Jean Poh’s family has been in the jewelry business for four generations. And, for the most part, the industry has operated much the same as it always has, she says. Following a professional detour in which she worked as an attorney and angel investor, Poh made her way back to the jewelry business. She began … Continue reading “Baubles & Bling: Swoonery Uses Tech to Connect Shoppers With Jewelry”
Category: San Francisco
ESMO ’18: Precision Meds, Breast, Lung, and More from the Cancer Front
[Ben Fidler co-authored this report.] The European Society for Medical Oncology is wrapping up its annual conference today, replete with clinical data from cancer’s front lines. We’ve sorted the headlines into a few big categories: immunotherapy combinations, breast cancer, lung cancer, the growing class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, and new drugs that treat tumors … Continue reading “ESMO ’18: Precision Meds, Breast, Lung, and More from the Cancer Front”
Why Technology Alone Won’t Fix Education
“Artificial intelligence will transform the education system.” “Immersive technology will reshape learning forever.” These are just some of the industry rumblings about how edtech will disrupt and ultimately “fix” what’s wrong with the education system in the United States. With back-to-school season in full swing, it’s imperative that we set the record straight. The truth … Continue reading “Why Technology Alone Won’t Fix Education”
Tech Industry Lobby Proposes Data Privacy Laws; Critics Call Them Weak
The tech industry, which reaps billions of dollars by harvesting personal data and using it to sell targeted advertising and other services, opened the door to federal data privacy regulations today in a proposal by ITI, a lobbying organization for tech companies. The Information Technology Industry Council, which represents the policy interests of companies including … Continue reading “Tech Industry Lobby Proposes Data Privacy Laws; Critics Call Them Weak”
Google Launching Its Own Computer Science Courses on Campuses
Early next year, twenty students will have the opportunity to study machine learning for 10 weeks with Google engineers, college professors, and coaches—free of charge. Google is picking up the tab for tuition, room, and board for all students accepted into its new machine learning intensives in the inaugural year of the program, which starts … Continue reading “Google Launching Its Own Computer Science Courses on Campuses”
Former Gilead Exec Kitty Yale Named Akero Chief Development Officer
Kitty Yale has been appointed chief development officer of Akero Therapeutics. She joins Akero from Gilead Sciences, where she was vice president of clinical operations. Akero emerged earlier this year with $65 million in financing and an experimental drug for the liver disease nonalcoholic steatohepatisis (NASH) that was licensed from Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]). The company, … Continue reading “Former Gilead Exec Kitty Yale Named Akero Chief Development Officer”
Entrepreneurs Thinking Inside the Box
Hackathons usually involve thinking outside of the box. But for myself and four other MIT students, brainstorming, eating, and sleeping inside a 16-foot by 16-foot glass cube on campus for four days straight in mid-September proved just as effective at getting our creative juices flowing. The experience was part of InCube 2018, a global startup … Continue reading “Entrepreneurs Thinking Inside the Box”
TP Therapeutics Names New CEO, Gets $80M More for Cancer Drug Push
Five-year-old biotech TP Therapeutics has raised an $80 million mezzanine financing round and promoted its chief medical officer, Athena Countouriotis, to CEO. The San Diego-based biotech, which is developing targeted cancer drugs for people whose tumors resist other precision therapies, announced the changes Friday. TP Therapeutics is developing a drug called repotrectinib that targets a … Continue reading “TP Therapeutics Names New CEO, Gets $80M More for Cancer Drug Push”
Bio Roundup: Prices on TV, Novartis Hearts Radio, Warp Drive’s End
Two new battlegrounds emerged this week in the nation’s ongoing drug pricing debate. The first involved television: The federal government hopes that blaring prices in TV ads will essentially pressure drug makers into lowering them, and the pharma lobby fired back. The second centered around a group of pricey new migraine drugs: The nation’s largest … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Prices on TV, Novartis Hearts Radio, Warp Drive’s End”
LogicBio Prices IPO Below Range, Raising $70M to Test Gene Therapy
LogicBio Therapeutics has joined the list of biotechs to go public this year but it had to cut the price of its IPO and sell more shares to pull it off. The Cambridge, MA, biotech priced its offering of 7 million shares at $10 apiece, raising $70 million to back human tests of its experimental … Continue reading “LogicBio Prices IPO Below Range, Raising $70M to Test Gene Therapy”
Post-IPO Chat With CEO of Anaplan as Its Trading Price Surge Holds
Enterprise planning software company Anaplan pulled off its IPO in the middle of a broad market slump last week—raising $263.5 million—and its 43 percent share price surge on the first day of trading continues to hold while Nasdaq and the Dow have yet to fully recover their lost value. Anaplan’s (NYSE: [[ticker:PLAN]]) IPO shares, which … Continue reading “Post-IPO Chat With CEO of Anaplan as Its Trading Price Surge Holds”
All About Talent: Takeaways From MIT’s $1B Plan to Lead Way in A.I.
In 2011, Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen penned a widely read essay declaring that “software is eating the world.” If he were to write an updated version today, it might proclaim that machine learning is eating the world. Advances in data analytics and artificial intelligence technologies are starting to impact virtually every industry. In the … Continue reading “All About Talent: Takeaways From MIT’s $1B Plan to Lead Way in A.I.”
In Boston, Paul Allen Aimed to Boost Bioscience’s “Tempo of Discovery”
The scientific interests of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen led him to fund a pair of major research centers in the Boston area devoted to cracking mysteries of the human biological code—and aiming to recreate the sort of foundational work he and Bill Gates applied to personal computing in the 1970s. Allen—who died Monday … Continue reading “In Boston, Paul Allen Aimed to Boost Bioscience’s “Tempo of Discovery””
Report: Express Scripts Shuts Out Teva Migraine Drug, Prefers Rivals
[Updated 10/17/18, 2:52 p.m. See below.] Express Scripts has just exerted its influence over the emerging market battle between drug makers trying to sell a new class of migraine-preventing medicines. The pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) is excluding a new drug from Teva Pharmaceutical from coverage while favoring two rival treatments instead, according to a report … Continue reading “Report: Express Scripts Shuts Out Teva Migraine Drug, Prefers Rivals”
SoftBank’s Arm to Include Cybereason Security Services in IoT Hub
Security-tech company Cybereason is announcing another boon flowing from close ties with its biggest investor, Japanese telecom and tech giant SoftBank. Boston-based Cybereason has formed a partnership with Arm, the dominant developer of computer chip architecture, which was acquired by SoftBank in 2016. Cybereason’s security services will be incorporated into the Arm Pelion IoT platform, a … Continue reading “SoftBank’s Arm to Include Cybereason Security Services in IoT Hub”
Citing Regulatory Uncertainty, Origin Code Academy to Close
Origin Code Academy, one of San Diego’s few coding schools—for-profit companies that offer short-term vocational training in computer programming—said this month it will shutter on Nov. 16 after about three years in business. The company opened in late 2015, offering a 12-week course for $13,500 and promising graduates a software job within 90 days of … Continue reading “Citing Regulatory Uncertainty, Origin Code Academy to Close”
Andreessen Leads $300M Bet on Devoted Health’s Senior Care Approach
If you had more than $300 million to try and fix the healthcare industry, how would you do it? For a startup called Devoted Health, the answer involves a combination of providing more home healthcare and support to the seniors it serves, as well as incorporating telemedicine and other technologies as part of a business … Continue reading “Andreessen Leads $300M Bet on Devoted Health’s Senior Care Approach”
Paul Allen’s Contributions, Far Beyond Microsoft, Touched the Brain, AI & More
Technology and life sciences leaders say they’ll remember Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder, philanthropist, and investor who passed away Monday at age 65, as an “inspiration” whose work will impact the fields he worked in for years to come. Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to a statement from Vulcan, the Seattle-based philanthropy … Continue reading “Paul Allen’s Contributions, Far Beyond Microsoft, Touched the Brain, AI & More”
Warp Drive’s Odyssey Ends with a Buyout—By Revolution, Not Sanofi
Warp Drive Bio started up in 2012 with a potential buyer, Sanofi, already in place. Six years later the Cambridge, MA, company is being acquired—by another startup, Revolution Medicines. The companies aren’t disclosing financial details of the acquisition, other than to say that Warp Drive’s shareholders will be issued Revolution stock. Third Rock Ventures founded … Continue reading “Warp Drive’s Odyssey Ends with a Buyout—By Revolution, Not Sanofi”
Tulerie Helps Users Dress Like Models, Without Breaking the Bank
Tulerie makes its debut today, joining a growing roster of online clothing rental startups. The New York-based Tulerie focuses on high-end couture—items that retail for $1,000 to $10,000—that might be worn a time or two but mostly take up space in a woman’s closet. The company is building a two-sided marketplace, with owners of haute … Continue reading “Tulerie Helps Users Dress Like Models, Without Breaking the Bank”
After Net Neutrality: How to Prepare for the Internet’s New Reality
The federal net neutrality regulation, which had guaranteed equal access to the Internet for data from all sources, is officially repealed. There are no longer federal rules ensuring that all Internet traffic must be treated equally, and no FCC protections to stop Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from engaging in blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization of … Continue reading “After Net Neutrality: How to Prepare for the Internet’s New Reality”
Room Service by Robot and Other Ways Tech Is Changing the Hotel Stay
More days than not, Michael Colaneri’s home is a hotel room. So innovations like “geolocation” sensors that automatically unlock his room door and adjust the thermostat when he’s nearby make the constant change easier—sometimes. “My experience has been exceptionally inconsistent,” he says. “When it’s worked, it’s really great, cool, and so efficient to the point … Continue reading “Room Service by Robot and Other Ways Tech Is Changing the Hotel Stay”
MIT Raises $650M for New College to Advance A.I. With Eye on Ethics
MIT is making another significant investment in artificial intelligence. The Institute announced Monday that it will establish a new college on its Cambridge, MA, campus—the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing—that will serve as an interdisciplinary hub for advancing ideas in computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, and related fields. The college is getting … Continue reading “MIT Raises $650M for New College to Advance A.I. With Eye on Ethics”
Zendesk Opens New Madison Office With Room for 400+ Employees
Zendesk is ramping up its investments in Madison, WI, which is home to the customer-service software company’s second-largest U.S. office. On Friday, San Francisco-based Zendesk (NYSE: [[ticker:ZEN]]) said it’s celebrating the opening of its new office on Madison’s Capitol Square, in the heart of the city’s downtown, with a tailgate-themed party. (Brats and beer, anyone?) … Continue reading “Zendesk Opens New Madison Office With Room for 400+ Employees”
Bristol Stumbles in Lung Cancer Again as Rivals Play Catch-Up
Nivolumab (Opdivo) recently became the first immunotherapy ever approved for people with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a particularly aggressive form of the deadly disease. But the lead given to its developer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, may be short-lived. Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) said today that its immunotherapy nivolumab (Opdivo) failed a Phase 3 study called Checkmate 331. … Continue reading “Bristol Stumbles in Lung Cancer Again as Rivals Play Catch-Up”
Adynxx Agrees to Merger with Alliqua to Gain Public Stock Listing
The number of biotech companies completing an IPO has swelled this year and Adynxx aims to join their ranks—but through an alternate path. The pain drug developer has agreed to combine operations with publicly traded Alliqua Biomedical. Under the merger agreement announced Friday, shares of Adynxx will convert into Alliqua (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALQA]]) stock, leaving former … Continue reading “Adynxx Agrees to Merger with Alliqua to Gain Public Stock Listing”
Bio Roundup: BIO Diversity, Allogene IPO, CRISPR In Utero & More
Nearly four years after investors snapped up new shares of Juno Therapeutics in a $265 million IPO, cancer immunotherapy remains a hot ticket. Like Juno, Allogene Therapeutics just pulled in a massive IPO haul, nearly $300 million. And like Juno, Allogene is working with a live immune-cell treatment called CAR-T, but it is harvesting cells … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: BIO Diversity, Allogene IPO, CRISPR In Utero & More”
Reuters Report Ranks U-M Among World’s Most Innovative Universities
The University of Michigan has been named one of the 100 most innovative university systems in the world in a new report issued Thursday by Reuters. Reuters said the list ranks “educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies, and power new markets and industries.” U-M snagged the 23rd spot, making it the … Continue reading “Reuters Report Ranks U-M Among World’s Most Innovative Universities”
Facebook Bars 800 Fake Accounts and Pages For Using Tactics Like Russia’s
In another wave of account shutdowns, Facebook announced Thursday that it disabled more than 800 pages and accounts to prevent groups that disguised their identities from flooding its network with inauthentic content—some of it hyper-partisan political messages. Facebook (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FB]]) has been under pressure to cleanse its pages of fake news since the discovery that … Continue reading “Facebook Bars 800 Fake Accounts and Pages For Using Tactics Like Russia’s”
BIO Has Big Diversity Goals. Does It Have the Means to Reach Them?
Whether from embarrassing parties or sobering surveys, the biotech gender gap problem has made plenty of headlines the past couple years. The industry’s largest trade group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), is trying to encourage its more than 1,000 member companies to do better. Last winter, BIO posted diversity goals for the industry to hit … Continue reading “BIO Has Big Diversity Goals. Does It Have the Means to Reach Them?”
Tim Berners-Lee Building Inrupt to Fix the Web—Will Users Come?
The World Wide Web is at a crossroads. For all the benefits it has brought society over the past three decades—faster and easier communication, instant knowledge access, a seemingly inexhaustible marketplace of goods and services—the Web has also morphed into an “engine of inequity and division,” according to its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee (pictured above). In … Continue reading “Tim Berners-Lee Building Inrupt to Fix the Web—Will Users Come?”
Planes, Drones & Automobiles: Techstars Grads Run the Mobility Gamut
On Tuesday afternoon, before a packed house at the Detroit Institute of Art’s film theatre, 11 startups just finishing a summer stint in the Techstars Mobility accelerator program took to the stage to talk more about what their companies were developing. Company founders pitched to a crowd of investors, entrepreneurs, automotive and tech executives, and … Continue reading “Planes, Drones & Automobiles: Techstars Grads Run the Mobility Gamut”
Allogene’s IPO Raises $288M for Tests of “Off-the-Shelf” Cell Therapy
Allogene Therapeutics has raised $288 million in an IPO, marking one of the biggest stock market debuts for a biotech this year. The cell therapy developer sold 18.4 million shares at $18 apiece, within the high end of its projected $16 to $18 per share range. Shares of South San Francisco, CA-based Allogene are expected … Continue reading “Allogene’s IPO Raises $288M for Tests of “Off-the-Shelf” Cell Therapy”
Anaplan Ups Estimate For Its IPO Haul; Allogene IPO Raises $288M
San Francisco-based Anaplan, one of five companies planning to close initial public offerings this week, raised the expected price range for its shares in an SEC filing Wednesday, signaling an IPO that could be richer than it had anticipated. Enterprise planning software company Anaplan, which is privately valued at more than $1.4 billion, had originally … Continue reading “Anaplan Ups Estimate For Its IPO Haul; Allogene IPO Raises $288M”
Harpoon Therapeutics Appoints Natalie Sacks Chief Medical Officer
Natalie Sacks has joined Harpoon Therapeutics as chief medical officer. Sacks comes to South San Francisco, CA-based Harpoon from Aduro Biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADRO]]) where she was chief medical officer. Harpoon, which develops cancer immunotherapies, raised $45 million in Series B funding last year as it worked to advance its drug programs toward clinical trials. The … Continue reading “Harpoon Therapeutics Appoints Natalie Sacks Chief Medical Officer”
Eyeing NASH, Glympse Raises $22M to Test Disease Detection Nanotech
Glympse Bio has developed sensor technology that it says can give clinicians an early look at a developing disease. As Glympse prepares to test its disease detection approach in a serious liver disorder, the startup has raised $22 million in Series A financing. LS Polaris Innovation Fund and Arch Venture Partners co-led the investment in Cambridge, … Continue reading “Eyeing NASH, Glympse Raises $22M to Test Disease Detection Nanotech”
U.S. Venture Capital Deals on Pace to Exceed $100B in 2018
Once considered a passing phase, the concentration of capital into fewer, larger venture capital deals appears to be the new normal. Fueled by so-called mega-funds, investment in U.S.-based venture-backed companies as of the end of the third quarter hit a decade high, and is on pace to pass the $100 billion mark by year’s end. … Continue reading “U.S. Venture Capital Deals on Pace to Exceed $100B in 2018”
With a $10.2M Boost, YourMechanic Aims at Mobility Fleet Market
Every month, there’s news of another partnership among carmakers like GM and tech companies such as Uber, as they vie for dominant roles in a transportation future where individual car ownership may largely give way to rides-on-demand from fleets of autonomous and tech-enabled vehicles. But whether Uber, Toyota, GM, Honda, or Google end up at … Continue reading “With a $10.2M Boost, YourMechanic Aims at Mobility Fleet Market”
NGM Biopharma Promotes Woodhouse to CEO, Trombley to President
David Woodhouse has been appointed CEO of NGM Biopharmaceuticals. Woodhouse was also elected to the South San Francisco, CA, company’s board of directors. He succeeds William Rieflin, who will remain on NGM’s board and take on the role of executive chairman. Woodhouse was previously NGM’s chief financial officer. He joined NGM in 2015 from Goldman … Continue reading “NGM Biopharma Promotes Woodhouse to CEO, Trombley to President”
Menlo’s Drug Fails Again in Clinical Trials, This Time for Chronic Cough
A Menlo Therapeutics drug developed to treat chronic cough has failed to beat a placebo in a mid-stage study, and the clinical-stage company is stopping work on that drug program. It’s the second time in six months that the drug, serlopitant, has failed in clinical trials. In April, Redwood City, CA-based Menlo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNLO]]) announced … Continue reading “Menlo’s Drug Fails Again in Clinical Trials, This Time for Chronic Cough”
Genomatica Grabs $90M to Boost Sustainable Chemical Business
Bioengineering pioneer Genomatica has raised $90 million in private funding to accelerate the commercialization of two chemicals it has developed from renewable sources—chemicals that are being used today in plastics, cosmetics, and personal care. The company says it will also use the money to further ongoing development of a third chemical, to be used in … Continue reading “Genomatica Grabs $90M to Boost Sustainable Chemical Business”
BioClin Chairman Scott Myers Adds CEO Role
Scott Myers, chairman of BioClin Therapeutics, has been appointed CEO of the San Leandro, CA, company. Myers has been chairman of BioClin since June. The company says Myers will continue in his role as chairman. Myers most recently served as CEO of Seattle-based Cascadian Therapeutics, an oncology company that was acquired by Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “BioClin Chairman Scott Myers Adds CEO Role”
With Orchard’s IPO, GSK’s Old Gene Therapy Biz Gets a Wall Street Test
GlaxoSmithKline’s former gene therapy portfolio is headed to Wall Street—in the hands of Orchard Therapeutics. The London, Boston, and San Francisco, CA, company has filed for an IPO, aiming to back both a group of in-house gene therapies and others it acquired from GSK in April—among them Strimvelis, which is one of the few approved … Continue reading “With Orchard’s IPO, GSK’s Old Gene Therapy Biz Gets a Wall Street Test”
Bio Roundup: Nobel Prizes, Duchenne Steps, Guardant’s IPO & More
Cancer immunotherapy is all the rage these days. The idea of harnessing the immune system to treat cancer has sparked billions of dollars in research, led to a vast matrix of clinical trials, and started to change the way how several cancers are treated. The reason: When it works, cancer immunotherapy can lead to longer-lasting … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Nobel Prizes, Duchenne Steps, Guardant’s IPO & More”
FDA Approves Roche Drug For All Hemophilia A Patients, But Rivals Loom
The treatment landscape for hemophilia is changing fast, and today marks a turning point. The FDA has just cleared Roche to sell its drug emicizumab (Hemlibra) to patients with any form of hemophilia A—making it, potentially, the choice treatment for the disease. At least for now. The FDA first approved emicizumab in late 2017 for … Continue reading “FDA Approves Roche Drug For All Hemophilia A Patients, But Rivals Loom”
Guardant Health’s IPO Tops Range, Raising $238M for Cancer Tests
Guardant Health continued the rapid drumbeat of life science IPOs this year by raising $237.5 million in its stock market debut, making it one of the biggest IPOs so far this year. The cancer diagnostics company priced its offering of 12.5 million shares at $19 apiece late Wednesday, well above the $15 to $17 per … Continue reading “Guardant Health’s IPO Tops Range, Raising $238M for Cancer Tests”
Rethink Robotics, Maker of Factory Robots, Shuts Down
Rethink Robotics, one of New England’s best-funded robotics companies, has shut down, according to reports by The Robot Report and The Boston Globe. Rethink, which developed collaborative factory robots, had raised more than $130 million in venture funding since it was started in 2008. The company was led by CEO Scott Eckert and founder and … Continue reading “Rethink Robotics, Maker of Factory Robots, Shuts Down”
ClimaCell Grabs $45M for Weather Data for Airlines, Driverless Cars
Aviation, public utilities, and insurance are among the old-line industries that rely on accurate weather forecasts and monitoring to make crucial decisions for their operations. Now, advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies are creating uses for weather data in new sectors—think ride-hailing services, drones, and self-driving cars. That’s according to ClimaCell, a Boston-based startup … Continue reading “ClimaCell Grabs $45M for Weather Data for Airlines, Driverless Cars”
Cloudera, Hortonworks Plan to Merge as $5.2B Cloud Data Platform
Cloudera and Hortonworks, two large, publicly traded companies that compete to offer Web-based data storage and analytics, announced plans today to merge into a combined entity they value at $5.2 billion. Share prices for the two Silicon Valley companies spiked in after-hours trading following the announcement Wednesday that both their boards approved the all-stock deal. Palo … Continue reading “Cloudera, Hortonworks Plan to Merge as $5.2B Cloud Data Platform”
Second Genome Promotes Karim Dabbagh to President & CEO
Karim Dabbagh has been appointed president and CEO of microbiome drug developer Second Genome. Dabbagh is also joining the South San Francisco, CA, company’s board of directors. He succeeds Glenn Nedwin, who retired last month. Dabbagh has been Second Genome’s chief scientific officer since 2014. Before joining the company, Dabbagh was vice president and head … Continue reading “Second Genome Promotes Karim Dabbagh to President & CEO”