Author: Ryan McBride

Ryan is an award-winning business journalist who contributes to our life sciences and technology coverage. He was previously a staff writer for Mass High Tech, a Boston business and technology newspaper, where he and his colleagues won a national business journalism award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2008. In recent years, he has made regular TV appearances on New England Cable News. Prior to MHT, Ryan covered the life sciences, technology, and energy sectors for Providence Business News. He graduated with honors from the University of Rhode Island in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. When he’s not chasing down news, Ryan enjoys mountain biking and skiing in his home state of Vermont.

VC Fundraising Engine Stalled, Q2 Venture Fund Closings Hit 13-year Low

Could it be the nadir of this recession for the venture capital industry? U.S. venture firms closed the fewest number of funds since the mid-1990s in the second quarter of 2009, according to a study released today. The 63.1-percent decline in quarterly VC fundraising indicated in the study is further evidence that the venture industry … Continue reading “VC Fundraising Engine Stalled, Q2 Venture Fund Closings Hit 13-year Low”

ConforMIS Shapes Corporate Expansion with $50M D Round

Burlington, MA-based ConforMIS has tapped government and private funds around the globe to raise $50 million, providing a huge financial boost to expand its business of providing patients with customized knee implants based on CT or MRI scans of their damaged knees. ConforMIS chairman and CEO Philipp Lang tells me the company drew investments for … Continue reading “ConforMIS Shapes Corporate Expansion with $50M D Round”

MC10 Tapping Founding VC North Bridge Venture Partners to Advance Stretchable Silicon Business

North Bridge Venture Partners has committed to participating in a planned $5 million Series A round of financing for stealthy startup MC10, which the Waltham, MA-based VC firm formed last year to commercialize stretchable silicon material, according to MC10 CEO Dave Icke. The stretchable silicon is both flexible in a literal sense and in terms … Continue reading “MC10 Tapping Founding VC North Bridge Venture Partners to Advance Stretchable Silicon Business”

Vertex Selling Telaprevir Payment Rights

Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) revealed today its plans to raise cash through the sale of rights to $250 million in milestone payments it could receive for successfully developing and launching its experimental hepatitis C treatment, telaprevir, in Europe, according to a press release. No buyer of the rights was announced. Vertex gained rights to … Continue reading “Vertex Selling Telaprevir Payment Rights”

Intellikine Attracts Novartis, Biogen, and Others for $51M Second Round

Drug development startup Intellikine is disclosing the names of the new investors in its latest round of venture financing, which could total up to $51 million, according to a press release the La Jolla-based firm issued yesterday. The new investors behind the firm’s second-round financing are Novartis Bioventures, Cambridge, MA-based biotech powerhouse Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]), … Continue reading “Intellikine Attracts Novartis, Biogen, and Others for $51M Second Round”

Former CEO Alexis Borisy Voices Mixed Feelings on CombinatoRx Saga

Alexis Borisy stepped down from his chief executive role at drug developer CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) last week after nine years on the job. His departure was revealed on the same day as the planned merger between Cambridge, MA-based CombinatoRx and Vancouver’s Neuromed Pharmaceuticals. I caught up with Borisy, an Xconomist, on the heels of the merger … Continue reading “Former CEO Alexis Borisy Voices Mixed Feelings on CombinatoRx Saga”

How IT Entrepreneurs Can Profit from Healthcare Reform and Other Tips from Boston’s Health 2.0 Insiders

The healthcare industry is facing a shakeup in the way it uses information technology, and this is creating all sorts of opportunities for entrepreneurs in New England. This was the take-home message from some of the top minds in the Health 2.0 field, who we gathered together last week for a jam-packed panel discussion at … Continue reading “How IT Entrepreneurs Can Profit from Healthcare Reform and Other Tips from Boston’s Health 2.0 Insiders”

CombinatoRx to Combine with Neuromed, CEO Borisy Steps Down

[Updated: 5 pm EST] Big news this morning from CombinatoRx, the developer of treatments based on combinations of known drugs. The Cambridge, MA-based firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) has agreed to a merger with a privately held biotech firm called Neuromed Pharmaceuticals to beef up its product pipeline and grow its cash surplus enough to operate into 2012, … Continue reading “CombinatoRx to Combine with Neuromed, CEO Borisy Steps Down”

Xconomy Summit Hits Boston: Lessons on Innovation, Plans for Recovery from Dean Kamen, Juan Enriquez, and a Host of Other Leaders

Boston-area entrepreneurs unveiled their inventions for optimizing decision-making, delivering drugs to the bladder, and providing a “check-engine light” for the human body. Investors shrugged off the bitter economy and talked about their future plans to create new tech companies. Inventor and educator Dean Kamen delivered an inspirational speech on ways to train the coming generation … Continue reading “Xconomy Summit Hits Boston: Lessons on Innovation, Plans for Recovery from Dean Kamen, Juan Enriquez, and a Host of Other Leaders”

Biogen and Fellow Boston-Area Biotechs Ready for Biogenerics

Boston-area biotech companies have kept a close eye on how U.S. regulators decide to govern the approval of copycat versions of biotech drugs. Now I’m seeing more signs that some of these companies could actually become major players in the business of making biogenerics (which are also called biosimilars, follow-on biologics, and other names, depending … Continue reading “Biogen and Fellow Boston-Area Biotechs Ready for Biogenerics”

CRV Taps F—edCompany.com Creator

Charles River Ventures, a venture firm with offices in Waltham, MA, and Menlo Park, CA, has recruited F—edCompany.com creator Philip Kaplan to be an entrepreneur-in-residence at the firm, VentureWire reports. Kaplan, aka “Pud,” tells the VC news service that he plans to evaluate tech companies in the context of venture investing rather than slamming them … Continue reading “CRV Taps F—edCompany.com Creator”

Pubget Speeds Up Science Journal Searches, Provides Marketing Tools

Ramy Arnaout, a clinical pathologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, believed he and his colleagues were wasting precious time performing Web searches for scientific journal articles. Time would be better spent curing diseases and treating patients. So he developed an application at first to use on his own computer to speed up … Continue reading “Pubget Speeds Up Science Journal Searches, Provides Marketing Tools”

Fidelity to Shutter $500M PE Unit

Boston-based financial giant Fidelity Investments plans to close its private equity unit next month due the unit’s inability to raise funds through debt financings, Reuters reported this morning. The closure of the two-year-old private equity unit, which is called Fidelity Equity Partners and manages $500 million in assets, will have no impact on Fidelity Ventures, … Continue reading “Fidelity to Shutter $500M PE Unit”

I-Therapeutix Raises $15M in Round Led by Polaris

I-Therapeutix is reaping the rewards of its swift development of a hydrogel bandage to seal surgical wounds on the eye. Hatched in 2006, the Waltham, MA-based startup has already garnered European market clearance for the product and plans to reveal today it has landed $15 million in a Series C round of venture capital. Polaris … Continue reading “I-Therapeutix Raises $15M in Round Led by Polaris”

Living Proof Lathers $9M in Fresh Capital into Beauty Products Operation

[Updated at 11:15 am] Living Proof, a Cambridge, MA-based startup applying advances in material science from institutions such as MIT to the beauty industry, has raised $9 million in a new round of equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. Polaris Venture Partners, which founded Living Proof with MIT inventor Bob Langer and others, provided … Continue reading “Living Proof Lathers $9M in Fresh Capital into Beauty Products Operation”

Exact Sciences Moving to Wisconsin

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:EXAS]]), a Marlborough, MA-based provider and developer of DNA tests for colorectal cancer, has garnered a $1 million loan from the state of Wisconsin and plans to relocate its headquarters from Massachusetts to Wisconsin, according to reports. News of the relocation comes three months after Exact announced that it had named a new … Continue reading “Exact Sciences Moving to Wisconsin”

Norwich Ventures Sticking to Early-Stage Medical Device Deals Amid Late-Stage Trend

On the landscape of medical devices investing, much of the venture capital herd is running for later-stage deals nowadays. Norwich Ventures, on the other hand, is holding tight to its strategy of investing in early-stage medical device companies and preferably creating startups from scratch. In fact, there are several other uncommon traits of the Waltham, … Continue reading “Norwich Ventures Sticking to Early-Stage Medical Device Deals Amid Late-Stage Trend”

Inside a Life Sciences Industry Confab: Notes from Convergence

It didn’t bother me that my attendee badge was missing from the registration booth when I arrived at Convergence: The Life Sciences Leaders Forum in Newport, RI, last week. I suspect it was stolen by the same conference gremlins who bilked my badge at the NVCA annual meeting this spring, the 2007 BIO meeting in … Continue reading “Inside a Life Sciences Industry Confab: Notes from Convergence”

Adimab Strikes Antibody-Discovery Deals with Merck and Roche

Tillman Gerngross is wont to say that the antibody-drug discovery technology his biotech startup, Adimab, is developing is a game-changer. Now it looks like two of the largest drug companies in the world might agree—Lebanon, NH-based Adimab plans to announce today that Merck & Co. and Roche have signed on as its first research collaborators. … Continue reading “Adimab Strikes Antibody-Discovery Deals with Merck and Roche”

Flagship Ventures Taps Carbeck to Work on Hush-Hush Startup Project

Jeff Carbeck, a co-founder of Boston-area startups Arsenal Medical and Nano-Terra, has recently begun working with Flagship Ventures as a consultant on a confidential startup project, firm spokeswoman Kelly Friendly tells Xconomy. Friendly says she’s unable to provide details about the startup project on which the former Princeton professor is working. Carbeck also declined to … Continue reading “Flagship Ventures Taps Carbeck to Work on Hush-Hush Startup Project”

Novartis Backing Enlight Biosciences

Swiss drug giant Novartis has joined a cadre of big pharmaceutical companies that are supporting Boston-based Enlight Biosciences, a startup focused on developing technologies to improve drug discovery and development efforts, Enlight founding CEO David Steinberg confirmed. Enlight has also recruited another unnamed large pharma firm into the group recently, says Steinberg, but he wouldn’t … Continue reading “Novartis Backing Enlight Biosciences”

Partners HealthCare to Spin Off Startup Offering Web-based Health-Monitoring Services, Seeks CEO and Investors

Partners HealthCare System, the largest hospital group in Boston, is launching a startup that will commercialize a health self-monitoring system developed by Partners’ Center for Connected Health, Xconomy has learned. The planned launch of the company follows a successful pilot trial of its initial Web-based service, called SmartBeat, which allows workers to report and track … Continue reading “Partners HealthCare to Spin Off Startup Offering Web-based Health-Monitoring Services, Seeks CEO and Investors”

New Owner Laying Off a Quarter of Indevus Pharma Employees

For some former employees of Indevus Pharmaceuticals, it’s not such great news that the Lexington, MA, drug developer was acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals. Chadds Ford, PA-based Endo (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ENDP]]), which completed its $370 million buyout of Indevus in March, is in the process of laying off a quarter of Indevus employees and moving research programs out … Continue reading “New Owner Laying Off a Quarter of Indevus Pharma Employees”

Northern Power Systems Aims for Large-Scale Wind Turbine Market, Taking on Industry Giants

Northern Power Systems is a busy company these days. The Barre, VT-based firm is expanding its business of designing and making medium-sized wind turbines to include the production of larger, utility-scale systems. Competition in the utility-scale market is fierce, but Northern Power has developed wind-turbine technology that its leadership believes will enable the firm to … Continue reading “Northern Power Systems Aims for Large-Scale Wind Turbine Market, Taking on Industry Giants”

Taris Biomedical Gives Glimpse of Drug-Delivery Tech, Discloses $15M Series A

We’ve heard talk since the middle of last year that MIT inventors Michael Cima and Bob Langer had again united with top venture capitalists in the Boston area to launch a life sciences startup. But the founders of the startup have tried to keep lid on their activities—until today. Taris Biomedical, formerly known as Certus … Continue reading “Taris Biomedical Gives Glimpse of Drug-Delivery Tech, Discloses $15M Series A”

Living Proof Picks Allurent Software

Living Proof, a Cambridge, MA-based startup that applies advanced material science to the beauty industry, has adopted interactive online shopping software developed by fellow venture-backed Cambridge firm Allurent, according to a press release. Living Proof, which has been well chronicled for its products that combat frizzy hair, will use Allurent’s software and widgets to provide … Continue reading “Living Proof Picks Allurent Software”

EMD Serono Staging Battle Against Multiple Sclerosis in Boston, Chief Says

If you don’t already count EMD Serono among the leaders in research of multiple sclerosis treatments in the Boston area, perhaps you haven’t talked to EMD chief executive Fereydoun Firouz. For EMD Serono—the U.S. affiliate of German chemical and drug powerhouse Merck KGaA and its Swiss biotech unit Merck Serono— the Boston area is home … Continue reading “EMD Serono Staging Battle Against Multiple Sclerosis in Boston, Chief Says”

Seventh Sense Biosystems Developing Tech Akin to Check-Engine Light for the Body

Imagine if we could monitor complex health conditions with a decal on our skin as easily as we look at our check-engine lights to learn of car trouble. Seventh Sense Biosystems, a secretive startup based in Cambridge, MA, tells Xconomy that its technology could transform this vision into reality. It was reported in December that … Continue reading “Seventh Sense Biosystems Developing Tech Akin to Check-Engine Light for the Body”

Anadys Pharma Cuts 40% of Workforce and Raises $17.5M to Stay Afloat

[[Correction appended]] San Diego-based Anadys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ANDS]]) is revealing moves this morning to improve its balance sheet. The firm will reduce its workforce by 40 percent and suspend development of its second drug candidate for cancer and hepatitis C, to instead focus its remaining resources on advancing its lead drug candidate for hepatitis C virus. … Continue reading “Anadys Pharma Cuts 40% of Workforce and Raises $17.5M to Stay Afloat”

Life Image Captures $2.5M Series A, Working with EMC for Digital Medical Image Service

Life Image was launched in January 2008 with core software developed at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. Now the Newton, MA-based startup is charging ahead with cash from a $2.5 million Series A round of equity financing closed quietly in April, aiming to close gaps in the way digital medical images are shared and stored, company … Continue reading “Life Image Captures $2.5M Series A, Working with EMC for Digital Medical Image Service”

Concert Pharma Jamming with Glaxo in Deal with $1B-Plus Potential

Concert Pharmaceuticals has hooked a whale in the drug industry, London-based GlaxoSmithKline, for its first corporate partnership deal concerning the biotech startup’s deuterium-modified drugs. Lexington, MA-based Concert reports today it will receive $35 million from Glaxo (NYSE:[[ticker:GSK]]) in upfront payments and equity investments in the deal, which could be worth more than $1 billion to … Continue reading “Concert Pharma Jamming with Glaxo in Deal with $1B-Plus Potential”

Backing Vision Tech Startup Avedro, VCs Take Long View on Eye Surgery Market

It’s not an ideal time to be in the business of providing vision-correction surgeries such as Lasik, as demand for these mostly elective procedures has fallen in sync with the overall economy. But the consensus at Waltham, MA-based Avedro appears to be that it’s a great time to be developing the next generation of vision-correction … Continue reading “Backing Vision Tech Startup Avedro, VCs Take Long View on Eye Surgery Market”

Innovative Spinal Technologies Files for Bankruptcy, Says Human Cadaver Assets (Literally) Frozen

[[Updated: see editor’s note below.]] Innovative Spinal Technologies, the Mansfield, MA, maker of minimally invasive spinal repair devices, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection after running out of cash and shutting its doors earlier this year. VentureWire published the news this morning. Sources told Xconomy that the bankruptcy was in the works after Wade … Continue reading “Innovative Spinal Technologies Files for Bankruptcy, Says Human Cadaver Assets (Literally) Frozen”

RxVantage Raises $500K from Slater Fund

Providence, RI-based RxVantage, a provider of Web-based scheduling software for healthcare companies and doctors’ offices, has reeled in a $500,000 seed investment from Providence venture firm Slater Technology Fund, according to a press release. RxVantage has recently launched a new version of its Web-based software, which enables medical practices to put their schedules and product … Continue reading “RxVantage Raises $500K from Slater Fund”

Celldex to Buy CuraGen for $94.5M

Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDX]]), a Needham, MA-based developer of drugs that harness the power of the immune system to treat diseases, says that it has struck a deal to acquire CuraGen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRGN]]), of Branford, CT, in an all-stock transaction that values CuraGen at $94.5 million. Celldex expects to gain 11 cancer antibody drugs from CuraGen as … Continue reading “Celldex to Buy CuraGen for $94.5M”

EMC to Buy Configuresoft, Builds on Growth Strategy

EMC (NYSE:[[ticker:EMC]]) is upping its presence in the market for software to manage both physical and virtual servers in data centers, revealing yesterday that it plans to acquire existing partner Configuresoft for an undisclosed amount. Hopkinton, MA-based EMC says the buyout further advances its strategy to offer software for managing and servicing the computer servers … Continue reading “EMC to Buy Configuresoft, Builds on Growth Strategy”

Alnara Pharma Completes Key Cystic Fibrosis Drug Trial, “Extremely Encouraged” by Results

Alnara Pharmaceuticals won’t likely reveal the full results of its late-stage clinical trial of enzyme-replacement drug liprotamase in patients with cystic fibrosis until this fall, but the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm has completed the trial in recent weeks and continues to find the effectiveness of the treatment “extremely encouraging,” Robert Gallotto, chief business office of … Continue reading “Alnara Pharma Completes Key Cystic Fibrosis Drug Trial, “Extremely Encouraged” by Results”

CombinatoRx Diabetes Drug Shows Promise

CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) reports that its Type 2 diabetes treatment, a combination of bezafibrate and diflunisal, provided statistically significant reduction in blood sugar levels and other benefits in a mid-stage clinical trial. It’s a bit of good news for Cambridge, MA-based CombinatoRx after it revealed last October that its lead arthritis drug failed in a Phase … Continue reading “CombinatoRx Diabetes Drug Shows Promise”

OutSmart Power Systems Wraps Up $2M Seed Round

OutSmart Power Systems, a Natick, MA-based startup developing systems to monitor and manage energy usage and other activities in commercial buildings, says it has closed a $2 million seed round of financing. The financing round, the first part of which was raised last year, included contributions from Bainco International Investors in Wellesley, MA, Northeastern U.S. … Continue reading “OutSmart Power Systems Wraps Up $2M Seed Round”

Fate Therapeutics Starts First Clinical Trial of Drug to Boost Stem Cell Transplants

Fate Therapeutics plans to announce this morning that it has begun its first clinical trial of a drug built on its knowledge of stem cell biology. Rather than injecting certain kinds of adult stem cells to regenerate tissues, this treatment involves a conventional small-molecule drug that’s designed to spur growth of blood-forming stem cells that … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Starts First Clinical Trial of Drug to Boost Stem Cell Transplants”

$6.3M Financing Deal Shines Light on Startup Digital Lumens

[Updated: See editor’s note below] It has come to light that Digital Lumens, a Salem, MA-based developer of energy-efficient lighting products, has raised $6.3 million in a round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The filing doesn’t specifically list investors in the round, but it does say that board members include Jon Karlen … Continue reading “$6.3M Financing Deal Shines Light on Startup Digital Lumens”

Dartmouth Biz Plan Competition Elevates Novoculi, Developer of Non-Invasive Diabetes Test

There was plenty of chatter around the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition in Boston earlier this month. The Cambridge, MA-based institute is one of the world’s leading hotbeds for entrepreneurship, but it shouldn’t completely drown out the buzz we’re hearing from Hanover, NH. That’s where Dartmouth College’s Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN) named the winner of a … Continue reading “Dartmouth Biz Plan Competition Elevates Novoculi, Developer of Non-Invasive Diabetes Test”

A Blow to the Boston VC Scene? Greylock Partners Moving HQ to Silicon Valley

Here’s a minor setback for the venture capital industry in Boston. Greylock Partners is relocating its headquarters from the Boston area—where it got started 44 years ago—to Silicon Valley, the firm announced this morning. Does this mean that the Hub is losing its edge as a haven of entrepreneurial activity? That was the question raised … Continue reading “A Blow to the Boston VC Scene? Greylock Partners Moving HQ to Silicon Valley”

NKT Therapeutics Aims For Severe Asthma, Targeting Natural Killer T Cells

Even though many venture firms are scrimping, there’s hope for biotech startups in search of capital to fund bold new areas of biological research. NKT Therapeutics, which revealed its $8 million first-round financing in March, has rallied venture capitalists to back its efforts to develop drugs that target lesser-known immune cells that potentially play key … Continue reading “NKT Therapeutics Aims For Severe Asthma, Targeting Natural Killer T Cells”

Stem Cell Tech in Fate’s Hands

Fate Therapeutics, a La Jolla, CA-based biotech startup tapping advances in stem cell biology to develop new drugs, says it has gained exclusive rights to technology involving blood-forming stem cells from Children’s Hospital Boston and Massachusetts General Hospital. The hospitals jointly own the technology. Leonard Zon, director of the stem cell program at Children’s and … Continue reading “Stem Cell Tech in Fate’s Hands”