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.

U-M Grad Students Add Startup Company ReGenerate to School Duties

It began in 2009 as a project among University of Michigan graduate students to find alternative uses for food waste. Now it’s a company called ReGenerate Solutions, which might be one of the hottest new startups in Southeast Michigan. ReGenerate took the top prize for the student track of December’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition—which was … Continue reading “U-M Grad Students Add Startup Company ReGenerate to School Duties”

Two Thermo Fisher Units on Block, Bloomberg Reports

Waltham, MA-based Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:TMO]]), a major provider of lab instruments and services, aims to sell two of its lab test businesses in deals that could bring the firm in the neighborhood of $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported today, citing three anonymous sources. The two Thermo businesses on the block include Worcester, MA-based Athena … Continue reading “Two Thermo Fisher Units on Block, Bloomberg Reports”

Highland’s Graham Gardner Takes New Shot at Health IT Startup with Kyruus

Boston has a new health IT startup in its midst. Kyruus has quietly formed in the hub and, according to its website, brings “transparency, credibility, and efficiency to physician-industry engagements.” The startup’s co-founders include Graham Gardner, a principal at Highland Capital Partners in Lexington, MA, and Julie Yoo, an early employee of one of Gardner’s … Continue reading “Highland’s Graham Gardner Takes New Shot at Health IT Startup with Kyruus”

Resolvyx Sells Eye Drug to Celtic

Cambridge, MA-based Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals said yesterday that Celtic Therapeutics has exercised its option to buy its lead drug, RX-10045, for treating dry eye and other eye diseases. Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed. The two companies revealed the option agreement in October 2010. Celtic, which has offices in New York in Lausanne, Switzerland, plans … Continue reading “Resolvyx Sells Eye Drug to Celtic”

Alkermes Finds New Home For Inhaled Drug-Delivery Tech with Civitas Spinout

Alkermes’s leased facility in Chelsea, MA has come back to life. Civitas Therapeutics, a spinout of Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALKS]]), has taken up residency there and renewed efforts to commercialize inhaled drug-delivery technology from Alkermes. The facility in Chelsea was set up years ago to develop and produce inhaled insulin under a pact with Eli … Continue reading “Alkermes Finds New Home For Inhaled Drug-Delivery Tech with Civitas Spinout”

Rich Aldrich, Biotech Powerbroker, Breaks Silence on New $87M Longwood Founders Fund

The Boston biotech scene was abuzz about a year ago when news broke about three of the most influential figures in the sector—Rich Aldrich, Michelle Dipp, and Christoph Westphal—joining forces to form a new venture capital firm called Longwood Founders Fund. Yet this power trio has been mostly mum about what they are doing with … Continue reading “Rich Aldrich, Biotech Powerbroker, Breaks Silence on New $87M Longwood Founders Fund”

Boston Scientific Buys Intelect

Natick, MA-based medical devices giant Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) said today that it has acquired Intelect Medical, a developer of neuromodulation technologies for deep brain stimulation. Boston Scientific, which already owned an equity stake in Intelect, is buying the firm for about $60 million in cash. Intelect’s technology is expected to complement Boston Scientific’s existing deep … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Buys Intelect”

$12M for Life Image

Life Image, a Newton, MA-based firm, has apparently found more investment to support its business of providing software for the exchange of digital medical images via the Internet cloud. The firm told the Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner that it has boosted its Series B round—which Xconomy first reported in September—to $12 million with investments from … Continue reading “$12M for Life Image”

Todd Park, HHS Tech Chief, Headlines Xconomy’s Health IT Evening on Feb. 9

Got plans for the evening of February 9? If you’re involved or deeply interested in health IT, and how the digitization of medicine could improve the healthcare system, then join us and sign up here for Xconomy Xchange: HHS CTO Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT. Park, who is the keynote … Continue reading “Todd Park, HHS Tech Chief, Headlines Xconomy’s Health IT Evening on Feb. 9”

Follica Co-Founder and Team Find New Clues About Male Baldness

Hold on to your toupees. Scientists have spotted a trend in scalp samples from men with pattern baldness that could lead to a new way to treat hair-loss. The discovery hits close to home for Follica, a startup focused on hair-loss treatments, whose scientific co-founder was one of the main researchers behind the new findings. … Continue reading “Follica Co-Founder and Team Find New Clues About Male Baldness”

$7M for Satori Pharmaceuticals

Satori Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, has raised $7 million in equity funding, according to an SEC filing. The funding is part of Satori’s previously disclosed $22 million round of financing, according to an e-mail from company director Daphne Zohar, a managing partner at PureTech Ventures in Boston. Satori’s investors … Continue reading “$7M for Satori Pharmaceuticals”

Foundation Medicine and Novartis Collaborate

Foundation Medicine, a Cambridge, MA-based personalized cancer medicine firm, said today it will conduct a pilot collaboration with the drug giant Novartis. The companies will work together to optimize Foundation’s cancer genome panel to fit Novartis’s needs, according to Foundation. Based on the pilot, Foundation and Novartis will determine whether to commercialize the test. The … Continue reading “Foundation Medicine and Novartis Collaborate”

Relay: An App for Finding the Next Top Scientists and Discoveries

[Clarification. 11:07 AM Eastern time. 01/04/11. See editor’s note.] For every superstar scientist like MIT professor Bob Langer or his colleague and Nobel laureate Phillip Sharp, there are many lab researchers who are seeking their first big commercial success with their work. Three former Tufts University researchers have created a search and analytics engine that … Continue reading “Relay: An App for Finding the Next Top Scientists and Discoveries”

Augmenix Adds $3M

Augmenix, a Waltham, MA-based maker of hydrogel implants for reducing the side effects of radiation therapy, has raised $3 million in an equity and debt financing round, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not list the investors. Some of the firm’s previous backers include Catalyst Health Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures, and Versant Ventures. Last … Continue reading “Augmenix Adds $3M”

Longwood Raises $85M First Fund

Longwood Founders Management, a Boston venture firm focused on biotech investments, announced last week that it capped its first fund at $85 million, according to a press release. The firm’s partners—Rich Aldrich, Christoph Westphal, and Michelle Dipp— previously worked together on Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, which British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline acquired for $720 million in 2008. Glaxo … Continue reading “Longwood Raises $85M First Fund”

Genocea Biosciences Raises $35M from J&J and Others for Vaccines Business

[Updated. 5:15 Eastern time, 01/03/11. See editor’s note.] Genocea Biosciences has found some new investors as well as new executives. The Cambridge, MA-based vaccine discovery and development firm has raised $35 million in a Series B funding round, according to a press release. And the company has recently seen some changes in its top executive … Continue reading “Genocea Biosciences Raises $35M from J&J and Others for Vaccines Business”

Hygieia Progressing with Software and Device to Guide Insulin Dosages for Diabetics

Diabetics can often beat back the effects of their disease through their own actions such as diet and exercise. But when it comes to adjusting their insulin dosages to better control their blood-sugar levels, they typically need to consult a doctor or clinician. Ann Arbor, MI-based Hygieia is developing technology to put changing insulin dosages … Continue reading “Hygieia Progressing with Software and Device to Guide Insulin Dosages for Diabetics”

Biogen Aims to Reduce PML Risk

Weston, MA-based biotech Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) and Elan, its Dublin-based partner, have asked U.S. and European health regulators to approve a new prescribing label for the companies’ multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab (Tysabri) in an effort to reduce the risk of a potentially lethal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PLM) in patients who take the … Continue reading “Biogen Aims to Reduce PML Risk”

Biogen Idec Buys Drug Rights from Neurimmune for $32.5M

Biogen Idec is making another step towards building itself into a neurological diseases drug specialist. The Weston, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said today it has acquired a subsidiary of the Swiss biotech firm Neurimmune Holding to gain worldwide rights to antibody drugs against three specific proteins, which might cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Buys Drug Rights from Neurimmune for $32.5M”

Northern Power Systems Tapping Michigan Partners for Utility-Scale Wind Business

Northern Power System, the Barre, VT-based wind energy firm, has made some progress in its years-long pursuit of the lucrative market for utility-grade wind turbines. The company has made much of this progress here in Michigan. Last month the company shipped its first prototype of a utility-scale, 2.2-megawatt wind turbine to Traverse City, MI-based Heritage … Continue reading “Northern Power Systems Tapping Michigan Partners for Utility-Scale Wind Business”

Sanofi Taps Avila Therapeutics for Covalent Cancer Drugs in Potential $800M Deal

Avila Therapeutics is ending 2010 with a bang. The Waltham, MA-based drug development startup has snapped up a deal worth up to about $800 million with the French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]), Avila said this morning. Sanofi is paying for access to Avila’s technology for identifying potential cancer drugs that silence tumor-related proteins with durable … Continue reading “Sanofi Taps Avila Therapeutics for Covalent Cancer Drugs in Potential $800M Deal”

Compass Healthcare Aims to Navigate NH Healthcare Shopping Business to New Regions

[Correction—11 am ET on 12/20/10. See below.] We’re still unable to go online and shop for a medical procedure like we would for a plane ticket. At least for some people in New Hampshire, however, Compass Healthcare Advisers has made it easier to go online or call an 800 number to choose certain healthcare services … Continue reading “Compass Healthcare Aims to Navigate NH Healthcare Shopping Business to New Regions”

Cambridge Consultants Develops Hydration App

Cambridge Consultants, the product design and development firm in Cambridge, MA, and Cambridge, UK, says it has developed a bottle with wireless sensors and an associated smartphone app that reminds people when to drink fluids. The “i-dration” bottle is equipped with sensors that can detect external temperature, drinking frequency, and the amount of fluid in … Continue reading “Cambridge Consultants Develops Hydration App”

HeartWare Gets $143.8M in Debt Offering

HeartWare International (NASDAQ:[[ticker:HTWR]]), a Framingham, MA, maker of heart pump implants, said today it has raised $143.8 million in a public offering of convertible notes due in 2017. The firm plans to use the proceeds of the financing for general corporate purposes, including research and development and expansion of its manufacturing capabilities.

Adimab Adds Genentech, Lilly, and Human Genome Sciences to Growing List of Partners

Adimab has made its name for assembling a high-profile roster of Big Pharma partners that use its technology to discover new antibody drugs. Today, the Lebanon, NH-based company is announcing a new batch of partners—Genentech, Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]), and Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:HGSI]])—which add greater heft to co-founder and CEO Tillman Gerngross’s argument that his … Continue reading “Adimab Adds Genentech, Lilly, and Human Genome Sciences to Growing List of Partners”

Nano-Terra Takes in $17.2M for Nanotech Development

Nano-Terra appears to have taken in its largest round of financing in the five-year history of the nanotechnology development firm. The Cambridge, MA-based startup has raised $17.2 million in an equity and rights funding round, according to an SEC filing. (CB Insights previously posted this news on its blog.) Nano-Terra‘s CEO, Myer Berlow, and its … Continue reading “Nano-Terra Takes in $17.2M for Nanotech Development”

Pulmatrix Pulls in $5.7M DARPA Grant to Develop Drug Against Respiratory Threats

Pulmatrix might have just the defense for soldiers against respiratory invaders. Now the Lexington, MA-based biotech firm has won a $5.7 million grant to advance its technology that originated at MIT and Harvard for defense purposes. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the U.S. Department of Defense, awarded the firm the grant … Continue reading “Pulmatrix Pulls in $5.7M DARPA Grant to Develop Drug Against Respiratory Threats”

Saagara Planning New Health Apps, Getting Advice from Ted Dacko, Former HealthMedia Chief

Ann Arbor-based Saagara, the maker of breathing exercise apps for mobile devices, plans to release new products aimed at specific health conditions in the coming months after spending a year of marketing a yoga-inspired app for the iPhone, says co-founder and CEO Nagabhushanam “Bobby” Peddi. (I actually demoed the firm’s yoga breathing app online for … Continue reading “Saagara Planning New Health Apps, Getting Advice from Ted Dacko, Former HealthMedia Chief”

Armune BioScience Takes $500K Top Prize, U-M Students Get Award for Clean Energy System, and More Winners from Michigan’s Big Biz Plan Contest

[Updated—12/13/10 at 8:55 pm Eastern time. See editor’s notes.]  A major business plan competition has sent its winners home with cash and other prizes to help make their dreams become reality. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which its organizers call the largest business plan competition in the world, has named the companies and student groups … Continue reading “Armune BioScience Takes $500K Top Prize, U-M Students Get Award for Clean Energy System, and More Winners from Michigan’s Big Biz Plan Contest”

Sanofi Extends Deadline for Genzyme Offer

The French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis is giving Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) stockholders until January 21, or six more weeks, to accept its buyout offer of $69 per share, Reuters and other news outlets reported this morning. Sanofi’s previous deadline for its offer to acquire shares of Genzyme, the largest biotech company in Massachusetts, was last … Continue reading “Sanofi Extends Deadline for Genzyme Offer”

Syndax Pharma Study Offers Clues that Lung Cancer Treatment Could Benefit Subset of Patients

Waltham, MA-based Syndax Pharmaceuticals is reporting data from a mid-stage clinical trial that indicate its lead compound might improve the effectiveness of an existing lung cancer drug, at least for a subpopulation of patients. The company, co-founded by members of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, in 2005, conducted a double-blind, … Continue reading “Syndax Pharma Study Offers Clues that Lung Cancer Treatment Could Benefit Subset of Patients”

MedNetworks Taps UCSD’s James Fowler and Other Experts for New Scientific Board

MedNetworks has significantly enhanced its brain trust as it sets out to conquer the emerging field of social networks analytics in healthcare. The Newton, MA-based startup has announced the creation of a scientific advisory board, which is headlined by the authors of the highly acclaimed book on social networks, “Connected,” Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler. … Continue reading “MedNetworks Taps UCSD’s James Fowler and Other Experts for New Scientific Board”

Ann Arbor Hosts “World’s Largest” Biz Plan Contest This Week, $1M-Plus for Winners

Big dreams and lots of cash are happily colliding this week in Ann Arbor. Today begins the final three-day event for the inaugural Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which organizers are calling “the world’s largest business plan competition.” The event at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex is expected to feature 50 companies from … Continue reading “Ann Arbor Hosts “World’s Largest” Biz Plan Contest This Week, $1M-Plus for Winners”

How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners

Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners has become more active in backing companies in the healthcare IT arena over the past several months, announcing two significant investments since September. Because this sector is so hungry for capital to fund new ideas, I thought it would make sense to chat with OpenView partner George Roberts about what it … Continue reading “How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners”

Healthrageous Releases Mobile Health App

Boston-based Healthrageous said today that it has launched a mobile app called “h!GO,” which is available to participants of the company’s employer-sponsored online health management plans. The app presents a user with his or her individual health measurements on a handheld device, based on data collected from monitoring devices like wireless blood pressure cuffs and … Continue reading “Healthrageous Releases Mobile Health App”

Dicerna Expands Kyowa Hakko Pact

Watertown, MA-based Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a developer of second-generation RNA-interference drugs, said today it is expanding its collaboration with the Japanese drug-maker Kyowa Hakko Kirin to include research of gene-silencing treatments for immunologic and inflammatory diseases. The firms announced their original collaboration, worth up to $1.4 billion, in January 2010 to focus on treatments for cancer. … Continue reading “Dicerna Expands Kyowa Hakko Pact”

Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid

Relume Technologies might become one of the great growth stories in the state of Michigan’s tech sector next year. The Oxford, MI-based maker of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products and networked lighting control systems is aiming for significant increases in revenue and employment over the next year, president and chief technology officer Peter Hochstein says. … Continue reading “Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid”

NaviNet Buys Prematics

Cambridge, MA-based NaviNet, which says it has the country’s largest real-time healthcare communications network, said today that it has acquired Prematics of McLean, VA. “Prematics’ mobile clinical messaging and e-prescribing solutions will be integrated with NaviNet Insurer Connect, the industry-leading multi-payer portal, and NaviNet EMR and NaviNet PM,” the buyer said in a press release. … Continue reading “NaviNet Buys Prematics”

SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck

Beverly, MA-based SmartCells has kept a relatively low profile since it was founded seven years ago, quietly working on a potential blockbuster drug for diabetes with technology from MIT. But yesterday the drug giant Merck (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MRK]]) made headlines with its plans to buy the biotech startup for upfront and potential milestone payments of more than … Continue reading “SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck”

Sage Science Gets $2M

Sage Science, a Beverly, MA-based provider of genetic research tools, has raised $2 million in an equity funding round, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not name the investors in the financing. The firm’s systems are used for DNA sample preparation with next-generation sequencing platforms. Last month, the company announced its agreement to … Continue reading “Sage Science Gets $2M”

Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M

Beverly, MA-based biotech startup SmartCells has found a big corporate buyer. Merck & Co. (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]), the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant, said today it has agreed to buy the developer of diabetes treatments in a deal that could be worth more than $500 million to the startup’s shareholders. Merck, which announced the deal this morning, … Continue reading “Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M”

Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs

The proverbial 800-pound gorilla has spoken. Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research, the Cambridge, MA-based R&D unit of Swiss drug giant Novartis, has asserted itself in a lawsuit concerning rights to potentially game-changing drugs for lung cancer discovered at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Novartis filed a counterclaim on November 19 in U.S. District Court in … Continue reading “Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs”

Glaxo Ends Resveratrol Drug Study

London-based GlaxoSmithKline has terminated a mid-stage clinical trial of SRT501 in patients with advanced multiple myeloma, the company said in a statement e-mailed to Xconomy today. The firm acquired the drug, a formulation of resveratrol, in its $720 million buyout of Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals in 2008. Sirtris has captured wide media attention because of … Continue reading “Glaxo Ends Resveratrol Drug Study”

Aveo Pharma to Get $25M from OSI

Cambridge, MA-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AVEO]]) said today that it expects to receive $25 million in two equal payments because OSI Pharmaceuticals has exercised its option to internalize Aveo’s Human Response Platform for certain research of cancer treatments and patient biomarker selection. The Human Response Platform is Aveo’s technology for engineering animal models with genetic mutations … Continue reading “Aveo Pharma to Get $25M from OSI”