Category: Boston

Sharing Economy Companies Sharing the Heat In Contractor Controversy

[Corrected 7/31/15, 2:34 pm. See below.] For some time, Uber and other Silicon Valley tech companies have been fighting off lawsuits and other claims that their labor practices are unfair to on-demand workers they classify as independent contractors rather than as employees. The heat mounted this week on a number of fronts. The issue took … Continue reading “Sharing Economy Companies Sharing the Heat In Contractor Controversy”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Celgene, Chiasma, Cerulean, & More

[Updated 7/19/15, 9:36 p.m. See below.] In this week’s Celgene roundup—sorry, this week’s biotech roundup—Celgene is yet again leading the way with its second billion-plus dollar deal in the last month. Beyond Celgene’s recent high level of activity, the last week has been defined by news that was expected to happen—from initial public offerings to data … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Celgene, Chiasma, Cerulean, & More”

After $103M IPO, Rapid7 Stock Up in Early Trading

[Updated, 5:45pm] Ding, ding. Rapid7 CEO Corey Thomas rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq this morning, and the Boston area’s first tech IPO of 2015 is in the books. Rapid7 (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RPD]]) raised $103.2 million by selling 6.45 million shares at $16 a pop, which was above the expected price range. The cybersecurity company’s … Continue reading “After $103M IPO, Rapid7 Stock Up in Early Trading”

Rapid7 Prices IPO at $16 Per Share as Cybersecurity Takes Center Stage

Let the record show that it took until July 16 this year for a Boston-area technology company to have an initial public offering. That company is Rapid7. The cybersecurity software firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RPD]]) expects to raise $103.2 million by selling 6.45 million shares at $16 per share, before fees and underwriter discounts. That share price … Continue reading “Rapid7 Prices IPO at $16 Per Share as Cybersecurity Takes Center Stage”

PeerTransfer Opens Shanghai Office, Sets Sights on Next Markets

Paying for college is tough no matter what country you’re in. And it’s not just because of the ever-increasing tuition bills. Sometimes just making sure the checks get in on time is a challenge in itself—especially for foreign students. The headache of making sure the bill is paid on time is compounded by banks and … Continue reading “PeerTransfer Opens Shanghai Office, Sets Sights on Next Markets”

Orphan Drug Maker Chiasma Raises $101.8M in IPO

Orphan disease drug developer Chiasma raised $101.8 million in its initial public offering, $20 million more than the upper end of the Newton, MA-based biopharma company’s previous projection. Chiasma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CHMA]]) is using most of the money to build out its U.S. sales and marketing operations as it readies itself for the potential launch of … Continue reading “Orphan Drug Maker Chiasma Raises $101.8M in IPO”

Vecna and VGo Are Now One: An Important Robotics Acquisition

Some consolidation in the New England robotics market today. Health IT and robotics company Vecna Technologies has acquired VGo Communications, a Nashua, NH-based maker of telepresence robots, for an undisclosed sum. These are two of the more enduring robotics companies in the area. Vecna, which got started in the late ’90s, is known for its … Continue reading “Vecna and VGo Are Now One: An Important Robotics Acquisition”

Venture Investing Hits Record $19B in Second Quarter

[Updated 7/17/15, 7:40 a.m. See below.] There’s plenty of talk about a potential bubble in the market, whether in tech, biotech, or elsewhere. True or not, one fact that’s real is that there is plenty of money flowing into startups. The second quarter of 2015 produced the highest level of venture funding since at least 2010, and possibly … Continue reading “Venture Investing Hits Record $19B in Second Quarter”

Courtagen Life Sciences Lands New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ff8f4914-d650-45eb-b3f0-2298593a1174 Date 7/16/2015 Company Name Courtagen Life Sciences Mailing Address 12 Gill Street Woburn, MA 01801 USA Company Description Courtagen Life Sciences, Inc. (“CLS”) provides innovative and disruptive proteomic and genomic products and services to the Life Sciences industry. Our companies deliver tools that enable researchers and clinicians to make better decisions … Continue reading “Courtagen Life Sciences Lands New Financing Round”

eTouches Garners $4,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=de93cf5b-ed02-4d53-b21f-d10cf50396c5 Date 7/16/2015 Company Name eTouches Mailing Address 13 Marshall Street Norwalk, CT 06854 USA Company Description eTouches is a web-based software as a service (SaaS) provider to the $3.0 billion global, meeting and event technology marketplace. Website http://www.etouches.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “eTouches Garners $4,000,000 New Round”

OkCupid Co-Founders Raise $10.8M for Crypto Service Keybase

Cryptography service startup Keybase has raised $10.8 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to a blog post by founders Max Krohn and Chris Coyne. Coyne and Krohn were two of the co-founders behind New York-based dating app and website OkCupid, which is now owned by Barry Diller’s IAC. The duo met fellow … Continue reading “OkCupid Co-Founders Raise $10.8M for Crypto Service Keybase”

Entasis Hires Isaacs From Merck Vaccine Research

Robin David Isaacs is joining Entasis Therapeutics as its chief medical officer. The Waltham, MA-based company is a spinout of AstraZeneca and is focused on creating novel antibiotics with a pathogen-targeted approach. The company’s lead candidate is ETX0914, a treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea in Phase 2. Isaacs comes from Merck, where he worked for 18 … Continue reading “Entasis Hires Isaacs From Merck Vaccine Research”

EyeGate CEO: Valeant Deal Helps Company Avoid Mistakes of Past

For EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, the licensing deal it signed last week with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International provides the necessary cash to push forward a uveitis drug that has been in limbo since EyeGate raised less than expected in its initial public offering. EyeGate CEO Stephen From argues that it’s not just about the cash. It’s about the … Continue reading “EyeGate CEO: Valeant Deal Helps Company Avoid Mistakes of Past”

CounterTack Makes Play As Competition in Endpoint Security Heats Up

Major cybersecurity breaches are back in the news and so are the companies trying to protect against them. One of those companies is Waltham, MA-based CounterTack, which today announced it has acquired ManTech Cyber Solutions International, the software division of Virginia-based ManTech International (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MANT]]). Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it might not … Continue reading “CounterTack Makes Play As Competition in Endpoint Security Heats Up”

Amphora Medical Receives $6,782,106 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3ed0998e-324d-4aff-8745-27d6e3a40c93 Date 7/15/2015 Company Name Amphora Medical Mailing Address 1516 West Lake Street Minneapolis, ME 55408 USA Company Description Amphora is now undergoing the largest contraceptive clinical trial to date. The clinical trial is testing Amphora’s efficacy in preventing pregnancy compared to spermicidal vaginal gel, Conceptrol. Website http://www.amphora.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Amphora Medical Receives $6,782,106 New Round”

CallMiner Secures $12,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ce175540-82ab-4e54-9988-691f1bf5a827 Date 7/15/2015 Company Name CallMiner Mailing Address 200 West Street Waltham, MA 02451 USA Company Description CallMiner is the leading provider of speech analytics solutions that deliver near real-time customer intelligence from Call Center recordings. CallMiner’s advanced suite of applications enables managers and executives to gain insight into why customers call, … Continue reading “CallMiner Secures $12,000,000 New Financing Round”

DataCamp Lands $1,000,000 Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e16779b1-6957-4ea6-8100-7e04d029dfa4 Date 7/15/2015 Company Name DataCamp Mailing Address 25 First St. Cambridge, MA 02141 USA Company Description DataCamp is the first online learning platform that focuses on building the best learning experience for Data Science in specific. In our first year, we trained over 100,000 data scientists who completed over 3.7 million … Continue reading “DataCamp Lands $1,000,000 Seed Round”

AcadiaSoft Receives $30,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6118fa8b-ce60-4fc9-ac59-d2e6da56eabd Date 7/15/2015 Company Name AcadiaSoft Mailing Address 93 Longwater Circle Norwell, MA 02061 USA Company Description AcadiaSoft Inc. develops and markets derivatives and collateral management solutions for institutional investors. Website http://www.acadiasoft.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. … Continue reading “AcadiaSoft Receives $30,000,000 New Round”

Celgene to Acquire San Diego’s Receptos for $7.2B in Cash

[Updated 7/14/15 5:15 pm. See below.] Drug maker Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]), based in Summit, NJ, has agreed to acquire San Diego-based Receptos (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RCPT]]) in a cash deal valued at $7.2 billion, the two companies announced today. Receptos, founded in 2009 and headed by CEO Faheem Hasnain since 2010, has been developing drugs that target … Continue reading “Celgene to Acquire San Diego’s Receptos for $7.2B in Cash”

As Big Data Plateaus, DataCamp Raises $1M to Ramp Up Education

The initial entrepreneur-investor meeting went well—I think. Venture capitalist Chris Lynch met Jonathan Cornelissen in a bar in Boston’s Back Bay. It was mid-May. The pitch part of the meeting was brief. The drinking part was not. “I ended up leaving without my shirt,” Lynch says. Literally: “I had a Sqrrl shirt on,” he says, … Continue reading “As Big Data Plateaus, DataCamp Raises $1M to Ramp Up Education”

Milestones Of Innovation 10: First Close-Up Of A Planet

Today, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, after more than nine years, 3 billion miles, and a brief view of Jupiter’s moon Io, is scheduled to capture the first close-up pictures from the distant minor planet Pluto and its flock of moons. It’s a fine way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this kind of high-tech virtual … Continue reading “Milestones Of Innovation 10: First Close-Up Of A Planet”

Scratch Receives $3,600,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c533b1de-984c-46c9-9473-0cb8c091d813 Date 7/14/2015 Company Name Scratch Mailing Address 196 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 USA Company Description You want your place to feel finished and your wardrobe to bring out your best. You like sending thoughtful gifts. You love discovering unique products and shops. But with work, family and life, you have less … Continue reading “Scratch Receives $3,600,000 Seed Financing”

Vapotherm Obtains $20,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=097bf28a-c7bb-4da0-8630-5d1a1b9b4e07 Date 7/14/2015 Company Name Vapotherm Mailing Address 22 Exeter Drive Stevensville, NH 03833 USA Company Description Vapotherm, Inc. is a privately held company based in Stevensville on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, dedicated to the development, manufacture and marketing of respiratory devices that improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall delivery costs and improve quality … Continue reading “Vapotherm Obtains $20,000,000 New Funding Round”

Jebbit Lands $1,511,994 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b2de006d-8be6-4255-94cf-5eacb5cabb8e Date 7/14/2015 Company Name Jebbit Mailing Address 4 S. Market St. Boston, MA 02109 USA Company Description Jebbit shows you things that you’ll like, and pays you to explore them. Website http://www.jebbit.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,511,994 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory … Continue reading “Jebbit Lands $1,511,994 New Financing”

FDA Grants Blueprint Go-Ahead for Kinase Inhibitor Trials

Blueprint Medicines got the green light from the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials on its two lead drug candidates for cancer, about two months after its initial public offering. The Cambridge, MA-based maker of a type of cancer drug called kinase inhibitors is using high-speed DNA sequencing instruments to test a homemade … Continue reading “FDA Grants Blueprint Go-Ahead for Kinase Inhibitor Trials”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Biogen, Epizyme, Armored CARS, & More

Biotech continued its active summer on the east coast this week, with everything from licensing deals to acquisitions to IPOs. Here are the highlights, in case you missed them. —After four years of revamping and rebuilding Biogen’s development pipeline, R&D chief Douglas Williams announced he is leaving the company to take the helm at a … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Biogen, Epizyme, Armored CARS, & More”

Five Lessons Every App Startup Should Learn

Mobile devices create plenty of pitfalls for entrepreneurs. The nuances of nailing not only the on-screen user experience, but the broader experience of integrating a piece of software into one’s everyday life dramatically increases the risk of failure. As a mobile entrepreneur, you have more variables that you need to test and control in your … Continue reading “Five Lessons Every App Startup Should Learn”

The Near Death, and Second Life, of Cerulean Pharma

It’s not often that a biotech with a single drug in clinical testing can bounce back from a trial that not only fails, but bombs spectacularly. But by the skin of its teeth, Cerulean Pharma has gotten that chance. Over the next year, Cerulean (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CERU]]) will produce data from four early and mid-stage clinical … Continue reading “The Near Death, and Second Life, of Cerulean Pharma”

Adored Lands $2,300,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a4d1c6e-5990-4608-ab0e-6067045e133b Date 7/13/2015 Company Name Adored Mailing Address 848 Elm St. Manchester, NH 03101 USA Company Description Adored creates lifetime value and levels of customer satisfaction that will disrupt how savvy marketers think of loyalty. We take a unique ecosystem approach to connect consumers and their favorite cafés, restaurants, attractions and brands. … Continue reading “Adored Lands $2,300,000 New Financing”

Tech Bubble Talk Focuses on IPO Dearth, Overpriced Rounds, and China

The question is no longer whether we are in a tech bubble—we are—but rather what it all means for the future. And maybe the near future. Everyone seems to agree the market conditions are very different from 2000, but so what? Uber’s valuation is north of $40 billion, and the company is losing money as … Continue reading “Tech Bubble Talk Focuses on IPO Dearth, Overpriced Rounds, and China”

EyeGate Deals Treatment Rights to Valeant to Pay for Clinical Trials

EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, a Waltham, MA-based company that has been seeking FDA approval for an eye disease drug for years, is sacrificing future worldwide rights to a treatment for uveitis to get enough money from drug behemoth Valeant Pharmaceuticals International to put the therapy back on regulatory track. In exchange for an undisclosed upfront cash payment and milestones, … Continue reading “EyeGate Deals Treatment Rights to Valeant to Pay for Clinical Trials”

21st Century Cures Act Passes House, Now Must Navigate Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives took a big step this morning toward major changes in the federal government’s relationship to biomedical research, funding, and regulation. The chamber passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill championed early on by a Democrat and a Republican, by a vote of 344-77, an astonishing percentage in this age … Continue reading “21st Century Cures Act Passes House, Now Must Navigate Senate”

Biogen R&D Chief Doug Williams Leaves to Run New Cancer Startup

Biogen’s top research and development executive Doug Williams is leaving the company this month to take the helm at a startup that doesn’t yet have a name, Biogen announced today. Williams, who joined Biogen in 2011, is being replaced for now by the company’s chief medical officer, Alfred Sandrock, and its chief science officer, Spyros … Continue reading “Biogen R&D Chief Doug Williams Leaves to Run New Cancer Startup”

Pluralsight Buys San Francisco Coding Mentorship Site HackHands

Pluralsight, an online learning company focused on high-end programming skills, said today it has acquired HackHands, a San Francisco startup that offers on-demand coding help from technology professionals. The price wasn’t disclosed. For the past two years, Utah-based Pluralsight has been building up its suite of online resources by acquisition, and now covers basic and … Continue reading “Pluralsight Buys San Francisco Coding Mentorship Site HackHands”

With PCSK9’s Origins In Mind, Sanofi Has UT Join Funding Program

International drug maker Sanofi has created a program to fund early drug discovery research at universities, and the Paris-based firm said today The University of Texas System is now on board, bringing the program’s total to seven institutions. Many successful or promising drugs stemmed from early work at universities, including a next-generation cholesterol-lowering treatment that … Continue reading “With PCSK9’s Origins In Mind, Sanofi Has UT Join Funding Program”

Gazelle Gets Profitable as Consumers Unlock Own Phones, Buy Direct

Some companies are like soap operas. You check in every year or so, and nothing seems to change—same characters, same plotlines. Gazelle isn’t one of those companies. The Boston consumer-tech firm looks a bit different every time we look. Keep in mind, Xconomy has been reporting on Gazelle since early 2008, when it was still … Continue reading “Gazelle Gets Profitable as Consumers Unlock Own Phones, Buy Direct”

Epizyme Extends Celgene Cancer Deal for $10M Upfront

Only three years after Celgene and Epizyme last inked a research collaboration deal, the partners are back at it. Celgene has agreed to pay Epizyme $10 million upfront and as much as $610 million in milestones for the option to license three drug targets Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) is developing, which use its method of inhibiting … Continue reading “Epizyme Extends Celgene Cancer Deal for $10M Upfront”

“Global Health” Must Mean Global Health

The research community and pharmaceutical industry have made many life-saving and life-improving advances in global health over the past 20 years, and that’s certainly life-affirming news. But the time has come to ask ourselves a very pointed, and perhaps uncomfortable, question: “Are we defining ‘global health’ the right way?” And, more specifically, “How do we … Continue reading ““Global Health” Must Mean Global Health”

Tackling Sickle Cell, Global Blood Therapeutics Joins IPO Queue

With an important clinical trial underway, South San Francisco, CA-based Global Blood Therapeutics hopes to join the ranks of public biotech companies. It has filed for an IPO worth as much as $115 million, although that target could change as an offering draws closer. The news comes six months after the firm said it raised … Continue reading “Tackling Sickle Cell, Global Blood Therapeutics Joins IPO Queue”

For Biotech Cowboys, It’s No Ride Into The Sunset

[Corrected 7/8/15, 3:48pm. See below.] Some people who’ve made it big in biotech drive fast cars. Some take outlandish vacations. Some don’t take any vacations at all. (I’m sure you know the type.) But for a few San Francisco Bay Area biotech veterans, the reward for a long, successful career is the chance to swap … Continue reading “For Biotech Cowboys, It’s No Ride Into The Sunset”

Boston Investors Back Adored’s iBeacon App, Mobile Loyalty Vision

Location-based marketing and loyalty programs are things that our kids will probably take for granted someday. The only question is how annoying and intrusive they will be (the programs, not the kids—well, never mind). A young tech startup called Adored, based in Manchester, NH, has just raised a $2.3 million seed round to get ahead … Continue reading “Boston Investors Back Adored’s iBeacon App, Mobile Loyalty Vision”

Intern Season is Here—But Companies Need A Better Hiring Strategy

It’s summer and that means intern season is in full swing. According to a recent Washington Post piece by Jeffrey Selingo, “More than 70 to 80 percent of new hires at big companies like Facebook, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and eBay come through their internship programs now, compared to about half or less just a decade ago.” … Continue reading “Intern Season is Here—But Companies Need A Better Hiring Strategy”

Panorama Expands School Surveys, Brings Insights to Education

Good data is hard to find. Whether you’re applying it to business intelligence or security, across industries like retail, travel, or healthcare, the quality of information used to make decisions is crucial. To solve this expanding problem, a number of technology companies have emerged around cleaning and organizing data, making it more shareable, and understanding … Continue reading “Panorama Expands School Surveys, Brings Insights to Education”

Core Informatics Garners $17,500,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=88ef2f2a-5750-43b6-aa2a-4a32eebf81ed Date 7/7/2015 Company Name Core Informatics Mailing Address 36 East Industrial Road 2nd Floor Branford, CT 06405 USA Company Description Core Informatics provides innovative data management software to accelerate scientific discovery and collaboration. Website http://www.corelims.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $17,500,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes This round of … Continue reading “Core Informatics Garners $17,500,000 Series B Financing”

ZeroTurnaround Receives $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7663609c-7e1b-4b2c-b90e-9b1b65f1527b Date 7/7/2015 Company Name ZeroTurnaround Mailing Address 399 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116 USA Company Description Our products help Java teams improve productivity & efficiency – resulting in better code, happy devs, and more reliable releases. Website http://www.zeroturnaround.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “ZeroTurnaround Receives $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Chiasma Seeks $75 Million and FDA Approval for Acromegaly Orphan Drug

Chiasma, a Newton, MA-based biopharma company trying to develop oral drugs for orphan diseases typically treated with injectables, is seeking to sell shares in an initial public offering worth about $75 million. The company plans to sell 5.36 million shares for $13 to $15 each in the IPO, according to a document filed with the … Continue reading “Chiasma Seeks $75 Million and FDA Approval for Acromegaly Orphan Drug”

Salsify Scores $16.6M More, Looks to Boost Product Content Online

An important deal at the intersection of e-commerce and content management kicks off our post-holiday tech news. Boston-based Salsify, a startup that makes product-content management software, says it has raised a $16.6 million Series B round led by new investor Venrock. Previous investors Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners also participated, along with Michael … Continue reading “Salsify Scores $16.6M More, Looks to Boost Product Content Online”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Vertex, Biogen, Sarepta, Juno, & More

What a week it was for life sciences. Two deals worth more than $1 billion dollars each, FDA approval for a long-awaited potential cystic fibrosis drug, and plenty of other news from new and established biotech companies. And all this happened while Xconomy’s Deputy Biotech Editor Ben Fidler is out of the office. Here’s a … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Vertex, Biogen, Sarepta, Juno, & More”

Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two

Ebola doctors Heroic efforts admired Angels of mercy!   Genome sequencing Compare normal with patient Secrets revealed   Next-gen sequencing One big issue still out there Interpretation   Republicans rule Eye Affordable Care Act Newly covered screwed?   2.3 percent Medical devices tax Soon to disappear?   Advertised widely Personalized medicine More substance, less hype … Continue reading “Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two”