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.

GSK biotech subsidiary Tempero Pharma launched in the Boston area

London-based drug giant GlaxoSmithKline has quietly spun off a biotech startup, Tempero Pharmaceuticals, in the life sciences haven of Cambridge, MA, to develop drugs to treat diseases in which the immune system goes awry and attacks healthy tissues, Xconomy has learned. Tempero was incorporated in March, according to state of Delaware corporate records. The word … Continue reading “GSK biotech subsidiary Tempero Pharma launched in the Boston area”

Avila Therapeutics Hires First CEO Katrine Bosley, Adds $5M from Existing Investors

[[Update: information about a company financing was added to this story at 10 a.m today.]] At some point in the life of a biotech startup, the firm typically needs to strike a deal with a drug company or another deep-pocketed outfit to stay in business. Avila Therapeutics is no exception, and the young Waltham, MA-based … Continue reading “Avila Therapeutics Hires First CEO Katrine Bosley, Adds $5M from Existing Investors”

OmniGuide Reports $1.8M Financing

OmniGuide, a Cambridge, MA-based provider of laser-based medical scalpels, has raised $1.8 million in an equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not specify who invested in the round. Xconomy last covered the company in May 2008 when the firm disclosed a $25 million fifth-round financing. Its investors include company chairman Ray … Continue reading “OmniGuide Reports $1.8M Financing”

Arsenal Medical CTO Jeff Carbeck on His Secretive Startup, Attractions of Clean Energy Sector

Jeff Carbeck walked away from a promising career in academia four years ago to co-found Arsenal Medical, to apply advances in materials science to the healthcare market. Carbeck and I talked last week about his work at Watertown, MA-based Arsenal (originally named WMR Biomedical), which Xconomy reported last week raised $8.2 million in a third … Continue reading “Arsenal Medical CTO Jeff Carbeck on His Secretive Startup, Attractions of Clean Energy Sector”

Oracle to Buy Virtual Iron

Oracle (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ORCL]]), the Redwood Shores, CA-based technology giant, says this morning that it has agreed to buy Virtual Iron Software, headquartered in Lowell, MA, to boost its presence in the market for server virtualization software. The transaction is expected to close this summer, according to Oracle, which did not disclose financial terms of the deal. … Continue reading “Oracle to Buy Virtual Iron”

Artisan Raises $9.4M in Debt Round

Artisan Pharma, a Waltham, MA-based developer of a biotech drug for a blood-clotting condition in sepsis patients, has raised $9.4 million of an $11.8 million round of debt financing, the firm reported yesterday in an SEC filing. The filing did not specify the investors in the debt round, which may also include the sale of … Continue reading “Artisan Raises $9.4M in Debt Round”

Molecular Insight Names Peters CEO

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MIPI]]) reports today it has a new president and CEO, Daniel Peters, who was previously president of the diagnostics division of GE Healthcare. Peters takes over the chief executive role from Molecular co-founder John Babich, who is staying with the Cambridge, MA-based firm as chief scientific officer in charge of research and … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Names Peters CEO”

Lankau New CEO at Logical

Logical Therapeutics, a Waltham, MA-based developer of drugs to treat inflammation, says that Peter Lankau has been named CEO of the company, according to a press release. Lankau was previously CEO of Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ENDP]]), a specialty drug firm headquartered in Chadds Ford, PA. Rebecca caught up the Logical in late 2007 and detailed how … Continue reading “Lankau New CEO at Logical”

Avedro Adds $10M to Coffers, Eyes New Vision-Correction Tech

[[Updated: please see editor’s note below]] Avedro, a Waltham, MA-based startup developing a vision-correction procedure, has landed $10 million in a Series B round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. New investor Flagship Ventures of Cambridge, MA, led the financing round, which included all previous backers from the firm’s first-round financing, Avedro CEO … Continue reading “Avedro Adds $10M to Coffers, Eyes New Vision-Correction Tech”

Soteira Snags $6.6M in Equity Round

Soteira, a Natick, MA-based medical devices startup, has raised $6.6 million of a proposed $12 million round of private equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not list the investors in the round, and Soteira CEO Larry Jasinski couldn’t be reached at his office yesterday or today. The company is developing a … Continue reading “Soteira Snags $6.6M in Equity Round”

Tokai Pharma Reports $22M Round, Developing Drug for Prostate Cancer

[[Updated: see editor’s note below]] Tokai Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based drug developer, says it has landed $22 million in a Series D round of private equity financing. The startup says that its main focus is advancing a new drug for prostate cancer that is unable to be treated with standard testosterone-blocking therapies, according to its … Continue reading “Tokai Pharma Reports $22M Round, Developing Drug for Prostate Cancer”

Battery in $70M Round at ExactTarget

Battery Ventures, a venture firm with an office in Waltham, MA, has led a $70 million financing round for e-mail marketing software firm ExactTarget, according to a press release. ExactTarget, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, has also withdrawn plans for an initial public offering. As part of the sizable venture deal, Battery general partner Michael … Continue reading “Battery in $70M Round at ExactTarget”

A123Systems Founder and MIT’s Cima Behind Startup Entra Pharmaceuticals

More clues about stealthy drug-delivery startup Entra Pharmaceuticals surfaced yesterday on Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner’s blog. It turns out that the technical whizzes behind Entra are Yet-Ming Chiang, an MIT engineering professor and founder of Watertown, MA-based advanced battery developer A123Systems, and Michael Cima, another MIT engineering professor, who is a co-founder of life … Continue reading “A123Systems Founder and MIT’s Cima Behind Startup Entra Pharmaceuticals”

Brighter Planet Rolls Out Social Web App to Lower Carbon Footprints

Most of us want to help curb global warming, but the tricky part can be how to do our part without splurging on a shiny new Prius or some other expensive measure. Vermont’s Brighter Planet has spent the last few years building a business around providing products and services that help people and businesses cut … Continue reading “Brighter Planet Rolls Out Social Web App to Lower Carbon Footprints”

Archemix Names Bate CEO

Archemix, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech startup developing aptamer drugs, reports that Kenneth Bate will replace Duncan Higgons as CEO of the company. Higgons, who had become chief executive of the firm in January, is taking a job with another private biotech firm, according to Archemix. Bate was most recently president and CEO of Lexington, MA-based … Continue reading “Archemix Names Bate CEO”

CombinatoRx Cuts Deal for Cancer Drug Discovery with Novartis

CombinatoRx, the Cambridge, MA-based firm focused on the discovery and development of combination drugs, says it has inked a new alliance with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis to use its technology to find combo treatments for cancer. The deal provides CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) with an upfront payment of $4 million and a bit of good news after … Continue reading “CombinatoRx Cuts Deal for Cancer Drug Discovery with Novartis”

Fresh Capital Flows to Arsenal, Azuki, Synageva, and Viximo

It’s pouring venture deals in Boston today. So rather than flood our dear readers with multiple posts, we’ve compiled the news on deals recently completed by Arsenal Medical, Azuki Systems, Synageva BioPharma, and Viximo into a single story. Given the unsavory climate for raising venture dollars, we’ll call these companies the “Fortunate Four.” Watertown, MA-based … Continue reading “Fresh Capital Flows to Arsenal, Azuki, Synageva, and Viximo”

Gist Gets $6.75M From Vulcan, Foundry Group

Gist, a Seattle startup developing an online service intended to help people organize information from disparate sources on the Web in a single location, has raised $6.75 million in a Series A round of financing, according to a statement. Foundry Group, a Boulder, CO-based venture firm, led the new round of financing, which included contributions … Continue reading “Gist Gets $6.75M From Vulcan, Foundry Group”

NABsys Secures $4M First Round to Develop Electronic DNA Sequencing

NABsys, a Providence, RI-based startup focused on advanced DNA sequencing technology, has raised $4 million in a Series A round of financing intended to help it develop a novel approach of using electronics to potentially sequence the human genome quicker and less expensively than available methods. The firm, which was expected to reveal the closing … Continue reading “NABsys Secures $4M First Round to Develop Electronic DNA Sequencing”

Inverness to Raise $200M in Notes Sale

Inverness Medical Innovations (NYSE:[[ticker:IMA]]), a Waltham, MA-based provider of medical diagnostics and health management services, says that it plans to raise $200 million through a public offering of senior subordinated notes due in 2016. The proceeds of the debt offering will be used for general corporate purposes, according to Inverness. The company filed documents with … Continue reading “Inverness to Raise $200M in Notes Sale”

Polaris’s McGuire Takes Helm at U.S. Venture Group, Plans to Fight Obama Effort to Hike Taxes on VC Firms

It’s probably fitting that I caught up with Boston venture veteran Terry McGuire this week while he was chatting in a corner of a busy conference room with his West Coast counterpart, Dixon Doll. McGuire, a co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners, introduced Doll to me as the chairman of … Continue reading “Polaris’s McGuire Takes Helm at U.S. Venture Group, Plans to Fight Obama Effort to Hike Taxes on VC Firms”

Likewise Laps Up $10M Series C

Likewise Software, a Bellevue, WA-based provider of software designed to track and secure access to computer networks, including those that involve multiple operating systems, says it has closed a $10 million Series C round of financing. Previous investors Ignition Partners, based in Bellevue, as well as California-based Trinity Ventures and Intel Capital led the round. … Continue reading “Likewise Laps Up $10M Series C”

Acme Buys Covergence for $22.8M

Burlington, MA-based Acme Packet (NASDAQ:[[ticker:APKT]]), which sells hardware and software for managing and securing communications over the Internet, reports today that it has acquired privately owned communications software firm Covergence, of Maynard, MA, for about $22.2 million in Acme common stock and $600,000 in cash to Covergence shareholders and tax withholding payments. Covergence executives Ken … Continue reading “Acme Buys Covergence for $22.8M”

Sycamore to Cut 30 Percent of Staff

Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SCMR]]), a Chelmsford, MA-based provider of telecommunications software, plans to reduce its total workforce by 30 percent over the next several fiscal quarters because of a slowdown in the global telecom market, the company reported yesterday. The job cuts, which will impact employees in all fuctional areas and at multiple offices, are expected … Continue reading “Sycamore to Cut 30 Percent of Staff”

Massachusetts’ $1B Life Sciences Plan Pumps $3.4M in Loans into Startups

At a time when early-stage investment dollars are hard to come by, the state of Massachusetts is giving several startups their first taste of the commonwealth’s plan to invest $1 billion in the life sciences industry over a 10-year period. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the agency in charge of implementing the $1 billion plan, … Continue reading “Massachusetts’ $1B Life Sciences Plan Pumps $3.4M in Loans into Startups”

Annual VC Meeting Comes to Boston, Early Talk Centers on How to End the IPO Drought

Initial public offering activity among venture-backed companies has fallen off a cliff. That’s a top problem facing the venture capital industry right now, and, as can be imagined, the hot topic of discussion in the early hours today at the National Venture Capital Association’s (NVCA) Annual Meeting in Boston. The mood here at the Westin … Continue reading “Annual VC Meeting Comes to Boston, Early Talk Centers on How to End the IPO Drought”

GI Dynamics Adds Device to Gut Liner to Increase Weight Loss

GI Dynamics made a lot of noise late last year about the ability of its gut-lining device to help patients struggling with weight problems and Type 2 diabetes to drop pounds while reducing their blood sugar. The device, called the EndoBarrier, is a 2-foot-long flexible sleeve that is placed in the small intestine. Recently the … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Adds Device to Gut Liner to Increase Weight Loss”

RI Entrepreneurship Center Launched

The Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which stakeholders have billed as a “community center for entrepreneurs,” was launched today in Providence to help entrepreneurs in the state find the resources they need to start new companies in the technology, life sciences, design, and other segments of the so-called knowledge economy, according to a … Continue reading “RI Entrepreneurship Center Launched”

Thermo to Buy Biolab for $120M

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:TMO]]), a Waltham, MA-based provider of scientific research products and services, says that it has struck a deal to buy Biolab, of Auckland, New Zealand, for about $120 million. The acquisition of Biolab—a supplier of analytical instruments, lab equipment, and research materials—expands Thermo’s market presence in New Zealand, Australia, and the South … Continue reading “Thermo to Buy Biolab for $120M”

Avila Therapeutics May Have Found “Achilles’ Heel” of Hepatitis C Virus

Avila Therapeutics emerged from stealth mode in December and told Xconomy about its secret sauce to systematically create permanent, covalent bonds with protein disease targets. Now the Waltham, MA-based biotech (pronounced AH-vill-uh) reports that its experimental drug for hepatitis C virus may be able to wipe out multiple variations and mutated forms of the virus. … Continue reading “Avila Therapeutics May Have Found “Achilles’ Heel” of Hepatitis C Virus”

Psylin Neurosciences—-Amylin’s Pysch-Drug Offspring—Nearing First Clinical Trial

There are still great voids in understanding the effects of even approved psychiatric drugs. But there’s no doubt that the business of selling antidepressants and the like can be extremely lucrative. Psylin Neurosciences—a joint venture of San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals and New York drug research firm PsychoGenics—is very much a product of both of those … Continue reading “Psylin Neurosciences—-Amylin’s Pysch-Drug Offspring—Nearing First Clinical Trial”

Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market

San Diego-based Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent, a provider of stem cell research products headquartered in Cambridge, MA, have joined forces to offer new developments in so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology for research purposes. The joint effort could provide Fate with a new source of money to develop drugs based on the same technology. … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market”

GlycoFi Figures Heavily into Drug Giant Merck’s Follow-on Biologics Plans

We’ve seen it before. A large pharmaceutical company buys a small biotech firm, the acquired startup ships its science and technology to the big buyer, and we never hear about the little company again. But GlycoFi, a Lebanon, NH, life sciences startup acquired by U.S. drug giant Merck for $400 million nearly three years ago, … Continue reading “GlycoFi Figures Heavily into Drug Giant Merck’s Follow-on Biologics Plans”

NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz

NewPath Networks, a Seattle-based provider of wireless infrastructure, has reeled in $30 million to fuel its continued growth, according to a statement today. New York private equity firm Charterhouse Group invested $20 million in NewPath, and Denver-based venture group Meritage Funds provided the rest of the money. NewPath, founded in 2004, is capitalizing on consumers’ … Continue reading “NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz”

Phase Forward Buys Waban for $14M

Phase Forward (NASDAQ:[[ticker:PFWD]]), a Waltham, MA-based provider of data management software for clinical trials and drug safety, says that it has acquired Waban Software for $14 million in cash. Waban, based in Cambridge, MA, and with offices in Mumbai, India, sells software for automation and compliance of clinical trials analysis and reporting. Waban, which will … Continue reading “Phase Forward Buys Waban for $14M”

Parasol Therapeutics Moves to Neighborhood with $3.25M in Seed Funding—Hunting for Universal Therapeutic to Battle Drug-Resistant Flu

Parasol Therapeutics, a stealthy biotech startup co-founded by MIT bioengineering professor Ram Sasisekharan, has raised $3.25 million in a seed round of venture capital to develop new treatments and diagnostics initially for influenza, says Alan Crane, a general partner at Polaris Venture Partners and chairman of Parasol. On top of taking on the global flu … Continue reading “Parasol Therapeutics Moves to Neighborhood with $3.25M in Seed Funding—Hunting for Universal Therapeutic to Battle Drug-Resistant Flu”

Wakonda Taps Borden for Exec Chairman Role

Wakonda Technologies, a Woburn, MA-based startup developing highly efficient solar photovoltaic products, says that Peter Borden has joined the firm as executive chairman. Borden was previously an executive at Applied Materials (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AMAT]]), a Santa Clara, CA-based provider of products and services for advanced materials manufacturing. Wakonda relocated from upstate New York to Massachusetts after closing … Continue reading “Wakonda Taps Borden for Exec Chairman Role”

UMass Lab in $60M Merck Deal

The Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories, a Boston lab that is part of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will share an upfront fee of $60 million with Princeton, NJ-based biotech firm Medarex (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MEDX]]) that U.S. drug giant Merck (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]) is paying for an exclusive worldwide license to two monoclonal antibodies that the UMass lab and Medarex … Continue reading “UMass Lab in $60M Merck Deal”

Myomo Running Lean After Slow Initial Sales of Robotic Elbow Brace

Boston-based medtech startup Myomo has cut its staff by 66 percent and adopted a more virtual business model over the past year, due to slower-than-expected initial sales of its highly acclaimed robotic elbow brace for stroke victims, company co-founder and interim CEO Steve Kelly tells Xconomy. Kelly says that the angel-funded startup “hit a wall” … Continue reading “Myomo Running Lean After Slow Initial Sales of Robotic Elbow Brace”

Dendreon Reports More Positive Data

Seattle-based biotech firm Dendreon (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DNDN]]) yesterday reported data from an ongoing Phase III clinical trial of its drug sipuleucel-T (Provenge), saying that the drug caused long-term immune responses in patients with recurrent prostate cancer and whose prostates have been surgically removed. The data follows Dendreon’s whirlwind last week when shares of the company’s stock soared … Continue reading “Dendreon Reports More Positive Data”

Icahn Aiming for Amylin Sale to Eli Lilly

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn wants San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals to sell itself to Eli Lilly, its diabetes drug marketing partner. Icahn’s intentions were revealed today in a letter that Amylin director James Wilson wrote to Icahn as the two sides exchange salvos in a power struggle to control Amylin. In his letter to Icahn, which … Continue reading “Icahn Aiming for Amylin Sale to Eli Lilly”

Alnylam to Receive European Patent

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNY]]), a Cambridge, MA-based developer of RNA-interference (RNAi) drugs, says that the European Patent Office will grant the firm a patent related to its “Tuschi I” patent series covering the use of double-stranded RNA molecules for RNA-interference. The patent, which the company expects to be issued in four months, covers claims such as … Continue reading “Alnylam to Receive European Patent”

Epizyme Unveils Technology, Targeting Cancer with Epigenetic Drugs

Despite being forthcoming about its big-name venture backers—MPM Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers—Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme has been one of several biotech startups in the Boston that are being demure about the details of their technology. So I was intrigued when the company contacted me recently to let me know that it was lifting … Continue reading “Epizyme Unveils Technology, Targeting Cancer with Epigenetic Drugs”