R&D shop at GlaxoSmithKline, or the Gates Foundation—can conquer leading killers like HIV, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, and … Continue reading “Gates Foundation’s Tachi Yamada: Biotechies and VCs are Missing Out on Global Health”

LS9 Reveals Key Biofuel Genes, Onyx Drug Passes Big Trial, Solazyme Seeks First-Mover Edge, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

This week we had reports from a couple of the leading biofuel companies in the Bay Area, along with a noteworthy advance from a cancer drug developer. —LS9, the South San Francisco-based biofuel company, reported in this week’s edition of Science magazine how it discovered genes in cyanobacteria that it hopes will pave the way … Continue reading “LS9 Reveals Key Biofuel Genes, Onyx Drug Passes Big Trial, Solazyme Seeks First-Mover Edge, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

Early Theraclone Scientist Lee Adams Dies in Mount Rainier Climbing Accident

Some more sad news has hit the Seattle biotech community. Lee Adams, one of the early employees at Spaltudaq, now Theraclone Sciences, died this week on Mount Rainier after a fall into a crevasse. He was 52. The Seattle Times has a solid story on what happened on the mountain at 13,000 feet of elevation. … Continue reading “Early Theraclone Scientist Lee Adams Dies in Mount Rainier Climbing Accident”

LS9 Shows Recipe For $50 Oil: Genes That Convert Sugar to Diesel in One Step

LS9 is on a quest to make renewable fuel at $50 a barrel, and today it is revealing at least part of the scientific road map it’s been following to get there. The South San Francisco-based biofuel company is reporting today that it has discovered novel genes from strains of cyanobacteria that are the basis … Continue reading “LS9 Shows Recipe For $50 Oil: Genes That Convert Sugar to Diesel in One Step”

Optimer Seeks EU Approval

San Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) said today it has filed an application for approval in the European Union to start marketing fidaxomicin to treat C.difficile bacterial infections. The drug has passed a pair of pivotal clinical trials, showing that it was roughly equal to standard vancomycin therapy at curing patients initially, but the new … Continue reading “Optimer Seeks EU Approval”