Biologists have been using artificially created DNA, produced through what’s known as chemical DNA synthesis, as a research tool for decades. Now, as demand for engineered DNA rises, a handful of startups are vying to become the go-to provider for researchers looking for improved versions of the DNA sequences. Molecular Assemblies is among the companies … Continue reading “Molecular Assemblies Raises $12M to Advance Enzymatic DNA Synthesis”
Author: Sarah de Crescenzo
Sarah is Xconomy's San Diego-based editor. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she wrote about startups, tech and finance at the San Diego Business Journal. Her decade of full-time news experience includes coverage of subjects including campaign finance, crime and courts as a reporter and editor at outlets throughout California, including the Orange County Register.
She earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature at UC San Diego, where she wrote for the student newspaper and played collegiate lacrosse. In 2019, she earned an MBA at UC Irvine.
At Venture Summit, 3 Takeaways For Entrepreneurs From VC Phil Black
No one would argue that San Diego is overflowing with venture capitalists in the way, say, the San Francisco Bay Area is. In fact, the region’s relative dearth of investors is often bemoaned by local entrepreneurs. But, at least once yearly, that changes, and the community gets to hear insights from prominent outside VCs firsthand. … Continue reading “At Venture Summit, 3 Takeaways For Entrepreneurs From VC Phil Black”
Medallia Acquires Hospitality Software Startup Zingle for $42M
[Updated 2:40 p.m. 9/27. See below.] Zingle, a startup whose software is used by hospitality, travel, and retail industries to more easily and quickly connect with their customers via messaging, has been acquired for about $42 million in cash by Medallia, a publicly traded software company in San Francisco. The Medallia (NYSE: [[ticker:MDLA]]) IPO earlier … Continue reading “Medallia Acquires Hospitality Software Startup Zingle for $42M”
Report: IPO Activity Picking Back Up Following Quiet, Volatile Q3
While the headlines may be dominated by news of WeWork putting its IPO on hold after reports about its questionable corporate governance, the overall initial public offering market is doing just fine. So far, 127 US companies went public in the first nine months of the year and the amount they raised already topped three … Continue reading “Report: IPO Activity Picking Back Up Following Quiet, Volatile Q3”
Q&A: New Rady Dean Ordóñez on School’s Growth, Startups, Ethics & More
Under Bob Sullivan, the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego matured into its teenage years. Sullivan became Rady’s founding dean in 2003, ahead of the fall 2004 enrollment of the school’s charter MBA class. Rady School is marking its sweet sixteen under a new leader, Lisa Ordóñez. Most recently vice dean of academic … Continue reading “Q&A: New Rady Dean Ordóñez on School’s Growth, Startups, Ethics & More”
Eying “Extra” DNA As Cancer Driver, Boundless Bio Debuts With $46M
In the nucleus of human cells sit our chromosomes, comprised mainly of tightly wound DNA. In some cells, however, some pieces of genetic material that exist within the nucleus are not attached to a chromosome—and a new company, Boundless Bio, believes these “extra” pieces of DNA play a key role in driving some especially aggressive … Continue reading “Eying “Extra” DNA As Cancer Driver, Boundless Bio Debuts With $46M”
Automated Trucking Company TuSimple Adds $120M More From Investors
UPS, the global package delivery giant, took a minority stake this summer in TuSimple, a self-driving trucking company, but didn’t reveal financial details. On Tuesday, the San Diego startup revealed that investment was part of an extended Series D financing round that now totals $215 million. In February, the company said it had raised $95 … Continue reading “Automated Trucking Company TuSimple Adds $120M More From Investors”
Amplyx Inks Novartis Deal for Another Compromised-Immune System Drug
Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, which is testing a new type of drug against life-threatening infections acquired by patients with compromised immune systems, has acquired the rights to another drug that could also be of use in treating those with limited ability to fight off sickness. On Monday, the clinical-stage San Diego biotech company announced it had added … Continue reading “Amplyx Inks Novartis Deal for Another Compromised-Immune System Drug”
Tocagen Stock Tanks After Gene Therapy Drug for Brain Cancer Fails
Tocagen’s experimental gene therapy for brain cancer therapy has failed a late-stage test, sinking the biotech’s stock price below $1. San Diego’s Tocagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TOCA]]), has been testing its drug in recurrent high-grade glioma, the most common and deadly type of brain cancer in adults. The company said Thursday that the drug combination, Toca 511 … Continue reading “Tocagen Stock Tanks After Gene Therapy Drug for Brain Cancer Fails”
After Investing, GSK to Buy Out Celiac Drug Developer Sitari Pharma
GlaxoSmithKline is acquiring a startup it helped launch in 2013 as part of an alliance with life sciences venture capital firm Avalon Ventures. Avalon said Tuesday that GSK (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) has agreed to buy the company, Sitari Pharmaceuticals, which has been developing a treatment for celiac disease. Sitari was the first of eight companies spun … Continue reading “After Investing, GSK to Buy Out Celiac Drug Developer Sitari Pharma”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: SGI-DNA, ZeaKal, DelMar Pharma & More
Fall is finally arriving, as indicated by the recent shortened work week, and few may object given the unseasonably hot, muggy weather San Diego has been experiencing recently. Track down somewhere with AC, then catch up on recent developments in the local life sciences scene. —SGI-DNA, a recent spinout of Synthetic Genomics (SGI), has raised … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: SGI-DNA, ZeaKal, DelMar Pharma & More”
Acadia Stock Jumps on Positive Dementia-Related Psychosis Drug Data
An Acadia Pharmaceuticals drug that’s already approved for psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease could soon be heading to an FDA review to expand the use of the drug to dementia patients. On Monday, Acadia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) reported that its drug, pimavanserin, met the goal of delaying relapse of psychosis in dementia patients compared to a … Continue reading “Acadia Stock Jumps on Positive Dementia-Related Psychosis Drug Data”
Startup Aquacycl Raises $4M To More Efficiently Treat Wastewater
Making beer is a water-intensive process: Along with the water that goes into the product itself, another five to seven gallons of wastewater is produced for every gallon of the good stuff because of cleaning, cooling, and packing during a brew. The leftover grains and unused water, chock-full of sugars and alcohol, is expensive to … Continue reading “Startup Aquacycl Raises $4M To More Efficiently Treat Wastewater”
Aristea Therapeutics Taps Nihar Bhakta as Chief Medical Officer
Aristea Therapeutics on Tuesday announced the appointment of Nihar Bhakta as chief medical officer. Bhakta, most recently project team leader at Gossamer Bio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOSS]]), has also held roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]), Roche, and Ardea Biosciences, which was acquired by AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) in 2012. San Diego-based Aristea, a clinical-stage company launched in … Continue reading “Aristea Therapeutics Taps Nihar Bhakta as Chief Medical Officer”
Ionis Gets $25M From GSK for Experimental Hepatitis B Program
Infections caused by the hepatitis B virus, which attacks the liver, are typically treated with drugs that keep the virus from making ever more copies of itself. However, because those treatments reduce but don’t eliminate the virus, patients have to take the drugs indefinitely, according to the World Health Organization. Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IONS]]) has … Continue reading “Ionis Gets $25M From GSK for Experimental Hepatitis B Program”
For GW Pharma CEO Justin Gover, The CBD Trend Started 20 Years Ago
[Corrected 8/27/19, 1:18 p.m. PT. See below.] Remember the simpler times of the mid-2010s, when you could order a latte or cocktail in California without the option of adding CBD? For Justin Gover, CEO of British drugmaker GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GWPH]]), society’s sudden embrace of cannabidiol (CBD), the other active ingredient found in the cannabis plant, … Continue reading “For GW Pharma CEO Justin Gover, The CBD Trend Started 20 Years Ago”
New BC Biotech Chinook Reels in $65M to Tackle Kidney Disease
About 15 percent of adults in the US, around 37 million people, are estimated to have chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. They have very few therapeutic options and often progress to kidney failure, which is treatable only with dialysis or transplant. Chinook Therapeutics is looking to develop new treatments to … Continue reading “New BC Biotech Chinook Reels in $65M to Tackle Kidney Disease”
Erasca Promotes Yeung to COO, CFO; Appoints Chacko as New CBO
Erasca, a biotech that launched in 2018 to develop cancer drugs, on Thursday announced it promoted Gary Yeung, its chief business officer, to the dual roles of chief operating and financial officer. It appointed David Chacko as its new chief business officer. Yeung previously held leadership roles at Guardant Health (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GH]]), Annexon Biosciences, and … Continue reading “Erasca Promotes Yeung to COO, CFO; Appoints Chacko as New CBO”
Startup Blooma Launches With $2.75M to Digitize Commercial Lending
Many facets of the finance industry, a highly regulated sector of the economy, are still reworking the tools used to move around money so that they fit a digital world. Digital mortgage lenders, for example, are having a field day, pulling in millions from investors who see opportunities to make money by speeding up the … Continue reading “Startup Blooma Launches With $2.75M to Digitize Commercial Lending”
AbbVie’s Successor to Humira Wins FDA OK for Rheumatoid Arthritis
An anti-inflammatory drug that AbbVie has been developing as a successor to adalimumab (Humira), the world’s top-selling drug, won the regulatory OK Friday as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The FDA approved upadacitinib (Rinvoq) for adults with RA whose disease hasn’t responded to other treatments. About 1.3 million people in the US have the … Continue reading “AbbVie’s Successor to Humira Wins FDA OK for Rheumatoid Arthritis”
UPS Takes Minority Stake in Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple
TuSimple, an autonomous trucking company, has been conducting test drives for UPS between the Arizona cities of Phoenix and Tucson since May. Now the corporate venture arm of the global package delivery giant says it has taken a minority stake in the San Diego startup, which believes its technology can reduce the costs of shipping … Continue reading “UPS Takes Minority Stake in Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple”
Qualcomm Taps Former Palo Alto Networks CEO as Board Chairman
Wireless giant Qualcomm has appointed Mark McLaughlin, the former CEO of network security company Palo Alto Networks, as chairman of its board of directors. McLaughlin joined Silicon Valley-based Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: [[ticker:PANW]]) as president and CEO in 2011, ahead of its 2012 IPO. He served as the company’s top executive through June 2018. Prior … Continue reading “Qualcomm Taps Former Palo Alto Networks CEO as Board Chairman”
San Diego Tech Roundup: Ezoic, Trust & Will, Oska Wellness & More
Summer can be a slow time in San Diego, but its startups have stayed busy. Read on for news of recent financings, plus upcoming opportunities to connect with the local tech community. —Ezoic, a startup that developed software for web publishers that uses machine learning techniques to personalize layouts and ad placements for site visitors, … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Ezoic, Trust & Will, Oska Wellness & More”
Organovo Halts Liver Tissue R&D, Plans Restructuring to Cut Costs
[Updated 2:33 p.m. Aug. 8. See below.] Organovo says it has run out of money to advance its efforts to develop 3-D “patches” of living human liver tissue to tide over people waiting for an organ transplant. The San Diego-based biotech has been working since 2007 to use a method known as bio-printing to come … Continue reading “Organovo Halts Liver Tissue R&D, Plans Restructuring to Cut Costs”
SDSI Accelerator For Sports Startups Gets Qualcomm Foundation Boost
Entrepreneurs who are accepted into the next 20-week accelerator program run by SD Sports Innovators will get the opportunity to learn from senior Qualcomm employees as they work to better their businesses. SDSI, a nonprofit organization based north of San Diego in coastal Solana Beach, focuses on advancing companies that involve sports, active lifestyles, health, … Continue reading “SDSI Accelerator For Sports Startups Gets Qualcomm Foundation Boost”
Women’s Health-Focused Luca Bio Takes Microbiome R&D Beyond the Gut
Urinary tract infections are among the most common bacterial infections in the United States, but treatment options are shrinking as resistance to antibiotics commonly prescribed to treat the condition continues to rise. Luca Biologics, a new Cambridge, MA-based biotech focused on women’s health, emerged Tuesday with a plan to advance an investigational UTI drug into … Continue reading “Women’s Health-Focused Luca Bio Takes Microbiome R&D Beyond the Gut”
Acadia, Neurocrine See Stock Price Bump After Quarterly Earnings
We’re in the midst of earnings season, and a couple of San Diego’s publicly traded biotechs recently updated investors this week with sales data and other financial insights. Here’s a look at those companies. —Acadia Pharmaceuticals faced a setback in July with the failure of a late-stage trial that was testing pimavanserin—which the company’s sells … Continue reading “Acadia, Neurocrine See Stock Price Bump After Quarterly Earnings”
Viracta Therapeutics Taps Dan Chevallard as Chief Financial Officer
Viracta Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company developing therapies to treat viral-associated cancers and other diseases, announced Thursday it appointed Dan Chevallard as its chief financial officer. Chevallard was most recently CFO at Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGLS]]), another biotech company headquartered in San Diego.
Illumina Cuts Forecasts As Consumer Tests, Genomics Initiatives Lag
About this time last year, DNA sequencing giant Illumina upped its financial projections, estimating its sales would grow 20 percent year-over-year. It exceeded that goal, with revenue rising 21 percent to $3.33 billion by the end of 2018. It’s a different financial story this summer. On Monday, Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) informed the markets that it … Continue reading “Illumina Cuts Forecasts As Consumer Tests, Genomics Initiatives Lag”
Turning Point Therapeutics Taps Investment Banker Yi Larson as CFO
Turning Point Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TPTX]]) has hired one of the investment bankers who guided it to the public markets earlier this year as its chief financial officer. Yi Larson, a managing director at New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE: [[ticker:GS]]), where she has worked for about 12 years, most recently led its healthcare investment … Continue reading “Turning Point Therapeutics Taps Investment Banker Yi Larson as CFO”
Connect All Startup Accelerator Seeks New Cohort of Diverse Founders
The first business accelerator program in southeast San Diego is accepting applications for its second cohort of entrepreneurs, who would start the program in fall. The six-month program, called Connect All @ the Jacobs Center, is run by Connect, a longstanding local organization that for years has supported startups through its flagship tech and life … Continue reading “Connect All Startup Accelerator Seeks New Cohort of Diverse Founders”
Moving Services Startup HireAHelper Acquired By Seattle’s Porch
HireAHelper.com, an online marketplace that links people who are moving to a new home with local movers and related services, has been acquired by Porch, which operates a marketplace that connects people with a variety of home repair and improvement services. The Seattle, WA-based acquirer says that last year it facilitated more than 2 million … Continue reading “Moving Services Startup HireAHelper Acquired By Seattle’s Porch”
Acadia Pharmaceuticals Drug Fails in Late-Stage Schizophrenia Trial
Acadia Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for Parkinson’s disease-related psychosis failed a Phase 3 trial that was studying use of the drug for schizophrenia patients who haven’t fully responded to existing therapies. The company announced the trial failure Monday after market close. Acadia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) shares dropped about 4 percent on the news in after-hours trading, falling from … Continue reading “Acadia Pharmaceuticals Drug Fails in Late-Stage Schizophrenia Trial”
Spine-Surgery Medtech Startup Carlsmed Merges With Imaging Company
Carlsmed, a San Diego-based medical technology company that’s developing personalized spinal implants, has merged with Precisive Surgical, a spine imaging system startup in Seattle. The combined company, which will operate in San Diego under the Carlsmed name, aims to create a platform that will use imaging recognition technology, 3D printing, and other tools to allow … Continue reading “Spine-Surgery Medtech Startup Carlsmed Merges With Imaging Company”
San Diego Roundup: Qualcomm, Philter, Stella Labs, VC Funding & More
Comic-Con International may be holding everyone’s attention this week, but the tech community has stayed busy amid all the action (and increased traffic). Let’s catch up with the latest tech news in San Diego. —San Diego’s AONDevices was among 10 startups selected to compete at a recent pitch competition hosted by the corporate venture capital … Continue reading “San Diego Roundup: Qualcomm, Philter, Stella Labs, VC Funding & More”
Trefoil Therapeutics Raises $28M and Eyes the Clinic for Cornea Drug
Trefoil Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for diseases that affect the cornea, the outermost layer of the eye, has raised $28 million to move its lead drug candidate into human testing. The company is developing an engineered form of fibroblast growth factor-1 proteins (FGF-1) as a treatment for corneal diseases such as Fuchs’ dystrophy, which … Continue reading “Trefoil Therapeutics Raises $28M and Eyes the Clinic for Cornea Drug”
Prenatal Testing Firm Cradle Genomics Debuts With $17M, Illumina Ties
Another company headed by former Illumina executives has launched, fueled with a $17 million Series A round from investors including a local venture capital firm. The new firm, Cradle Genomics, is seeking to commercialize improved non-invasive prenatal tests, which analyze blood from a pregnant person to determine whether a fetus will be born with an … Continue reading “Prenatal Testing Firm Cradle Genomics Debuts With $17M, Illumina Ties”
Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment
More than a third of the companies that went public in the first half of this year were backed by venture capital. That, plus robust merger and acquisition activity, set a record for venture-backed exit value—$165.2 billion in money returned to investors—that’s already topped all other full-year totals, according to the latest VentureMonitor, the quarterly … Continue reading “Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment”
Nestlé Sells Gut-Health Test Maker Prometheus Labs, Layoffs Expected
Eight years after San Diego biotech Prometheus Laboratories was acquired by Nestlé Health Science, the diagnostic business has been sold again, this time to a little-known biotech called Precision IBD that plans to lay off approximately a quarter of Prometheus’s workforce. Precision IBD, which is also based in San Diego, is a drug and diagnostic … Continue reading “Nestlé Sells Gut-Health Test Maker Prometheus Labs, Layoffs Expected”
After Amgen’s Spark, Revolution Med Nabs $100M to Push RAS Cancer Drugs
In May, Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) revealed intriguing data from the first-ever human trial of a drug that targets tumors with a specific mutation to the gene KRAS, which occurs in about one-quarter of all cancers. Amgen showed 30 percent of lung cancer patients with the mutation saw their tumors shrink. Even though the data were … Continue reading “After Amgen’s Spark, Revolution Med Nabs $100M to Push RAS Cancer Drugs”
Mercato, Grocery Delivery Startup For “Indie” Retailers, Gets $4M
Delivery services such as Shipt and Instacart deliver groceries to customers’ doorsteps daily. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) and Walmart (NYSE: [[ticker:WMT]]) also offer the service, albeit only for their own stores. Large-scale chain stores are the focus of most grocery delivery services. Mercato, a San Diego startup that bills itself as the option for independent grocery … Continue reading “Mercato, Grocery Delivery Startup For “Indie” Retailers, Gets $4M”
Uber Rejiggers App to Highlight Its Bikes, Scooters in San Diego
San Diego is one of two metropolitan areas in which ride-hailing giant Uber has reformatted its mobile app to make it simpler for users to rent an electric bicycle or scooter. With the previous version of Uber’s (NYSE: [[ticker:UBER]]) app, users had to navigate from the main menu to another part of the app to … Continue reading “Uber Rejiggers App to Highlight Its Bikes, Scooters in San Diego”
BioAlta Taps Former Trillium Chief Medical Officer Eric Sievers as CMO
BioAtla, which is developing antibody drugs, has hired Eric Sievers as its chief medical officer. He was most recently CMO at Toronto’s Trillium Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRIL]]), according to a news release from BioAtla. Prior, Sievers spent nine years at Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]), where he was involved in the development and approval of brentuximab vedotin … Continue reading “BioAlta Taps Former Trillium Chief Medical Officer Eric Sievers as CMO”
Brain Corp., Maker of Robotics Tech, to Open European HQ in Amsterdam
Brain Corp., a robotics startup whose technology powers automated floor cleaning machines in retail stores, malls, warehouses, and airports, announced Monday it is opening its first European office in Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam office will serve as the company’s regional hub for operations, software development, and research and development, Brain … Continue reading “Brain Corp., Maker of Robotics Tech, to Open European HQ in Amsterdam”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: MEI Pharma, Turning Point, & More
It was a relatively quiet week in the San Diego life sciences community, but local companies and organizations continue working away. Here’s a look at some recent developments, including companies moving their lead drug candidates into Phase 2 trials, new R&D partnerships, and a reminder to nominate your favorite young’un for a Biocom Catalyst award. … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: MEI Pharma, Turning Point, & More”
Mirati Stock Sale Targets $200M as Lead Cancer Drug Starts Phase 3
Mirati Therapeutics plans to raise more than $200 million this week in a public offering, funding that it plans to use to advance its lead cancer drug candidate, sitravatinib, into late-stage testing, and to continue developing its other targeted oncology programs. The San Diego company said Tuesday that it would sell 2.1 million shares of … Continue reading “Mirati Stock Sale Targets $200M as Lead Cancer Drug Starts Phase 3”
Acutus, Maker of Next-Gen Electrophysiology Tech, Adds $100M Series D
A company that makes a mapping system to help doctors see high-resolution, 3D images of irregular heart rhythms in real time has raised $100 million in venture investment and a $70 million credit facility to fund its full-scale market launch. Acutus Medical, based in the northern San Diego community of Carlsbad, was founded in 2011. … Continue reading “Acutus, Maker of Next-Gen Electrophysiology Tech, Adds $100M Series D”
Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns
Even as Uber, Lyft, and other high-profile initial public offerings underperformed out of the gate, the average share price of companies that have gone public in the US this year is up by almost 33 percent. That’s according to data based on the mean returns of issuers that started trading through June 19, released by … Continue reading “Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns”
Conatus to Slash Staff, Consider Sale After NASH Trial Failures
Conatus Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it would cut its staff by 40 percent and consider a sale or merger after a drug it was testing as a treatment for an increasingly common form of chronic liver disease failed to beat a placebo in a mid-stage clinical trial—the latest letdown in a number of trial failures. … Continue reading “Conatus to Slash Staff, Consider Sale After NASH Trial Failures”
Locana, Fueled With $55M, Looks to Develop Fixes for Faulty RNA
Editing human DNA has entered the public consciousness in a big way in recent years with its increasing use in laboratories—and, in recent news that shocked the scientific community, in embryos—of tools such as CRISPR-Cas9. Locana, a gene therapy biotech in San Diego, is taking what it describes as a “parallel path” to developing therapeutics … Continue reading “Locana, Fueled With $55M, Looks to Develop Fixes for Faulty RNA”