[Updated, 9:05 am. See below] Another $100 million for early stage investing in Boston. Check-out machines are becoming clock-in machines. A hundred-plus startups join MassChallenge’s latest cohort in Boston. Read on for more of this week’s Boston tech news. —Rowing machine startup Hydrow added $7 million to the $20 million it raised in its Series … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Hydrow, Sea Machines, Toast, Pillar & More”
Category: Boston
ASCO Abstracts: Breast Cancer, Precision Treatments in the Spotlight
The world’s biggest annual cancer conference is just around the corner. Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting each year can change medical practice and make or break companies whose drugs are under the microscope. That’s what makes even the “abstracts,” or snippets of data revealed a few weeks before the meeting, … Continue reading “ASCO Abstracts: Breast Cancer, Precision Treatments in the Spotlight”
ViaCyte, Fate & More: Xconomy Awards San Diego Big Idea Finalists
The finalists in the Big Idea category of the Xconomy Awards San Diego are pursuing ambitious goals in pursuit of better ways of improving health. Their approaches range, from a new way to deliver insulin to patients with Type 1 diabetes to an innovative method to detect brain trauma that could reduce the need for … Continue reading “ViaCyte, Fate & More: Xconomy Awards San Diego Big Idea Finalists”
Pulmatrix CEO Robert Clarke Steps Down, Ted Raad Appointed Successor
Robert Clarke, the chief executive who led Pulmatrix to the public markets via a reverse merger in 2015, has stepped down from the company and its board of directors. The Lexington, MA-based company gave no reason for the departure of Clarke, who was promoted from chief scientific officer to CEO in 2012. But Pulmatrix (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Pulmatrix CEO Robert Clarke Steps Down, Ted Raad Appointed Successor”
Laurie Glimcher To Headline Xconomy Keynote Series in Boston in September
As groundbreaking therapies and diagnostics are coming to market, more patients are benefiting from the promise of precision medicine, but many are not, or aren’t able to access the latest treatments and technologies. What are hospitals and drug and diagnostic developers doing to make sure more cancer patients will go on to lead long, healthy … Continue reading “Laurie Glimcher To Headline Xconomy Keynote Series in Boston in September”
Pillar Fuels Second Go-Round With $100M Fund for Boston Startups
It took a few more years than initially planned, but early-stage venture firm Pillar has raised the $100 million fund it wanted. Launching with fanfare in 2016 under former North Bridge Venture Partners’ Jamie Goldstein, Pillar set its sights on $100 million for its debut fund but ended up raising just $57 million. It has since … Continue reading “Pillar Fuels Second Go-Round With $100M Fund for Boston Startups”
Ginkgo Eyes Antibiotics With Deal for Warp Drive’s Gene “Mining” Tech
Microbes designed by Ginkgo Bioworks are used in consumer products such as fragrances and beverages, and they’re undergoing research for applications in agriculture and medicine. The synthetic biology company has been pushing to expand its technology to more uses, and its latest deal moves the firm further into pharmaceutical research. Boston-based Ginkgo said Wednesday that … Continue reading “Ginkgo Eyes Antibiotics With Deal for Warp Drive’s Gene “Mining” Tech”
Glympse Bio Names NIBR’s Winckler to Chief Scientific Officer Post
Wendy Winckler has been appointed chief scientific officer of Glympse Bio. She joins Cambridge, MA-based Glympse from the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), where she was executive director of next generation diagnostics. Winckler’s experience also includes posts at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, as well as the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Glympse, … Continue reading “Glympse Bio Names NIBR’s Winckler to Chief Scientific Officer Post”
Science & Strategy Stars: Xconomy Awards San Diego Secret Weapon Finalists
[Updated 11:30 a.m. 5/16. See below.] Success in life sciences is always a team effort. Often, those doing the heavy lifting do so behind the scenes, without much external recognition of their role. To celebrate these hidden stars, we created the Secret Weapon category for the Xconomy Awards San Diego. The finalists in this category … Continue reading “Science & Strategy Stars: Xconomy Awards San Diego Secret Weapon Finalists”
Xcelerate at Biotech Week Boston 2019
The best way to experience Biotech Week Boston is with the Xcelerate program package, which provides access to four of the conference’s most popular events.
Vertex Continues Plan to Diversify, Strikes a $70M Pact With Kymera
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is best known for its cystic fibrosis franchise. But over the past several years Vertex has been making inroads elsewhere, and a deal it is announcing this morning continues that strategy. Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]), of Boston, will pay privately held startup Kymera Therapeutics $70 million to form an alliance to develop a group … Continue reading “Vertex Continues Plan to Diversify, Strikes a $70M Pact With Kymera”
Endpoint Security Company CrowdStrike Files Publicly for IPO
CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company that identified the two Russian government-linked hacker groups that invaded the Democratic National Committee (DNC)’s network during the 2016 presidential campaign, filed publicly for an initial public offering on Tuesday. Sunnyvale, CA-based CrowdStrike sells cloud-based security software and related services by subscription to businesses. Founded in 2011, the company adapted traditional … Continue reading “Endpoint Security Company CrowdStrike Files Publicly for IPO”
Weather Tech Q&A: Understory CEO on “Ground Truth,” Climate Change
[Updated 5/17/19, 3:56 pm ET. See below.] As climate change brings more extreme and unpredictable weather, the stakes for improving the ability to track and forecast atmospheric conditions are rising. That has contributed to a growing interest in startups developing technologies for weather monitoring and analytics. The latest to cash in is Understory, a Madison, … Continue reading “Weather Tech Q&A: Understory CEO on “Ground Truth,” Climate Change”
Klickstein Leaves NIBR for resTORbio Chief Scientific Officer Role
Lloyd Klickstein has joined resTORbio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TORC]]) as chief scientific officer. Klickstein comes to Boston-based resTORbio from the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), where was global head of translational medicine for the new indication discovery unit and the exploratory disease area. Last year, resTORbio reported positive data for lead drug RTB101, which was developed … Continue reading “Klickstein Leaves NIBR for resTORbio Chief Scientific Officer Role”
Respond Raises $20M to Advance Automated Response to Cyberattacks
In business sectors such as warehouse operations, automation may put a company’s current employees out of work in some cases. In the cybersecurity sector, automation can take up a multitude of tasks without displacing any staffers—because there aren’t enough qualified humans right now to fill all the jobs. That’s according to Bay Area cybersecurity company … Continue reading “Respond Raises $20M to Advance Automated Response to Cyberattacks”
Stock, Profit & AI: Carbon Black CEO Reviews Year Since IPO
It’s been a little over a year since Carbon Black debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange, raising $152 million selling its shares to the public for the first time. The Waltham, MA-based cybersecurity company’s stock price (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CBLK]]) has bounced around since its initial pricing at $19 a share and closing its first day of … Continue reading “Stock, Profit & AI: Carbon Black CEO Reviews Year Since IPO”
Meet the X of the Year Finalists for the Xconomy Awards San Diego
The Xconomy Awards categories weren’t enough to capture the full diversity of the San Diego life science community. So we at Xconomy created X of the Year for people who are so unique they needed their own categories. Read on for short introductions of the X of the Year finalists. This is part of a … Continue reading “Meet the X of the Year Finalists for the Xconomy Awards San Diego”
ElevateBio Gets $150M to Grow a Crop of Gene & Cell Therapy Startups
When a biotech startup is ready to test an experimental therapy it faces a pricey choice: Should it make its drug in-house, or hire a contract manufacturer? The decision is particularly expensive for companies developing complex gene and cell therapies, which need to make large batches of engineered viruses to test their work. A new … Continue reading “ElevateBio Gets $150M to Grow a Crop of Gene & Cell Therapy Startups”
Milestones of Innovation 17: ‘Golden Spike’ Heralds Era of Cheap Steel
One hundred fifty years ago May 10, around mid-day, railroad promoters from two coasts clumsily drove the final spikes of America’s first transcontinental railroad near Promontory Point, Utah. Two of the spikes used that day were made of gold. The blows themselves triggered a telegraphic message to the world. The joining of the Central Pacific … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 17: ‘Golden Spike’ Heralds Era of Cheap Steel”
Tech Ethics, Regulation & Strategy: Here’s the Napa Summit Agenda
With Uber’s long-awaited IPO, Facebook’s mounting controversies, and ongoing debates over drug pricing and safety issues, come a great responsibility. A big story in the innovation community now is about the ethics and regulation of tech and life sciences. What are the right ways to safeguard the public, hold corporations accountable, and maintain economic growth? … Continue reading “Tech Ethics, Regulation & Strategy: Here’s the Napa Summit Agenda”
Register Today and Save on “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on May 21
It finally is starting to feel like spring in Boston, which means our annual half-day life science forum, “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech,” is just around the corner. It’s happening on Tuesday, May 21, at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Cambridge, MA. We’re convening an elite and eclectic group of life sciences executives, researchers, and investors from … Continue reading “Register Today and Save on “What’s Hot in Boston Biotech” on May 21”
Bio Roundup: Rare Disease Showdowns, Prices on TV, Dealmania & More
The market for drugs for rare or “orphan” diseases continues to grow. An April report from Evaluate Pharma predicted sales of orphan drugs to rise 12 percent a year between now and 2024, when they will account for an estimated 20 percent of worldwide prescription drug sales. The field has gotten so competitive that multiple … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Rare Disease Showdowns, Prices on TV, Dealmania & More”
Boston Tech Watch: MIT Solves, AltioStar Raises & Enel Scouts
[Updated 5/9/19, 11:00 am. See below.] The week in Boston tech news saw the launch of a philanthropic venture fund at MIT, some large fundraising rounds, an open source acquisition, and more. —MIT is raising a philanthropic venture fund to support social impact tech startups taking on some of the world’s biggest problems. The donor-advised fund … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: MIT Solves, AltioStar Raises & Enel Scouts”
Uber Completes $8.1B Public Market Debut in Spite of Tumultuous Past
[Updated 5/10/19, 5 pm ET. See below.] Ride-hailing giant Uber secured $8.1 billion in new capital late Thursday as it priced an initial public offering that set its market capitalization at $82.4 billion, according to calculations by The New York Times and other news outlets. Uber announced late Thursday it will sell 180 million shares … Continue reading “Uber Completes $8.1B Public Market Debut in Spite of Tumultuous Past”
Two Days, Five Biotech IPOs, and $359M Raised for Clinical Trials
It will be hard to top last year’s flurry of biotech companies joining the public markets, but this week is shaping up to be the busiest for life science IPOs in recent memory. Five biotechs priced their IPOs and at least one more is coming. According to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, 47 IPOs have … Continue reading “Two Days, Five Biotech IPOs, and $359M Raised for Clinical Trials”
Nominations for Xconomy Awards Boston Ending Soon
The Xconomy Awards Boston program has celebrated the best in the area’s life sciences industry for the last two years. We couldn’t have done it without receiving hundreds of nominations of the people, companies, and organizations that are blazing trails in drug research and development, life science research, and digital health. We need your help again … Continue reading “Nominations for Xconomy Awards Boston Ending Soon”
Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More
As the mobility industry waits with baited breath to see how Uber’s IPO will play out on Friday, there is plenty of news being made elsewhere in the sector. Cruise scored another massive investment, Toyota AI Ventures opened a new fund, scooters continue to rev up, and more. Read on for details. —Our own Bernadette … Continue reading “Mobility News: Cruise’s New Cash, Tesla’s Pivot to Robotaxis & More”
Acquia Buys Open Source Marketing Automation Software Firm Mautic
Open source website software company Acquia is buying marketing automation startup Mautic, the companies said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Acquia, based in Boston, develops open source tools to manage websites built using the open source content management system Drupal. Mautic, a few miles away in Medford, is an open source (See a … Continue reading “Acquia Buys Open Source Marketing Automation Software Firm Mautic”
Goldfinch Bio Lands $55M From Gilead in Kidney Drug R&D Pact
Goldfinch Bio set out to build a database of patients with kidney diseases, which it could study to understand the biology and genetics of kidney disorders in order to develop better drugs. The biotech startup is making headway on its research and its approach now has some outside validation. Gilead Sciences is partnering with Goldfinch … Continue reading “Goldfinch Bio Lands $55M From Gilead in Kidney Drug R&D Pact”
Lyft Posts $1.1B Loss for Q1 in First Earnings Report Post-IPO
Newly public ride-hailing company Lyft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LYFT]]) filed its first-quarter earnings results Tuesday, reporting a 95 percent increase in revenue compared with the same period in 2018, but a net loss of nearly $1.14 billion. That first-quarter loss includes $894 million of stock-based compensation and other expenses triggered by the completion of Lyft’s IPO on April … Continue reading “Lyft Posts $1.1B Loss for Q1 in First Earnings Report Post-IPO”
SMA, Migraine Data Lead Neuro Highlights from AAN Meeting
The American Academy of Neurology meeting in Philadelphia is rolling on through the end of this week. There has been plenty of news to digest already. New clinical data could herald cutting-edge treatments for migraine, the rare disease spinal muscular atrophy, the deadly neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and more. Xconomy previewed the conference last … Continue reading “SMA, Migraine Data Lead Neuro Highlights from AAN Meeting”
Canadian VCs Lead US in Gender Parity, But Both Need Work: Report
Women hold a small fraction of venture capital leadership roles in the US and Canada. A new report suggests their clearest path to venture investing may run through corporate innovation arms. While only 15.9 percent of corporate venture capital (CVC) leaders are women, 82.6 percent of women who hold executive or partner roles in those … Continue reading “Canadian VCs Lead US in Gender Parity, But Both Need Work: Report”
Former Juno Exec Stern Joins FogPharma as Chief Scientific Officer
FogPharma has appointed Howard Stern to serve as its chief scientific officer. Before joining the Boston company, Stern was vice president of translational sciences at Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) in 2015. Stern’s experience also includes posts at Infinity Pharmaceuticals and Genentech. In other moves, FogPharma named Peter Fekkes vice president of … Continue reading “Former Juno Exec Stern Joins FogPharma as Chief Scientific Officer”
Kyn Therapeutics Promotes Jeffrey Ecsedy, Jason Sager to C-Suite
Kyn Therapeutics has two new executives on its management team. Jeffrey Ecsedy, the Boston company’s senior vice president, R&D, was promoted to chief scientific officer. Also, Jason Sager is now chief medical officer after holding that post on an interim basis for the past two years. Kyn emerged in 2017 with $49 million in funding to … Continue reading “Kyn Therapeutics Promotes Jeffrey Ecsedy, Jason Sager to C-Suite”
Exabeam Raises $75M To Compete With Splunk, Other Security Leaders
Landing its second shot of new capital in less than a year, cybersecurity startup Exabeam announced today it secured $75 million in a Series E funding round co-led by new investor Sapphire Ventures and returning investor Lightspeed Venture Partners. San Mateo, CA-based Exabeam says the cash boost will fund its competitive push in a cybersecurity … Continue reading “Exabeam Raises $75M To Compete With Splunk, Other Security Leaders”
Verve Has Top Cardio-Geneticist, $58.5M to Aim CRISPR at Heart Attacks
A new startup wants to edit out the world’s biggest killer. Prominent cardiologist and geneticist Sekar Kathiresan is heading up a new company, Verve Therapeutics, that will develop gene-altering medicine to prevent heart attacks. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. “Imagine an injection, once in life, that safely … Continue reading “Verve Has Top Cardio-Geneticist, $58.5M to Aim CRISPR at Heart Attacks”
FDA OKs Pfizer Rare Disease Drug, Sets Up Battle With Alnylam, Akcea
[Updated 5/6/19, 9:20 am ET. See below.] A year ago, there were no FDA-approved medicines available for US patients with the debilitating rare genetic disease transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). Things have changed fast, however: With the FDA’s decision to approve a drug from Pfizer this morning, patients now have three options to choose from. The FDA … Continue reading “FDA OKs Pfizer Rare Disease Drug, Sets Up Battle With Alnylam, Akcea”
Lundbeck to Buy Abide Therapeutics For $250M, Make SD Lab a US Hub
Danish pharma firm Lundbeck has agreed to acquire Abide Therapeutics for $250 million upfront. The La Jolla, CA-based company, spun out of research from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is developing drugs to treat diseases of the central nervous system, among them Tourette syndrome. Its drugs block enzymes known as serine hydrolases, which play a … Continue reading “Lundbeck to Buy Abide Therapeutics For $250M, Make SD Lab a US Hub”
Bio Roundup: Head and Spine Previews, Biogen Moves, IPO Dreams & More
America continues to suffer from healthcare headaches. Our convoluted private-public insurance system was under scrutiny this week from Democrats, holding a “Medicare for All” hearing in the House, and from Republicans, as several GOP-led states and the Trump administration asked a federal court to sweep away Obamacare. Several companies also want to reduce headaches. This … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Head and Spine Previews, Biogen Moves, IPO Dreams & More”
At Big Neuro Meeting, Migraine Drug Competitors to Make Oral Arguments
The first new class of migraine drugs in decades won FDA approval last year. But the companies who commercialized these new therapies and their potential competitors are already planning new, more convenient versions, taken as pills instead of injectoins just below the skin, and they will present key data in the next few days at … Continue reading “At Big Neuro Meeting, Migraine Drug Competitors to Make Oral Arguments”
Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair Tumbles, Charles River Leaks & Chewy Begs
First quarter losses jolt Wayfair shareholders. Liberty Mutual teams up with MIT’s new AI research college. Charles River Labs reports its systems were hacked. Read on for more of this week’s Boston tech news. — Losses were expected to continue at home goods e-commerce giant Wayfair (NYSE: [[ticker:W]]), but the sheer size of the red … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Wayfair Tumbles, Charles River Leaks & Chewy Begs”
Ivor Royston Named Xconomy’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner in San Diego
We at Xconomy are excited to announce that we are honoring Ivor Royston, co-founder of Hybritech and Idec Pharmaceuticals, with our 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award—the first ever awarded in San Diego. The award recognizes Royston’s wide-ranging career as an academic physician, entrepreneur, investor, and life sciences executive. His foundational role in starting Hybritech, San Diego’s … Continue reading “Ivor Royston Named Xconomy’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner in San Diego”
Beyond Meat’s IPO Bags $241M to Make Plant-Based Burgers Mainstream
A Beyond Meat burger is coming to a location near you—and soon. The food technology company’s upsized IPO has raised $241 million to finance plans to bring its plant-based “meat” to more grocery stores and restaurants across the country. Beyond Meat priced its IPO Wednesday evening at $25 per share, which was the high end … Continue reading “Beyond Meat’s IPO Bags $241M to Make Plant-Based Burgers Mainstream”
SMA Moment: Will Gene Therapy Shift Treatment, Costs of Muscle Disease?
This is a big moment for people diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a rare and potentially lethal genetic disorder that destroys muscles. For decades, there was no way to change the trajectory of their disease. They now have one marketed medicine, and this month, chances are they’ll have another: a gene therapy that … Continue reading “SMA Moment: Will Gene Therapy Shift Treatment, Costs of Muscle Disease?”
Retailers, Startups Work to Offer Efficient E-Commerce Delivery
The on-demand delivery war in retail is on. In its quarterly earnings call Thursday, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced it would switch to one-day shipping for Prime members, halving the time the 100 million-plus people who subscribe to the service must wait before receiving their purchases. The Seattle e-commerce giant told analysts the move would cost around … Continue reading “Retailers, Startups Work to Offer Efficient E-Commerce Delivery”
Publishers Cengage, McGraw-Hill Merge to Better Target Edtech Market
[Updated 5/1/19, 4;10 pm. See below.] Textbook and edtech companies Cengage and McGraw-Hill are merging to become the second-largest provider of educational materials in the US to compete in what’s proven to be a tough sector for traditional publishers being transformed by digital books and online learning. The deal, announced Wednesday, sets out an all-stock … Continue reading “Publishers Cengage, McGraw-Hill Merge to Better Target Edtech Market”
Repare Therapeutics Appoints Maria Koehler Chief Medical Officer
Maria Koehler has been appointed executive vice president and chief medical officer of Repare Therapeutics. Koehler comes to Repare from Bicycle Therapeutics, where she was CMO. Her experience also includes senior roles at Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]). In other moves, former Avrobio chief financial officer Katrina Dorton was appointed executive vice president and CFO of Repare. … Continue reading “Repare Therapeutics Appoints Maria Koehler Chief Medical Officer”
New Zagster CEO on Bike, Scooter Fleets: Don’t Rock the Boat
For transportation veteran Dan Grossman, the “move fast and break things” startup ethos has never really translated to the micro-mobility world of app-enabled motorized scooters and bike sharing. Grossman last week took the helm of Zagster, a startup that sets up and runs micro-mobility programs for towns, cities, colleges, and businesses. The company launches programs … Continue reading “New Zagster CEO on Bike, Scooter Fleets: Don’t Rock the Boat”
Ford, Lincoln Owners Can Get Amazon Packages Delivered to Their Cars
Many of us know that anxious feeling that comes when Amazon texts a notification that it has delivered your package, except you’re nowhere near home at the time to receive it. The mind races: is the package sitting out in plain view for would-be thieves to notice? Will it be destroyed by a passing downpour? … Continue reading “Ford, Lincoln Owners Can Get Amazon Packages Delivered to Their Cars”
Anti-Cheating Startup Examity Gets $90M to Advance Edtech Security
Examity has raised $90 million from Boston private equity firm Great Hill Partners to fuel its expansion and dig into how machine learning and biometric tools can make tests proctored online more secure. The Newton, MA-based company says the private equity cash nearly buys out the stake in Examity that University Ventures took when it … Continue reading “Anti-Cheating Startup Examity Gets $90M to Advance Edtech Security”