Sermo Changes Strategy to Gain More Pharma Business, CEO Declines to Discuss Layoff Talk

Sermo, provider of the nation’s largest online community of doctors, has had a tough year in getting financial services firms to pay for access to its physician network and has decided to shift its strategy more toward serving drug and medical devices manufacturers, CEO Daniel Palestrant tells Xconomy. The change comes amid talk of layoffs … Continue reading “Sermo Changes Strategy to Gain More Pharma Business, CEO Declines to Discuss Layoff Talk”

ModusLink Gets Tech For Less

ModusLink Global Solutions (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MLNK]]), a Waltham, MA-based supply chain management and e-business outsourcing provider, said today that it has acquired Boulder, CO-based e-retailer Tech For Less for $30 million in cash. Tech For Less refurbishes and sells consumer electronic equipment and business machines returned by customers.

Movik Nabs $8.5 Million

Movik, a Littleton, MA, startup developing software to speed delivery of content to mobile devices, has raised $8.5 million in new equity-based financing, according to regulatory documents filed Friday. Existing investors Highland Capital Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners participated in the round. Movik CEO Ramji Raghavan is a former general manager at Telsima, founder … Continue reading “Movik Nabs $8.5 Million”

Advanced Cell Gets $2.8M

Worcester, MA-based Advanced Cell Technology, the developer of human embryonic stem cell technology, has raised $2.77 million in financing from debt and options, according to a regulatory filing. Half of the financing arrived in mid-November, and the other half is due within 90 days of the original closing, according to the regulatory filing. Last month, … Continue reading “Advanced Cell Gets $2.8M”

Infinity Names New CEO

Cambridge, MA-based Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) said today that Adelene Perkins has been named its new chief executive officer, starting January 1. Perkins joined Infinity in 2002, and currently serves as its president and chief business officer. She will replace Steve Holtzman, who has been Infinity’s CEO since the company was founded in 2001. Holtzman … Continue reading “Infinity Names New CEO”

Celgene Agrees to Acquire Gloucester Pharma for $340M Cash Upfront, $300M Later

Investors in Gloucester Pharmaceuticals have just made a bundle. The privately held biotech company in Cambridge, MA has agreed to be acquired by Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) for $340 million in cash, plus $300 million in future milestone payments. Celgene expects the deal to be completed before the end of March, and to see … Continue reading “Celgene Agrees to Acquire Gloucester Pharma for $340M Cash Upfront, $300M Later”

Supercharged Herceptin Nears Pivot Point, as ImmunoGen, Roche Await Data on Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb”

ImmunoGen has been in business for 28 years without developing a single FDA approved drug. This week, after all those lean years, the Waltham, MA-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) and its partner, Roche, are getting ready to show the world they have something big for patients with breast cancer. The company is striving to develop the … Continue reading “Supercharged Herceptin Nears Pivot Point, as ImmunoGen, Roche Await Data on Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb””

Boston-Power CEO Sees “Immense” Pressure to Curb Carbon Emissions at Copenhagen Summit

Quite a few clean energy companies around Boston have a stake in the outcome of the international climate change talks that start this week in Copenhagen, Denmark. If nations set more aggressive goals for greenhouse-gas emissions cuts, after all, they’ll have a greater need for technologies to reduce their carbon emissions. But only one local … Continue reading “Boston-Power CEO Sees “Immense” Pressure to Curb Carbon Emissions at Copenhagen Summit”

Advanced Cell Technology Lands $2,770,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b7dd82fe-a0fa-4955-a9ee-73898df048af&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2009 Company Name Advanced Cell Technology Mailing Address 381 Plantation Street Biotech V Worcester, MA 01605 Company Description Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB:ACTC) is applying stem cell technology in the field of regenerative medicine to bring effective, patient-specific therapies to the bedside. The company’s Myoblast program is an autologous adult … Continue reading “Advanced Cell Technology Lands $2,770,000 New Funding Round”

Celgene Corporation Acquires Gloucester Pharmaceuticals for $640,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a3c26643-c070-4405-9aa1-685c168be8fa&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2009 Company Name Gloucester Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held, venture-backed company that develops and commercializes innovative products for the treatment of cancer. Website http://www.gloucesterpharma.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $640,000,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms … Continue reading “Celgene Corporation Acquires Gloucester Pharmaceuticals for $640,000,000”

First Dogpatch Labs Exit: Google Buys Former Y Combinator Company AppJet

Back in May, when I profiled the original Dogpatch Labs, launched by Polaris Venture Partners in San Francisco, I snapped the accompanying picture of a mannequin wearing an AppJet t-shirt. AppJet was a Y Combinator company a few summers back that had moved into the Dogpatch space on Pier 38. Now, it turns out, the … Continue reading “First Dogpatch Labs Exit: Google Buys Former Y Combinator Company AppJet”

Federal Biofuel Awards Made for Green Refinery Projects in 15 States, Including Pilot Plants for Sapphire Energy, BioEnergy Intl.

Sapphire Energy, the San Diego-based algae biofuels startup that got much of its venture funding out of Seattle, and BioEnergy International of Quincy, MA, are among 19 biofuel refinery projects that were designated today to get as much as $564 million in federal funding. Sapphire spokesman Tim Zenk says the company got a $50 million … Continue reading “Federal Biofuel Awards Made for Green Refinery Projects in 15 States, Including Pilot Plants for Sapphire Energy, BioEnergy Intl.”

Next Week’s Cloud Computing “Unpanel” Gives the Pulpit to the People

For Xconomy’s Cloud3 Forum on the nuts and bolts of cloud computing on December 10, we’re pulling in experts from major, global cloud players like Akamai, EMC, Iron Mountain, and Microsoft, as well as up-and-coming local companies like Allurent, Cloudswitch, Litl, Sonian, and Pixily. But no matter how great the speakers, we know that listening … Continue reading “Next Week’s Cloud Computing “Unpanel” Gives the Pulpit to the People”

Restructuring at Avid Technology

Avid Technology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVID]]), the Tewksbury, MA-based maker of media editing software, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it will pay out $7 million to $9 million in termination benefits as part of a workforce restructuring plan to be completed by the end of the first quarter of … Continue reading “Restructuring at Avid Technology”

NormOxys Emerges from Stealth with New Class of Oxygen Drugs for Cancer, Heart Failure

Everyone needs oxygen, and major health problems can pop up when certain tissues get too little or too much. Now a small biotech company based in Wellesley, MA, co-founded by a Nobel Laureate, says it has discovered a new class of drugs that delivers targeted oxygen to tissues that are starving for it, without going … Continue reading “NormOxys Emerges from Stealth with New Class of Oxygen Drugs for Cancer, Heart Failure”

Stylefeeder Dissects Shopping Trends By Zip Code; Victoria’s Secret is Hot in Seattle, Hurley Beachwear is Tumbling in San Diego, Marc Jacobs is de Rigueur in Boston

Cambridge, MA-based Stylefeeder is bending more brainpower toward the study of online shopping behavior than virtually any other startup I know. The personalized product recommendation company has seven full-time employees, and five of them actually write code. Recently, they’ve been coding up some cool algorithms that show site visitors a customized set of products depending … Continue reading “Stylefeeder Dissects Shopping Trends By Zip Code; Victoria’s Secret is Hot in Seattle, Hurley Beachwear is Tumbling in San Diego, Marc Jacobs is de Rigueur in Boston”

$443 million for Vertex, $25.5M for Forma, $8M for Contour Semiconductor, & More Boston-Area Deals News

The dollar amounts ranged from the modest (FitnessKeeper) to the mammoth (Vertex) for New England tech and life sciences deals this week. —Boston’s FitnessKeeper, maker of the RunKeeper iPhone application, raised $400,000 from Cambridge, MA-based LaunchCapital and a group of individual investors. Wade chatted with FitnessKeeper founder and CEO Jason Jacobs about his plans for … Continue reading “$443 million for Vertex, $25.5M for Forma, $8M for Contour Semiconductor, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

VisibleGains Receives $2,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7178891e-86dd-432a-b02f-96d844a2dd42&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2009 Company Name VisibleGains Mailing Address 1601 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description VisibleGains is the newest service from the originators of PermissionTV, pioneers in intelligent online video. Companies including the Boston Pops, Metropolitan Opera, Harvard Business School, Toyota Scion and Stride Rite have used PermissionTV’s innovative approach to … Continue reading “VisibleGains Receives $2,000,000 New Financing”

Biogen Fattens Offer to Buy Facet Biotech

Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec reports today that it’s upping its bid to buy Facet Biotech by 21 percent, after the smaller firm’s board rejected Biogen’s earlier buyout offer in October. Biogen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said it would pay $17.50 per share in cash for Redwood City, CA-based Facet, valuing the company at about $438.7 million, and increasing … Continue reading “Biogen Fattens Offer to Buy Facet Biotech”

Alkermes Bets $10M on Long-Lasting Drug Technology from Startup Neighbor, Acceleron

Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes said today it is betting $10 million on a crosstown startup that it hopes has found a way to make the world’s best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug more convenient for patients. Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) has agreed to pay $2 million upfront for a license from Cambridge, MA-based Acceleron Pharma, make an $8 million … Continue reading “Alkermes Bets $10M on Long-Lasting Drug Technology from Startup Neighbor, Acceleron”

Aura, MicroCHIPS, Boston-Power, & Other Hot Local Startups Join the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers

A handful of startups from the Boston area are joining an exclusive club today. The World Economic Forum—the Swiss nonprofit that has previously honored such companies as Cambridge, MA-based biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNY]]), PayPal, and Google (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GOOG]])—has named six local companies to its prestigious annual list of Technology Pioneers, the organization announced this morning. The … Continue reading “Aura, MicroCHIPS, Boston-Power, & Other Hot Local Startups Join the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers”

Vertex Raises $443M in Yet Another Monster Stock Sale

Investors apparently have an endless appetite for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, so the company is taking advantage of this good fortune to raise another mountain of cash. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech said its latest stock sale this year has raised $443 million. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) fattened up its cash hoard by selling 11.5 million … Continue reading “Vertex Raises $443M in Yet Another Monster Stock Sale”

Startups Affiliated with Cambridge Innovation Center Pass $1 Billion in Venture Funding

Tim Rowe says he has happy news to share at the Cambridge Innovation Center’s 10th anniversary party tomorrow night (see main story). The founder and CEO of the rental office facility has long had a spreadsheet showing how much money venture capital firms have invested in CIC companies, and last month, he says, the total … Continue reading “Startups Affiliated with Cambridge Innovation Center Pass $1 Billion in Venture Funding”

Cambridge Innovation Center Turns 10; Looking Inside a Landmark for Boston-Area Entrepreneurs

Tim Rowe, the founder of the Cambridge Innovation Center, may be the only CEO in the whole building who doesn’t have his own desk. To be accurate, he’s got half of one: he shares it with his assistant Midori Williams. But he probably won’t have it for long, as he and Williams happily pick up … Continue reading “Cambridge Innovation Center Turns 10; Looking Inside a Landmark for Boston-Area Entrepreneurs”

ClickSquared Garners $6,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d554be9-4311-465a-942d-c21b5f8aaf64&Preview=1 Date 12/3/2009 Company Name ClickSquared Mailing Address 200 West Street 3rd Floor East Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description ClickSquared is the premier real time relationship marketing services provider of intelligent, multi-channel marketing solutions creating perfectly timed, personalized interactions across all online and off-line direct channels. Leveraging a team of marketing and … Continue reading “ClickSquared Garners $6,500,000 New Funding Round”

Contour Semiconductor Rounds Up $8M

North Billerica, MA-based Contour Semiconductor has raised $8 million in new equity financing, according to regulatory documents filed today. The company produces Flash memory chips for mobile-device data storage at low cost and high volume using proprietary photolithographic techniques that reduces the number of steps involved in manufacturing. The company’s investors include Fairhaven Capital Partners, … Continue reading “Contour Semiconductor Rounds Up $8M”

OwnerIQ Raises $5.8 Million

Boston-based OwnerIQ, which provides advertisers and retailers with targeted marketing data about users who download the product manuals available through its websites, has raised $5.82 million in Series C funding, according to regulatory documents filed today. CEO Jay Habegger says that the funds came from Atlas Venture, Common Angels, Egan Managed Capital, Kepha Partners, and … Continue reading “OwnerIQ Raises $5.8 Million”

$2M for VisibleGains

VisibleGains (fka PermissionTV), a Waltham, MA, provider of interactive online video technology for the B2B market, has raised $2 million in a new financing deal, according to an SEC filing. Company CEO Cliff Pollan told Xconomy that his firm was raising money from its previous backers Point Judith Capital and Castile Ventures in October, when … Continue reading “$2M for VisibleGains”

The State of High-Tech and Life Sciences Executive Compensation Quiz: Answers and A Bit of Perspective on What You Can Expect in 2010

The end of the year is a time when compensation is on a lot of people’s minds—particularly with company committees busy working to set executive salary, bonus, and equity compensation for the coming year. Last week, I gauged Xconomy readers’ thoughts on the subject with a short quiz on tech- and life-sciences-executive compensation. The questions … Continue reading “The State of High-Tech and Life Sciences Executive Compensation Quiz: Answers and A Bit of Perspective on What You Can Expect in 2010”

SimpleTuition Buys TuitionCoach

SimpleTuition, a startup headquartered in Newton, MA, that helps college students apply for state and federal loans, announced today that it has acquired TuitionCoach, a San Mateo, CA-based website that provides personalized financial guidance for college students and their families. SimpleTuition, which closed a $6 million Series C funding round in January 2009 with backing … Continue reading “SimpleTuition Buys TuitionCoach”

Taris Biomedical, MIT Spinoff With Bladder Drug Device, Leaps Ahead To Mid-Stage Trial

Taris Biomedical played its cards close to the vest in its early days, but it was apparently moving with great speed. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, a startup from the MIT labs of Michael Cima and Bob Langer, left stealth mode about six months ago and is already bounding ahead to mid-stage clinical trials. Taris … Continue reading “Taris Biomedical, MIT Spinoff With Bladder Drug Device, Leaps Ahead To Mid-Stage Trial”

Forma Gets a $25.5M Fix, Novartis Bids Idera Adieu, Alnylam CEO Talks Strategy, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Somewhere between the turkey prep and the post-pie catatonia, folks at New England’s life sciences companies managed to make some news. —Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IDRA]]), a developer of DNA- and RNA-based drugs, announced that Swiss drug giant Novartis will end its four-year-old collaboration with the Cambridge, MA-based firm in February. Idera still has active collaborations with … Continue reading “Forma Gets a $25.5M Fix, Novartis Bids Idera Adieu, Alnylam CEO Talks Strategy, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Quick Take: Novartis Vaccine Chief Andrin Oswald on Swine Flu and Vaccine Business

It’s been a year since Andrin Oswald took over as CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, the 5th-largest vaccine business in the world, headquartered right here in Cambridge, MA. I met up with Oswald before he gave a keynote speech at a recent MIT Enterprise Forum event, and he took a few minutes to give … Continue reading “Quick Take: Novartis Vaccine Chief Andrin Oswald on Swine Flu and Vaccine Business”

Contour Semiconductor Garners $8,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ec07b829-6d46-48b5-8db0-26634f601ece&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2009 Company Name Contour Semiconductor Mailing Address 101 Billerica Avenue Building 5 North Billerica, MA 01862 Company Description Contour Semiconductor Inc. is a venture-backed company founded to produce the world’s lowest-cost, high-volume, non-volatile memory chips. Our product family will serve the growing Flash memory market. To meet the rising demand … Continue reading “Contour Semiconductor Garners $8,000,000 New Funding Round”

VisibleGains Receives $2,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9cf026f1-78e1-470c-9d58-a117f3a8c156&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2009 Company Name VisibleGains Mailing Address 1601 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description VisibleGains is the newest service from the originators of PermissionTV, pioneers in intelligent online video. Companies including the Boston Pops, Metropolitan Opera, Harvard Business School, Toyota Scion and Stride Rite have used PermissionTV’s innovative approach to … Continue reading “VisibleGains Receives $2,000,000 New Funding”

OwnerIQ Obtains $5,820,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80db0819-5ad7-4495-9d0f-e09ddef35435&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2009 Company Name OwnerIQ Mailing Address 320 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 Company Description OwnerIQ operates a network of consumer self-support Web sites for common household product categories. The company is pioneering the concept of Ownership Targeting, providing brand advertisers with highly customized programs to precisely target consumers based on … Continue reading “OwnerIQ Obtains $5,820,000 Series C Financing Round”

Dyax Shares Rocket as FDA Clears Treatment for Rare Inflammatory Disease

Dyax got some good news late today that sent shares booming. The Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DYAX]]) said it has received FDA clearance to start selling a drug that treats hereditary angioedema, a rare genetic condition in which people get rapid attacks of pain and swelling in the face, hands, feet, and lungs. The company … Continue reading “Dyax Shares Rocket as FDA Clears Treatment for Rare Inflammatory Disease”

Xconomy is Growing; You Could Be Part of It

In the two and a half years that we’ve been live, Xconomy has been lucky to have some of the world’s best innovation journalists covering some of the nation’s most fascinating innovation hubs. But we’re well aware that there’s important tech and life sciences news happening beyond the borders of Boston, Seattle, and San Diego, … Continue reading “Xconomy is Growing; You Could Be Part of It”

Zorap Takes $1.35M in Equity

Zorap, a provider of online video chat room software, has raised $1.35 million of a planned $1.9 million round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The Falmouth, ME-based startup, founded in 2007, has now raised nearly $2 million from undisclosed angel investors, the company’s CEO and co-founder Barry Spencer told Mass High Tech. … Continue reading “Zorap Takes $1.35M in Equity”

Future of Robotics Summit

Mass TLC presents a day-long look at robotics research in the Boston area. From the event registration page: “Join New England’s leading robotic research institutions for an unprecedented look at the future of robotics. The summit will begin with remarks from the Massachusetts Secretary for Housing and Economic Development Gregory Bialecki. Our research briefing will include … Continue reading “Future of Robotics Summit”

Genzyme Resumes Shipments of Gaucher’s Drug from Allston Plant

Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) says today that it has begun shipments of its best-selling drug for Gaucher’s disease made at its plant in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. There have been shortages of the drug since the firm halted production at the Allston plant in June, when viral contamination was discovered there. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech is … Continue reading “Genzyme Resumes Shipments of Gaucher’s Drug from Allston Plant”

Genzyme Competitor Lands Pfizer Deal

Israel-based Protalix Biotherapeutics (NYSE:[[ticker:PLX]]) said today it has struck a deal with drug giant Pfizer to develop and market Protalix’s experimental Gaucher’s disease drug, taliglucerase alfa. The drug, which the FDA has granted a fast-track process for potential approval, poses a threat to Cambridge, MA-based biotech Genzyme’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) market-leading Gaucher’s treatment, imiglucerase (Cerezyme), which has … Continue reading “Genzyme Competitor Lands Pfizer Deal”

In the Venture Business, Small Is Beautiful, Charles River Ventures Argues—And Funds Are About to Get Much Smaller

The average return on venture capital investments for the year ending June 30, 2009, was -17 percent, according to figures released by the National Venture Capital Association in October. The 3-year return was +1.3 percent, the 5-year return was +5.7 percent, and the 10-year return was +14.3 percent. Over all of these time frames, venture … Continue reading “In the Venture Business, Small Is Beautiful, Charles River Ventures Argues—And Funds Are About to Get Much Smaller”

Forma Therapeutics Snags $25.5M Venture Round, Punctuating Startup’s Breakout Year

Anybody drawing up a list of New England’s biotech companies that really broke through in 2009 would have to consider Forma Therapeutics. The Cambridge, MA-based startup has nailed down a $25.5 million Series B venture round, which means it has now raised a total of more than $50 million this year to support what it … Continue reading “Forma Therapeutics Snags $25.5M Venture Round, Punctuating Startup’s Breakout Year”

Tech Executive Pay Raises Way Down, New Study Says

Technology executive pay raises in 2009 have taken their biggest nosedive of the past decade, according to a new compensation study. The study, which polled privately held firms from around the U.S., indicates that the current economic downturn has had a more drastic impact on executive pay than the period after the dot-com bubble burst. … Continue reading “Tech Executive Pay Raises Way Down, New Study Says”

Forma Therapeutics Garners $25,500,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d4303b05-0ce9-4cac-bb84-8d9d30b4336a&Preview=1 Date 12/1/2009 Company Name Forma Therapeutics Mailing Address 790 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description FORMA Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company integrating transformative biology and chemistry to unlock targets and pathways that have been validated through genomic medicine as root causes or major drivers of human cancers. Website http://www.formatherapeutics.com Transaction … Continue reading “Forma Therapeutics Garners $25,500,000 Series B Funding Round”