1. Emotion A.I. will increase our humanity and empathy for each other. In recent years, the smartphones, bots, and devices we spend so much of our time with could be accused of contributing to the desensitization of our society. When a fight breaks out, some teens’ first reaction is to pull out their phones and take … Continue reading “3 A.I. Predictions for 2018: Emotion, Data, Ethics”
Category: San Francisco
In Week of Hemophilia News, Alnylam Drug Cleared to Move Forward
The FDA has cleared Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to resume testing of an experimental hemophilia drug after instituting a variety of measures meant to manage the possible risks of taking the therapy, known as fitusiran. Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) can restart the Phase 3 study and Phase 2 open-label extension trials of fitusiran, a drug being … Continue reading “In Week of Hemophilia News, Alnylam Drug Cleared to Move Forward”
Bio Roundup: Tax Cuts, a Funding Rush, Hemophilia Questions & More
In the penultimate week before the end-of-year recess, Congress raced to provide the drug industry—and the rest of corporate America—a massive tax cut, with breaks for investors, too. Racing to finish their own end-of-year budgets, perhaps, investors poured hundreds of millions into private biotechs, too. If that doesn’t get your blood racing, then how about … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Tax Cuts, a Funding Rush, Hemophilia Questions & More”
Chasing Amazon: Target Buys Shipt, Techstars Teams Up With Rakuten
Corporate America’s acquisition game in online retail and e-commerce is continuing, this time with Target buying Birmingham, AL-based startup Shipt for $550 million. The deal may not make the same sweeping waves as Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Austin, TX-based Whole Foods, but Shipt appears to have been waiting for a suitor since Seattle-based Amazon … Continue reading “Chasing Amazon: Target Buys Shipt, Techstars Teams Up With Rakuten”
Roche’s Jennifer Cook Appointed CEO of Grail
Grail has appointed Jennifer Cook to serve as CEO of the cancer screening company. Cook comes to Menlo Park, CA-based Grail from Roche, where she is head of clinical operations in product development for the company’s pharmaceuticals division. She will start at Grail on Jan. 2, and will also gain a seat on the company’s … Continue reading “Roche’s Jennifer Cook Appointed CEO of Grail”
Ginkgo Bioworks Pulls In $275M as Synthetic Biology Funding Soars
Companies sometimes raise big venture capital rounds to invest in equipment, people, and other tools for growth. Other times they do it to provide the business a cash cushion. And sometimes it’s about giving potential customers and partners more confidence in the fledgling company. For Ginkgo Bioworks, its latest venture funding round is about all … Continue reading “Ginkgo Bioworks Pulls In $275M as Synthetic Biology Funding Soars”
Relay Tx Raises $63M to Advance Protein Motion Drugs Into the Clinic
Proteins play important roles in cells, folding and changing their shape to perform various biological functions. While many of these shapes are important to healthy cell function, some shapes are linked to disease, says Sanjiv Patel, CEO of Relay Therapeutics. Relay has developed a way to see this protein motion, and use that moving image … Continue reading “Relay Tx Raises $63M to Advance Protein Motion Drugs Into the Clinic”
Andreessen Horowitz Floats Second Bio Fund with $450M
Andreessen Horowitz, the storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm best known for backing technology companies such as Facebook and Airbnb, is more than doubling the commitment it first made in 2015 to bring engineering to bear on the mysteries of biology and disease. Encouraged by results from the $200 million Bio Fund it created two … Continue reading “Andreessen Horowitz Floats Second Bio Fund with $450M”
Robots in the Real World: News on Savioke, Marble, Knightscope, Fetch
Silicon Valley robotics companies have been moving their inventions into real-world use, and it seemed like a good time to check in with a sampling of them to see how things are going. The take-away: Shifting from the technology development phase into managing the human-robot interface in the real world can bring some interesting results—both … Continue reading “Robots in the Real World: News on Savioke, Marble, Knightscope, Fetch”
Gene Therapy Advances, But Hemophilia Is No Easy Target
Mark Skinner, the former longtime president of the World Federation of Hemophilia, has had the blood disease on his mind his entire life. He doesn’t have a choice. Skinner, 57, was born with a severe form of hemophilia A, meaning he has a tiny fraction of the necessary cellular machinery to clot blood. His disease … Continue reading “Gene Therapy Advances, But Hemophilia Is No Easy Target”
What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech 2017: Photos and Takeaways
Healthcare is a technologically driven industry and some of those advances are apparent in the products now reaching consumers directly. From the convenience of home, consumers can order tests that allow them to gain insight about what their genes or their microbiomes can tell them about their health or the risk of developing a particular … Continue reading “What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech 2017: Photos and Takeaways”
As Cryptocurrencies Grow, Mutual Coin Hedge Fund Guides Investors
Way back in 2012, we published a story about Usman Majeed, a young entrepreneur running an electronics reseller business called Tech Twurl out of his Michigan State University dorm room. He graduated with a computer science degree in 2015 and shut down Tech Twurl soon after, but the desire to run his own company remained. … Continue reading “As Cryptocurrencies Grow, Mutual Coin Hedge Fund Guides Investors”
3 Lessons From NuTonomy & Lyft’s Self-Driving Car Rides in Boston
One of the biggest potential pitfalls for developers of autonomous vehicles is psychological: Will most people trust the cars enough to ride in them? It might not be easy to win people over, but it’s possible—if a Boston startup’s recent tests are any indication. On Tuesday, NuTonomy co-founder and president Karl Iagnemma shared early reactions … Continue reading “3 Lessons From NuTonomy & Lyft’s Self-Driving Car Rides in Boston”
Aptiv Plans Driverless Car Tech Hub in Boston After Buying NuTonomy
[Updated 12/12/17, 5:51 pm. See below.] Global automotive technology supplier Aptiv is planting a bigger flag in Boston. On Tuesday, the England-based company announced plans to open a new technology office in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood. The space will also be the new headquarters of NuTonomy, the Boston-based autonomous vehicle software startup that Aptiv acquired this … Continue reading “Aptiv Plans Driverless Car Tech Hub in Boston After Buying NuTonomy”
Vir Biotechnology Names Herbert Virgin Chief Scientific Officer
Herbert “Skip” Virgin is joining Vir Biotechnology to become executive vice president of research and chief scientific officer of the San Francisco-based drug developer. Virgin, who will start his new post on Jan. 1, comes to Vir from Washington University’s School of Medicine, where he has been a professor and chair of the department of … Continue reading “Vir Biotechnology Names Herbert Virgin Chief Scientific Officer”
ASH 2017 Highlights: CAR-T Competition, Myeloma, Hemophilia & More
[Updated, 12/13/17, 1:50 p.m. ET. See below.] The annual American Society of Hematology meeting is nearly over. For now, we’ve chosen updates from three disease areas to highlight, plus the more notable market movements. No surprise, there’s a lot about the genetically engineered cell therapy known as CAR-T. Gene therapy and more standard forms of … Continue reading “ASH 2017 Highlights: CAR-T Competition, Myeloma, Hemophilia & More”
Apple Confirms Acquisition of Early Music-Tech Startup Shazam
As a tech startup that uses an algorithm to help people find out what song is playing on the radio, Shazam is a business its co-founders say was ahead of its time in 2000—so much so that they developed the technology after they already started raising money and finding office space. It was even ahead … Continue reading “Apple Confirms Acquisition of Early Music-Tech Startup Shazam”
After Raising $27M, Ouster to Plans Mass Manufacture of LiDAR Units
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is one of the most important technologies underpinning the development of driverless cars. LiDAR systems feed raw sensor data to the car’s brain, creating a 3D picture of the surrounding environment and enabling autonomous vehicles to navigate it. But LiDAR has also been controversial because it’s expensive, sometimes fallible, and … Continue reading “After Raising $27M, Ouster to Plans Mass Manufacture of LiDAR Units”
Once Shunned, Regulated Industries Now a Lure for Some Investors
When Alex Niehenke started his business career at an investment bank in 2005 as an advisor to Internet companies, there was one strongly held consensus among investors. “You just didn’t touch regulated industries,” says Niehenke, who was recently promoted to partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Scale Venture Partners. Investors didn’t want the risks … Continue reading “Once Shunned, Regulated Industries Now a Lure for Some Investors”
What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?
Whether you think self-driving cars are the stuff of science fiction or a potentially paradigm-shifting new form of transportation, autonomous vehicles are coming—and the companies developing them are spending big money to make it happen. A few years ago, industry analysts seemed to think Silicon Valley would win the race to get self-driving cars on … Continue reading “What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?”
In Biggest Biotech IPO of 2017, Denali Raises $248M for Neuro Drugs
Denali Therapeutics has raised more than $248 million in its stock market debut, marking the largest biotech IPO of the year. The company will use the cash to support work on its experimental drugs for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. South San Francisco, CA-based Denali priced its offering of 13.8 million shares at $18 … Continue reading “In Biggest Biotech IPO of 2017, Denali Raises $248M for Neuro Drugs”
Bio Roundup: Trials to Watch, Mega Deals, Video Game Therapy & More
With 2018 around the corner, this was a week to look ahead. At Xconomy, we zeroed in on several clinical trials that could become major stories in the life sciences. Other healthcare milestones are on the way, too. The FDA will consider for the first time whether a video game should be approved as medicine. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Trials to Watch, Mega Deals, Video Game Therapy & More”
Gilead Bets on Cell Therapy Again with $567M Cell Design Labs Deal
Gilead Sciences is deepening its capabilities in cell therapy with a deal valued at up to $567 million to acquire Cell Design Labs, a company that discovers and develops such treatments. The announcement late Thursday comes a little more than four months after Foster City, CA-based Gilead (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) jumped into cell therapy in a … Continue reading “Gilead Bets on Cell Therapy Again with $567M Cell Design Labs Deal”
Clora Reaps $3.3M to Speed Consultant Hunts by Life Sciences Companies
Rahul Chaturvedi worked for 16 years as a life sciences company executive, but he was also an avid consumer tech fan who chafed at the clunky enterprise apps used in his industry. Spoiled by speedy, user-friendly consumer apps, he also wondered why finding a biotech consultant to hire was so much harder than, say, lining … Continue reading “Clora Reaps $3.3M to Speed Consultant Hunts by Life Sciences Companies”
The ‘Amazon Effect’ and the Gender Wage Gap
The battle to land Amazon’s second home is shaping up to be one of the fiercest competitions to lure a corporate headquarters in modern history. From serious incentives like massive tax breaks to headline grabbing stunts like offers of bear wrestling and giant cacti, it’s safe to say cities are pulling out every stop imaginable … Continue reading “The ‘Amazon Effect’ and the Gender Wage Gap”
Report: Sexual Harassment Claims Hit OrbiMed Founder Sam Isaly
Healthcare investment giant OrbiMed Advisors has been described as a workplace enveloped in a toxic culture of sexual harassment, according to an investigation by Stat released late Tuesday. OrbiMed managing partner and co-founder Samuel Isaly is the main perpetrator of frequent and targeted harassment, according to allegations leveled in Stat’s interviews with five former employees, … Continue reading “Report: Sexual Harassment Claims Hit OrbiMed Founder Sam Isaly”
David Spellmeyer Joins Circle Pharma as Chief Scientific Officer
Circle Pharma of South San Francisco, CA, has named David Spellmeyer chief scientific officer. Spellmeyer’s experience includes executive posts at Bay Area biotechs Nodality and Signature BioScience, as well as research work at IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]). Circle is developing macrocyclic peptides, drugs that the company says could hit molecular targets that had previously been considered … Continue reading “David Spellmeyer Joins Circle Pharma as Chief Scientific Officer”
Propose With a Lab-Made Diamond? Diamond Tech Retailers Say, “Yes”
How do you disrupt an industry that markets itself as the embodiment of “forever?” You bring it back to basics, says Lindsay Reinsmith, co-founder of Ada Diamonds, an online retailer of jewelry with lab-made gemstones in San Francisco. “Science is on our side,” she says. “We confront them with facts.” Machine-made gemstones are created in exactly … Continue reading “Propose With a Lab-Made Diamond? Diamond Tech Retailers Say, “Yes””
15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 2)
[Corrected, 12/11/17, 1 p.m. ET. See below.] On Monday we posted the first part of our look at what should be some of 2018’s most important clinical data, including trials for lung cancer, heart disease, melanoma, Alzheimer’s disease, rare blood disorders, and more. With part two, we’re previewing studies for migraine, brain cancer, lymphoma, peanut … Continue reading “15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 2)”
Gilman’s Next CEO Trick: Taming CAR-T Cells With Obsidian
Genetically modified medicine is here. Two CAR-T therapies, made from a patient’s living T cells, are on the market in the U.S., and many more are in various stages of clinical testing. As remarkable as they might seem, however, these medicines are still fairly crude, with no way to control them once inside a patient’s … Continue reading “Gilman’s Next CEO Trick: Taming CAR-T Cells With Obsidian”
Case’s $150M Rise of the Rest Fund Aims to Boost Flyover Startups
Author, investor, and AOL co-founder Steve Case today announced a new $150 million venture fund aimed at pumping investment capital into tech companies in so-called flyover states. Contributing to the fund is an impressive group of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. Called the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, it will … Continue reading “Case’s $150M Rise of the Rest Fund Aims to Boost Flyover Startups”
Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development
The reaction on Wall Street was a little anticlimactic after the FDA approved a new hepatitis B vaccine last month for Berkeley, CA-based Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DVAX]]). Many investors sold stock on the news. In the days following the company’s Nov. 9 announcement, the price of Dynavax shares slipped about 8 percent, from $20.05 a … Continue reading “Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development”
Black Venture Capitalists Are Transforming Tech
Would it surprise you to know that there are more than 100 black venture capitalists or that this nationwide ecosystem is growing? Most of the VCs in this expanding ecosystem made pivots from highly successful careers in other fields. They have very impressive academic credentials, business backgrounds comparable to their Silicon Valley peers, and a … Continue reading “Black Venture Capitalists Are Transforming Tech”
First Video Game Therapy Heads to FDA as Akili Touts ADHD Study Win
[Updated 12/4/17, 4:48 pm, with CEO comments.] For the first time ever, a mobile video game used to assess and treat a disease is headed for an FDA review. Akili Interactive Labs, a Boston and San Francisco Bay Area company created by PureTech Health, said Monday that AKL-T01, an experimental video game it has been … Continue reading “First Video Game Therapy Heads to FDA as Akili Touts ADHD Study Win”
ReWalk, Ekso Race to Sell Exoskeletons in Tough Rehab Market
Every day, Ashley Barnes straps a battery-powered device onto her waist, legs, and feet, which allows the paraplegic to stand up from her wheelchair and go for walks with the help of crutches. The wearable brace has motors located at Barnes’s hip and knee joints that move the “exoskeleton,” along with her legs and feet, … Continue reading “ReWalk, Ekso Race to Sell Exoskeletons in Tough Rehab Market”
15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)
Many of biotech’s biggest stories in 2017 followed the highly anticipated data from clinical studies. There were monumental successes, like the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy, the first FDA application for a gene therapy or a medicine using RNA interference. There were also stinging failures, such as the latest in a long … Continue reading “15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)”
Optum Unveils $250M Venture Fund as Healthcare A.I. Narrows Focus
Investors have pumped a record amount of money into digital health companies this year, according to recent data from StartUp Health. But even with rising interest in the sector, new venture funds continue to join the fray. Take Boston, where several first-time funds focused, at least in part, on healthcare technology have been announced in … Continue reading “Optum Unveils $250M Venture Fund as Healthcare A.I. Narrows Focus”
Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World
A momentous step into the atomic age happened around 3:20 p.m. Central War Time on Dec. 2, 1942, seventy-five years ago, in a vast, unheated space (a former squash doubles court) under the abandoned University of Chicago football stands at Stagg Field. A cadmium control rod was pulled out from a huge, painstakingly assembled cube … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World”
Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More
A pair of migraine drugs made a splash in biotech news this week with published data suggesting that they can reduce the frequency of headaches. These drugs still await an FDA decision, and their impact on patients over the long term are being watched closely. As many as 38 million Americans suffer from migraines, according … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More”
Will Foundation’s FDA, CMS Nod Help Cancer DNA Tests Break Through?
In what could be an important step forward for the mainstream acceptance of broad cancer genetic tests, a product from Foundation Medicine has simultaneously won FDA approval and gotten a coverage determination from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Now the question is whether the ruling—the first decision of its kind—will help lead to … Continue reading “Will Foundation’s FDA, CMS Nod Help Cancer DNA Tests Break Through?”
Former GE CEO Immelt Talks Uber, A.I., and a Rejected Bid for Epic
Artificial intelligence holds promise for healthcare in areas like radiology, but it could be tough sledding for businesses selling narrowly focused products to one customer at a time. The winners in this emerging sector will figure out how to integrate A.I. tools into a broader platform that offers clear value for doctors, hospitals, insurers, and … Continue reading “Former GE CEO Immelt Talks Uber, A.I., and a Rejected Bid for Epic”
As GM Gets Self-Driving Buzz, Autonomous Vehicles Navigate Niches
We still live in the early days of autonomous vehicles. We’re toddlers, technologically speaking, and our algorithms are still learning to walk, er, drive. That’s the impression you get from reading the various recaps of an autonomous car test run that General Motors hosted for journalists this week in San Francisco. Wired’s Aarian Marshall noted … Continue reading “As GM Gets Self-Driving Buzz, Autonomous Vehicles Navigate Niches”
Security Firm ReversingLabs Nabs $25M from JPMorgan Chase, Trident
Online threats are mounting, and so are the investments in Boston-area cybersecurity companies. ReversingLabs is one of the latest to raise money—a $25 million Series A round announced Wednesday, led by Trident Capital Cybersecurity and JPMorgan Chase. Cambridge, MA-based ReversingLabs’ software aims to help businesses and government entities detect advanced security threats and respond to … Continue reading “Security Firm ReversingLabs Nabs $25M from JPMorgan Chase, Trident”
Grab Your Ticket for What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech on Dec. 6
Time is almost up to grab a seat for What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech, Xconomy’s newest event that will feature some of the Bay Area’s top life-science leaders. Register today and save $120 with our Procrastinator’s Special while it lasts. This is an event you don’t want to miss this season, and it’s all … Continue reading “Grab Your Ticket for What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech on Dec. 6”
“Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs
In the wake of the Equifax breach and the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak earlier this year, tensions around cybersecurity are running high. According to a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Barkly, seven out of 10 organizations are reporting their security risk has significantly increased during the past 12 months. Only … Continue reading ““Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs”
With $114M Injection, Semma Continues Quest for Diabetes Cell Therapy
For all the excitement surrounding stem-cell based therapies in the early 2000s, the field still has little to show for it in terms of approved therapies. The many technical challenges of working with stem cells have not, however, deterred Semma Therapeutics, which today announced a whopping $114 million Series B round from a sizable list … Continue reading “With $114M Injection, Semma Continues Quest for Diabetes Cell Therapy”
Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing
If Wednesday’s hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Alex Azar is any indication, reining in drug prices and insurance premiums are the policy priorities that will guide Congress’s interaction with the department under a new leader. For the better part of the three-hour hearing by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, … Continue reading “Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing”
With Good Data From Rival Migraine Drugs, Doctors Foresee Price Headaches
Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) and Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE: [[ticker:TEVA]]) this afternoon are providing the most detailed look yet at two drugs in an emerging class of medicines meant to prevent migraine headaches, rather than just quell their symptoms. While the data for the two drugs, called erenumab (Aimovig, from Amgen and partner Novartis) and fremanezumab (from … Continue reading “With Good Data From Rival Migraine Drugs, Doctors Foresee Price Headaches”
R.I.P. TechShop: Makerspace Closes All U.S. Locations Due to Bankruptcy
On Oct. 30, I received the usual weekly email from TechShop, the makerspace just outside of Detroit in Allen Park, MI, informing me of upcoming events and membership deals. Just two weeks later, an email from TechShop CEO Dan Woods hit my inbox announcing that all 10 wholly owned locations in the U.S. would shut … Continue reading “R.I.P. TechShop: Makerspace Closes All U.S. Locations Due to Bankruptcy”
Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations
On Monday, Wisconsin enacted legislation allowing companies to incorporate as benefit corporations. Although this may sound like routine, small-time legislative business, it is just as significant as major policy initiatives being debated in the halls of Congress. On issues from net neutrality to workers’ rights, corporations are perceived to—and often do—engage in practices that maximize … Continue reading “Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations”