Category: San Francisco

Stalled or Rising Momentum? New York Wrestles With Its Biotech Future

[Updated, 6:25 a.m. ET, see below] New York City and state governments have finally put big dollars behind local development of the life sciences industry. But lots of cash is no guarantee of success, as panelists kicking off the annual NewYorkBio conference made clear Tuesday. “The question is, where are we as an industry, and … Continue reading “Stalled or Rising Momentum? New York Wrestles With Its Biotech Future”

Genentech Drug Fails to Beat Chemo in Treating Advanced Bladder Cancer

Genentech’s hopes to expand applications of a cancer immunotherapy treatment to more cancers were dealt a blow with the failure of that drug in a late-stage clinical trial. South San Francisco, CA-based Genentech, a division of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, announced Wednesday that its drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq), failed a Phase 3 clinical trial testing the … Continue reading “Genentech Drug Fails to Beat Chemo in Treating Advanced Bladder Cancer”

Akamai Invests in Wind Farm as Tech’s Renewable Energy Demand Grows

Akamai Technologies, a content delivery network and cloud computing services provider, has invested in a Texas wind farm as it attempts to fulfill a promise to use renewable energy to power half of its global network operations by 2020. Akamai (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]) said it is making a 20-year investment in the planned Seymour Hills Wind … Continue reading “Akamai Invests in Wind Farm as Tech’s Renewable Energy Demand Grows”

Senate Vote Confirms Scott Gottlieb for FDA Commissioner

Scott Gottlieb will be the new FDA commissioner. The U.S. Senate voted 57 to 42 on Tuesday to confirm Gottlieb, a physician and venture capitalist, to lead the regulatory agency. He succeeds former FDA commissioner Robert Califf, who stepped down in January after President Donald Trump took office. Gottlieb is already familiar with the agency … Continue reading “Senate Vote Confirms Scott Gottlieb for FDA Commissioner”

Former National Mental Health Chief Thomas Insel Leaving Verily

Thomas Insel, the former National Institute of Mental Health director, has left Verily Life Sciences after less than two years. With much fanfare but few details about his plans, Insel jumped in 2015 to South San Francisco-based Verily, formerly known as Google Life Sciences. In an announcement this morning, Verily said it would continue working on … Continue reading “Former National Mental Health Chief Thomas Insel Leaving Verily”

Owl Labs Grabs $6M Led by Matrix, Teases Video Conferencing Device

Owl Labs, a Boston-based video conferencing startup that employs veterans of iRobot and HubSpot, announced today it has snagged a $6 million Series A funding round led by Matrix Partners. Founded in 2014, Owl Labs said it got seed funding from Playground Global Ventures and was the first company to work out of Playground’s Design Studio … Continue reading “Owl Labs Grabs $6M Led by Matrix, Teases Video Conferencing Device”

Dell Technologies Goes Public About $100M Venture Capital Arm

Austin—[Updated 5/9/17, 10:58 a.m. See below.] Dell Technologies is publicly unveiling a venture capital investment arm that has been quietly investing in startups since the operation was run by EMC, the data storage giant that Dell agreed to acquire for $67 billion in 2015. Called Dell Technologies Capital, the investment arm plans to provide funding to … Continue reading “Dell Technologies Goes Public About $100M Venture Capital Arm”

Audio Startup 60dB Upgrades Streaming App for Short Radio Stories

In the smartphone era, many music fans are abandoning downloads and even broadcast radio in favor of subscription-based streaming services. You can just press Play on Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Music and you’ll hear an endless stream of songs tailored to your interests. What’s strange, then, is that there’s no Pandora or Spotify for spoken-word … Continue reading “Audio Startup 60dB Upgrades Streaming App for Short Radio Stories”

Silicon Valley’s Big Three Grapple With Responsibilities Of Growth

A common goal of tech startups is a Silicon Valley mantra: Change the world. Apple, Google, and Facebook have done so—possibly more than any other upstart companies in recent U.S. history. These now-mature businesses are grappling with how their world-changing ventures have broadly affected the economy and communications. And in the prevailing populist mood, the … Continue reading “Silicon Valley’s Big Three Grapple With Responsibilities Of Growth”

Bio Roundup: NIH Precision Boost, AHCA to Senate, New Drugs & More

Two dramatic healthcare stories played out this week. First, to the jubilation of the nation’s science community, Congress proposed to boost National Institutes of Health funding, not slash it as the Trump administration had outlined. Then the patchwork revival of the GOP’s healthcare plan, despite being panned by nearly every major medical group in the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: NIH Precision Boost, AHCA to Senate, New Drugs & More”

VC Confidence Holds Steady in Quarterly Survey, But Reasons Change

In a survey of 29 Silicon Valley venture capitalists in December, the VCs mulled whether President-elect Donald Trump would buoy up their investment prospects with lower corporate taxes and government regulations, or worsen conditions by heightening global political instability and raising the risk of a major military conflict or economic downturn. That Q4 2016 edition … Continue reading “VC Confidence Holds Steady in Quarterly Survey, But Reasons Change”

If Budget Holds, NIH Precision Study Could Be Flush As Volunteers Arrive

Until this week, many U.S. government science agencies and programs seemed destined for a big haircut, plus the loss of a limb or two. That included the Precision Medicine Initiative, an ambitious long-term study with the goal of recruiting 1 million Americans to volunteer health data. But in staving off a government shutdown, Congress pushed … Continue reading “If Budget Holds, NIH Precision Study Could Be Flush As Volunteers Arrive”

Genentech’s Raphaël Rousseau Joins Gritstone as Chief Medical Officer

Raphaël Rousseau has been appointed chief medical officer of Gritstone Oncology. Rousseau joins Emery, CA-based Gritstone from Roche subsidiary Genentech, where he most recently served as global franchise head for pediatrics in the firm’s Product Development Oncology division. Rousseau’s hire follows Gritstone’s recent promotion of Roman Yelensky to chief technology officer. Gritstone is developing a … Continue reading “Genentech’s Raphaël Rousseau Joins Gritstone as Chief Medical Officer”

Friend & Flowers Return With Wasabi, Take on Amazon in “Hot Storage”

In the market for cloud storage and related tech services, there is Amazon—and then there’s everybody else. The Seattle-based company’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) Amazon Web Services business generated $12.2 billion in sales last year, and it controls an estimated 33 percent of the global market for cloud infrastructure services, according to a recent analysis by Synergy … Continue reading “Friend & Flowers Return With Wasabi, Take on Amazon in “Hot Storage””

Analysis: Trump’s First 100 Days Through the Tech Industry Lens

Donald Trump spent his 100th day in office in ways that would appeal to his working class base—holding a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, PA, where he confirmed his campaign commitment to controlling immigration. Trump also signed an executive order to create a White House office of trade and manufacturing policy, which aims to protect American … Continue reading “Analysis: Trump’s First 100 Days Through the Tech Industry Lens”

CA Stem Cell Agency Chief Randy Mills to Leave After Three Years

[Updated 5/2/17, 7:30 p.m. ET. See below.] The head of California’s stem-cell agency is stepping down after three years on the job. C. Randall Mills, known as Randy, is leaving the agency to run a nonprofit bone marrow donor matching program as of July 1, according to CIRM. Mills joined CIRM, which stands for California … Continue reading “CA Stem Cell Agency Chief Randy Mills to Leave After Three Years”

Magenta Nabs More Cash, Licenses Drug To Boost Transplant Pipeline

Magenta Therapeutics said today it has doubled its money with a $50 million Series B round led by GV, formerly Google Ventures. The Cambridge, MA-based startup spun out of Harvard University last year with nearly $50 million in launch money to develop improved bone marrow transplants. Magenta has also licensed a drug from Novartis that … Continue reading “Magenta Nabs More Cash, Licenses Drug To Boost Transplant Pipeline”

The State of Cybersecurity Insurance Today

Cyber incidents are considered the No. 1 emerging risk for enterprises long-term. No surprise, then, that cybersecurity insurance policy premiums are approaching $2.75 billion a year. Some experts believe this figure will grow to roughly $20 billion by 2025. For scores of insurance companies cashing in on the booming corporate cybersecurity insurance market, it’s a … Continue reading “The State of Cybersecurity Insurance Today”

Epic Sciences Advances Diagnostic for Late-Stage Prostate Cancer

When San Diego’s Epic Sciences raised $30 million almost three years ago, CEO Murali Prahalad told me he saw a big opportunity to use the company’s technology as a diagnostic test to assess how well a cancer patient is responding to specific anti-cancer drug regimens. Epic said Friday it had raised an additional $40 million … Continue reading “Epic Sciences Advances Diagnostic for Late-Stage Prostate Cancer”

Radius Nabs FDA OK For New Bone Drug With Rival Amgen Close Behind

At least one new treatment is on the way for osteoperosis patients, and possibly two before the end of the summer. Radius Health on Friday won FDA approval of an osteoperosis drug that, like a rival treatment from Eli Lilly, can help build up the strength of bones rather than just prevent them from becoming … Continue reading “Radius Nabs FDA OK For New Bone Drug With Rival Amgen Close Behind”

Bio Roundup: Trumpcare Flails, Spinraza Sales, Batten OK & More

To judge the first 100 days of a new administration is, as many pundits have pointed out, an odd vestige of history, more convenient than significant. Which is why we’ll start this week’s roundup with our 99-day evaluation of the Trump administration—at least when it comes to healthcare and the life sciences. In healthcare, nothing … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Trumpcare Flails, Spinraza Sales, Batten OK & More”

Hacking Back: Agari Turns the Tables on Next-Gen E-mail Scammers

What would happen if a total stranger with a poor command of English asked the payroll manager of an American corporation to send him the Internal Revenue Service Form W-2’s for the company’s entire staff? Answer: Some payroll managers would obligingly send the stranger a PDF of all the forms, containing the names, Social Security … Continue reading “Hacking Back: Agari Turns the Tables on Next-Gen E-mail Scammers”

FDA Approves BioMarin Drug, A First for Rare Genetic Batten Disease

BioMarin Pharmaceuticals has won the first FDA approval for a treatment for Batten disease, a rare group of disorders that rob children of vision, cognitive abilities, and motor skills, and usually prove deadly before adulthood. The San Rafael, CA-based biotech’s cerliponase alfa (Brineura) must be administered directly into the brain through a stent. At $27,000 … Continue reading “FDA Approves BioMarin Drug, A First for Rare Genetic Batten Disease”

Gottlieb’s FDA Nomination Gets Committee Nod, Advances to Senate

Scott Gottlieb’s nomination to the top post of the FDA is on its way to the full U.S. Senate. The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee voted 14-9 on Thursday to approve Gottlieb’s nomination to become FDA commissioner. All of the Republicans on the committee voted for Gottlieb, along with two Democrats, Sen. Sheldon … Continue reading “Gottlieb’s FDA Nomination Gets Committee Nod, Advances to Senate”

Will New Data Open “Bottlenecks” For Biogen’s Pricey Spine Drug?

Four months after its drug nusinersen (Spinraza) became the first ever approved to treat the rare genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy, Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) released study results Tuesday that could help more patients gain access to the expensive drug. The data, from a 126-patient study called CHERISH, provide the most detailed evidence to date that … Continue reading “Will New Data Open “Bottlenecks” For Biogen’s Pricey Spine Drug?”

The Medicines Co., Alnylam Take Plunge, Outline Big Test For Heart Drug

The Medicines Co. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals have come to a deal with the FDA on the big Phase 3 test for their RNA-based cholesterol-lowering drug, inclisiran, a potentially longer-lasting alternative to a new group of drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors. Medicines Co. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MDCO]]) and partner Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) will collectively enroll 3,000 patients with atherosclerotic … Continue reading “The Medicines Co., Alnylam Take Plunge, Outline Big Test For Heart Drug”

Desktop Metal, Backed By $97M, Unveils Its First Metal 3D Printers

After a couple years of work, Desktop Metal took the wraps off its metal 3D printers this week. The startup has drawn $97 million from high-profile investors who are betting the technology could transform the way metal parts get developed and manufactured. So, what’s the big deal? Standard metal-making 3D printers are bulky, cost hundreds … Continue reading “Desktop Metal, Backed By $97M, Unveils Its First Metal 3D Printers”

OncoMed Slashes Workforce After Two Clinical Trial Failures in Cancer

After seeing its two most advanced cancer therapies fail in clinical trials this month, OncoMed Pharmaceuticals is slashing its workforce by half and focusing on compounds in earlier stages of development, the company announced Monday. The layoffs will leave Redwood City, CA-based OncoMed with 64 full-time employees. The company says that the cuts will save … Continue reading “OncoMed Slashes Workforce After Two Clinical Trial Failures in Cancer”

Amid Automation Debate, A.I. Backers Tout Job Creation Potential

Rapid advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence technologies over the past decade have stoked concern that machines could eventually take over most, if not virtually all, human jobs. But there is another, more optimistic view of how the advance of A.I. and automation will impact the economy—one articulated by people like Mark Gorenberg (pictured right). … Continue reading “Amid Automation Debate, A.I. Backers Tout Job Creation Potential”

Pursuing Larger Rivals, NGM Bio Tries To Make Mark On Fatty Livers

[Corrected 4/25/17, 12:30 p.m. See below.] About 7,000 liver transplants occur in the U.S. each year. A condition that few people can pronounce, and no one has a treatment for, has become a main reason for those transplants. That’s why several rich, powerful drug companies are in the final expensive stage of testing new drugs … Continue reading “Pursuing Larger Rivals, NGM Bio Tries To Make Mark On Fatty Livers”

Bio Roundup: Spinraza Woes, Science March, Baseline Launch & More

Rumblings of a new Obamacare replacement surfaced this week, while scientists and their supporters prepared for Saturday’s—a.k.a. Earth Day’s—nationwide Marches for Science. Our own reporting focused this week on the fallout from high drug prices, with a look at the frustration of families whose children have had trouble gaining access to the first drug ever … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Spinraza Woes, Science March, Baseline Launch & More”

Request Your Invitation to Xconomy’s Elite Napa Summit June 8-9

  Nobel Laureate David Baltimore. Microbiome AND supercomputer pioneer Larry Smarr. Intellectual Ventures’ Nathan Myhrvold. Nicole Glaros of Techstars. These are just a few of the visionary speakers who will be headlining Xconomy’s sixth annual Napa Summit. And if you act fast to request your invitation to this special event, you can join them and … Continue reading “Request Your Invitation to Xconomy’s Elite Napa Summit June 8-9”

UniQure to Yank Pioneering Gene Therapy From Market in Europe

[Updated, 9:33 a.m. ET, see below] It took decades to get the first gene therapy in the Western world to market. And it will apparently take only five years since for that product, a treatment from UniQure for a rare metabolic disorder, to fizzle out after failing commercially. UniQure (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QURE]]), with operations in Amsterdam … Continue reading “UniQure to Yank Pioneering Gene Therapy From Market in Europe”

“Our Son’s Fate”: Parents Fighting for Kids’ Spine Drug Eye New Data

Melissa Marotta pulled no punches to get her three-year-old son C.J., who has the genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy, access to nusinersen (Spinraza), the first approved drug for his condition. For months, she couldn’t schedule a treatment date at Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and for much of that time, she … Continue reading ““Our Son’s Fate”: Parents Fighting for Kids’ Spine Drug Eye New Data”

Trump Executive Order Adds Uncertainty to Tech Visa Program

Is the U.S. high-skilled visa program, known as H-1B, an essential contributor to the innovation economy or a way for companies to replace American IT workers with immigrants at lower salaries? It’s a debate as old as the program itself, which began in 1990. The Trump administration on Tuesday joined the fray with a long-anticipated … Continue reading “Trump Executive Order Adds Uncertainty to Tech Visa Program”

Verily’s Baseline: Homemade Wearable and Limited Data Sharing

After three years of planning, a long-range health study from the biotech group at the former Google has begun. Verily, the life sciences arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is funding what’s being called the “Baseline” study, which aims to collect extensive health data from at least 10,000 participants across four years. The idea is … Continue reading “Verily’s Baseline: Homemade Wearable and Limited Data Sharing”

The Xconomy Roadmap: Top 15 Innovation Areas to Watch (and Disrupt)

It is a time of great transitions in the technology and business world. Key advances in areas like machine intelligence, agriculture, and healthcare seem poised to transform society—and everyday life. But it can be hard to keep up with the latest news in fields as disparate as cybersecurity, food tech, and cancer therapeutics—let alone understand … Continue reading “The Xconomy Roadmap: Top 15 Innovation Areas to Watch (and Disrupt)”

A.I. Startup Atomwise Has a Deal for Researchers Hunting for New Drugs

[Updated 4/20/17 10:27 am. See below.] Artificial intelligence company Atomwise is offering a shortcut for as many as 100 university scientists who are searching for new drugs to fight disease. The San Francisco-based startup, which uses deep learning algorithms to ferret out drug candidates by sifting through masses of data, wants to send each researcher 72 … Continue reading “A.I. Startup Atomwise Has a Deal for Researchers Hunting for New Drugs”

Want to Communicate Your Science? First, Step Back

Think for a moment about the words and phrases that life science researchers and executives use on a daily basis. I’m talking about the seemingly simple phrases like “investigational drug,” “novel target,” “immunotherapy,” “clinical trial,” “in vitro,” and “therapeutic window.” There are hundreds more. Those of us who work in life sciences are comfortable with … Continue reading “Want to Communicate Your Science? First, Step Back”

Approved Opens for Business with $1M and Digital Mortgage Platform

Following a six-month trial of its digital mortgage platform, San Diego-based Approved has officially launched its Web-based software for home loan applications. In a recent statement, the 20-month-old startup also said it has raised $1 million in what co-founder and CEO Andy Taylor calls a “pre-seed round.” “Our goal is to create a platform [for … Continue reading “Approved Opens for Business with $1M and Digital Mortgage Platform”

Ex-Dendreon CEO, Gold, Returns to Wall Street as Alpine, Nivalis Merge

Mitch Gold, the controversial executive who oversaw the rise of now-defunct cancer immunotherapy pioneer Dendreon, is about to head back to Wall Street. Gold’s latest startup, Seattle cancer and autoimmune drug developer Alpine Immune Sciences, has struck a deal to go public by reverse merging with struggling Nivalis Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVLS]]). Nivalis, of Boulder, CO, … Continue reading “Ex-Dendreon CEO, Gold, Returns to Wall Street as Alpine, Nivalis Merge”

Former Flextronics, Tesla CEO Aims to Disrupt Construction Industry

A startup construction firm, Katerra, has building projects in the works all over Northern California, but it has remained quiet until now about its unusual high-tech methods and its backing from finance, real estate, and technology heavyweights. Katerra, a two-year-old company that says its technology platform brings the efficiency of electronics manufacturing to construction projects, … Continue reading “Former Flextronics, Tesla CEO Aims to Disrupt Construction Industry”

Why Bots Aren’t the Real AI Disruption: The Quiet Rise of Headless AI

Editor’s note: This piece was originally posted on Textio’s company blog. “Hey Siri, how’s the weather today?” “OK Google, remind me to pay the power bill.” “Alexa, tell me a joke!” Bots are eating the world. Whether you are an enterprising app developer building the essential software to bring a virtual Taylor Swift into your … Continue reading “Why Bots Aren’t the Real AI Disruption: The Quiet Rise of Headless AI”

Bio Roundup: CRISPR Appeal, Bristol Deals, Stock Pumping & More

It may have been a short holiday week, but there was plenty of news on the CRISPR front. In the ongoing battle for rights to the landmark gene editing technology, the faction led by the University of California appealed the U.S. decision in favor of the Broad Institute. Elsewhere, Bristol-Myers Squibb flipped assets, a top … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CRISPR Appeal, Bristol Deals, Stock Pumping & More”

Zoetis Builds on Biologics Pipeline with $85M Nexvet Acquisition

Zoetis announced on Thursday that it is acquiring Ireland-based Nexvet Biopharma in an $85 million deal that will bring new biologic drug candidates to the global animal health company. Parsippany, NJ-based Zoetis (NYSE: [[ticker:ZTS]]) will pay $6.72 per share to acquire Nexvet (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVET]]), a price that represents a 66 percent premium over Nexvet’s closing … Continue reading “Zoetis Builds on Biologics Pipeline with $85M Nexvet Acquisition”

Bristol Flips Remnants of Adnexus, iPierian to Roche, Biogen For $470M

Priorities change over time for drugmakers, as evidenced today by Bristol-Myers Squibb. The company announced two separate deals for experimental drugs that no longer fit its strategy—both of which were remnants of old acquisitions and a past plan to zero in on genetic diseases. In one deal, Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) has sent Biogen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]), of … Continue reading “Bristol Flips Remnants of Adnexus, iPierian to Roche, Biogen For $470M”

FoodTechWrap: Robots Delivering Meals, Making Custom Salads in SF

Food—it’s messy. It spoils. We don’t have time to cook it. We can’t live without it. These problems are catnip for hopeful tech startups looking for a business niche. Here’s a fast wrap-up on food tech companies and what they’re serving up lately in the Bay Area. —Marble set loose its first fleet of restaurant … Continue reading “FoodTechWrap: Robots Delivering Meals, Making Custom Salads in SF”

Full Harvest Raises $2M to Make Ugly Fruit and Veggies Valuable

Consumers take it for granted, but the fruits and vegetables they see in grocery stores are the best of the lot. Tons of perfectly edible produce doesn’t make it to stores and is instead thrown away each season simply because the items are unappealing to the eye. Agtech startup Full Harvest wants to cut down … Continue reading “Full Harvest Raises $2M to Make Ugly Fruit and Veggies Valuable”