Memento, a Burlington, MA-based developer of software to detect financial fraud, has pulled in a $2 million round of debt financing, according to an SEC filing. In November 2008, the firm raised $10 million in a fourth round of financing from .406 Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Rock Maple Ventures. Last week, Memento announced that … Continue reading “Memento Gets $2M Debt Deal, New CEO”
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.
Shape Up The Nation Wants People to Let Their Friends Help Them Lose Weight
It’s not often that companies offer a reporter his choice of an orange, clementine, banana, or energy bar when he arrives to do an interview. But on a recent visit to the Providence, RI, headquarters of Shape Up The Nation, which dishes out wellness programs on its social networking platform, the staffers were eager to … Continue reading “Shape Up The Nation Wants People to Let Their Friends Help Them Lose Weight”
Helicos Names New CEO
Cambridge, MA-based Helicos BioSciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:HLCS]]), a developer of genetic analysis technology for molecular diagnostics, said today it has named Ivan Trifunovich as the company’s president and CEO. Trifunovich, who was named the firm’s executive chairman on September 15 and has previously served as its consultant, is a former senior vice president of Third Wave Technologies, … Continue reading “Helicos Names New CEO”
NinePoint Medical Raises $33M A Round to Develop New Diagnostic Devices
Cambridge, MA-based NinePoint Medical said this morning it has raised $33 million in a Series A round of funding from Third Rock Ventures of Boston and Prospect Venture Partners of Palo Alto, CA, and it’s planning to quickly beef up its staff with 25 additional workers over the next year. NinePoint is aiming high with … Continue reading “NinePoint Medical Raises $33M A Round to Develop New Diagnostic Devices”
A Nobel Laureate’s Stealthy Biotech, Its Japanese Pharma Backer, and the Englishman In Charge
Outside of certain circles at MIT, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who is familiar with the biotech startup Galenea. The Cambridge, MA-based firm has been researching drugs for schizophrenia and other neurological disorders for more than five years, yet it has done so with a unique funding strategy that has kept its significant … Continue reading “A Nobel Laureate’s Stealthy Biotech, Its Japanese Pharma Backer, and the Englishman In Charge”
Investors Suing Genzyme Over Its Handling of Sanofi’s $18.5B Buyout Bid
Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) is fending off multiple shareholders who are suing the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company for rejecting French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis’s $18.5 billion buyout offer, according to court documents filed with the SEC. Bloomberg News reported the lawsuits in a story Tuesday afternoon. The lawsuits call attention to Genzyme’s repeated rejection of Sanofi’s (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]) offer … Continue reading “Investors Suing Genzyme Over Its Handling of Sanofi’s $18.5B Buyout Bid”
5 Biotech Storylines to Watch in Boston
It almost goes without saying that the Boston biotech scene is rapidly evolving—perhaps as fast as any industry we write about here at Xconomy. So the editors and I thought it would be useful to highlight five of the most important storylines that we have been and will continue to follow in New England. 1. … Continue reading “5 Biotech Storylines to Watch in Boston”
Alkermes Gets Drug Approval
Waltham, MA-based biotech firm Alkermes (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALKS]]) said today that the FDA has approved its extended-release formulation of naltrexone (Vivitrol) for preventing the relapse of opioid drug dependence. The firm’s drug, which is injected once per month, was initially approved for alcohol dependence in 2006. The company will discuss the new approval of the drug during … Continue reading “Alkermes Gets Drug Approval”
$20M for Care.com
Care.com, a Waltham, MA-based firm that operates a website for rating family care services such as babysitters, tutors, and senior care providers, said today it has brought in $20 million in funding. New Enterprise Associates led the financing, which included return backers Matrix Partners and Trinity Ventures. Founded in 2006, Care.com provides ratings on various … Continue reading “$20M for Care.com”
InfraReDx Gets $21M to Launch Coronary Imaging System
Burlington, MA-based InfraReDx said today it has raised $21 million in a Series D round of equity financing from new and existing backers. The cash infusion will enable the firm to start U.S. sales of its latest-generation coronary imaging system, which gained FDA clearance this summer. The 12-year-old firm says that its “LipiScan IVUS” system … Continue reading “InfraReDx Gets $21M to Launch Coronary Imaging System”
Tata Backs Sun Catalytix in $9.5M B Round
Sun Catalytix has found a new and deep-pocketed investor. Tata, a global conglomerate that owns the largest auto company in India, has led the Cambridge, MA, startup’s $9.5 million Series B funding round, the companies report today. The round, which included return backer Polaris Venture Partners, will fund further development of the startup’s catalyst, which … Continue reading “Tata Backs Sun Catalytix in $9.5M B Round”
Athenahealth and EClinicalWorks CEOs Explain Their Differences, Critique Software Subsidies
It was an experiment. Put two rivals in the health IT game—Jonathan Bush, CEO of Watertown, MA-based Athenahealth (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ATHN]]), and Girish Navani, CEO of Westborough, MA-based eClinicalWorks—on the same stage to talk frankly about the future of their industry. Pam McNamara, president of Cambridge Consultants, showed up to moderate with a wooden gavel, if that’s … Continue reading “Athenahealth and EClinicalWorks CEOs Explain Their Differences, Critique Software Subsidies”
Sanofi-Aventis Launches Hostile Takeover Bid For Genzyme
The French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis’s quest to buy the struggling biotech Genzyme has officially turned ugly. This morning Sanofi (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]) went directly to the shareholders of Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) with a tender offer of $69 per share, or $18.5 billion total, in a bid to seize control of the biotech company’s lucrative business of … Continue reading “Sanofi-Aventis Launches Hostile Takeover Bid For Genzyme”
Lantos Technologies and MIT’s Doug Hart Aim for Encore to Big Exit at Brontes
Shahid Azim met me at the front door of his new 3D ear-canal imaging startup, Lantos Technologies, earlier this week. The walls were barren, and the space was mostly devoid of furniture. But when I peeked through one of the office doorways, I spotted the Cambridge, MA, startup’s academic founder, Doug Hart, who is way … Continue reading “Lantos Technologies and MIT’s Doug Hart Aim for Encore to Big Exit at Brontes”
Startup Ligon Discovery Lands Bayer Schering for First Deal with Major Pharma
Ligon Discovery has its first large pharmaceutical partner, a big deal for any biotech but especially for a company that spun out of an academic lab just 16 months ago. Cambridge, MA-based Ligon is announcing today it has inked a deal with Germany-based drugmaker Bayer Schering Pharma. The deal calls for Ligon to use drug-screening … Continue reading “Startup Ligon Discovery Lands Bayer Schering for First Deal with Major Pharma”
Baron Named CAR Chairman
The Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit based in Ann Arbor, reports that its board of directors has tapped its president and CEO, Jay Baron, to replace David Cole as its chairman. Cole, a founding member of the research nonprofit and an Xconomist, has become the group’s chairman emeritus. The nonprofit, known as CAR, says … Continue reading “Baron Named CAR Chairman”
Andera Gets $9M from Edison
Providence, RI-based Andera, a provider of Internet software for banks and other financial groups to offer online account opening and funding to customers, has closed a $9 million financing led by Lawrenceville, VA-based Edison Venture Fund, according to the company. Andera, which now serves more than 425 financial institutions, said it plans to use the … Continue reading “Andera Gets $9M from Edison”
ProNAi Therapeutics Advances Gene-Silencing Cancer Drug, Marina Biotech Provides Delivery Package
A quiet competitor in the gene-silencing game has surfaced with good news. Kalamazoo, MI-based ProNAi Therapeutics says that it’s started to treat cancer patients with its first experimental DNA interference drug, which is essentially made to specifically silence disease at the fundamental level of DNA. And the firm is relying on molecules from Bothell, WA-based … Continue reading “ProNAi Therapeutics Advances Gene-Silencing Cancer Drug, Marina Biotech Provides Delivery Package”
Acceleron Weans Itself Off VC, Continues its Roll with Pharma Partner Dollars
Acceleron Pharma is in an enviable position among its biotech peers. Instead of relying on venture capital in a time when the VC well has been running dry, the Cambridge, MA-based firm has been supporting its operations primarily with cash from its pharmaceutical company partners. And now Acceleron has found prospects for additional deals with … Continue reading “Acceleron Weans Itself Off VC, Continues its Roll with Pharma Partner Dollars”
Biotech DecImmune Grabs $1M from Astellas VC
DecImmune Therapeutics has made some news this morning after what appears to be a long silence. The Cambridge, MA-based developer of drugs for tissue damage has raised $1 million in equity funding from Astellas Venture Management, the VC arm of Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma, according to the company. DecImmune (formerly Natural Antibodies) said that … Continue reading “Biotech DecImmune Grabs $1M from Astellas VC”
New iPhone Accessory Tests Blood Sugar
There’s a new option in the works for diabetics who want to take greater control of their blood sugar levels—and communicate the data to their doctors. It’s a blood-sugar monitoring device that plugs into the iPhone or iPod Touch. French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]), which co-developed the device with its partner AgaMatrix of Salem, NH, … Continue reading “New iPhone Accessory Tests Blood Sugar”
Dana Farber Gets $33M in Sanofi Deal
Sanofi-Aventis, the French drug giant that has labs in Cambridge, MA, said today that it paid Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Boston $33 million to license technology for identifying cancer targets for new treatments. Dana Farber will also receive research funding from Sanofi for a minimum of three years, as well as potential payments related … Continue reading “Dana Farber Gets $33M in Sanofi Deal”
Genzyme Boss Henri Termeer Not Ready To Sell to Sanofi, Ride Into the Sunset, Sources Say
Henri Termeer has invested most of his professional life building Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) into a global biotech powerhouse, and it could all come to an unceremonious end if French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]) succeeds in its efforts to acquire the company. Yet people close to the Genzyme CEO tell Xconomy that Termeer has plenty … Continue reading “Genzyme Boss Henri Termeer Not Ready To Sell to Sanofi, Ride Into the Sunset, Sources Say”
Vertex Plans $375M Notes Offering
Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) said today that it plans to offer an estimated $375 million worth of convertible senior subordinated notes due in 2015 in a public offering. The firm has granted its underwriter, BofA Merrill Lynch, the option to purchase up to $25 million in additional notes under the same terms of the … Continue reading “Vertex Plans $375M Notes Offering”
Biogen Rival Reaches Finish Line with Oral Drug for MS
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), one of the world’s biggest makers of multiple sclerosis drugs, has some catching up to do in bringing an oral MS treatment to market. Swiss drug giant Novartis said today it has won FDA approval of an MS pill, which some see as more convenient than the injected treatments for the … Continue reading “Biogen Rival Reaches Finish Line with Oral Drug for MS”
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Sells Struggling Microbia Subsidiary to Royal DSM
The chemical giant Royal DSM has agreed to purchase the Lexington, MA-based bio-manufacturing firm Microbia from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, according to a press release. DSM, based in Heerlen, The Netherlands, has not disclosed terms of the deal. Xconomy was unable to immediately reach representatives from Microbia and DSM about the transaction. Microbia (formerly Microbia Precision Engineering) … Continue reading “Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Sells Struggling Microbia Subsidiary to Royal DSM”
MeYou Health Enters Social Gaming Realm with Daily Challenge for Improving Well-Being
Could social gaming be used to improve people’s health? Boston-based MeYou Health appears to think there’s a good chance the answer to that question is “yes.” The group plans to release an online social game this week called Daily Challenge, which attempts to get players and their friends on Facebook to adopt healthy behaviors and … Continue reading “MeYou Health Enters Social Gaming Realm with Daily Challenge for Improving Well-Being”
Boston Scientific to Inhale Asthmatx in $194M Buyout
Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) is upping its investment in a new way of treating severe asthma. The Natick, MA-based medical device giant says today it has inked a deal to acquire Sunnyvale, CA-based Asthmatx for $193.5 million. Boston Scientific, which had previously been an investor in Asthmatx, has presumably been following the California firm’s progress for … Continue reading “Boston Scientific to Inhale Asthmatx in $194M Buyout”
Zalicus, Formerly the Bicoastal Biotech CombinatoRx, Seeks New Identity with Name Fit for a Warrior
Mark Corrigan, the chief executive of the biotech Zalicus (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ZLCS]]), has been shuttling back and fourth from Boston to New York this week as part of the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s effort to gain greater visibility on Wall Street. In fact, last Friday he was due to ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ stock market … Continue reading “Zalicus, Formerly the Bicoastal Biotech CombinatoRx, Seeks New Identity with Name Fit for a Warrior”
U-M’s Ken Nisbet on Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Economic Recovery in Michigan
With an annual research budget of more than $1 billion, the University of Michigan is a leading hub of new technological inventions and entrepreneurship. It’s serving as a wellspring of new ideas and startups that are helping to lead the economic recovery in the Great Lakes State. Ken Nisbet plays a key role in advancing … Continue reading “U-M’s Ken Nisbet on Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Economic Recovery in Michigan”
Jonathan Bush and Girish Navani, Two Major Figures in Health IT, to Headline Xconomy Xchange
There are literally billions of dollars at stake in this contest: Across the U.S., electronic health records (EHR) vendors are hustling to get physicians to buy their products as the federal government forges ahead with a multibillion-dollar effort to increase usage of the records. The race was ignited by the February 2009 passage of the … Continue reading “Jonathan Bush and Girish Navani, Two Major Figures in Health IT, to Headline Xconomy Xchange”
Third Rock Ventures Secures $426M Second Fund, Makes Changes to Partner Ranks
Third Rock Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, says today it has raised $426 million for its second fund. The fund represents a vote of support for the firm’s model of investing in and starting life sciences ventures that have the potential to transform healthcare. The Boston-based firm, which … Continue reading “Third Rock Ventures Secures $426M Second Fund, Makes Changes to Partner Ranks”
Genzyme Agrees to Sell Genetics Unit to LabCorp for $925M
Cambridge, MA-based biotech powerhouse Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) has struck a deal to sell its laboratory testing unit to Laboratory Corporation of America for $925 million in cash, the company reported this morning. The move is part of a plan to win over shareholders and comes after the French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis made an unsolicited offer … Continue reading “Genzyme Agrees to Sell Genetics Unit to LabCorp for $925M”
PerkinElmer Expects to Make Acquisitions After $500M Business Sale: CEO Talks Boston-Area Talent and Growth in Software, Imaging
PerkinElmer has recently struck a deal that it hopes will fuel its growth in the human and environmental health markets, among other things. Rob Friel, the chairman and chief executive of the Waltham, MA-based maker of lab analytical tools, gave me his personal take on his firm’s (NYSE: [[ticker:PKI]]) sale of its illumination and detection … Continue reading “PerkinElmer Expects to Make Acquisitions After $500M Business Sale: CEO Talks Boston-Area Talent and Growth in Software, Imaging”
Good Start Genetics Emerges from Stealth with $18M Series A Round
Good Start Genetics is making boosters from all corners of the life sciences sector in Massachusetts look really good today. The Boston-based startup, which is developing genetic tests for prospective parents, says today that it has finished raising an $18 million Series A round of funding. There appear to be a number of people and … Continue reading “Good Start Genetics Emerges from Stealth with $18M Series A Round”
Beringea Backs Mophie to Help Make Smartphones Smarter in an Exploding Market
In about four years, Mophie has evolved from a startup operated out of a founder’s garage in Kalamazoo, MI, to a fast-growing provider of electronic accessories for smartphones and other mobile devices with operations in Paw Paw, MI, and Santa Ana, CA. That’s according to Jeff Bocan, a managing director for the Farmington Hills, MI-based … Continue reading “Beringea Backs Mophie to Help Make Smartphones Smarter in an Exploding Market”
Anchor Therapeutics Hooks Deal Worth Up to $480M with J&J
Anchor Therapeutics has landed its largest corporate partnership yet. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech startup has secured a partnership that could be worth up to $480 million with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of the healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]). Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, based in Titusville, NJ, has agreed to pay Anchor an undisclosed upfront fee, provide … Continue reading “Anchor Therapeutics Hooks Deal Worth Up to $480M with J&J”
Rhythm Boosts Series A Round to $40M, Adds Third Rock Ventures to List of Backers
There’s new scientific and financial power behind the Boston biotech startup Rhythm Pharmaceuticals. Third Rock Ventures has joined as the company’s latest investor to help close its $40 million Series A funding round, and Third Rock partner Lou Tartaglia has joined the startup as a director and its chief scientist. Rhythm, a developer of peptide … Continue reading “Rhythm Boosts Series A Round to $40M, Adds Third Rock Ventures to List of Backers”
$2.5M for VMIX
VMIX Media, a San Diego-based provider of software for managing online video and other media content, has raised $2.5 million in an equity, options, and rights financing, according to an SEC filing. The filing does not disclose who invested in the funding round, and company executives could not immediately be reached at the firm’s office … Continue reading “$2.5M for VMIX”
Idenix Shares Tank on FDA Clinical Hold
Idenix Pharmaceuticals, a developer of antiviral drugs based in Cambridge, MA, has seen the value of its stock plunge after it announced today that the FDA put two of its drugs for the liver disease hepatitis C on clinical hold. In testing a combination treatment of the two drugs IDX184 and IDX320 in healthy volunteers, … Continue reading “Idenix Shares Tank on FDA Clinical Hold”
Cerulean Pharma Makes Progress in Attacking the Big C with Tiny Drugs
Cerulean Pharma has made lots of progress since its early days in 2007 when I first visited the biotech startup, then called Tempo Pharmaceuticals, and company chairman Alan Crane broke out his laptop to show me an animation of the newly hatched firm’s nanoparticle drugs congregating inside tumors and killing them. The Cambridge, MA-based startup, … Continue reading “Cerulean Pharma Makes Progress in Attacking the Big C with Tiny Drugs”
Life Image Secures $5.2M in Second Financing Round to Push Medical Images in the Cloud
Life Image has won further investor support after more hospitals have bought its new technology for exchanging medical images via the Internet cloud. The Newton, MA-based software startup has closed $5.2 million of a planned $10 million Series B funding round to finance increased sales, marketing, and product development, company co-founder and chief executive Hamid … Continue reading “Life Image Secures $5.2M in Second Financing Round to Push Medical Images in the Cloud”
Mascoma Gets New Cellulosic Ethanol Technology Through $51M Deal With SunOpta
Mascoma has grabbed improved technology for breaking down the raw materials it uses for making biofuels. The Lebanon, NH-based firm has acquired the SunOpta BioProcess unit of the Canadian food and mineral company SunOpta (NASDAQ:[[ticker:STKL]]) in a deal worth $51 million, according to a statement yesterday from SunOpta. Mascoma, which plans to eventually use the … Continue reading “Mascoma Gets New Cellulosic Ethanol Technology Through $51M Deal With SunOpta”
Pfizer Gobbles FoldRx in Big Pharma’s Latest Rare Disease Play in Boston Area
Big drug companies can’t seem to resist buying Boston-area biotech firms in the rare disease drug business. Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, said this morning that it has agreed to purchase Cambridge, MA-based FoldRx Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed sum. Venture-backed FoldRx will give New York-based Pfizer (NYSE:[[ticker:PFE]]) its lead molecule for a neurodegenerative disorder called … Continue reading “Pfizer Gobbles FoldRx in Big Pharma’s Latest Rare Disease Play in Boston Area”
Mercator Therapeutics Embarks on Journey to Develop Targeted Cancer Drugs
Mercator Therapeutics is at the beginning of a journey to commercialize drugs derived from a new way of discovering treatments for cancer. Recently, the biotech startup closed a $2 million seed round of financing and completed an initial licensing deal for its peptide-based drugs. It now plans to settle into its first corporate office in … Continue reading “Mercator Therapeutics Embarks on Journey to Develop Targeted Cancer Drugs”
PerkinElmer Sells IDS Unit for $500M
PerkinElmer (NYSE:[[ticker:PKI]]), a Waltham, MA-based global provider of products for improving the health and safety of people and the environment, said today it plans to sell its illumination and detection solutions (IDS) business to the New York-based private equity firm Veritas Capital for about $500 million in cash. The IDS business, which has 3,000 employees … Continue reading “PerkinElmer Sells IDS Unit for $500M”
Aveo Pharma Stock Jumps 40 Percent in A Week, CEO Notes Progress in Pivotal Kidney Cancer Trial
Aveo Pharmaceuticals has grabbed the attention of investors, who have driven its stock price up by 40 percent over the past week to $8.67 per share at yesterday’s close. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AVEO]]) stock is heating up as much of the rest of the market remains cool, and Aveo CEO Tuan Ha-Ngoc provided … Continue reading “Aveo Pharma Stock Jumps 40 Percent in A Week, CEO Notes Progress in Pivotal Kidney Cancer Trial”
Genzyme Shoots Down Sanofi-Aventis’s Buyout Offer
Genzyme’s board of directors has unanimously rejected a new $18.5 billion buyout bid that came in from French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis over the weekend, saying that the offer doesn’t recognize the progress the Cambridge, MA-based biotech powerhouse (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) has made in rectifying its manufacturing issues, according to a Genzyme press release this morning. The … Continue reading “Genzyme Shoots Down Sanofi-Aventis’s Buyout Offer”
HealthEdge, Rising from the Ashes of DeNovis, Reaps Benefits from Healthcare Reform
People who paid close attention to the healthcare reform debate know that it was really about bringing sweeping changes to health insurance in the United States. It includes all kinds of new laws about who is eligible for coverage and other health benefits. For Burlington, MA-based HealthEdge, the legislation has created a new reason for … Continue reading “HealthEdge, Rising from the Ashes of DeNovis, Reaps Benefits from Healthcare Reform”
Taligen Collects $10M For Focus on Rare Diseases
Taligen Therapeutics wants to apply its technology platform to treat rare diseases in which the immune system goes haywire and attacks healthy cells. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech startup says it has received $10 million from its investors to drive its first drug toward initial human studies against a rare autoimmune disease. The new funding brings … Continue reading “Taligen Collects $10M For Focus on Rare Diseases”