YongoPal, a Web startup that enables English conversations between people in Korea and the U.S., won the grand prize of $25,000 at tonight’s University of Washington Business Plan Competition. Empowering Engineering Technologies, a company that seeks to help disabled people to walk again, won the $10,000 second place award, while Emergent Detection and Febris each … Continue reading “YongoPal Wins UW Biz Competition”
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.
SonoSite Acquires Visualsonics
SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]), the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today it has agreed to acquire Toronto-based Visualsonics for $71 million, net of cash and debt. Visualsonics is the leader in ultra high frequency micro-ultrasound that uses five times the frequency center range of conventional technologies, SonoSite says. This has enabled biologists to … Continue reading “SonoSite Acquires Visualsonics”
Craig Venter’s Enabler, Seattle’s Blue Heron, Grows With Synthetic Genes Made to Order
When genomics pioneer J. Craig Venter stepped before the cameras last week and claimed that he engineered the first bacterial cell with an entirely synthetic genome, he actually had a lot of help. One of the key players he relied on behind the scenes was a privately held company in Bothell, WA, called Blue Heron … Continue reading “Craig Venter’s Enabler, Seattle’s Blue Heron, Grows With Synthetic Genes Made to Order”
Seattle Genetics Grows Up Fast, Valocor Seeks to Fight Acne, Cell Therapeutics Nabs $21M & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week we had a few of the usual small deals to cover, but there were a few moments to take a deep breath and look at the big-picture trends underway in the Northwest biotech community. —Seattle Genetics is practically invisible compared to the drama queen across Lake Washington, otherwise known as Dendreon. But while … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Grows Up Fast, Valocor Seeks to Fight Acne, Cell Therapeutics Nabs $21M & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Mendlein Joins aTyr as Chairman
aTyr Pharma, the San Diego-based developer of a new class of protein drugs, said yesterday that John Mendlein has joined the company as executive chairman of the board. Mendlein is currently the chairman of Fate Therapeutics and Alevium Pharmaceuticals. He was previously the CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics before that company was sold to Bristol-Myers Squibb … Continue reading “Mendlein Joins aTyr as Chairman”
Anadys Raises $12.5M, Hires Banker
Anadys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]), the San Diego-based developer of a treatment for hepatitis C, said today it has raised $12.5 million through a registered stock offering with certain institutional investors. The company has agreed to sell about 5.8 million shares at $2.15 apiece, about a 3.5 percent discount from yesterday’s closing stock price of $2.23. … Continue reading “Anadys Raises $12.5M, Hires Banker”
Seattle Genetics, Growing Up in a Hurry With Millennium, Aims to Make Most of Cancer Drug
Seattle Genetics has spent more than a decade thinking about cutting-edge biology, chemistry, and clinical trials to prove its drug candidates work. Then last week, for the first time in nine years I’ve been reporting on CEO Clay Siegall, he talked with passion about things like manufacturing, inventory, quality assurance, quality control, and insurance reimbursement. … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Growing Up in a Hurry With Millennium, Aims to Make Most of Cancer Drug”
Valocor Therapeutics, a QLT Spinoff, Envisions Safe Anti-Acne Drug and More
One of Vancouver, BC’s big biotech success stories, QLT, was clobbered by Genentech a few years ago in the market for treating age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among elderly people. But during its heyday, QLT spawned a few cool R&D projects, and now some of them are being packaged into a new … Continue reading “Valocor Therapeutics, a QLT Spinoff, Envisions Safe Anti-Acne Drug and More”
Vertex Hepatitis C Drug Passes Pivotal Test, Cures Three Out of Every Four Patients
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has finally got the definitive proof it needs to say it has made a breakthrough for hepatitis C patients. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said today that its experimental drug for the chronic liver damaging disease was able to cure three-fourths of patients in the last stage of clinical testing required for FDA … Continue reading “Vertex Hepatitis C Drug Passes Pivotal Test, Cures Three Out of Every Four Patients”
Hutch Nabs $10M Computing Grant
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said today it has received two grants worth a total of $10.1 million to set up a high-performance computing cluster and center to safeguard research data. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka “the stimulus,” via the National Institutes of Health. The plan is to … Continue reading “Hutch Nabs $10M Computing Grant”
T2 Biosystems Nails Down $15M For Portable Diagnostic with the Punch of a Desktop
T2 Biosystems has been quiet for a while, but it’s making some noise today. The Cambridge, MA-based developer of a portable diagnostic machine has raised $15 million to carry on its quest for a diagnostic tool that that can beat workhorse laboratory machines on versatility, speed, and price. Physic Ventures led the round, which included … Continue reading “T2 Biosystems Nails Down $15M For Portable Diagnostic with the Punch of a Desktop”
Generating a Human Return on Investment: Three Young Scientists Pursue Dreams
Businesses have financial data to show how they are performing. Research centers can point to how their discoveries are cited by peers. But nonprofits seeking to benefit society? Hard data and accountability that goes with it can be elusive. That’s why what happened yesterday at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue was so impressive. The Northwest … Continue reading “Generating a Human Return on Investment: Three Young Scientists Pursue Dreams”
Cell Therapeutics Adds $21M
Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]), the Seattle-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it has raised $21 million through an offering of preferred stock to three institutional investors. The company’s lead drug candidate, pixantrone for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was rejected by the FDA last month. Cell Therapeutics said it plans to use the new financing to pay … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Adds $21M”
NormOxys Pockets $17.5M for Drugs Against Heart Failure, Cancer
NormOxys, the Wellesley, MA-based company on a quest to make a new class of drugs that normalize oxygen levels in deprived tissues, has raised $17.5 million in venture capital to run its first set of tests in people with chronic heart failure and cancer. The financing was led by a new investor, Princeton, NJ-based Care … Continue reading “NormOxys Pockets $17.5M for Drugs Against Heart Failure, Cancer”
Logical Therapeutics Snags $10M to Make Pain Relievers Safer on the Gut
Logical Therapeutics has secured $10 million to pursue its idea for a safer way to relieve chronic arthritis pain. The Waltham, MA-based company has nailed down the $10 million out of a financing round that could be worth as much as $16.9 million over time, according to a regulatory filing today with the Securities and … Continue reading “Logical Therapeutics Snags $10M to Make Pain Relievers Safer on the Gut”
Who Needs VCs? Steven Quay’s Atossa Genetics Seeks Fast IPO For Breast Cancer Test
Most biotech firms toil as obscure private companies for years to prove their ideas work in the clinic. They have to hustle non-stop for venture capital to keep the doors open just long enough to someday cash out with an IPO. Steven Quay is betting he’s found a shortcut. Quay, the veteran Seattle biotech CEO, … Continue reading “Who Needs VCs? Steven Quay’s Atossa Genetics Seeks Fast IPO For Breast Cancer Test”
GenoLogics Raises $1M
GenoLogics, the Victoria, BC-based developer of software for biologists and physicians, has raised another $1 million of equity financing out of a round that could be worth $1.5 million, according to a regulatory filing. GenoLogics previously raised $5 million in February 2009 from OVP Venture Partners, Yaletown Venture Partners, and GrowthWorks Capital. We profiled the … Continue reading “GenoLogics Raises $1M”
Alder’s Long-Awaited Arthritis Data, Ikaria Plots $200M IPO, Emerald’s Resurrection, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Get ready for a double-dose of your usual Seattle biotech roundup, as I was too slammed to give you the regular weekly shot of news last Thursday. —Six months after Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) wrote a big check to Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals, we can see why. Xconomy had the exclusive on how ALD518 generated … Continue reading “Alder’s Long-Awaited Arthritis Data, Ikaria Plots $200M IPO, Emerald’s Resurrection, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Scripps Chemistry Idea “Clicks” With Big Pharma, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics
One of the Nobel Prize winners at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego has been saying for a decade that chemists would be better off doing the simple thing instead of the hard thing. Now quite a few of the world’s top academic scientists and Big Pharma companies are starting to adopt K. Barry … Continue reading “Scripps Chemistry Idea “Clicks” With Big Pharma, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics”
Leroy Hood’s Personalized Medicine Vision Enters Proving Ground at Ohio State
Seven years after biotech pioneer Leroy Hood coined the term “P4 Medicine,” for a transformative new idea in healthcare, he has captured the first significant money and manpower from a major U.S. medical school to carry the idea forward. Ohio State University, the nation’s second-largest university, said late Friday that its board has approved a … Continue reading “Leroy Hood’s Personalized Medicine Vision Enters Proving Ground at Ohio State”
Alder, Bristol Arthritis Drug Shows “Outstanding” Results in Trial, Lead Researcher Says
Six months after Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) wrote a big check to Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals, we can see what some of the fuss is about. The first public glimpse of data from a mid-stage clinical trial of Bristol and Alder’s experimental antibody drug for rheumatoid arthritis appeared online last week. These are the results … Continue reading “Alder, Bristol Arthritis Drug Shows “Outstanding” Results in Trial, Lead Researcher Says”
Vertex, Worth $7.5B, Eagerly Awaits Final Proof that Hepatitis C Drug Works
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has been in business for more than 20 years, and burned through more than $2.8 billion on a quest to develop drugs that shake up the medical standards of care. Now in the coming weeks and months, it will get the first definitive evidence that will say whether its lead drug candidate for … Continue reading “Vertex, Worth $7.5B, Eagerly Awaits Final Proof that Hepatitis C Drug Works”
Xconomy Seattle’s Health IT Event: The Slides You’ve Been Asking For
Quite a few people, including my old friend Carol Ostrom from The Seattle Times, asked me to post the slides from speakers at Wednesday’s Xconomy Forum on health IT innovation. As I told Carol, we listen carefully to our readers around here. Ask and ye shall receive. Below are the slides from five of the … Continue reading “Xconomy Seattle’s Health IT Event: The Slides You’ve Been Asking For”
Ikaria, Developer of the Hutch’s Hibernation-on-Demand Concept, Seeks $200M IPO
Ikaria, the developer of a drug to induce hibernation on demand like something from a science fiction novel, is attempting to raise $200 million through an initial public offering to help it achieve its goal. Ikaria is headquartered in Clinton, NJ, but its R&D base is in Seattle, close to the lab of Mark Roth … Continue reading “Ikaria, Developer of the Hutch’s Hibernation-on-Demand Concept, Seeks $200M IPO”
Xconomy Seattle’s Health IT Photo Gallery
Thanks to everyone who made yesterday’s Xconomy event on how information technology can transform medicine into such a smash hit. We had a full house at the Frye Art Museum’s auditorium; a cast of dynamic speakers with diverse perspectives on health IT; a highly interactive panel discussion; and a fascinating duo of visionaries from the … Continue reading “Xconomy Seattle’s Health IT Photo Gallery”
Seattle BioMed Starts Malaria Trial
Seattle Biomedical Research Institute said today it has officially started the first human clinical trial of its malaria vaccine candidate. The trial will assess the safety of a genetically engineered version of the malaria parasite. I wrote about this trial in depth back in March based on an interview with Seattle BioMed’s lead researcher on … Continue reading “Seattle BioMed Starts Malaria Trial”
Alder Seeks to Treat Cancer in a Radical Way, Fighting Inflammation, Not Tumors
There are a lot of radical ideas for treating cancer, and most are pure bunk. But now one of Seattle’s most promising biotech startups, Alder Biopharmaceuticals, says it has the first hard evidence to support a concept that would have gotten them laughed out of the room by most cancer physicians a year ago. Alder’s … Continue reading “Alder Seeks to Treat Cancer in a Radical Way, Fighting Inflammation, Not Tumors”
See You This Afternoon at Seattle Health IT Event
The Xconomy Seattle team will soon be heading across the street to the Frye Art Museum for our afternoon event on how information technology is transforming healthcare. This is the fourth consecutive sell-out event we’ve convened over the past eight months in Seattle. In October, we examined the 20-year outlook for local life sciences. November … Continue reading “See You This Afternoon at Seattle Health IT Event”
How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self”
Larry Smarr is one of the people who had a vision in the 1980s for a high-speed computer network that grew to become the Internet of today. So sharing data is important to him. Now he has found a new source of data that he believes has great potential if shared widely: information from his … Continue reading “How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self””
Bio Architecture Lab Gets New CEO
Bio Architecture Lab, a spinoff from the University of Washington that’s developing biofuel from ocean seaweed, said today it has hired Daniel Trunfio to be its new CEO. Trunfio will replace CEO Nikesh Parekh, who will remain involved with the company in a new role to be determined, said spokesman John Williams. Trunfio spent 23 … Continue reading “Bio Architecture Lab Gets New CEO”
Will People Bid Online for a Nose Job Just Like an Airline Ticket? PriceDoc Thinks So
If PriceDoc has its way, masses of people will go online to bid for routine medical and dental procedures a lot like airline tickets. Find a doc near your house. Agree on the price for a nose job. Pay the doc in cash. This is a simple idea with appeal to many doctors and patients, … Continue reading “Will People Bid Online for a Nose Job Just Like an Airline Ticket? PriceDoc Thinks So”
Coronado Biosciences Nabs $7M
Coronado Biosciences, a Seattle-based developer of cancer drugs, has raised $7 million in equity and options, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company lists RJ Tesi as its CEO, and Lindsay Rosenwald, the founder of Paramount Biosciences, as a member of its board.
Tekmira Expands Bristol Deal
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, the Vancouver, BC-based developer of technology to RNA interference drugs, said today it has signed a four-year collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Bristol will pay Tekmira $3 million upfront, while Tekmira will be asked to deliver a pre-determined number of batches of RNAi drug candidates in lipid nanoparticles. Tekmira has other collaborations with Pfizer, … Continue reading “Tekmira Expands Bristol Deal”
How Emerald BioStructures Escaped deCode’s Bankruptcy With Help From Boston VCs
Lance Stewart woke up many times over the past two years, and asked himself, “How did I get here?” He had reason to be confused. Stewart had spent more than a decade building one of the world’s best structural biology research teams inside a light manufacturing facility on Bainbridge Island, WA. Revenues had climbed every … Continue reading “How Emerald BioStructures Escaped deCode’s Bankruptcy With Help From Boston VCs”
Sparking a Global Health Movement for Young People: Kristen Eddings’s Vision (and a Party)
Young people get a bad rap in the media. They slack off, don’t vote, and have no money and no voice in society (except for a few outliers like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg). If they are being asked about business or some serious issue, many are afraid they’ll say something dumb on the record. Some actually … Continue reading “Sparking a Global Health Movement for Young People: Kristen Eddings’s Vision (and a Party)”
ImmunoGen Raises $67M in Stock Deal
Waltham, MA-based ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) said today it has netted about $67.4 million through a stock offering. The company sold 9 million shares to investors at $8 apiece, for a gross of $72 million, then subtracted underwriting discounts and expenses. Underwriters of the deal have a 30-day option to buy another 1.35 million shares. JP … Continue reading “ImmunoGen Raises $67M in Stock Deal”
Optimer Hires New CEO
San Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) has named Pedro Lichtinger as its new chief executive officer. Lichtinger will replace Michael Chang, who will continue at Optimer as chairman of the board and as a consultant, the company said in a statement. Lichtinger is a former executive from Pfizer, and was most recently the president of … Continue reading “Optimer Hires New CEO”
Amylin, Alkermes Get New FDA Date
San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) and its partners, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]), said today the FDA has set a deadline of Oct. 22 to finish reviewing the application to start selling exenatide once-weekly (Bydureon) for diabetes. The first application was filed in May 2009, and the FDA said in … Continue reading “Amylin, Alkermes Get New FDA Date”
Hood Wins $100k Kistler Prize
Leroy Hood, the pioneer of high-speed gene sequencing technologies that made the Human Genome Project possible, has been awarded the 2010 Kistler Prize. The $100,000 award is named after Walter Kistler, the inventor and president of the Bellevue, WA-based Foundation for the Future. Past winners include famous scientists J. Craig Venter, Richard Dawkins, and Edward … Continue reading “Hood Wins $100k Kistler Prize”
Dendreon Makes History, Microsoft Tries Open-Source Biology, an OVP IPO Is Brewing, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week, my Mom wrote to say she saw a Seattle biotech company featured on ABC’s World News Tonight. That may be a first in the nine years I’ve been writing about this business. So yes, this was a big week. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) made history, and the TV network evening news, when it … Continue reading “Dendreon Makes History, Microsoft Tries Open-Source Biology, an OVP IPO Is Brewing, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Arch’s Nelsen Joins NVCA Board
Robert Nelsen, a managing director with Arch Venture Partners in Seattle, has been elected to the board of the National Venture Capital Association, according to an NVCA statement. Nelsen was elected to a four-year term as one of five new directors on the board. Kate Mitchell of Scale Venture Partners is also replacing Terry McGuire … Continue reading “Arch’s Nelsen Joins NVCA Board”
Cadence Re-Files FDA Application
Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]), the San Diego-based developer of a pain reliever for use in hospitals, said today it has re-submitted its new drug application for the IV form of acetaminophen (Ofirmev) to the FDA. The company’s earlier application was delayed on February 10, when the FDA said it found deficiencies on an inspection of … Continue reading “Cadence Re-Files FDA Application”
Big Ideas for Health IT from Hood, Smarr, Lazowska: Highlights of the OVP Tech Summit
The fabled convergence of information technology and biology has been going on for a long time, but merging these fields ain’t easy. Chad Waite, a managing director with OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, knows this all too well, even though he has a megahit on his resume with Rosetta Inpharmatics, a computational biology company … Continue reading “Big Ideas for Health IT from Hood, Smarr, Lazowska: Highlights of the OVP Tech Summit”
An OVP IPO is Brewing, Allozyne Doing Fine, VLST Finds Second Partner, & More Tidbits from the OVP Tech Summit
There was a lot of big picture talk about the future of IT, biotech, and cleantech today at the OVP Tech Summit in downtown Seattle, but I also picked up quite a few morsels of news on the portfolio companies from the venerable Kirkland, WA-based venture firm. Here are the highlights, which largely came from … Continue reading “An OVP IPO is Brewing, Allozyne Doing Fine, VLST Finds Second Partner, & More Tidbits from the OVP Tech Summit”
Dendreon CEO Mitch Gold Cashes Out With $26.7M Payday On FDA Approval
[Correction: 5:10 pm Pacific, 5/3/10] Dendreon made history last Thursday, and its historic achievement made CEO Mitch Gold about $26.7 million richer. Gold, 43, exercised his options to buy shares of stock in his company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) last Thursday, when Dendreon got the good news that the FDA had cleared its novel prostate cancer drug … Continue reading “Dendreon CEO Mitch Gold Cashes Out With $26.7M Payday On FDA Approval”
Dendreon Finds New Waterfront Office
Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), which won FDA approval last week for a new treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight prostate cancer, has found a bigger new home. The company signed a letter of intent to lease a new four-story, 200,000 square foot building on Seattle’s waterfront, according to The Seattle Times. The building, developed … Continue reading “Dendreon Finds New Waterfront Office”
How Can IT Tame the $2.5 Trillion Healthcare Beast? Xconomy Takes Close Look May 12
Stephen Friend, the former chief of Merck’s cancer research and the visionary founder of an open-source movement for biology, likes to riff about the need for “globally coherent datasets.” What in the world is he talking about? Say you’re starting with a cancer patient. He’s talking about taking measurements of the patient’s DNA, RNA, and … Continue reading “How Can IT Tame the $2.5 Trillion Healthcare Beast? Xconomy Takes Close Look May 12”
SonoSite Deals With Physio-Control
SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]), the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today it has formed a partnership with Redmond, WA-based Physio-Control, the big maker of heart defibrillators. The deal calls for Physio-Control’s sales reps to help pitch SonoSite’s ultrasound diagnostic tools to emergency medicine workers. Terms of the arrangement weren’t disclosed.
Microsoft Builds Open-Source Tool for Biologists Drowning in Data, an ‘On-Ramp’ for Customers Who Pay
The boss at the world’s leading maker of high-speed gene sequencing instruments, Illumina CEO Jay Flatley, pulled no punches a couple weeks ago when asked about bioinformatics. This is the field in which people make software to help biologists store, analyze, and visualize vast piles of genomic data that are accumulating every day. “If you … Continue reading “Microsoft Builds Open-Source Tool for Biologists Drowning in Data, an ‘On-Ramp’ for Customers Who Pay”
Proteostasis, with San Diego Roots and Boston Home, Seeks Edge in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Peter Reinhart, the new chief scientist of Cambridge, MA-based Proteostasis Therapeutics, spent the last six years leading one of the top neuroscience groups in the pharmaceutical industry, at Wyeth. The group has gotten its share of press for its efforts, with mixed results, to take aim at neurodegenerative scourges like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But Wyeth’s … Continue reading “Proteostasis, with San Diego Roots and Boston Home, Seeks Edge in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s”