The biggest deals among Boston-area firms last week came from the life sciences sector. —Xtalic of Marlborough, MA—a developer of nanostructured alloys for a variety of applications—reportedly raised about $10 million in Series B financing. North Bridge Venture Partners and Matrix Partners participated in the deal. —Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) forged a potentially massive partnership … Continue reading “Genzyme and Osiris Forge Stem-Cell Agreement, Xtalic Nabs $10M for Nano Alloys, Atlas Out for Half a Billion Bucks, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Author: Rebecca Zacks
Rebecca is Xconomy's co-founder. She was previously the managing editor of Physician's First Watch, a daily e-newsletter from the publishers of New England Journal of Medicine. Before helping launch First Watch, she spent a decade covering innovation for Technology Review, Scientific American, and Discover Magazine's TV show. In 2005-2006 she was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. Rebecca holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Brown University and a master's in science journalism from Boston University.
A Trio of Tysabri Stories, Genzyme’s Big Deal with Osiris, A Peek Inside a Winning Hedge Fund, & More Life Sciences News
Last week brought an interesting mix of theory and practice about the impact of the current economic climate on life sciences. —There was a flurry of news related to natalizumab (Tysabri), the multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease drug from Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and its Irish partner Elan. First, the drug was linked … Continue reading “A Trio of Tysabri Stories, Genzyme’s Big Deal with Osiris, A Peek Inside a Winning Hedge Fund, & More Life Sciences News”
Brightcove Bonds With AOL, Faces Competition With Akamai; Fidelity Backs EnVivo; Dyax to Sell Up To $50M in Stock; & More Boston-Area Deals News
If you’re like me, you’re to the point where you can’t focus for more than two sentences without pausing to check FiveThirtyEight.com and Intrade, so I kept the roundup of Boston-area deals short this week. —Battery Ventures of Waltham, MA, led a $17 million Series B round for Sunnyvale, CA-based ZeroG Wireless, a developer of … Continue reading “Brightcove Bonds With AOL, Faces Competition With Akamai; Fidelity Backs EnVivo; Dyax to Sell Up To $50M in Stock; & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Sirtris Shifts Focus From Resveratrol, Merck Shifts People From Seattle to Boston, Epix Shifts Into Cost-Saving Mode, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Boston-area life sciences firms were awfully busy last week, particularly the public ones—and it wasn’t even all bad news. —New York-based Antigenics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGEN]]), whose operations are based mainly in Lexington, MA, announced that it’s seeking European approval for its vaccine-based treatment for kidney cancer, vitespen (Oncophage). The treatment is so far only approved in … Continue reading “Sirtris Shifts Focus From Resveratrol, Merck Shifts People From Seattle to Boston, Epix Shifts Into Cost-Saving Mode, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Xconomy Forum: Energy Innovation **SOLD OUT**
Energy innovation and entrepreneurship have traditionally been hampered by everything from the field’s complexity to its huge infrastructure costs. Today’s groundswell of attention and investment-from both private and government sources-may be changing the odds of success for energy innovation. But is it enough to bring us closer to the ultimate goal of energy independence and … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: Energy Innovation **SOLD OUT**”
Akamai Acquires Acerno, Archemix Adds Eli Lilly to Partner List, Sermo Signs Up Bloomberg Subscribers, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The deals news from Boston-area firms last week was dominated by the life sciences companies. —Archemix of Cambridge, MA, inked a deal giving drug giant Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]) options to apply its “aptamer”-based drug technology to up to two disease targets. The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, follows similar ones that Archemix … Continue reading “Akamai Acquires Acerno, Archemix Adds Eli Lilly to Partner List, Sermo Signs Up Bloomberg Subscribers, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Mersana Raises $4M in Note Placement
Mersana Therapeutics has completed a convertible note placement worth $4 million, officials of the Cambridge, MA-based cancer drug developer told Mass High Tech. The new funding brings Mersana’s total private investment raised to date to about $36 million, according to Mass High Tech; Fidelity Biosciences, Harris & Harris Group, PureTech Ventures, ProQuest Investments, and Rho … Continue reading “Mersana Raises $4M in Note Placement”
NitroMed Sells Off Its Only Product, a Controversial Heart Pill for African Americans
Nine months after slashing its staff and discontinuing marketing of its only marketed product—a heart-failure drug approved specifically for African Americans—Lexington, MA-based NitroMed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTMD]]) is selling all the assets related to the pill. Under the terms of the agreement, JHP Pharmaceuticals, a privately held specialty healthcare company in Parsippany, NJ, will pay $24.5 million … Continue reading “NitroMed Sells Off Its Only Product, a Controversial Heart Pill for African Americans”
SpaceDev Agrees to $38M Acquisition by Nevada Firm
Less than two weeks after the death of its founder, Jim Benson, San Diego-based SpaceDev (OTCBB: [[ticker:SPDV]]) has announced that it’s inked a deal to be acquired by a privately held Nevada firm, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), for $38 million in cash. SpaceDev blasted into the headlines in 2004, when its hybrid rocket engine technology … Continue reading “SpaceDev Agrees to $38M Acquisition by Nevada Firm”
Vertex, Ariad, and Infinity Reach Clinical Milestones; FDA Grants Dying Cancer Patient Access to Tysabri; Genzyme Exec Takes Pervasive Helm; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
There was a lot of activity related to biotech-pharma partnerships this week. That, and the rest of the Boston-area life sciences news, below. —Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences, a diagnostics startup build around research done at Children’s Hospital Boston, raised $21.75 million in Series B financing. New investor New Enterprise Associates led the deal, and Kaiser … Continue reading “Vertex, Ariad, and Infinity Reach Clinical Milestones; FDA Grants Dying Cancer Patient Access to Tysabri; Genzyme Exec Takes Pervasive Helm; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Tech Luminaries to Reveal Genomes
Ten prominent players in science and technology—many of them local to the Boston area—are reportedly today going to reveal about 20 percent of the genome sequences, along with their medical records on the Web. The group, including Harvard Medical School’s George Church and legendary venture capitalist Esther Dyson, are the first volunteers in Church’s Personal … Continue reading “Tech Luminaries to Reveal Genomes”
Synta Snags $25M From GSK, GT Solar and Evergreen Solar Sell More Solar Stuff, Predictive Biosciences Foresees $22M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Last week had a little bit of everything for Boston-area deals watchers. —Lexington, MA-based cancer drug developer Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) got a $25 million payday from partner GlaxoSmithKline. The payment was tied to reaching milestones in the development of a drug called elesclomol, which is in late-stage testing as a treatment for metastatic melanoma. … Continue reading “Synta Snags $25M From GSK, GT Solar and Evergreen Solar Sell More Solar Stuff, Predictive Biosciences Foresees $22M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Funding Round Two for T2 and Its Pint-Sized Diagnostic Devices
T2 Biosystems, a Cambridge, MA-based startup founded by a cadre local life sciences legends, today announced it has closed a $10.8 million Series B financing round. Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Partners Healthcare, and In-Q-Tel provided the new cash; the first three also participated in T2’s initial $5.5 million financing in 2006. … Continue reading “Funding Round Two for T2 and Its Pint-Sized Diagnostic Devices”
Biogen Idec Makes Controversial Tysabri Decision, Boston Scientific Explains Stock Sales, Charles River Heads to China, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
There was not one venture financing among Boston-area life sciences firms that I could find this week, but plenty of news nonetheless. —Luke took a look at Provasculon, the second company to be taken under Biogen Idec’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) wing at its Cambridge, MA-based incubator. Formed around research from Boston’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Provasculon … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Makes Controversial Tysabri Decision, Boston Scientific Explains Stock Sales, Charles River Heads to China, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Dionne Takes Surface Logix Helm
Boston-based drug Surface Logix announced today that Keith Dionne taken the reins as president and CEO of the privately held developer of small-molecule drugs. Dionne was previously CEO of Alantos Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by by Amgen for some $300 million; he also spent 7 years in various roles at Cambridge, MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
Takeda Hands $20M Over to Alnylam, Skyhook Helps Mozilla Find its Way, Nuance Nabs Nokia Agreement, & More Boston-Area Deals News
For those of you who had a long weekend like we did, welcome back. And to refresh your memory about last week’s Boston-area tech and life sciences deals… —Polaris Venture Partners of Waltham, MA, helped aim a $20 million Series B financing at San Mateo, CA-based internet video advertising firm BlackArrow. Cisco Systems, Comcast Interactive … Continue reading “Takeda Hands $20M Over to Alnylam, Skyhook Helps Mozilla Find its Way, Nuance Nabs Nokia Agreement, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Taking a Day Off
Between the launch of our San Diego site and putting together our soon-to-be announced energy event everybody’s been working their tails off here at Xconomy, so I gave the boys a day off. Oh, and evidently something happened 516 years ago involving some Italian guy and three sailboats, but we’re all a little conflicted about … Continue reading “Taking a Day Off”
BSX CEO Buys 350K Shares
Boston Scientific CEO James Tobin exercised $2.1 million worth of options on shares of the Natick, MA-based medical device firm yesterday as an “an expression of confidence in the company,” according to a report in the Boston Business Journal. The CEO’s purchase of 350,000 shares of Boston Scientific (NYTS:[[ticker:BSX]]) stock at $6.13 per share followed … Continue reading “BSX CEO Buys 350K Shares”
No Appeal for Boston Scientific, No Luck for CombinatoRx Drug, No Complaints From Harvard, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Overall, the news from Boston-area life sciences firms this past was not as much of a bummer as the first part of the headline might imply, but this first one isn’t great either… —Cambridge, MA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IDRA]]) reported that its experimental drug, IMO-2055, failed to have the desired effect on tumor size in a … Continue reading “No Appeal for Boston Scientific, No Luck for CombinatoRx Drug, No Complaints From Harvard, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Clarus Leads $60M Biolex Deal
Cambridge, MA-based Clarus Ventures led a $60 million Series D financing for Biolex Therapeutics, according to an announcement from the Pittsboro, NC-based startup. The deal was joined by new investor OrbiMed Advisors and existing investors including Intersouth Partners, Quaker BioVentures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Investor Growth Capital, Polaris Ventures, Mitsui & Company, The Dow … Continue reading “Clarus Leads $60M Biolex Deal”
Ironwood Attracts $50M, $37M Blows in for Northern Power Systems, Another Contract for IRobot, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The last week saw a variety of deals across innovation industries in New England, but the biggest ones came from biotech and cleantech. —Ironwood Pharmaceuticals raised $50 million from lead investor Morgan Stanley Investment Management and many of the Cambridge, MA-based biotech’s previous investors. Ironwood plans to use the funds in part to advance linaclotide, … Continue reading “Ironwood Attracts $50M, $37M Blows in for Northern Power Systems, Another Contract for IRobot, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Biogen Idec Moving to Weston?
Massachusetts biotech giant Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) is considering a move from Cambridge to Weston, acording to a report in the Boston Globe. Citing Cambridge’s high real estate costs as motivation for the possible change, Biogen CEO Jim Mullen told Globe reporter Todd Wallack that a yet-to-be-built 350,000 square foot building on Boston Post Road … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Moving to Weston?”
Celldex Nabs $10M Milestone
Needham, MA-based Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDX]]) said it has received a $10 million milestone payment triggered by the U.S. launch of the oral rotavirus vaccine Rotarix, which is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]). Celldex was formed through the recent merger of Avant Immunotherapeutics of Needham and Phillipsburg, NJ-based Celldex Therapeutics.
$50M Pumped Into Ironwood Coffers
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has raised $50 million in a deal led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management and joined by many of its previous investors, the Cambridge, MA-based firm announced today. The company plans to use the cash to, among other things, help move its irritable bowel syndrome treatment linaclotide through Phase 3 clinical trials. Ironwood was … Continue reading “$50M Pumped Into Ironwood Coffers”
Link Makes $40M Connection, Concert and Indevus Launch Clinicals, Genzyme’s Big Cholesterol Strategy, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Hats off to Link Medicine, whose $40 million financing was a nice reminder that the economy still has a pulse. That, and the rest of the week’s Boston-area life sciences news, below. —In case you missed our forum, How to Build a Life Sciences Company, Ryan did a great round up of the varied and … Continue reading “Link Makes $40M Connection, Concert and Indevus Launch Clinicals, Genzyme’s Big Cholesterol Strategy, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Clinical Data Inks $25M Stock Deal
Newton, MA-based biotech firm Clinical Data (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]) said today that it has inked a deal to raise some $25 million in a private placement of stock and warrants. The agreement, with affiliates of Clinical Data board chair Randal J. Kirk, includes some 1.5 million newly issued shares of common stock and warrants on another 757,000 … Continue reading “Clinical Data Inks $25M Stock Deal”
Highland Digs Digg, Oak Investment Partners Charges Up Greenvolts, U.S. Genomics Befriends Becton Dickinson, & More Boston-Area Deals News
This last week was a good one for smaller-scale deal making among New England’s tech and life sciences firms. —Oak Investment Partners of Westport, CT, put $30 million into San Francisco cleantech startup Greenvolts, which is developing solar energy farms that use vast arrays of reflectors to concentrate the sun’s rays on high-efficiency photovoltaic cells. … Continue reading “Highland Digs Digg, Oak Investment Partners Charges Up Greenvolts, U.S. Genomics Befriends Becton Dickinson, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Sirtris Settles in at GSK, Alnylam Raises IP Questions on Bio Bill, Targanta Takes on Cubist’s Market, & More Life Sciences News
We were lucky enough to have both Luke and Ryan in town for a couple of days this week, so there was a bumper crop of up-close, in depth stories on local life sciences firms. Enjoy! —Luke caught a glance of Lexington, MA-based Pulmatrix as the startup emerged from stealth mode. Drawing on the expertise … Continue reading “Sirtris Settles in at GSK, Alnylam Raises IP Questions on Bio Bill, Targanta Takes on Cubist’s Market, & More Life Sciences News”
Vertex Offering Up To $220M
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) announced that the underwriters of its stock offering have exercised their option to purchase 1.1 million additional shares, bringing the overall size of the deal to 8.6 million shares worth a total of $220.0 million. The Cambridge, MA-based developer of the hepatitis C drug telaprevir last week priced 7.5 million shares … Continue reading “Vertex Offering Up To $220M”
Vertex Prices Stock Offering, $7M for Rapid7, Global Insight and NextPoint Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Last week saw the announcement of a number of venture financings for New England technology and life sciences firms. I’m guessing a similar number of startups are feeling awfully glad they closed their deals ahead of the week’s stock-market madness. —The consumer-oriented fund of Highland Capital Partners reportedly led a $6 million Series D financing … Continue reading “Vertex Prices Stock Offering, $7M for Rapid7, Global Insight and NextPoint Acquired, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Millennium Enjoying New Era, Novartis Boosting Vaccine Effort, Living Proof Offering Frizz Fighters Online, & More Life Sciences News
This week it was insanely humid in the Boston area, so we were relieved to learn that Living Proof had begun selling its frizz-fighting hair products online. That, and the rest of the week’s (perhaps more weighty) life sciences news, below. —Luke caught up with Millennium Pharmaceuticals CEO Deborah Dunsire four months after her Cambridge, … Continue reading “Millennium Enjoying New Era, Novartis Boosting Vaccine Effort, Living Proof Offering Frizz Fighters Online, & More Life Sciences News”
O Beverages Sips $6M More From Highland
Highland Capital Partners’ consumer fund led a $6 million Series D financing round for Cambridge, MA-based O Beverages, according to peHUB. Bob wrote about the fund’s earlier investment in the maker of nutrient-and flavor-infused waters (founded by Tom First of Nantucket Nectars fame), as well as the other firms in its consumer-oriented portfolio, back in … Continue reading “O Beverages Sips $6M More From Highland”
IRobot Nabs Nekton Research, Carbonite Comes Up with $20M, Parametric Ponders $2 Billion, & More Deals News
It was a light week for dealmaking among New England tech and life sciences firms, but if Parametric finds a buyer that one could be a doozy. —Bedford, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) inked an agreement to acquire Raleigh-Durham, NC-based Nekton Research—a maker of unmanned underwater robots—for $10 million up front and a potential $5 million … Continue reading “IRobot Nabs Nekton Research, Carbonite Comes Up with $20M, Parametric Ponders $2 Billion, & More Deals News”
Givvy Launches Online Tools for Getting Organized About Your Charitable Giving
Back in February I tried a million different ways to get Givvy founder John Treadway to tell me exactly what is was his months-old startup was building. The best I could get out of him at the time was something about online tools that give individual donors “more control and more empowerment over why, when, … Continue reading “Givvy Launches Online Tools for Getting Organized About Your Charitable Giving”
New(ish) on Xconomy: More Venture and M&A Deals Than You Can Shake a Stick At, Thanks to Our Friends at VentureDeal
Habitual visitors to our Boston and Seattle homepages might have noticed something new about a month ago—a pretty blue box perched right on top of the event-listings box and packed full of headlines about venture financings and M&A deals. Click a headline, and you get a tidy little summary of the transaction, complete with information … Continue reading “New(ish) on Xconomy: More Venture and M&A Deals Than You Can Shake a Stick At, Thanks to Our Friends at VentureDeal”
Alnylam Adds Another RNA Approach, Vertex Tackles Hardest Hep C Cases, Zafgen Places Big Bet on Fat Shrinkers, & More Life Sciences News
New England life sciences firms have been making some fascinating strategic moves recently, and a lot of our coverage this last week was focused on understanding these new strategies. —Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) made its name with technology for turning genes off with a technique called RNAi, but now the company is also working on … Continue reading “Alnylam Adds Another RNA Approach, Vertex Tackles Hardest Hep C Cases, Zafgen Places Big Bet on Fat Shrinkers, & More Life Sciences News”
Pharmas Flock to Sermo, Biogen Idec Takes Another Tack with MS, $400M More for the Broad Institute, & More Life Sciences News
This week’s Boston-area life sciences news has a little bit of everything—venture deals, new drugs, lawsuits, and a big-time donation. And for the entrepreneurs among you looking for an alternative to the typical venture capital firm, check out Ryan’s directory of corporate VC operations. —The ranks of New England life sciences companies with their own … Continue reading “Pharmas Flock to Sermo, Biogen Idec Takes Another Tack with MS, $400M More for the Broad Institute, & More Life Sciences News”
Noble Environmental Power Sets IPO Size
Noble Environmental Power has set the size of its planned IPO at 23.4 million shares, according to a filing with the SEC. The Essex, CT-based wind-power firm still hasn’t specified a price for the shares; when it initially filed for the offering back in May, it put the maximum price at $375 million.
Investors Radio in $32M for Vanu, JumpTap’s Bank Balance Hops up by $26M, Quanterix Pinpoints $15M, & More Deals News
While many of us were cutting out early for the holiday weekend, and to enjoy the last week of summer, New England tech and life sciences firms were cutting a surprising number of deals. —Tufts spinoff Quanterix closed the second half of a $15 million financing round from Arch Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and … Continue reading “Investors Radio in $32M for Vanu, JumpTap’s Bank Balance Hops up by $26M, Quanterix Pinpoints $15M, & More Deals News”
Proteostasis Therapeutics Procures $45M, Stealthy Startup Gets Serious About Shampoo, MA Life Sciences Center Chief Shares Her Plans, & More Life Sciences News
There were some exciting venture deals this past week, and some great in-depth reporting about Boston-area life sciences firms on the part of Luke and Ryan. In case you missed any of it…. —Ryan did some sleuthing on a stealthy startup down the street from Xconomy’s headquarters in Kendall Square, MA, and uncovered (at least … Continue reading “Proteostasis Therapeutics Procures $45M, Stealthy Startup Gets Serious About Shampoo, MA Life Sciences Center Chief Shares Her Plans, & More Life Sciences News”
ProteoStasis Takes Off From $45 Launch Pad, BitWave Receives $10M Transmission, GameLogic Reckons $8M Will Do, & More Deals News
There was a decent amount of venture activity in the Boston area this past week, as you can see below—and I’m not even including the smaller deals. —Cambridge, MA-based HealthCare Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, the VC branches of Genzyme and Novartis, and others put a whopping $45 million into a first round of financing for ProteoStasis … Continue reading “ProteoStasis Takes Off From $45 Launch Pad, BitWave Receives $10M Transmission, GameLogic Reckons $8M Will Do, & More Deals News”
Dyax and Vertex Drugs Move Toward Market, Taligen Moves to MA, Covidien Moves Into Venture Territory, & More Life Sciences News
Two Boston-area drug developers—Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Dyax—saw their lead drug candidates take important steps toward the market this week. And that’s not all that happened… —Luke took a peak at four-year-old Taligen Therapeutics, which last month moved its headquarters from Aurora, CO, to Cambridge, MA, when new CEO Abbie Celniker joined the firm. Celniker’s hoping … Continue reading “Dyax and Vertex Drugs Move Toward Market, Taligen Moves to MA, Covidien Moves Into Venture Territory, & More Life Sciences News”
Xconomy Forum: How to Build a Life Sciences Company
Let’s face it, venture capital financing is in the doldrums, notoriously few new drugs are making it to market, and healthcare spending is under increasing scrutiny. But innovation is messy—and often the best innovations spring from tough times. Today’s difficult climate is breeding creative and flexible new models for launching and sustaining companies in biotech, … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: How to Build a Life Sciences Company”
Segway Scooting Toward $14M, Follica Fixes on $11M, HP Hooks Up with Colubris, & More Deals News
Last week was a quiet one for New England tech and life sciences firms, but there was a steady stream of small deals nonetheless. —Boston-based Follica, which is developing a treatment for baldness, raised $11 million in a Series B round led by new investor Polaris Venture Partners and joined by existing investors Interwest Partners … Continue reading “Segway Scooting Toward $14M, Follica Fixes on $11M, HP Hooks Up with Colubris, & More Deals News”
Lockheed Martin Nabs Nantero Unit
The government business unit of Nantero—a Woburn, MA-based startup developing a carbon-nanotube-based form of computer memory it calls NRAM—has been acquired by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: [[ticker:LMT]]) for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the deal, some 30 Nantero employees will join Lockheed Martin, as will Brent Segal, the startup’s co-founder and Chief Operating … Continue reading “Lockheed Martin Nabs Nantero Unit”
Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News
I haven’t done a careful analysis, but I have the impression that there were a few more life sciences venture financings last week than has been typical as of late. Or maybe it just seems that way because this first one made such a splash with our readers. —Fast on the heels of its $5.5 … Continue reading “Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News”
Stromedix Drug Gets Orphan Status
Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix, a startup formed around technology licensed from Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), announced today that its lead candidate—a treatment for chronic allograft nephropathy, a leading cause of kidney-transplant failure—was granted orphan-drug status by the FDA. Stromedix is pursuing a large, untapped market for drugs that target fibrosis, a cellular process that is the … Continue reading “Stromedix Drug Gets Orphan Status”
A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News
New England tech firms ended last week right where the Beijing Olympics began—with a much-anticipated event timed to the lucky number eight. That, and the rest of the week’s biz-tech dealings below. —Observers have been waiting for some time now for A123 Systems—the Watertown, MA-based maker of advanced batteries whose customers include GM and Black … Continue reading “A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News”
Bain Leads $10M TokBox Deal
Boston’s Bain Capital Ventures led a $10 million Series B financing for San Francisco-based TokBox, a provider of free online video calling services. Joining the round was Sequoia Capital, which led the startup’s first round of funding.
$15M for Tetraphase
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals of Watertown, MA, announced today that it has raised a $15 million second tranche of its $25 million Series A financing. The cash comes from Mediphase Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, Flagship Ventures, and Skyline Ventures, who backed the startup when it spun out of Harvard in 2006 to develop synthetic antibiotics, … Continue reading “$15M for Tetraphase”