Category: Boston

Start Spreading the (Innovation) News With Xconomy in New York

I’ve got Frank Sinatra on endless mental replay today and I’ll tell you why: I’m looking for a stellar journalist to start spreading the news about innovation in New York, New York. (Look, nobody’s groaning louder than me about that one.  Let’s move on…) My Xconomy colleagues and I are fascinated by the stories emerging … Continue reading “Start Spreading the (Innovation) News With Xconomy in New York”

U.S. Wages Reset to Early 2008 Levels: Boston and Seattle Fit National Trend; Detroit, San Diego, San Francisco Fare Worse

The average salary for U.S. company workers rose throughout 2007 and 2008, fell during 2009, and held fairly steady in 2010. By the fourth quarter of last year, average earnings had leveled off to approximately what they were at the start of 2008. But there were some variations between different parts of the country. That’s … Continue reading “U.S. Wages Reset to Early 2008 Levels: Boston and Seattle Fit National Trend; Detroit, San Diego, San Francisco Fare Worse”

MassInno Nights

This recurring event invites you to check out presentations from area tech startups and vote on your favorite. This month’s installment is sponsored by high tech patent law firm Hyperion Law, and features Grembe Apps, PointKnown, and My Paperless Bills, among other companies, as presenters. Register here.

Resolvyx Sells Eye Drug to Celtic

Cambridge, MA-based Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals said yesterday that Celtic Therapeutics has exercised its option to buy its lead drug, RX-10045, for treating dry eye and other eye diseases. Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed. The two companies revealed the option agreement in October 2010. Celtic, which has offices in New York in Lausanne, Switzerland, plans … Continue reading “Resolvyx Sells Eye Drug to Celtic”

Rib-X Raises Another $20M, Led by Warburg Pincus, to Develop Late Stage Antibiotics

New Haven, CT-based Rib-X Pharmaceuticals has rounded up another sizable investment to carry out its antibiotic R&D. The company said today it has raised $20 million in a financing led by Warburg Pincus, the giant private equity firm. Rib-X didn’t say in its statement who else invested, or whether it represents debt or equity financing. … Continue reading “Rib-X Raises Another $20M, Led by Warburg Pincus, to Develop Late Stage Antibiotics”

Trend Spotting: The Top 9 Rise & Falls We See in the Year Ahead

[Editor’s Note: This post was co-authored with Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital] 1. The Rise of Celebrity Science Nations, cultures, economies all get what they celebrate. Celebrate celebrities and we’ll have another generation of over-consumptive, over-indebted, overweight, underemployed citizenry. But celebrate scientists: thinkers, doers, achievers, explorers, inventors, creators and we stand a shot at restoring … Continue reading “Trend Spotting: The Top 9 Rise & Falls We See in the Year Ahead”

Carbonite, With IPO On the Horizon, Puts New Focus on Consumers and Small Businesses

For years, Carbonite has been one of the compelling stories of the Boston-area tech scene. That story is about to get more compelling in 2011. The online data-backup company, which launched its consumer service in 2006, has talked openly about its plans to file for an initial public offering later this year. In an in-depth … Continue reading “Carbonite, With IPO On the Horizon, Puts New Focus on Consumers and Small Businesses”

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Receives $20,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4000817f-b5f4-451a-8605-2df25c22495c&Preview=1 Date 1/11/2011 Company Name Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 300 George Street New Haven, CT 06511 Company Description Rib-X Pharmaceuticals is a product-driven small molecule drug discovery and development company focused on the structure-based design of new classes of antibiotics. The company’s underlying drug discovery engine capitalizes on its proprietary high-resolution crystal … Continue reading “Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Receives $20,000,000 New Financing Round”

iWalk Obtains $15,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=186db6cb-b7a8-40e3-b382-2b7ad1b457c3&Preview=1 Date 1/11/2011 Company Name iWalk Mailing Address 222 Third Street Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description iWalk’s Mission is to be the leader in wearable devices for human augmentation. Website http://www.iwalkpro.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “iWalk Obtains $15,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

Allurent, Previously Reported Closed, Finds New Life at Jenzabar

This is a startup survival story for the books. Allurent, which the tech media reported as defunct last month, has gotten new life through an acquisition by Boston-based Jenzabar, a maker of higher education enterprise software. What’s more, Allurent, which develops interactive widgets for enhancing e-commerce storefronts, never stopped doing business, says Jenzabar CEO Robert … Continue reading “Allurent, Previously Reported Closed, Finds New Life at Jenzabar”

Wind Power Holdings, With Big Michigan Footprint, Raises $12.7M

Barre, VT-based Wind Power Holdings, the parent company of wind turbine developer Northern Power Systems, has wrapped up a $12.7 million round of equity-based funding, according to a document filed with the SEC. The filing notes that the money comes from 33 investors, including two from outside of the U.S. Northern Power, which dates back … Continue reading “Wind Power Holdings, With Big Michigan Footprint, Raises $12.7M”

$10M for Dekkun

Dekkun, a stealth-mode life sciences company operating out of Cambridge, MA-based HealthCare Ventures’ offices, has raised $9.9 million of an equity offering that could total $30.5 million, according to an SEC filing. The money comes from four investors, according to the filing, which lists members from HealthCare Ventures, a firm focused on pre-clinical or early clinical … Continue reading “$10M for Dekkun”

Entrega Emerges From Enlight

Enlight Biosciences, a Boston-based maker of drug discovery and development technologies, said today it has formed a new company called Entrega, which focuses on oral drug-delivery techniques. Entrega is working on developing orally-available versions of several types of biologic drugs (a class that includes insulin and antibodies) that are made by Enlight’s pharmaceutical partners and … Continue reading “Entrega Emerges From Enlight”

2010 Startup Moves from Boston to San Francisco Offer Insights to the Perennial Coast vs. Coast Debate

The debate over the merits of Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area as startup hubs isn’t a new one, but looking back over 2010 has given us new food for thought on the subject. At least four Boston-area startups packed their bags for Silicon Valley, working on technology related to errand exchanging, used clothing … Continue reading “2010 Startup Moves from Boston to San Francisco Offer Insights to the Perennial Coast vs. Coast Debate”

Surprises of 2010 and What to Look for in 2011

Biggest Surprises: How risk adverse most VC’s are. I was expecting “bigger thinking” and more insight into energy and energy efficiency issues. How little debate there is in the media regarding global warming and the cause/effects: many automatically believe that the earth is getting warmer and humans are the cause, even though measured data strongly … Continue reading “Surprises of 2010 and What to Look for in 2011”

Epizyme Nabs $650M Deal With Glaxo To Hunt for Epigenetic Drugs

Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme has found its first big partner to help support its work in hunting for new drugs based on the emerging science around epigenetics. Epizyme said today it has formed a new alliance with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. The deal calls for the big company to pay a $20 million upfront fee, plus research … Continue reading “Epizyme Nabs $650M Deal With Glaxo To Hunt for Epigenetic Drugs”

Alkermes Finds New Home For Inhaled Drug-Delivery Tech with Civitas Spinout

Alkermes’s leased facility in Chelsea, MA has come back to life. Civitas Therapeutics, a spinout of Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALKS]]), has taken up residency there and renewed efforts to commercialize inhaled drug-delivery technology from Alkermes. The facility in Chelsea was set up years ago to develop and produce inhaled insulin under a pact with Eli … Continue reading “Alkermes Finds New Home For Inhaled Drug-Delivery Tech with Civitas Spinout”

On-Q-ity Strikes Deal With LabCorp To Help Researchers Spot Rare Tumor Cells

On-Q-ity is betting that it can help improve cancer research and treatment by spotting the rarest of tumor cells circulating in the blood. Now the startup’s technology has found an important new benefactor in Laboratory Corporation of America (NYSE: [[ticker:LH]]). Waltham, MA-based On-Q-ity is announcing today it has formed a strategic alliance with LabCorp in … Continue reading “On-Q-ity Strikes Deal With LabCorp To Help Researchers Spot Rare Tumor Cells”

Top 4 Cleantech Headlines to Watch for in 2011

1. Cap and Trade Discarded by Congress in National Energy Policy Cascadia believes that Congress will implement a national energy policy in the coming year that focuses primarily on incenting new production of natural gas, renewable energies and nuclear; however, it will not include economic penalties for not achieving a reduction in carbon emissions. 2. … Continue reading “Top 4 Cleantech Headlines to Watch for in 2011”

See You at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

Techies gathered last week for the annual show-and-tell/schmoozefest known as the Consumer Electronics Show. Now it’s the biotechies turn to have their big conference of the year. The madhouse known as the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference officially starts today, for the 29th year, at San Francisco’s Union Square. I’m here as always, looking forward to … Continue reading “See You at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference”

Sustainability Roundtable Secures $1,200,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=94fdca02-4fce-4d05-ac6d-505168e5b78b&Preview=1 Date 1/10/2011 Company Name Sustainability Roundtable Mailing Address One Broadway, 14th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description SR Inc’s mission is to accelerate the development and adoption of best practices in more sustainable business. Website http://www.sustainround.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,200,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The funding … Continue reading “Sustainability Roundtable Secures $1,200,000 Series A Financing”

Civitas Therapeutics Obtains $20,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ef17d034-98ac-4785-bd29-5c55545dcc39&Preview=1 Date 1/10/2011 Company Name Civitas Therapeutics Mailing Address 190 Everett Ave. Chelsea, MA 02150 Company Description Civitas is a privately held pharmaceutical company focused on developing products with a clinically proven dry powder pulmonary delivery platform. The proprietary dry powder and device combination is unique in its ability to deliver a … Continue reading “Civitas Therapeutics Obtains $20,000,000 Series A Funding”

Dekkun Receives $9,930,400 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=05b5912d-454f-488a-afc4-825030b7fcf3&Preview=1 Date 1/10/2011 Company Name Dekkun Mailing Address 55 Cambridge Pkwy. Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description The company is developing as yet unspecified pharmaceutical technologies. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,930,400 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor HealthCare … Continue reading “Dekkun Receives $9,930,400 New Funding Round”

Ten Thoughts from MIT Sloan’s Silicon Valley Tech Trek

Each year, we at the MIT Entrepreneurship Center at the Sloan School of Management travel to Silicon Valley for a three-day immersion program with our MBA students who have a very entrepreneurial spirit and interest. While we make visits during other parts of the year, this is different in that it is a 24×7 analysis … Continue reading “Ten Thoughts from MIT Sloan’s Silicon Valley Tech Trek”

MIT Museum Opens 150th Anniversary Exhibition: A Few Items of Entrepreneurial Note

The MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA, is running a special exhibition, starting this weekend, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of MIT’s charter. The “MIT 150” exhibit showcases a collection of stories and artifacts that represent the institute’s contributions to science, technology, business, education, and society—things like Marvin Minsky’s robot arm, Claude Shannon’s maze-solving machine, J.C.R. … Continue reading “MIT Museum Opens 150th Anniversary Exhibition: A Few Items of Entrepreneurial Note”

Infinity Says Cash Stretches to 2014

Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) said today in its financial forecast that the company has enough cash on hand, and committed research funding, to run its R&D operation into 2014. The Cambridge, MA-based developer of cancer drugs said it enters this year with $345 million in committed capital, which includes slightly more than $100 million of … Continue reading “Infinity Says Cash Stretches to 2014”

XL Hybrids Raises $2M More, Signs Key Partnership to Retrofit Vehicles

[Updated 1:15 pm. See below] It’s been a busy week for Boston-area company financings, but it’s particularly interesting to zero in on some progress in cleantech. Somerville, MA-based XL Hybrids, a startup that converts commercial fleet vehicles into hybrids, said it has raised an additional $2 million from undisclosed investors. The company also has formed … Continue reading “XL Hybrids Raises $2M More, Signs Key Partnership to Retrofit Vehicles”

Lean Startup Circle Boston Monthly Meetup

Eric Ries, the man behind the lean startup methodology, will be at this edition of the group’s monthly meetings. He’ll preview some material from his upcoming book, including startup management styles and measuring milestones. Event information is here.

DynaTrace Drums Up $4M

DynaTrace Software, a Waltham, MA-based maker of diagnostic, monitoring, and user experience management software, has brought in $4 million in equity-based funding, an SEC filing revealed. The startup, which was founded in Austria in 2005, raised $12.9 million from Bay Partners and Bain Capital Ventures in 2008.

Hologic Buys Interlace for $125M

Bedford, MA-based Hologic, a provider of diagnostics, medical imaging, and surgical products for women, announced today that it has bought Interlace Medical of Framingham, MA, for $125 million in cash. Interlace, which makes a hysteroscopic tissue removal system, will be integrated into Hologic’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HOLX]]) gynecological surgical products business. The deal also includes two annual … Continue reading “Hologic Buys Interlace for $125M”

Neuroptix Raises $4.6M

Neuroptix, an Acton, MA-based developer of a diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease, has raised $4.6 million of a mixed offering of equity and rights that could total $9.1 million, according to an SEC filing. The company brought in $18.5 million in a Series B round of funding in 2008, led by Inventages.

Here Are Six Features Apple Should Include in the iPad 2 (And They’re Not the Ones You Think)

Unlike most of my tech-journalism brethren, I’m not at the circus in Las Vegas this week. Neither is Apple—the hardware giant has traditionally skipped the International Consumer Electronics Show, rightly figuring that it can generate all the hype it needs just by inviting a few hundred people to the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco … Continue reading “Here Are Six Features Apple Should Include in the iPad 2 (And They’re Not the Ones You Think)”

Salesforce.com Scoops Up Dimdim’s Web Conferencing Technology for $31M

Salesforce.com’s acquisitions binge continues. The San Francisco-based maker of cloud-based customer relationship management tools has added WebEx-like conferencing and collaboration capabilities to its arsenal through the purchase of Lowell, MA-based startup Dimdim. Announced late Thursday, the acquisition cost Salesforce.com $31 million, net of Dimdim’s cash. Dimdim had raised venture funding from Nexus Venture Partners, Index … Continue reading “Salesforce.com Scoops Up Dimdim’s Web Conferencing Technology for $31M”

Longwood Raises First Fund, Biogen Adds Executives, Boston Scientific Acquires Intellect, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

New England’s life sciences companies and investors are wasting no time this new year. We saw headlines of financings, clinical trial results, acquisitions, and executive moves at biotech and pharma companies this week. —Genocea Biosciences of Cambridge, MA, wrapped up $35 million in Series B financing from new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, MP … Continue reading “Longwood Raises First Fund, Biogen Adds Executives, Boston Scientific Acquires Intellect, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Some Prognostications on Biotechnology in 2011

After consulting with the Oracle at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, here are a few of the trends I was told to watch for in 2011… Two revolutionizing pharmaceutical frontiers are on the horizon—RNA therapeutics and stem cell therapies: —RNA therapeutics will become a big reality in 2011. Mipomersen, a LDL lowering drug from … Continue reading “Some Prognostications on Biotechnology in 2011”

dynaTrace Secures $4,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5c7de813-43a6-4db7-b7f6-e3d1fe9f14f7&Preview=1 Date 1/7/2011 Company Name dynaTrace Mailing Address 95 Hayden Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description We provide innovative performance-diagnostics solutions for mission-critical, cross-platform applications. Our mission is to offer top-quality products, excellent service, and unrivalled support worldwide. We are committed to developing company-wide diagnostics solutions that fulfill the needs of IT … Continue reading “dynaTrace Secures $4,000,000 New Round”

Hologic Acquires Interlace Medical for $125,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3746d3e9-f094-408d-9504-97c3493a5d8f&Preview=1 Date 1/7/2011 Company Name Interlace Medical Mailing Address 139 Newbury Street Framingham, MA 01701 Company Description Interlace’s mission is to improve the lives of women by delivering the most advanced medical devices in the world for treating gynecological diseases and conditions.Organized in 2006, Interlace Medical, Inc. is focused on designing and … Continue reading “Hologic Acquires Interlace Medical for $125,000,000”

The iPad and Rich Media Apps—Capitalizing on the Future of Storytelling

Storytelling has a “storied” past. In written form, it dates back some 10,000 to 12,000 years to ancient petroglyphs (also known as cave paintings). Personally, I have a passion for storytelling as a means to communicate, educate and socially engage all at the same time. As an interactive and content marketer, I appreciate storytelling as … Continue reading “The iPad and Rich Media Apps—Capitalizing on the Future of Storytelling”

Desh Deshpande on Starting Merrimack Valley Innovation Center—and Making a Global Impact from Massachusetts to India

For some people, innovation is not enough. Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande is one of those people. Let’s just say the Boston-area tech entrepreneur and billionaire philanthropist has earned the right to make such a claim. “For innovation to have impact, it needs relevance,” he says. “Innovation plus relevance equals impact.” Deshpande is talking about global impact, … Continue reading “Desh Deshpande on Starting Merrimack Valley Innovation Center—and Making a Global Impact from Massachusetts to India”

Less Changey, But Still Hopey About 2011

Last year at year end, I wrote about technology trends. Those trends, like the merger of the cloud and mobile devices, personalized medicine, reprogramming of human cells to cure disease, and the re-emergence of nanotechnology, still hold. Startups are breaking down impossible barriers in computing, biology, energy, and materials science. The USA is leading and … Continue reading “Less Changey, But Still Hopey About 2011”

EyeGate Adds $6M to Series D

Waltham, MA-based EyeGate Pharmaceuticals announced yesterday that it added $5.9 million to its Series D funding round, bringing the financing’s total to $28.5 million to date. The biotech works on delivering drugs to the eye, and said the new money will go toward EGP-437, its dexamethasone-derived corticosteroid treatment for dry eye syndrome. In September Eyegate inked … Continue reading “EyeGate Adds $6M to Series D”

Emptoris Acquires Rivermine

Burlington, MA-based Emptoris, a maker of supply and contract management software for businesses, said today it has acquired Rivermine, a Virginia-based developer of telecom expense management software. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition was financed by Marlin Equity Partners, which is Emptoris’s majority owner. The combined company has 650 employees and added more … Continue reading “Emptoris Acquires Rivermine”

Biogen Idec’s New R&D Boss, Doug Williams, Spurns Corner Office for a Return to Big Science

Doug Williams spent more than 20 years working his way up from bench scientist to CEO, and long after reaching the top, a realization hit. What he wanted most was to go back to his true passion—getting his hands dirty in a big and strong R&D organization with potential to create new drugs. “Having done … Continue reading “Biogen Idec’s New R&D Boss, Doug Williams, Spurns Corner Office for a Return to Big Science”