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.

Mello’s RXi Pharma to Raise $8.1M

RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:RXII]]), a Worcester, MA-based biotech focused on RNA interference treatments, has priced a public offering of common stock and warrants expected to gross $8.1 million, according to a press release. The company, whose big-named scientific advisor is RNAi luminary and Nobel laureate Craig Mello, says that the public offering is expected to close … Continue reading “Mello’s RXi Pharma to Raise $8.1M”

Agrivida, Developer of Cheap Biofuel Tech, Seeks Deals to Broaden Commercial Horizons

Agrivida scientists plan to be at an event this week supported by the U.S. Department of Energy in the Washington, DC, area, where the startup will show industry leaders its way of providing cheap sugar for making cellulosic biofuels and chemicals. The Medford, MA-based firm has been on somewhat of a roll as of late. … Continue reading “Agrivida, Developer of Cheap Biofuel Tech, Seeks Deals to Broaden Commercial Horizons”

CardioFocus Finds $30.6M for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment

[Updated—03/01/11, 8:30 am ET] Investors have been getting behind a Marlborough, MA-based firm that is working on a potentially better way to treat an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. CardioFocus has raised $30.6 million in private financing, according to a press release. CardioFocus says that the round included new investors First Alliance & … Continue reading “CardioFocus Finds $30.6M for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment”

Genzyme Rival Fails to Get FDA Approval

The FDA has given a complete response letter to Israel-based Protalix Biotherapeutics for the company’s application for marketing approval of an protein therapy for Gaucher’s disease, the firm announced this morning. Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme currently has the best selling treatment for Gaucher’s disease, which is a rare genetic disorder that causes a fatty substance to … Continue reading “Genzyme Rival Fails to Get FDA Approval”

ImmunoGen CEO Highlights Two New Souped-Up Antibodies Against Cancer

ImmunoGen, in the eyes of Wall Street, is largely defined by one thing—its relationship with industry giant Genentech. That’s because Genentech uses ImmunoGen’s technology to help amp up the antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) into a more potent breast cancer drug called T-DM1, which has shown significant promise in clinical trials. Yet ImmunoGen chief executive Daniel Junius … Continue reading “ImmunoGen CEO Highlights Two New Souped-Up Antibodies Against Cancer”

Thermo Fisher Selling Units for $940M

Waltham, MA-based Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:TMO]]) says it has inked deals to sell its Athena Diagnostics and Lancaster Laboratories businesses for a total of $940 million in cash to boost shareholder value. Details about Thermo Fisher’s plans to sell the businesses were leaked to the press last month. Madison, NJ-based lab testing giant Quest Diagnostics … Continue reading “Thermo Fisher Selling Units for $940M”

Metamark, Stealthy Startup with Dana-Farber Roots, Seeks to Tell Docs When to Treat Prostate Cancer, and When Not

Metamark Genetics has graduated from stealth mode. Now the Cambridge, MA-based startup, founded by top scientists at Harvard University and elsewhere, has hired a diagnostics industry veteran as its chief executive, and set a public goal for releasing a product that could change the way physicians decide how to treat prostate cancer in its early … Continue reading “Metamark, Stealthy Startup with Dana-Farber Roots, Seeks to Tell Docs When to Treat Prostate Cancer, and When Not”

Vertex Stock Up 15 Percent on CF Data

Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ winning ways are being felt on Wall Street this morning. The Cambridge, MA-based drug developer’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) shock price was up 15 percent to $44:03 per share as of 10:14 am Eastern time today as investors reacted to positive results the firm revealed this morning from a late-stage trial of its treatment VX-770 for … Continue reading “Vertex Stock Up 15 Percent on CF Data”

Acetylon Pharma Raises $12.4M

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, a developer of drugs that inhibit HDAC enzymes to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, has raised $12.4 million of a proposed $30 million second round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The Boston startup, which is developing technology based on discoveries made by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard … Continue reading “Acetylon Pharma Raises $12.4M”

Microsoft and Athenahealth Join Forces on Health Software

Athenahealth (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ATHN]]) says it has formed a new alliance with Microsoft (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MSFT]]) to develop software to make their systems more compatible and easier for healthcare professionals to use together. The new collaboration, Athena says, will enable healthcare providers to use the companies’ existing products to get a single view of patient records from hospitals and … Continue reading “Microsoft and Athenahealth Join Forces on Health Software”

Forest Labs Snaps Up Clinical Data for $1.2B

Clinical Data chief executive Drew Fromkin wasn’t blowing smoke last month when he told analysts that his firm was in talks about a potential change in control. About a month after gaining FDA approval for its anti-depression drug, the Newton, MA-based company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]) said today that it has agreed to be acquired by the New … Continue reading “Forest Labs Snaps Up Clinical Data for $1.2B”

Aveo Pharma Lands $1.4B Deal with Astellas, A Few Months Ahead of Cancer Trial Result

Aveo Pharmaceuticals has beefed up its cash coffers as it heads into the home stretch of a vitally important clinical test of its lead anti-cancer drug. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AVEO]]) has struck its largest deal ever with the major Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma. Tokyo-based Astellas is paying Aveo $125 million initially (composed of … Continue reading “Aveo Pharma Lands $1.4B Deal with Astellas, A Few Months Ahead of Cancer Trial Result”

Genzyme, After Months of Holding Out, Agrees to be Sold to Sanofi-Aventis for $20.1B

It’s been a long time coming, but the sale of Genzyme, the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, to pharma giant Sanofi-Aventis for $20.1 billion marks a landmark moment in the biotech industry here in Boston and beyond. The deal puts Genzyme, the largest biotech company in Massachusetts, and the fate of 10,000 employees in new hands … Continue reading “Genzyme, After Months of Holding Out, Agrees to be Sold to Sanofi-Aventis for $20.1B”

Biotech Vet Gerngross Dishes Out More Details On Latest VC-Backed Startup Arsanis

Our immune systems churn out antibodies to fight infections, so perhaps it’s about time that some biotech companies started getting in on the action. Arsanis, co-founded late last year by successful biotech entrepreneur Tillman Gerngross, is using the antibody discovery technology from another of Gerngross’s startups, Lebanon, NH-based Adimab, to find antibody drugs that might … Continue reading “Biotech Vet Gerngross Dishes Out More Details On Latest VC-Backed Startup Arsanis”

Biogen Board OK’s 20M Share Buyback

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said on February 11 that its board of directors has given the Weston, MA-based company permission to repurchase 20 million shares of its common stock to offset stock issuances under its share-based compensation plans. The company, the world’s largest provider of multiple sclerosis drugs, said that there is no experation date on … Continue reading “Biogen Board OK’s 20M Share Buyback”

Eisai, with Oncology Group H3 Biomedicine, Doubles Down on Boston

H3 Biomedicine is one of the latest experiments that hopes to revamp the way biotech drugs get developed, to save both time and money. Japanese drugmaker Eisai, which is bankrolling Cambridge, MA-based H3, is betting that a combination of $200 million in cash, access to scientific luminaries, and the support of Eisai’s global research and … Continue reading “Eisai, with Oncology Group H3 Biomedicine, Doubles Down on Boston”

Xconomy’s Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT Event: Photos, Ideas, and Thanks

I learned a bunch during Wednesday’s Xconomy Xchange, which featured Todd Park, chief technology officer of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, and other luminaries discussing the future of health IT. The sold-out event in Cambridge, MA, brought to light lots of intriguing ideas about how to improve the healthcare system. Below are … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT Event: Photos, Ideas, and Thanks”

See You at Microsoft NERD for Xconomy Health IT Xchange This Evening

Bring an open mind and an extra business card or two. That’s what I’m planning to do as I gear up for today’s Xconony Xchange: HHS CTO Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT. Xconomy is fortunate that the event is sold out, and there’s little doubt in my mind that the … Continue reading “See You at Microsoft NERD for Xconomy Health IT Xchange This Evening”

Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M

Arsanis, a mysterious biotech firm based in Lebanon, NH, has raised $9.6 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. Tillman Gerngross, the co-founder and CEO of the Lebanon-based antibody discovery firm Adimab, is listed as an executive and director of Arsanis. Arsanis’s board also includes some of Gerngross’s previous Adimab backers, among them … Continue reading “Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M”

$1.7M for Ecochlor

Ecochlor, an Acton, MA-based provider of chlorine dioxide systems for killing off invasive species and pathogens from the large quantities of ballast water ships carry from port to port, has raised $1.7 million in an equity funding round, according to an SEC filing. My colleague Erin Kutz reported that the company took in $681,543 in … Continue reading “$1.7M for Ecochlor”

Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life

[Updated and corrected. 02/08/11 at 12 pm ET] Stern lectures about taking your heart pill as prescribed, eating right, or exercising regularly—or else—can be a real turnoff. Some people simply tune out, perhaps while eating fried chicken sandwiches with extra pickles. But might there be a way to seduce people with medical advice, tailoring the … Continue reading “Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life”

Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease

Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix is planning to begin a mid-stage trial of its lead drug in patients with a chronic lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis before the end of June, CEO Michael Gilman tells me. And the firm’s investors have committed as much as $15.5 million in debt to cover the costs the trial. Debt … Continue reading “Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease”

$17.6M Debt Round for Spine Wave

Shelton, CT-based spinal device developer Spine Wave has raised $17.6 million in debt financing, according to an SEC filing. The company said in a press release that previous investor New Enterprise Associates led the financing, which also included Morgenthaler Ventures, Compass Global Fund, New Leaf Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Foundation Medical Partners, and Memphis Implant … Continue reading “$17.6M Debt Round for Spine Wave”

Bliss Healthcare, Founded by MIT Sloan Grad, Starts New Web-Savvy Home Care Service

Pankaj Khare says he has devoted the past several years of his life and his 401K savings to a startup that he thinks will improve the way home care is delivered to patients. Now, with some help from Boston-area angel investors, this company, Bliss Healthcare, is finally ready to introduce a Web-supported home care service … Continue reading “Bliss Healthcare, Founded by MIT Sloan Grad, Starts New Web-Savvy Home Care Service”

Ocular Therapeutix Grabs $14M in New Round for Eye Therapies

Ocular Therapeutix has found a new investor and a fresh round of capital to advance its hydrogel-based treatments for the eye, CEO Amar Sawhney told me yesterday. The Bedford, MA-based startup is raising $14 million in a Series D round of venture capital. Ascension Health Ventures, the investment unit of the largest Catholic hospital chain … Continue reading “Ocular Therapeutix Grabs $14M in New Round for Eye Therapies”

Pfizer Adding 350 Jobs in MA, Globe Reports

Massachusetts is expected to gain 350  jobs from Pfizer (NYSE:[[ticker:PFE]]) as the world’s largest drugmaker restructures its global research and development activities to cut $1.5 billion in spending, the Boston Globe reports. New York-based Pfizer—which employs 2,300 workers at two research hubs in Cambridge and a facility in Andover it acquired through its 2009 buyout … Continue reading “Pfizer Adding 350 Jobs in MA, Globe Reports”

Genzyme-Sanofi Deal Might Be Close, Report Says

French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis’s long-sought takeover of Cambridge, MA-based biotech company Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) might happen within the next week or so, sources told The New York Times yesterday. The report came the same day that Genzyme announced that it had opened its books to Sanofi to allow its potential buyer to conduct due diligence. Sanofi—which … Continue reading “Genzyme-Sanofi Deal Might Be Close, Report Says”

Pervasis in “Advanced” Talks with Potential Partners for Blood-Vessel Healing Product, CEO Says

Pervasis Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of cellular therapies, has had the green light from the FDA to start a pivotal clinical trial of its lead candidate for improving blood vessel access in hemodialysis patients for about a year. Yet the startup, whose board and advisors include major scientific stars such as MIT’s Bob Langer, … Continue reading “Pervasis in “Advanced” Talks with Potential Partners for Blood-Vessel Healing Product, CEO Says”

Alexion Pharma Gobbles Up Taligen in $111M Buyout

There’s big news for Taligen Therapeutics this morning. Cheshire, CT-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALXN]]) has bought the Cambridge, MA, biotech startup for $111 million and potential future payments, the buyer said today. The deal allows Alexion to obtain Taligen’s lead candidate, TT30, which Taligen had been developing as a potential rival to Alexion’s drug eculizumab (Soliris) … Continue reading “Alexion Pharma Gobbles Up Taligen in $111M Buyout”

Molecular Insight Pharma, Xconomy’s Neighbor, Faces Uncertain Future in Chapter 11

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, which shares a floor with Xconomy in the building at 101 Rogers Street, is in financial trouble. The Cambridge, MA-based company, a developer of molecular medicines for cancer founded in 1997, has been in Chapter 11 since December 9. The company, which defaulted last year on a $150 million bond, has been … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Pharma, Xconomy’s Neighbor, Faces Uncertain Future in Chapter 11”

Philanthropist John Flatley Starts Venture Group to Back New Cystic Fibrosis Treatments

John Flatley, a real estate developer and philanthropist, has founded an investment group called Flatley Venture Capital to back life sciences startups with potential treatments for the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. Flatley, who has a close family member with the disease, told me he launched the venture group within the last few months. Flatley Venture … Continue reading “Philanthropist John Flatley Starts Venture Group to Back New Cystic Fibrosis Treatments”

Clinical Data’s Billionaire Chairman a Major Player in Firm’s Newly FDA-Approved Antidepressant

Randal “RJ” Kirk is building another biotech winner. The billionaire Virginian, who is chairman of Newton, MA-based pharmaceutical company Clinical Data (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]), has been a catalyst for the firm’s new FDA approval of an antidepressant. Kirk, a major shareholder in Clinical Data for years and chairman since 2004, has advocated for the 39-year old firm’s … Continue reading “Clinical Data’s Billionaire Chairman a Major Player in Firm’s Newly FDA-Approved Antidepressant”

Clinical Data Stock Surging on FDA Approval of Anti-Depression Drug

Clinical Data’s stock price has been mounting this morning as news spreads that the Newton, MA-based drug developer’s treatment for depression has gained FDA approval. The company’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]) shares were trading at $24.05 as of 9:42 am Eastern time today, a 60-percent jump from its closing price on Friday. This is a huge win for … Continue reading “Clinical Data Stock Surging on FDA Approval of Anti-Depression Drug”

New Dossia CEO Hunts for Cash to Expand Reach of Personal Digital Health Records

[Clarified. 2 pm Eastern time, 1/25/11. See below.] Dossia’s new chief executive, Michael Critelli, has plans to push personal electronic health records closer to mainstream use. He needs money, though. And that might mean tapping the capital markets. Cambridge, MA-based Dossia is best known as a nonprofit consortium—with founding members such as BP America, Intel, … Continue reading “New Dossia CEO Hunts for Cash to Expand Reach of Personal Digital Health Records”

European Panel Rejects Biogen MS Drug

Weston, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said today that a European Medicines Agency committee has advised against approval of the company’s drug fampridine (Fampyra) for improving multiple sclerosis patients’ ability to walk. Biogen said it planned to appeal the committee’s opinion. The company, a major provider of MS drugs, in summer 2009 bought rights to fampridine … Continue reading “European Panel Rejects Biogen MS Drug”

Dana-Farber Scientists Leave Board of Startup in Legal Battle with Cancer Center

Boston-area researchers have resigned from the board of a West Coast biotech startup, Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals, which is at odds over technology rights with major players in the biotech community. Gatekeeper, based in Millbrae, CA, is in a legal battle with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, MA, over … Continue reading “Dana-Farber Scientists Leave Board of Startup in Legal Battle with Cancer Center”

Ex-Pfizer Exec Ed Harrigan Takes Top Job at Secretive Karuna Pharmaceuticals

The former chief of licensing for the drug giant Pfizer has stepped in as CEO of Karuna Pharmaceuticals, a stealthy Boston startup focused on new treatments for schizophrenia. Ed Harrigan tells me that he started the job at Karuna this month. Karuna has two novel programs in development for the treatment of schizophrenia, Harrigan says. … Continue reading “Ex-Pfizer Exec Ed Harrigan Takes Top Job at Secretive Karuna Pharmaceuticals”

Patients’ Parents Upset By FDA Panel’s Rejection of Lilly/Alnara’s Cystic Fibrosis Drug

Sometimes it takes a parent’s perspective on the regulatory process for drugs in this country to understand what is really at stake for patients. Last week an FDA advisory panel shot down Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]) enzyme therapy for cystic fibrosis that has deep roots in the Boston area. And two parents of children with cystic … Continue reading “Patients’ Parents Upset By FDA Panel’s Rejection of Lilly/Alnara’s Cystic Fibrosis Drug”

Boston Scientific Acquires Atritech

Natick, MA-based medical devices maker Boston Scientific has expanded its cardiovascular products business with the purchase of Atritech, a Plymouth, MN, developer of a device alternative to treating patients with atrial fibrillation who are at risk of stroke, the company says today. Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) is paying $100 million upfront for Atritech as up to … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Acquires Atritech”

Ariad Pharma Stock Up More than 25 Percent on Positive Phase III Data

Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals’ (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ARIA]]) stock is up more than 25 percent this morning. It’s to be expected; the firm is reporting today that its top cancer drug candidate, which the drug giant Merck (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]) is developing through a licensing deal with Ariad, is making strides in a pivotal trial for patients with soft-tissue and … Continue reading “Ariad Pharma Stock Up More than 25 Percent on Positive Phase III Data”

ReCellular Chief Sees Future for Yesterday’s Electronics

Steve Manning saw some of the latest consumer electronics at the 2011 International CES confab in Las Vegas this month, and the CEO of Dexter, MI-based ReCellular was reminded how it takes before Americans who buy such nifty gadgets will want to trade in for new stuff. About 15 months. “It was amazing, great neat … Continue reading “ReCellular Chief Sees Future for Yesterday’s Electronics”

Valero Energy Takes Key Role in Mascoma’s Michigan Ethanol Project

Lebanon, NH-based Mascoma has found a key piece of funding for a commercial-scale ethanol plant in northern Michigan. The oil firm Valero Energy has inked a non-binding agreement to invest up to $50 million to fund construction of a refinery that would use wood-based materials to make ethanol. Frontier Renewable Resources, a joint venture of … Continue reading “Valero Energy Takes Key Role in Mascoma’s Michigan Ethanol Project”

Biotech Startup Vet Daphne Zohar on PureTech, Follica, and Doing Rather Than Talking

If you’re a biotech entrepreneur, this might be the one week of the year when you hope to have the most interesting things to say about what you’re doing professionally. That’s because this is the week of the JP Morgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco, arguably the industry’s most important investor meeting. I knew … Continue reading “Biotech Startup Vet Daphne Zohar on PureTech, Follica, and Doing Rather Than Talking”