ImageMoverMD, a Madison, WI-based startup trying to modernize the processes for capturing and managing medical images, said Friday it pulled in a $4 million venture investment led by Bain Capital Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and previous backer HealthX Ventures. The startup said it plans to use the new cash to expand the capabilities of its software … Continue reading “Bain Capital Backs ImageMoverMD’s Medical Image Management Tools”
Category: Boston
DataRobot Predicts the Grammy Awards’ Song of the Year Is…
With everyone worrying that a robot or artificial intelligence model will take their jobs someday, why shouldn’t The Recording Academy fear its annual task of doling out the Grammy Awards is safe? DataRobot, a Boston-based startup whose machine-learning platform helps companies use algorithms for data analysis without hiring a data science team, is taking a … Continue reading “DataRobot Predicts the Grammy Awards’ Song of the Year Is…”
Bio Roundup: New CRISPR Feud, A NY Splash, Pharma vs. Congress & More
If you’re into congressional spectacles, stay tuned later this month. A group of top biopharma executives—the full roster isn’t known yet—will testify at a Feb. 26 hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend their drug pricing practices. No executives showed up for the previous hearing, but reports indicate industry has changed its stance … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: New CRISPR Feud, A NY Splash, Pharma vs. Congress & More”
Boston Tech Watch: Boston Dynamics, WeWork, Optimus Ride & Hydrow
Here’s a roundup of the week’s Boston technology news, featuring robots, trade war accounting, self-driving cars, acquisitions, co-working deals, and more. —SoftBank disclosed in financial filings the $37 million in debt financing it provided to robotics startup Boston Dynamics late last year was converted to equity last month. Softbank bought Waltham, MA-based Boston Dynamics from … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Boston Dynamics, WeWork, Optimus Ride & Hydrow”
Carbonite Buys Webroot for $618M to Offer Security with a Safety Net
Data backup and storage company Carbonite has bought endpoint cybersecurity provider Webroot in a $618 million deal designed to stitch both together into an A.I.-powered automated cloud security software for devices, with built-in emergency backup. Carbonite CEO Mohamad Ali told investors on a conference call, a little over an hour after the deal was announced, … Continue reading “Carbonite Buys Webroot for $618M to Offer Security with a Safety Net”
Seres Lays Off 30% of Staff, CSO Leaves After Pipeline Review
Seres Therapeutics was one of the first microbiome companies to form, back in 2010. And the Flagship Pioneering company was the first to go public. But today, faced with the challenges of developing a fundamentally different kind of therapeutic—consortia of human microbes—the company said it is axing 30 percent of its staff (around 30 employees … Continue reading “Seres Lays Off 30% of Staff, CSO Leaves After Pipeline Review”
IRobot: Trade War Takes $8M Toll, Fuels Decision to Leave China
Tariffs and uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s trade war with China forced iRobot to pay out $8 million to get its vacuum robots into the United States last year and have convinced the company to move some production out of China for the first time since 2002. The Bedford, MA-based company explained its decision to … Continue reading “IRobot: Trade War Takes $8M Toll, Fuels Decision to Leave China”
KenSci Gets $22M for Tools to Help Hospitals Flag High-Risk Patients
Transitioning an elderly patient to palliative care can be a difficult decision for caregivers, but it’s one that families and clinicians across the globe make every day. Seattle-based KenSci contends that technology can help all parties make better, more informed choices. The startup’s software has gained traction in hospitals, where KenSci says crunching patient mortality … Continue reading “KenSci Gets $22M for Tools to Help Hospitals Flag High-Risk Patients”
Notary Startup Notarize Lands Wayfair, HubSpot Executive As COO
Notarize, the Boston-based online notary startup, has hired Elizabeth Graham, a former Wayfair and HubSpot executive, to be its new chief operating officer. Graham told Xconomy in an interview that her focus will be on refining the company’s Web app that connects users with one of its notaries based in Virginia, Texas, or Nevada, and … Continue reading “Notary Startup Notarize Lands Wayfair, HubSpot Executive As COO”
With Its First Human Data, Solid Slips in Duchenne Gene Therapy Race
The race to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy with gene therapy, a one-time, potentially long-lasting treatment, is being closely watched. But new data from Solid Biosciences cast doubt on whether the Cambridge, MA, company can keep pace with the current leader, Sarepta Therapeutics. Solid (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SLDB]]) this morning is disclosing the first results from the first … Continue reading “With Its First Human Data, Solid Slips in Duchenne Gene Therapy Race”
NYCEDC Finally Puts Its NY Bio Fund to Work With $60M For HiberCell
It’s been a question posed for years by many around the New York biotech scene: What is going on with the New York City Economic Development Corp.’s $150 million biotech fund, which was formed in 2013 but hadn’t made an investment? Finally, today, there’s an answer. A small piece of the money from the NYCEDC’s … Continue reading “NYCEDC Finally Puts Its NY Bio Fund to Work With $60M For HiberCell”
Alector IPO Banks $176M to Test Alzheimer’s Drugs in Clinical Trials
Alector, a company taking an immunotherapy approach to Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders, has raised approximately $176 million in an initial public offering. The South San Francisco, CA, biotech sold 9.25 million shares Wednesday evening priced at $19 apiece, which was the midpoint of its targeted $18 to $20 per share range. Those shares … Continue reading “Alector IPO Banks $176M to Test Alzheimer’s Drugs in Clinical Trials”
New CRISPR Fight: Old Friends Intellia, Caribou in License Dispute
An epic legal battle over CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing ended last year. But another one, smaller in scope and involving two long-time CRISPR allies, has quietly begun. Last October, Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTLA]]) began an arbitration proceeding against Caribou Biosciences, alleging in a recent regulatory filing that its longstanding partner had broken the terms of a … Continue reading “New CRISPR Fight: Old Friends Intellia, Caribou in License Dispute”
Frequency Chief Medical Officer Weber Jumps to Decibel Therapeutics
Peter Weber is now chief medical officer of Decibel Therapeutics, a Boston company developing treatments for hearing loss. Before joining Decibel, Weber was the chief medical officer of Frequency Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company based in Woburn, MA, that is also developing hearing loss drugs. Weber is the head of otology/neurotology at Boston University Medical Center, … Continue reading “Frequency Chief Medical Officer Weber Jumps to Decibel Therapeutics”
Halozyme Gets $30M from Argenx in Licensing Deal Worth Up to $530M
Argenx, a Dutch firm with a pipeline of investigational antibody-based therapies, will pay San Diego-based Halozyme to use its drug delivery technology to develop subcutaneous versions of some of the drugs Argenx is developing to treat rare autoimmune diseases and cancers. The technology Halozyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) is licensing, called Enhanze, allows drugs that would otherwise … Continue reading “Halozyme Gets $30M from Argenx in Licensing Deal Worth Up to $530M”
Health Analytics “Supergroup” Crunches Data to Speed Drug Development
A new healthcare data analysis “supergroup” anchored by technology developed at MIT is getting some help from MMS Holdings, a Canton, MI-based contract service provider to biopharmaceutical companies. The Health Analytics Collective will use artificial intelligence-powered analysis software called Julia to help pharmaceutical companies streamline the process of getting new drugs to market, says Uma … Continue reading “Health Analytics “Supergroup” Crunches Data to Speed Drug Development”
Cyber Madness: Case Studies in Security
Xconomy’s annual spring tech conference in Boston will bring together security-tech founders, executives, and investors, as well as IT leaders from sectors such as finance, legal, and healthcare. The half-day event will focus on how companies have solved specific problems in security—defending against a cyber attack, securing network data, applications, or critical infrastructure, growing a … Continue reading “Cyber Madness: Case Studies in Security”
Cancer Cures and the Importance of Communicating Responsibly
Last week, it was reported by multiple media outlets (see here, and here, and here) that a group of Israeli scientists had found “a cure for all cancer” and that it could be ready within a year. As a long-time life sciences industry executive my knee-jerk reaction was not “finally!” but “crap, not again!” As … Continue reading “Cancer Cures and the Importance of Communicating Responsibly”
Privacy Watch: Facebook Rebounds, But Privacy Concerns Accelerate
After Facebook posted a record profit of almost $7 billion in the fourth quarter on nearly $17 billion in revenue last week, an early investor, former advisor to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and current shareholder said he’s making it a mission to “fix’’ the 15-year-old tech giant. Roger McNamee, in a podcast interview with The New … Continue reading “Privacy Watch: Facebook Rebounds, But Privacy Concerns Accelerate”
ZoomInfo Bought by Washington Marketing Tech Firm DiscoverOrg
Business contact software company ZoomInfo is being acquired by Vancouver, WA-based marketing technology firm DiscoverOrg in a deal that aims combine the pair’s business and personnel intelligence into a single dataset to power enterprise marketing tools. Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm that bought ZoomInfo in August 2017 for $240 million, declined to … Continue reading “ZoomInfo Bought by Washington Marketing Tech Firm DiscoverOrg”
Sojournix Appoints Ruth Thieroff-Ekerdt Chief Medical Officer
Ruth Thieroff-Ekerdt has been appointed senior vice president and chief medical officer of Sojournix, a Waltham, MA-based women’s health company. She most recently worked at Kaleido Biosciences as its chief medical officer, a position she previously held at Strongbridge Biopharma and Aptalis Pharmaceuticals. Last month, Sojournix closed a $44 million Series C round of funding. … Continue reading “Sojournix Appoints Ruth Thieroff-Ekerdt Chief Medical Officer”
Minim Expands Wi-Fi Security Tool to WISPs with Deal For Aerez
Your smart home thermostat or doorbell may be freelancing in its spare time. “They are phoning home to some bad places,” said Jeremy Hitchcock, CEO of Wi-Fi cybersecurity and management software startup Minim, whose software lives in routers to manage Internet activity and the online activity of IoT devices. (More on Minim’s growth below.) Web-connected … Continue reading “Minim Expands Wi-Fi Security Tool to WISPs with Deal For Aerez”
George Mosher, Milwaukee Startup Investor & Philanthropist, Has Died
George Mosher, a Milwaukee businessman and one of Wisconsin’s most prolific startup investors, died on Thursday after a fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 79. A Boston native, Mosher moved to Milwaukee in 1965 after graduating from Harvard University’s business school. He became president of Business and Institutional Furniture, a catalog furniture company that served … Continue reading “George Mosher, Milwaukee Startup Investor & Philanthropist, Has Died”
FDA Rejects Alkermes Depression Drug, Asks for More Clinical Data
The FDA has rejected a depression drug from Alkermes, unpersuaded that the company’s experimental treatment actually works. Alkermes said Friday afternoon that the FDA’s letter asked the company for additional clinical data “to provide substantial evidence of effectiveness” for the drug, ALKS 5461. The company, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, and maintains a large … Continue reading “FDA Rejects Alkermes Depression Drug, Asks for More Clinical Data”
Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More
Pharmaceutical companies typically raise prescription drug prices at the start of each year and this year was no different. The increases were the latest reminder that, despite President Trump’s fiery campaign rhetoric, the administration had done little to actually lower drug prices. But a new plan aimed at the secretive rebate deals between pharma companies … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More”
Boston Tech Watch: Scooters, Toast, Mimecast, AtScale, Acquia & More
An HQ moves eastward. B2B branches into B2C. Acquisitions abound. And VC funds keep rolling in. Read on for more details on technology news in Boston this week. —Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has filed an ordinance to license and regulate micro-mobility businesses like scooter-sharing startups Bird and Lime. The proposal, which still needs approval … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Scooters, Toast, Mimecast, AtScale, Acquia & More”
Sunovion’s FDA Rejection Gives Acorda Parkinson’s Drug Breathing Room
The FDA has rejected a Sunovion Pharmaceuticals drug for Parkinson’s disease, delaying the company in its bid to compete with Acorda Therapeutics, which has a similar product that was recently approved for the market. Sunovion said late Wednesday that the FDA asked for more information to support the application for its drug, APL-130277. But the … Continue reading “Sunovion’s FDA Rejection Gives Acorda Parkinson’s Drug Breathing Room”
With $100M MeiraGTx Deal, J&J Signals Bigger Move Into Gene Therapy
Gene therapy has come of age over the past few years. And Johnson & Johnson this morning gave its biggest signal yet that it wants in on the emerging field. J&J (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]) has inked a deal with MeiraGTX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MGTX]]) to grab rights to a group of experimental gene therapies for inherited forms of … Continue reading “With $100M MeiraGTx Deal, J&J Signals Bigger Move Into Gene Therapy”
Eisai Exec Voliotis Joins CureVac as Chief Development Officer
Dimitris Voliotis has been appointed chief development officer of German biotech CureVac. Voliotis, who was most recently senior vice president and head of global clinical development for Eisai, will work from CureVac’s Boston office. CureVac is developing messenger RNA drugs intended to deliver the genetic instructions that enable a patient’s cells to produce therapeutic proteins.
Investing, Real Estate, In-Game Ads: Sputnik ATX’s Third Accelerator
Austin—[Updated 3:48 p.m. See below.] Startup accelerator Sputnik ATX has a picked five startup companies for its newest program, the third Sputnik has run. That includes software makers and entrepreneurs focused on investing, commercial real estate, advertising for gaming, and building websites. Founded in 2017, Sputnik ATX runs two programs annually, selecting a group of five … Continue reading “Investing, Real Estate, In-Game Ads: Sputnik ATX’s Third Accelerator”
Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019
Even as retailers struggle with a technology-disrupted business model and changing consumer desires, at least a generally positive overall economy and low unemployment rates seemed to keep shoppers’ wallets open. But a 2019 that started with stock market losses, a recently ended (but longest-ever) government shutdown, and other headwinds might now force consumers to pull … Continue reading “Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019”
All Eyes on Biogen as Roche Alzheimer’s Drug Flunks Final Test
Roche this morning added yet another failure to the ever-growing number of experimental Alzheimer’s disease drugs to crumble in late-stage human testing. The Swiss pharma and partner AC Immune (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACIU]]) will stop two Phase 3 studies of their drug crenezumab in Alzheimer’s early after an interim analysis by a committee of investigators showed those … Continue reading “All Eyes on Biogen as Roche Alzheimer’s Drug Flunks Final Test”
Dewpoint Debuts with $60M to Target Protein Droplets Linked to Disease
An exciting new area of cell biology research that has emerged in only the last decade has already spawned a startup, which launches today with $60 million in Series A financing. Dewpoint Therapeutics seeks to develop drugs that target a kind of liquid droplet widely found inside cells. These droplets (think bubbles of oil in … Continue reading “Dewpoint Debuts with $60M to Target Protein Droplets Linked to Disease”
Wayne State, Microsoft Partner to Prepare Students for Tech Careers
Detroit’s Wayne State University has a new pilot underway with Microsoft to provide job-ready, employable talent for high-demand technical positions, including cloud computing, data science, cybersecurity, and A.I. Keith Whitfield, WSU’s provost, says the university has been in talks with Microsoft about various initiatives for the past 18 months. “What emerged was the idea that … Continue reading “Wayne State, Microsoft Partner to Prepare Students for Tech Careers”
Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M
Equidate, one of the trading platforms that help employees sell their shares in pre-IPO unicorn companies, rolled out a new name today and announced a $35 million expansion of its $50 million funding round publicized in July. Re-branded as Forge Global, the five-year-old company plans to continue broadening the services it developed as many venture … Continue reading “Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M”
Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M
Billie, a monthly subscription service for shaving and body care products for women, has raised $25 million. The New York-based startup said Tuesday that the new funding round, which is being led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing group, brings its total investment to $35 million. Previous investors Silverton Partners, Female Founders Fund, and Lakehouse … Continue reading “Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M”
Carbon Relay Exits Stealth to Help Data Centers Sip, Not Gulp, Power
Data centers’ deepening thirst for electricity has raised alarms over the intensity of carbon emissions resulting from many classes of technology, from cryptocurrencies to social media and cloud storage. A new Boston company is launching today marketing an A.I. tool to ratchet back power use at data centers. Carbon Relay says its technology is five … Continue reading “Carbon Relay Exits Stealth to Help Data Centers Sip, Not Gulp, Power”
Neurocrine Pays $165M to Bankroll Voyager’s Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s
[Updated, 11:40 a.m. ET, see below] The road to potential approval for Voyager Therapeutics’ experimental gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease got a bit longer, and more expensive, last year. So this morning the company cut a deal with Neurocrine Biosciences to bankroll the journey—and forfeit some of the financial upside for the product, known as … Continue reading “Neurocrine Pays $165M to Bankroll Voyager’s Gene Therapy for Parkinson’s”
Gilead, Gates Foundation Join Lyndra’s $55M Funding for Phase 2 Tests
Lyndra Therapeutics, a startup whose technology turns daily pills into extended-release formulations intended to last a week or longer, has raised $55 million to advance several of its drugs into mid-stage studies. The Series B round of funding was led by Polaris Partners, the firm that also led Lyndra’s Series A financing nearly two years … Continue reading “Gilead, Gates Foundation Join Lyndra’s $55M Funding for Phase 2 Tests”
Moving HQ to Boston, AtScale CEO Chris Lynch Talks VCs, Tech Scene
There are more than a couple reasons why former Accomplice partner Chris Lynch is relocating the headquarters of his big data startup AtScale from San Mateo, CA, to Boston. He rattled them off last week, sitting in the newly wired-up but still empty first-floor office on Atlantic Avenue that Lynch plans to fill with sales, … Continue reading “Moving HQ to Boston, AtScale CEO Chris Lynch Talks VCs, Tech Scene”
Indalo Therapeutics Names Robert Jacks President & CEO
Indalo Therapeutics has appointed Robert Jacks to serve as president and CEO. Jacks was most recently president and chief financial officer of Symbiomix Therapeutics, which was acquired by Lupin in 2017. Indalo was formed by the 2016 merger of Antegrin Therapeutics and Cascadia Therapeutics. The Cambridge, MA-based company’s lead drug candidate, IDL-2965, is expected to … Continue reading “Indalo Therapeutics Names Robert Jacks President & CEO”
Healthcare Technology Bubble Concerns Are Likely Overblown
By nearly every measure, 2018 was a banner year for the venture capital industry, particularly in the healthcare technology sector. Over $130 billion of venture capital was invested across all sectors in the U.S., easily eclipsing the prior high-water mark in 2000 and nearly 4.8 times what was invested a decade ago. While certain sectors … Continue reading “Healthcare Technology Bubble Concerns Are Likely Overblown”
Norwest VC Eyes Waves of Change in A.I., Marketing, Cloud for 2019
Venture capital firms invest in potentially disruptive technologies with the hope of profit, then keep watch for further advances that could overtake their existing portfolio companies. All this is done while they guide startups through other external challenges such as fundraising droughts and overall market downturns. Scott Beechuk, a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, is … Continue reading “Norwest VC Eyes Waves of Change in A.I., Marketing, Cloud for 2019”
America Should Welcome Immigrant Entrepreneurs
When I came to America in 1987, as a wide-eyed University of Texas grad student, I arrived with just a suitcase and a few hundred dollars — money that my mother, back in India, had scraped together by selling her beloved jewelry collection. Three decades later, I’m a successful biomedical researcher and serial entrepreneur with … Continue reading “America Should Welcome Immigrant Entrepreneurs”
Neurable, Vectorform Partner on Brain-Computer Interface Applications
Neurable, a brain-computer interface (BCI) startup spun out of the University of Michigan and now based in Boston, has found a new partner in a familiar place. Vectorform, headquartered in Royal Oak, MI, is a software development and digital design firm that is collaborating with Neurable on BCI products for its clients in the automotive, … Continue reading “Neurable, Vectorform Partner on Brain-Computer Interface Applications”
What $1M in Bay Area Startup Dollars Buys You in 12 Other Cities
The cost of doing business is always on the mind of startup executives. Salaries, rent, and other expenses like software licenses can often make or break a company. Much of the math comes down to how much money you can raise for your business, and startups often look to San Francisco and Silicon Valley to … Continue reading “What $1M in Bay Area Startup Dollars Buys You in 12 Other Cities”
Bio Roundup: Bosley’s Editas Exit, Bridge Bucks, CRISPR Crime & More
In a week of big personnel moves, none was more surprising than Editas Medicine CEO Katrine Bosley’s departure. After guiding the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing startup from scientific breakthrough toward the development of a potential cutting-edge medicine, slogging victoriously through a legendary patent fight, and reaching the cusp of an historic clinical trial, the well-traveled Bosley is … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Bosley’s Editas Exit, Bridge Bucks, CRISPR Crime & More”
Boston Tech Watch: The Predictive Index, Catalant, ZoomInfo, Notarize
A work week shortened by the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday didn’t seem to slow new capital from venture firms and strategic investors from flowing into Boston technology businesses this week. Read on for more: —The Predictive Index, a workforce talent optimization technology company in Westwood, MA, has raised $50 million in growth-stage capital led … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: The Predictive Index, Catalant, ZoomInfo, Notarize”
Air Taxis Are on the Horizon with Boeing’s Test of Autonomous Plane
Many aviators use autopilot to control the trajectory of aircraft between takeoff and landing, but Boeing is among those in the industry seeking to advance autonomous flying technology even further. Boeing (NYSE: [[ticker:BA]]), which is headquartered in Chicago but has roots and extensive operations in the Seattle area, announced this week it conducted a successful … Continue reading “Air Taxis Are on the Horizon with Boeing’s Test of Autonomous Plane”
EBSCO Health Buys HealthDecision to Push Joint Decision-Making Tools
[Updated 1/25/19, 10:39 am CT, with comments from CEO.] Cardiologist Jon Keevil’s decision three years ago to hang up his stethoscope and focus full time on his digital health startup, HealthDecision, seems to have paid off. His startup was just acquired by EBSCO Health, a business of Ipswich, MA-based EBSCO Information Services, which provides libraries with … Continue reading “EBSCO Health Buys HealthDecision to Push Joint Decision-Making Tools”