There’s a new way to share and discuss your favorite Xconomy articles with your friends on a variety of social-media channels: Marginize. If you’re reading this article on the Xconomy website, you’ll see the new Marginize tab on the far right edge of your browser window. Click on this tab and the Marginize bar will … Continue reading “Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket”
Category: Boston
Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Hepatitis C Drug; Chomps at the Bit For Fast Review
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has spent 15 years working to reinvent the way hepatitis C infection is treated, and now the fruits of that labor are in the hands of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cambridge, MA-based Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]), which has West Coast operations in San Diego, is announcing today that it has filed its … Continue reading “Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Hepatitis C Drug; Chomps at the Bit For Fast Review”
Why Travel Search Firm Kayak Wants to Go Public Now—Some More Analysis
Last week, the online travel world watched with considerable interest as Kayak, the Norwalk, CT-based travel “meta search” company, filed for a $50 million initial public offering. There has been a lot of debate about how much Kayak is actually trying to raise, how much the company is worth, and why it wants to go … Continue reading “Why Travel Search Firm Kayak Wants to Go Public Now—Some More Analysis”
Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security
“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” 1963 quote from Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. I moderated a panel last week for Xconomy that was focused on consumer-oriented healthcare information technology. The panel included 2 hospital chief information officers (one current, one … Continue reading “Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security”
Akrivis Sets Out to Improve Diagnostics and Therapies with Northeastern U. Tech
Cambridge, MA-based Akrivis Technologies is named after a Greek word that means precision and accuracy. It’s too early to say whether it can fulfill that promise, but if it does, it could provide highly sensitive diagnostics for serious health conditions, targeted drug delivery for cancer, and even a platform on which to integrate drugs and … Continue reading “Akrivis Sets Out to Improve Diagnostics and Therapies with Northeastern U. Tech”
SunBorne Energy Technologies Lands $3,112,154 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eb675dd6-973d-4d88-9278-236377533e0c&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name SunBorne Energy Technologies Mailing Address 20 University Rd. Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description The company is developing technology for generating electricity from the sun that is designed to be cheaper than great power. Website http://www.sunborneenergy.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,112,154 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “SunBorne Energy Technologies Lands $3,112,154 New Funding Round”
Svpply Secures $500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7dfe802b-1ff2-4e89-98d6-923e5a5715e5&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name Svpply Mailing Address 338R Grapevine Road Wenham, MA 01984 Company Description The company operates a social shopping service that helps users discover new products by tagging interesting products they see online. Website http://www.svpply.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “Svpply Secures $500,000 New Funding”
Helix Therapeutics Garners $2,500,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=03bdb60d-be0d-48d9-bb51-d66b79982063&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name Helix Therapeutics Mailing Address 150 Munson Street 25 Science Park 2nd Floor New Haven, CT 06511 Company Description The company is developing DNA therapeutics that will cause a paradigm shift in the way that common genetic diseases are treated…by permanently curing them. Website http://www.helixtherapeutics.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Helix Therapeutics Garners $2,500,000 New Round”
AisleBuyer Lands $4,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1c5e09f3-19c6-4a71-948f-e097eb3b03f9&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name AisleBuyer Mailing Address 332 Congress St., third floor Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Their platform, which includes a virtual shopping assistant, location aware digital circular, and patent-pending, mobile self-checkout system provides retailers with an end-to-end solution designed to increase sales, reduce costs, and offer unprecedented analytical insight … Continue reading “AisleBuyer Lands $4,000,000 New Funding Round”
DigitalSmiths Acquires Gotuit for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f149270-5b39-4e0c-86a9-59bb307a2c46&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name Gotuit Mailing Address 400 TradeCenter Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description The company makes software for tagging online video content with metadata. Website http://www.gotuit.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
New England Venture Summit
This day-long event is out to bring together investors, startup executives, tech transfer personnel, researchers, and service providers. The day features presentations from life sciences, cleantech, and IT companies, as well as venture capital panel discussions. Register for the event here.
The New England Smart Grid Conference 2010: New England’s Smart Grid Tech Investments and Demonstration Projects
This conference will highlight New England’s players in the smart grid, including utilities, grid operators, renewable energy providers, and academics researching in the space. Panels will cover those working in the field, investments in the smart grid, and data and privacy concerns surrounding the technology. Registration is here.
Gearing Up for 5×5 on Dec. 8 (Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas): Here’s the Agenda
Activity in the Boston-area innovation community seems to be picking up steam as we head into the holiday season. We’re getting excited as we gear up for our next Xconomy Forum in Boston on Dec. 8, which is called “5×5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas.” This is a chance to see, up close and … Continue reading “Gearing Up for 5×5 on Dec. 8 (Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas): Here’s the Agenda”
Archemix Hemophilia Assets Bought By Baxter
Archemix, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech developing aptamer drugs for the treatment of chronic and acute diseases, has sold its assets in the hemophilia space to Baxter International, according to an announcement today. Baxter (NYSE: [[ticker:BAX]]) will pay Archemix $30 million upfront and up to $285 million in milestone payments in an exclusive license agreement for … Continue reading “Archemix Hemophilia Assets Bought By Baxter”
Attachmate Buys Novell for $2.2B—the End of an Era
Novell, the Waltham, MA-based networking and workload management software firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NOVL]]), said today it has agreed to be acquired by Seattle-based Attachmate for $2.2 billion in cash. The deal represents a purchase price of $6.10 per share, a 9 percent increase over Novell’s closing stock price on Nov. 19. Novell also said it is … Continue reading “Attachmate Buys Novell for $2.2B—the End of an Era”
Warner, Shah, Landry Among Top 10 Boston Angel Investors, According to ChubbyBrain
Which angel investors in Boston have the biggest wings? Check out this blog post by ChubbyBrain, a New York-based provider of Web-based information tools for entrepreneurs, which rounds up some of the individuals who have done the most deal-making in the Boston area. The post lists 10 individual Boston-area investors who tech entrepreneurs looking for … Continue reading “Warner, Shah, Landry Among Top 10 Boston Angel Investors, According to ChubbyBrain”
Harmonix, Put on the Block by Viacom, Looks for Better Owner—But Who Might That Be?
OK, it sounds like the press has this “Harmonix for sale” thing mostly wrong. At least in terms of what it means for the Cambridge, MA-based company, and the future of its business. Earlier this month, New York-based Viacom (NYSE: [[ticker:VIA]]) announced it has put Harmonix up for sale after losing money on the business … Continue reading “Harmonix, Put on the Block by Viacom, Looks for Better Owner—But Who Might That Be?”
From Honolulu to Back Bay: eHana Moving Behavioral Health Agencies from Paper to Pixel Records
Boston is a great place for bumping into people who are pushing the envelope in healthcare. In fact, the city’s leadership in health IT factored into Jacob Buckley-Fortin’s decision to expand his software firm eHana from its original home of Honolulu, HI, to Boston in 2006. Now Buckley-Fortin, the co-founder and CEO of eHana, is … Continue reading “From Honolulu to Back Bay: eHana Moving Behavioral Health Agencies from Paper to Pixel Records”
Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup
[Updated, see below] Shawn Broderick, managing director of the TechStars Boston startup incubator program since it came to the Hub in early 2009, is stepping down. Broderick announced the move publicly in a blog post Friday evening. The news comes in the middle of the TechStars Annual Summit in New York—where founders of 50 of … Continue reading “Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup”
Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
How do men and women small business owners approach innovation differently? That’s one of the questions the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is seeking to answer through a six-country study that’s going on as we speak—as one of the organizers of the study, I’m looking for entrepreneurs in the U.S., both male and … Continue reading “Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation”
Angel Education Series: “Early Exits”
This installment of the Angel Education Series takes a look at the liquidity event of exits. One session will cover valuation of an early-stage company, and in the second session, angel investor Basil Peters will talk about what goes into early exits. Sign up online.
2010 French American Innovation Day: Alzheimer’s Disease: The Pursuit of Personalized Medicine
This day of seminars will take a look at new research in the Alzheimer’s field, what’s challenging therapeutic breakthroughs, and how the U.S. and France can collaborate to tackle treatments for the disease. Panels will cover new gene discoveries and diagnostics methods, and perspectives from the research and drug development side. Register here.
Boston Scientific Acquires Sadra for $193M Upfront, Gets Device To Fix Heart Valves
Boston Scientific just made a move into one of the fields of cardiology with growth potential by acquiring Los Gatos, CA-based Sadra Medical. The Natick, MA-based device giant (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) already owns 14 percent of Sadra, and today said it is paying $193 million upfront to acquire the rest of the company, and may shell … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Acquires Sadra for $193M Upfront, Gets Device To Fix Heart Valves”
Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes
Hi, my name is Wade, and it’s been 20 months since I paid for premium cable TV. As longtime Xconomy readers know, I canceled all but my basic cable channels in March 2009. Back then, it was a fairly radical thing to do, but nowadays I run into people all the time who’ve realized that … Continue reading “Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes”
Lilly Funds Cerulean, Genzyme Sells Diagnostics Unit, Roche Ends RNAi Program, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
We saw some in-depth profiles of New England-area biotechs’ drug development strategies, as well as breaking news on financings and partnership deals. —While Bay Area biotech startup Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals, Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Novartis continue their legal wrangling over a potential lung cancer drug, Waltham, MA-based Avila Therapeutics is working on its own treatment for … Continue reading “Lilly Funds Cerulean, Genzyme Sells Diagnostics Unit, Roche Ends RNAi Program, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
MooBella Obtains $9,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ed318ee1-52a9-40e2-a520-7a84d7e3725f&Preview=1 Date 11/19/2010 Company Name MooBella Mailing Address 555 Constitution Drive Taunton, MA 02780-7365 Company Description Simply stated, MooBella is where taste meets technology. The MooBella team has created a multi-patented, fully automated ice cream process that will change ice cream forever! Fresh ice cream, on the spot, made to order. Smooth … Continue reading “MooBella Obtains $9,000,000 New Financing”
Nearly Entire Staff Laid Off at Eons, Says Founder Jeff Taylor
[Updated with additional information, Nov. 18, 2010]–-Boston baby boomer and social networking site Eons, which has raised $32 million in two rounds of financing led by two venture capital giants—General Catalyst Partners and Sequoia Capital—yesterday laid off nearly its entire remaining staff, founder Jeff Taylor said tonight. Taylor, who previously founded Monster.com, revealed the layoff … Continue reading “Nearly Entire Staff Laid Off at Eons, Says Founder Jeff Taylor”
Are You Ready for a Pre-Turkey Day Pizza Bash Tomorrow? C’mon Down to Xconomy HQ
Just a reminder for all you entrepreneurs, hackers, gene-splicers, and devotees of innovation, tomorrow is Xconomy’s second annual pre-Thanksgiving pizza party. We got some great special guests in Reed Sturtevant and Katie Rae of Project 11, an innovative early-stage venture startup; some great attendees already RSVP’d, and some great pizza courtesy of our friends and … Continue reading “Are You Ready for a Pre-Turkey Day Pizza Bash Tomorrow? C’mon Down to Xconomy HQ”
Skyhook Says A Preliminary Injunction Against Google Could Help Level The Playing Field in the Mobile Location-Finding Space
[Updated 11/18/10] After lawyers from Google and Skyhook Wireless convened in court yesterday, a Massachusetts’ Suffolk County Superior Court judge is deliberating whether to prevent the Mountain View, CA-based Internet giant from issuing compatibility standards for its Android mobile phone platform that could largely keep Boston-based startup Skyhook out of the location-finding space. The move … Continue reading “Skyhook Says A Preliminary Injunction Against Google Could Help Level The Playing Field in the Mobile Location-Finding Space”
Genzyme to Let Diagnostics Unit Loose for $265M
Genzyme’s sales of non-core businesses continues. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) said this morning that it has agreed to sell its diagnostic products business to Japan’s Sekisui Chemical for $265 million in cash. The deal takes Genzyme, the world’s largest provider of drugs for rare genetic diseases, a step further in sharpening its focus … Continue reading “Genzyme to Let Diagnostics Unit Loose for $265M”
EMC Shells Out $2.25B for Isilon, Cerulean Secures $24M, Kayak Files for IPO, & More Boston-Area Deals News
This week saw deals inked in all corners of New England’s innovation ecosystem, but the biggie was in IT. —Regulatory filings indicate that Kala Pharmaceuticals raised $3 million in an equity and debt financing. The Waltham, MA-based startup, which raised $2 million in December 2009, counts MIT inventor Bob Langer and representatives of Lux Capital, … Continue reading “EMC Shells Out $2.25B for Isilon, Cerulean Secures $24M, Kayak Files for IPO, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Paul Allen Donates $9M for Edgy Neuroscience, Biotech Projects at MIT, Stanford, UW
Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, has been investing in biotech companies and basic neuroscience for many years, and now he’s set up a new program to put more money to work for scientists pushing the boundaries in those fields. The Seattle-based Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is announcing today it is bankrolling seven … Continue reading “Paul Allen Donates $9M for Edgy Neuroscience, Biotech Projects at MIT, Stanford, UW”
$4.6M for Minerva Biotechnologies
Minerva Biotechnologies, a Waltham, MA-based biotech firm that researches cancer, nanotechnology, and stem cells, has raised $4.6 million in equity and rights funding round, according to an SEC filing. Xconony tried this afternoon but was unable to reach Cythia Bamdad, a founder of the firm, to discuss the financing.
HealthEdge Finds $975K
HealthEdge Software, a Burlington, MA-based provider of benefits administration software for healthcare payers, has raised $975,000 in an equity and rights financing, according to an SEC filing. Rob Gillette, the firm’s chief executive, wasn’t immediately available to comment on the funding round. Gillette told me for this August 26 story that his company had raised … Continue reading “HealthEdge Finds $975K”
Black Duck Acquires SpikeSource
Waltham, MA-based Black Duck Software, a provider of platforms for helping software makers track the open-source and third party code behind their products, announced Tuesday that it had acquired the assets of SpikeSource, a maker of software and services for identifying application components and assessing compliance. The firm did not disclose how much it paid … Continue reading “Black Duck Acquires SpikeSource”
Roche Dumps RNAi, Sends Shock Waves Through Alnylam, Tekmira
The world’s biggest spender on pharmaceutical R&D, Switzerland-based Roche, made news today with a sweeping series of cutbacks, and the ripple effect is extending to leading biotech companies in New England and the Pacific Northwest—including Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Vancouver, BC-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals. Roche said today it is terminating its efforts to discover and … Continue reading “Roche Dumps RNAi, Sends Shock Waves Through Alnylam, Tekmira”
Kayak Files for $50M IPO, Reports Growing Revenues, Profitability
Well, this is an interesting move. Kayak, the online travel search company based in Norwalk, CT, has filed for an initial public offering underwritten by Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank Securities, Piper Jaffray, Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, and Pacific Crest Securities. The proposed maximum aggregate offering price is $50 million, a surprisingly small number for a company … Continue reading “Kayak Files for $50M IPO, Reports Growing Revenues, Profitability”
Springpad Overhauls Web App, Aims to Be Your Personal Assistant and Mobile Life Manager
Today is a pretty important day for Jeff Janer and his startup. Charlestown, MA-based Spring Partners is releasing a new version of Springpad, its online notebook service for organizing all the information in your life. (And who doesn’t need that?) What’s more, it could be the make-or-break moment for the startup as it strives to … Continue reading “Springpad Overhauls Web App, Aims to Be Your Personal Assistant and Mobile Life Manager”
Bay State Startup Investing Rises to $199M in October; Industrial and Energy Sectors Help Plump Up the Total
The harvest came in during October, at least in terms of startup deals in Massachusetts. Bay State tech and life sciences companies brought in $199.1 million across 30 equity-based deals, an increase of more than one-third over the September total of $146.8 million, according to data from private company intelligence platform CB Insights. It was … Continue reading “Bay State Startup Investing Rises to $199M in October; Industrial and Energy Sectors Help Plump Up the Total”
Minerva Biotechnologies Receives $4,634,580 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=49823ffe-73f0-4f80-9373-02984194e877&Preview=1 Date 11/17/2010 Company Name Minerva Biotechnologies Mailing Address 40 Bear Hill Road Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description The company develops drugs and stem cell technology through nanotechnology. Website http://www.minervabio.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,634,580 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms … Continue reading “Minerva Biotechnologies Receives $4,634,580 New Round”
Forma Gets $20M Deal with Eisai
Cambridge, MA-based Forma Therapeutics has struck a collaboration deal with the U.S. unit of Tokyo-based drug powerhouse Eisai that is focused on discovering drugs against normally intractable disease targets, according to the companies. Eisai is paying Forma $20 million in upfront and committed fees over a three-year period, according to the companies. The deal gives … Continue reading “Forma Gets $20M Deal with Eisai”
HBS Association of Boston: “The Boston Capital Market Overview and What it Means for You” with James Geshwiler, CommonAngels
CommonAngels managing director James Geshwiler will deliver a talk to kick off the HBS Worldwide Alumni New Venture Contest, a competition designed to spur Harvard Business School graduates to start new ventures. Register here to get some of his insights on the investing outlook in Boston.
Pfizer Academic Program HQ in Cambridge
Drug giant Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) announced today that it is establishing an entrepreneurship partner network with academic medical research centers, called the Global Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, to be headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Yesterday Luke reported that UC San Francisco had inked a deal through the program, in which Pfizer could pay up to $85 … Continue reading “Pfizer Academic Program HQ in Cambridge”
Entrepreneurs’ Pre-Thanksgiving Pizza Lunch is Back This Friday: Special Guests Project 11
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and once again we’ve decided to celebrate it Xconomy-style—with some pizza! Last year, on the day before Thanksgiving, we kicked off a new holiday tradition over here at Xconomy: the entrepreneurs’ pre-turkey day pizza lunch. That led to making impromptu pizza parties a year-round occurrence, and even morphed into … Continue reading “Entrepreneurs’ Pre-Thanksgiving Pizza Lunch is Back This Friday: Special Guests Project 11”
Helicos Delisted from Nasdaq
Helicos Biosciences, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of gene sequencing instruments, has been delisted from the NASDAQ stock market, after noting in a regulatory filing that it was unlikely to meet listing requirements “due to the state of its finances and near-term business prospects.” Last month, Helicos named Ivan Trifunovich as its new CEO, and expanded … Continue reading “Helicos Delisted from Nasdaq”
Web Innovators Group 28 – Five Year Anniversary
This recurring event that showcases innovative Web startups has a special anniversary flavor to it this month. There will be three startups offering big presentations to the entire audience, and a helping of younger companies offering side dish presentations in the venue throughout. Register here.
Verastem, Founded by MIT Big Names, Raises $16M to Fight Cancer Stem Cells
Robert Weinberg and Eric Lander, two of the most famous biologists at MIT, are putting their heads together at a new biotech company that seeks to fight cancer by attacking cancer stem cells. The startup, Verastem, has raised $16 million in its Series A venture financing, the company announced today. Longwood Founders Fund—the group led … Continue reading “Verastem, Founded by MIT Big Names, Raises $16M to Fight Cancer Stem Cells”
Facebook is Mission-Critical
Facebook is mission-critical infrastructure. Not for me and not for you either, since you reading this makes the odds of your age being greater than Zuckerberg’s quite high. However, for millions of people between the ages of 10 and 23, Facebook is critical to their lives. The reason? Homework. I’m old enough to have stopped … Continue reading “Facebook is Mission-Critical”
Backupify Snaps Up TweetBackup to Strengthen Position in Cloud-Based Data Archiving
Backupify, a Cambridge, MA-based provider of online technology for backing up e-mail and social networking data, announced today that it has acquired TweetBackup, a Sweden-based service that automatically backs up users’ Twitter posts daily. Financial terms weren’t disclosed for the deal, which went through in October and is meant to help Backupify maintain its edge … Continue reading “Backupify Snaps Up TweetBackup to Strengthen Position in Cloud-Based Data Archiving”
iRobot’s Michigan Unit Aids in Key Military Deal
IRobot (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IRBT]]) has quietly added to its forces in Michigan. The Bedford, MA-based provider of robotics for the home, government, and industrial markets now has two full-time employees based in the Wolverine state, where it first established a one-person office in 2009 to focus on its military customers. Joe Dyer, iRobot’s chief of operations, sounded … Continue reading “iRobot’s Michigan Unit Aids in Key Military Deal”