Category: Boston

Azuki Rings in $4M

Acton, MA-based mobile software provider Azuki Systems has brought in $4 million of an equity and rights offering that could total $8 million, according to a SEC filing. The firm raised $12 million in equity-based funding earlier this year, and is backed by Kepha Partners and Sigma Partners. In August, cloud computing exec John Clancy … Continue reading “Azuki Rings in $4M”

Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M

Beverly, MA-based biotech startup SmartCells has found a big corporate buyer. Merck & Co. (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]), the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant, said today it has agreed to buy the developer of diabetes treatments in a deal that could be worth more than $500 million to the startup’s shareholders. Merck, which announced the deal this morning, … Continue reading “Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M”

Millennium, Banking on Velcade and More, Gears Up for Eagerly Anticipated Blood Cancer Meeting

Each spring, everybody and their brother in biotech goes to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting to check out the hot new stuff in cancer drug development. But for Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, the bigger medical meeting is coming up this weekend, where a whole string of clinical trials … Continue reading “Millennium, Banking on Velcade and More, Gears Up for Eagerly Anticipated Blood Cancer Meeting”

The Essay Exchange Aims to Democratize Pricey College Admissions Advice

Application fees and standardized test prep courses aren’t the only big expenses when it comes to getting into college. For the tens of thousands of students who hire admissions counselors and coaches every year, the process of crafting the perfect essay to get into a top name school can also carry a hefty price tag, … Continue reading “The Essay Exchange Aims to Democratize Pricey College Admissions Advice”

Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs

The proverbial 800-pound gorilla has spoken. Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research, the Cambridge, MA-based R&D unit of Swiss drug giant Novartis, has asserted itself in a lawsuit concerning rights to potentially game-changing drugs for lung cancer discovered at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Novartis filed a counterclaim on November 19 in U.S. District Court in … Continue reading “Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs”

Sage Science Secures $2,016,950 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=68eb5d35-2aee-44da-bf34-2700237b6566&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2010 Company Name Sage Science Mailing Address 32 Tozer Road Beverly, MA 01915 Company Description Sage Science develops and manufactures convergent instrumentation and consumable products which we sell directly to scientists and through bioscience tools suppliers. We seek to consolidate labor and new engineering and chemistry technologies to create new … Continue reading “Sage Science Secures $2,016,950 New Funding”

Merck & Co. Acquires SmartCells for $500,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=66f2e3aa-9907-49f3-a4ea-382af9e61299&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2010 Company Name SmartCells Mailing Address 100 Cummings Center Beverly, MA 01915 Company Description SmartInsulin consists of a layered, biocompatible and biodegradable polymer-therapeutic that is bound to an engineered glucose-binding molecule. Insulin is released from SmartInsulin only when the therapeutic is unbound by the presence of a specific glucose concentration. … Continue reading “Merck & Co. Acquires SmartCells for $500,000,000”

Glaxo Ends Resveratrol Drug Study

London-based GlaxoSmithKline has terminated a mid-stage clinical trial of SRT501 in patients with advanced multiple myeloma, the company said in a statement e-mailed to Xconomy today. The firm acquired the drug, a formulation of resveratrol, in its $720 million buyout of Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals in 2008. Sirtris has captured wide media attention because of … Continue reading “Glaxo Ends Resveratrol Drug Study”

Energy Grants go to San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless, “Smart Grid” Companies in Washington and New England

San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless says it is among five companies to get more than $19 million in federal grants to develop innovations that are expected to make the nation’s power grid cleaner and more efficient, reliable, resilient, and responsive. On-Ramp Wireless, which is among the companies presenting at Xconomy’s 5×5 event in Boston next Wednesday, … Continue reading “Energy Grants go to San Diego’s On-Ramp Wireless, “Smart Grid” Companies in Washington and New England”

Aveo Pharma to Get $25M from OSI

Cambridge, MA-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AVEO]]) said today that it expects to receive $25 million in two equal payments because OSI Pharmaceuticals has exercised its option to internalize Aveo’s Human Response Platform for certain research of cancer treatments and patient biomarker selection. The Human Response Platform is Aveo’s technology for engineering animal models with genetic mutations … Continue reading “Aveo Pharma to Get $25M from OSI”

LineSider Bought By Cisco

San Jose, CA-based Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CSCO]]) announced today that it plans to acquire Danvers, MA-based LineSider Technologies, a maker of network management software for applications in cloud computing. Networking giant Cisco did not reveal how much it paid for LineSider, but said that the startup’s technology will strengthen its services in the cloud computing space, … Continue reading “LineSider Bought By Cisco”

Quanterix Adds Former Millipore CEO as Chair

Cambridge, MA-based Quanterix is announcing today that Martin Madaus, the former CEO of Billerica, MA-based Millipore, has joined the startup’s board as executive chairman. Millipore, a giant supplier of diagnostics and lab equipment to biotech companies, was acquired by Germany-based Merck KGaA for about $7 billion in July. By joining Quanterix, he’s getting on board … Continue reading “Quanterix Adds Former Millipore CEO as Chair”

Bob Metcalfe Joins 5X5 Lineup to Deliver Closing Commentary—and Say Goodbye to Boston

Xconomy is extremely pleased to announce that pundit, inventor, venture capital investor, and future professor Bob Metcalfe has joined the keynote lineup for 5X5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas, our forum in downtown Boston next Wednesday afternoon. Metcalfe, inventor of the Ethernet and (for just a few more weeks, read on) a general partner … Continue reading “Bob Metcalfe Joins 5X5 Lineup to Deliver Closing Commentary—and Say Goodbye to Boston”

Ember, Rising to Profitability, Wants to Network the Smart Grid—and Home Security Systems

Ember is one of those companies that defies a quick explanation. For starters, it has been around for nine years. And if all goes well, 2010 will be its first profitable one. It has been a long climb for the Boston-based firm, which makes wireless networking technologies that help consumers and utility companies manage home … Continue reading “Ember, Rising to Profitability, Wants to Network the Smart Grid—and Home Security Systems”

Accelerator Reaches Out to East Coast to Find Latest Startup, Acylin Therapeutics

Accelerator, Seattle’s best known hotspot for hatching biotech startups, has found its latest idea for a new company on the East Coast. Most of Accelerator’s investments of the past have come from its West Coast network, but the youngest pup in the litter at the Seattle-based startup machine, Acylin Therapeutics, is based on the vision … Continue reading “Accelerator Reaches Out to East Coast to Find Latest Startup, Acylin Therapeutics”

Heartland Reaps $20M, CloudBees Gathers $4M, Adimab Acquires $4M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

A number of New England tech and life sciences companies had deals to be thankful for this week. —CloudBees, a startup soon to be headquartered in Boston, raised $4 million in a Series A financing round led by Matrix Partners. Individual investors Marc Fleury and Bob Bickel also backed CloudBees, which is developing a cloud-based … Continue reading “Heartland Reaps $20M, CloudBees Gathers $4M, Adimab Acquires $4M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

JumpTap Obtains New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f880b10-0c93-48f5-ba3b-8f761053cdca&Preview=1 Date 12/1/2010 Company Name JumpTap Mailing Address 10 Canal Park 5th Floor Cambridge, MA 02141 Company Description JumpTap, Inc. provides wireless carriers with an end-to-end, carrier-branded mobile search solution that drives third-party revenue for mobile operators while providing a quick, easy and fun mobile search experience for subscribers. Website http://www.jumptap.com Transaction … Continue reading “JumpTap Obtains New Funding Round”

Adimab Garners $3,999,909 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5826f696-0974-47fa-938c-c1bc8d137441&Preview=1 Date 12/1/2010 Company Name Adimab Mailing Address 16 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766 Company Description Adimab–which stands for Antibody Discovery Maturation Biomanufacturing–is developing a platform that’s deliberately engineered to minimize and potentially eliminate third party royalties, offering a one-stop-service-shop to a select few Big Pharma partners. Website http://www.adimab.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Adimab Garners $3,999,909 New Financing Round”

MIT Enterprise Forum Innovation Profile and Panel

The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge often spotlights successful startups and innovative tech companies, and this month it is looking at Covidien, a healthcare company the separated from Tyco in 2007. CEO Richard Meelia will share some strategy behind his company’s growth, and an investor panel focused on the medtech field will follow. The group … Continue reading “MIT Enterprise Forum Innovation Profile and Panel”

Adimab Finds $4M More from Google and Other Investors

Lebanon, NH-based Adimab, which is developing a yeast-based human antibody discovery technology, has raised $4 million in a Series E funding round, CEO and co-founder Tillman Gerngross confirmed today. The financing was first revealed in a filing on the SEC website yesterday. Adimab raised the new funding round at a pre-money valuation of $520 million, … Continue reading “Adimab Finds $4M More from Google and Other Investors”

Drinks on Tap #7 Holiday Edition

There’s a purpose to these drinks, besides holiday celebration. This is a gathering of iPhone app developers, who meet up every few months to show off what they’re working on. Register here to mingle and unveil the cool holiday app you’ve been putting together.

FitnessKeeper Grabs $1.1M

Boston-based FitnessKeeper, the developer of mobile app RunKeeper, announced today that is has wrapped up a $1.1 million financing, led by Bryce Roberts at O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures. The funding round also involved full participation from the startup’s existing investors, who include LaunchCapital, Will Herman, Dave Balter, and Don McLagan. They backed FitnessKeeper for its $400,000 seed … Continue reading “FitnessKeeper Grabs $1.1M”

Project 11’s Katie Rae Named Director of TechStars Boston

TechStars, the seed-stage investment fund and startup mentoring program, announced today it has selected tech executive and startup personality Katie Rae as the new managing director for its Boston installment. She’ll take over for former managing director Shawn Broderick, who announced earlier this month that he would be leaving his role to focus more closely … Continue reading “Project 11’s Katie Rae Named Director of TechStars Boston”

Aileron and Scripps Ink Deal

Cambridge, MA-based Aileron Therapeutics, a  developer of peptide-based drugs, said today it gained exclusive rights to “click” chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. “Click chemistry describes synthetic chemistry tailored to generate substances quickly and reliably by joining (“clicking”) small reactive molecular building blocks together selectively and covalently to drive a spontaneous … Continue reading “Aileron and Scripps Ink Deal”

AisleBuyer, Growing Fast, Looks to Own Mobile Checkout With New Android App

Consumers may love the convenience of self-checkout stands while shopping, but getting those machines into stores carries a hefty price tag for retailers. Boston-based startup AisleBuyer is looking to bring that same convenience to customers without the installment cost to retailers, with its iPhone and Android mobile app, the latter of which went live today. … Continue reading “AisleBuyer, Growing Fast, Looks to Own Mobile Checkout With New Android App”

Selventa Changes Name from Genstruct, Reveals New Efforts to Help Pharma Match Patients with Right Drugs

The complex field of systems biology might be in need of some clarification. Cambridge, MA-based Selventa has been renamed from its former moniker Genstruct as part of an effort to clarify to pharmaceutical companies and others in the life sciences industry how the firm uses computational methods to help its customers match patients with the … Continue reading “Selventa Changes Name from Genstruct, Reveals New Efforts to Help Pharma Match Patients with Right Drugs”

Bill Warner on Building Your Startup From Your Heart, Not Your Head—A Preview of His Keynote at Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum

Bill Warner is one of those good guy entrepreneurs. Yeah, he has a track record of business success, founding Avid and Wildfire, among other companies, and selling them for lots of money. But more than that, he gives back to the entrepreneurial community—both as an angel investor and, more importantly, as a mentor to those … Continue reading “Bill Warner on Building Your Startup From Your Heart, Not Your Head—A Preview of His Keynote at Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum”

How To Keep Academic/Big Pharma Alliances from Going off the Rails

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston made headlines earlier this month after siding with Novartis in a brewing legal battle with a Dana-Farber spinout, Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals. The disagreement stems from both companies claiming they are the rightful licensees of certain intellectual property (IP) created by Dana-Farber researchers. The IP, originally committed to Gatekeeper via an … Continue reading “How To Keep Academic/Big Pharma Alliances from Going off the Rails”

Heartland Robotics Raises $20M More to Develop Helper Robots for Manufacturing

Make no mistake—this is Boston’s big bet on the future of robotics. Cambridge, MA-based Heartland Robotics is announcing today it has raised $20 million in Series B financing led by new investor Highland Capital Partners. New investor Sigma Partners also participated, as did existing investors Charles River Ventures and Bezos Expeditions. All in all, it’s … Continue reading “Heartland Robotics Raises $20M More to Develop Helper Robots for Manufacturing”

It’s Complicated: Survey Reveals Rough Patches in FDA’s Working Relationship With Life Sciences Industry

The life sciences industry says its working relationship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has improved, particularly for the early stages of the agency’s product review process. But a survey of 50 life science companies, primarily in California and Massachusetts, also pointed to rising concerns about the latter part of the product review process, … Continue reading “It’s Complicated: Survey Reveals Rough Patches in FDA’s Working Relationship With Life Sciences Industry”

Heartland Robotics Lands $20,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4461f8dd-3d40-472f-8911-55337fc18243&Preview=1 Date 11/30/2010 Company Name Heartland Robotics Mailing Address 485 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Heartland Robotics is combining the power of computers – embodied in robots – and the extraordinary intelligence of the American workforce, to increase productivity and revitalize manufacturing. Website http://www.heartlandrobotics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Heartland Robotics Lands $20,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

FitnessKeeper Receives $1,100,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af2e1a65-c17d-435f-83a4-8a654f577c1e&Preview=1 Date 11/30/2010 Company Name FitnessKeeper Mailing Address 770 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02199 Company Description RunKeeper is a mobile fitness platform that we are building with a simple mission—to make fitness tracking and training easier to use and more fun. No need for expensive standalone devices, now you can use your … Continue reading “FitnessKeeper Receives $1,100,000 New Financing”

Matrix Leads $4M Deal for CloudBees

Matrix Partners, a venture firm with offices in Waltham, MA and Silicon Valley, has led a $4 million Series A financing for CloudBees, a startup developing a cloud-based platform for Java computing and development, the company announced today. Individual investors Marc Fleury and Bob Bickel, both veterans of open-source middleware online community JBoss, also participated … Continue reading “Matrix Leads $4M Deal for CloudBees”

Hygeia Therapeutics Aims Synthetic Hormone Therapies At Aging Boomers (Men and Women Alike)

Hormone-replacement therapy was once billed as the fountain of youth for aging women facing the symptoms of menopause, until controversial studies from the past decade showed the hormones appeared to raise risks of heart attack and stroke. But hormone replacements never went completely away, and now a small Massachusetts biotech is seeking to tap new … Continue reading “Hygeia Therapeutics Aims Synthetic Hormone Therapies At Aging Boomers (Men and Women Alike)”

The Myth of the “Patent Cliff”

Doctors, patients, and investors who follow the biopharmaceutical business all recognize that the industry is exceedingly complex and in the midst of change. Companies struggle daily with a multifaceted mix of scientific, clinical, and business unknowns. Will a drug be medically effective and make it through clinical trials? Will it get the thumbs up from … Continue reading “The Myth of the “Patent Cliff””

Dinner With Microsoft’s Craig Mundie: On Xbox Kinect, Instantaneous Total Recall, and a More Secretive Culture

I recently had dinner here in the Boston area with Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer. With just one other guest present, it was an unusually personal and far-ranging discussion. Most of the talk was of a general nature—more background than anything else. Still, a few things stuck with me as noteworthy. I … Continue reading “Dinner With Microsoft’s Craig Mundie: On Xbox Kinect, Instantaneous Total Recall, and a More Secretive Culture”

San Diego Project Taps New England Fuel Cell Company to Generate Energy From Waste Methane Gas

A complicated financing deal led by New Energy Capital of Hanover, NH, has provided $23.5 million for a renewable energy project in San Diego that uses methane gas from a sewage treatment plant to generate electricity from advanced technology fuel cells. Construction is scheduled to begin next month on a “biogas” purification system developed by … Continue reading “San Diego Project Taps New England Fuel Cell Company to Generate Energy From Waste Methane Gas”

BG Medicine Wins FDA OK, Primes Pump for Second Shot at IPO

BG Medicine, the Waltham, MA-based diagnostics company, said it has received FDA clearance for its lead product in development, a new test to measure the progress of patients with chronic heart failure. This is certainly the kind of news that can’t hurt for a company that’s trying to pull off an IPO, for the second … Continue reading “BG Medicine Wins FDA OK, Primes Pump for Second Shot at IPO”

Q3 Venture Capital Terms: Like a Rolling Stone

For me, the latest venture financing report for the third quarter that ended September 30 brings to mind Bob Dylan’s revolutionary rock ballad, “Like a Rolling Stone.” There is not only a sense of shattered hubris throughout the industry (granted, in some places more than others); there are no clear trends in the analysis of … Continue reading “Q3 Venture Capital Terms: Like a Rolling Stone”

Genzyme Sheds Diagnostics Unit, Novell Acquired by Attachmate, Archemix Sells Hemophilia IP to Baxter, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Acquisition news was big this week for New England-area tech and life sciences companies, but we also saw a few startup financings. —Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) sold its diagnostics products unit to Japanese firm Sekisui Chemical for $265 million in cash. The deal comes as part of Genzyme’s plan to sell off three of its … Continue reading “Genzyme Sheds Diagnostics Unit, Novell Acquired by Attachmate, Archemix Sells Hemophilia IP to Baxter, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Gather.com Secures $1,800,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8de3654f-dddd-44b9-a690-1a014bd1d7df&Preview=1 Date 11/24/2010 Company Name Gather.com Mailing Address 99 Summer Street 7th Floor Boston, MA 02110 Company Description Gather will make money by displaying advertising to people who use Gather’s services. It just seems fair that we share our advertising revenue with you based on the quality and popularity of the content … Continue reading “Gather.com Secures $1,800,000 New Financing Round”

Wozniak Sets Blogs Atwitter with Apple-Nuance Remark

[Updated, see below] Proving that he has the power to move markets with an odd aside, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak sparked rumors this week that Apple is buying Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the giant Burlington, MA-based maker of speech recognition software. The source of the speculation is a passing remark in a video interview about … Continue reading “Wozniak Sets Blogs Atwitter with Apple-Nuance Remark”

Gotuit Bought By Digitalsmiths

Woburn, MA-based Gotuit, a maker of software for tagging online video content with metadata, was bought by Research Triangle Park, NC-based Digitalsmiths for an undisclosed sum, Digitalsmiths announced today. The North Carolina company said the acquisition strengthens its position in video metadata technology, which better enables search, discovery, recommendations, and targeted advertising surrounding online video content. … Continue reading “Gotuit Bought By Digitalsmiths”

We Got Sad Angels and Mad Angels, But Not So Many Glad Angels After Boston Angel Dinner

AngelGate East it isn’t. Everyone seems to agree on that. But that is where the unanimity stops, at least if you are following the debate playing out on venture capitalist Rob Go’s blog about a Boston area angel and seed-stage investor dinner last week. Go’s post—“Sad Observations From a Boston Angel Dinner“—drew the ire of … Continue reading “We Got Sad Angels and Mad Angels, But Not So Many Glad Angels After Boston Angel Dinner”