Category: Boston

Indevus: Mixed Results with HIV Blocker

Indevus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IDEV]]) says that a clinical study of its anti-HIV microbicide sponsored by the National Institutes of Health showed the treatment was safe but did not show statistically significant benefits. The 3,100-patient study showed that the drug—a vaginal gel applied before intercourse—lowered the risk of infection by 30 percent, shy of the study’s goal … Continue reading “Indevus: Mixed Results with HIV Blocker”

Amazon Launches Kindle 2

At a press conference this morning in New York City, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos officially unveiled the Kindle 2, the second version of the Seattle-based e-retailer’s popular e-book reading device. Like its predecessor, the Kindle 2 features an electronic-paper screen devised by Cambridge, MA-based E Ink. But Bezos detailed a number of new features, including … Continue reading “Amazon Launches Kindle 2”

GI Dynamics Gains $15 Million to Help Patients Lose Weight

GI Dynamics has tapped previous investors to add $15 million to its third round of venture capital, giving the Lexington, MA-based firm more cash to develop its intestinal liner for the treatment of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The company confirmed news of the financing, which was reported this morning by PE Hub. The new … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Gains $15 Million to Help Patients Lose Weight”

Atlanta TV Group is Backchannelmedia’s First Paying Customer

Boston’s Backchannelmedia, whose “clickable TV” system embeds links in broadcast TV signals that consumers can activate with their remote controls to receive information about a program or a product via e-mail, said today that Gray Television (NYSE: [[ticker:GTN]]) of Atlanta will roll out the Backchannelmedia system to its 36 local broadcast stations. That brings the … Continue reading “Atlanta TV Group is Backchannelmedia’s First Paying Customer”

IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Launches Stealth Robotics Company, The Droid Works

Massachusetts’ growing robotics cluster just got bigger. For the second time in less than six months, an iRobot co-founder has launched a robotics startup. Helen Greiner told me in an e-mail yesterday that she has formed a stealth company called The Droid Works. “Our first project is in the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] space, and … Continue reading “IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Launches Stealth Robotics Company, The Droid Works”

The Greater Boston Diabetes Cluster

More than one of our readers has noted recently that the Boston area is home to a mighty cluster of companies dedicated to providing new treatments and devices for diabetics. So, after a bit of investigation, we’ve compiled a list of local firms that represent some of the most promising advances in diabetes care. Of … Continue reading “The Greater Boston Diabetes Cluster”

Clean Energy Council Expands Executive Retraining Program

Breaking into the cleantech business brings lots of unique challenges—and to equip more entrepreneurs to handle them, the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) launched a fellowship program last April aimed at retraining CEOs from the information technology, life sciences, and telecom worlds. A dozen former CEOs spent the summer of 2008 learning the energy-industry … Continue reading “Clean Energy Council Expands Executive Retraining Program”

GI Dynamics Garners $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=004d6a54-32e5-464c-9506-59cd771aa1dc&Preview=1 Date 2/9/2009 Company Name GI Dynamics Mailing Address One Maguire Road Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description GI Dynamics has developed novel devices that are delivered into the gastrointestinal tract using minimally invasive techniques. Website http://www.gidynamics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Garners $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

SiOnyx Expands to Oregon

Beverly, MA-based SiOnyx, the developer of “black silicon” solar and imaging devices that we profiled when it came out of stealth mode back in October, said last week that it has opened a West Coast engineering center in Beaverton, OR. Leading the Oregon office will be Homayoon Haddad, SiOnyx’s new vice president of device engineering, … Continue reading “SiOnyx Expands to Oregon”

FDA Approves First Drug Made From Bioengineered Goats

Who says the FDA isn’t open to new ideas? The U.S. drug agency has given the green-light to GTC Biotherapeutics, a small biotech company in Framingham, MA, to market the first drug in the U.S. ever derived from genetically modified animals. GTC Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GTCB]]) and partner Ovation Pharmaceuticals of Deerfield, IL, said today that … Continue reading “FDA Approves First Drug Made From Bioengineered Goats”

Carl Icahn Aims to Stick “For Sale” Sign on Biogen Idec Lawn Again

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is making another move to gain influence over Biogen Idec. Icahn told the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company he is nominating a slate of four new directors for election to the company board at this year’s annual meeting, and he wants to increase the size of the board from 12 to 13 … Continue reading “Carl Icahn Aims to Stick “For Sale” Sign on Biogen Idec Lawn Again”

Idenix Inks HIV-Drug Deal with GSK Worth up to $450M

Shares of Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDIX]]) jumped in pre-market trading this morning on the news that the Cambridge, MA-based developer of treatments for infectious diseases has inked a deal with pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline potentially worth some $450 million. GSK will pay Idenix $34 million upfront—half as cash and half via a purchase of its stock … Continue reading “Idenix Inks HIV-Drug Deal with GSK Worth up to $450M”

How I Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy, and Discovered the Bliss of an Empty Inbox

I’m not one of those people who thinks you can measure a person’s power, talent, or importance by the number of e-mails or phone calls they get every day. So it’s not a boast—indeed, it’s more like an embarrassed confession—when I say that by early January, my Gmail inbox had swelled to almost 15,000 messages. … Continue reading “How I Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy, and Discovered the Bliss of an Empty Inbox”

Biogen and Dyax Expand Relationship, Nuance Persists in Zi Pursuit, Draper Lab Locks In On $146M From the Navy, & More Boston-Area Deals News

The flow of deals from New England’s tech and life sciences companies was sluggish this week but not completely frozen. Acquisition news predominated. —Cambridge, MA-based Charles Stark Draper Laboratory won a $146 million contract from the U.S. Navy to work on guidance systems for the Trident II nuclear missile. —Burlington, MA-based speech technology giant Nuance … Continue reading “Biogen and Dyax Expand Relationship, Nuance Persists in Zi Pursuit, Draper Lab Locks In On $146M From the Navy, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Vertex CEO Josh Boger Retiring In May; Matthew Emmens To Fill Role

(Update: The last three paragraphs were added after a conference call with reporters.) Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder, president and CEO Josh Boger, one of the best-known and more colorful executives in the biotech industry, is retiring on May 23. He will be replaced by Vertex director Matthew Emmens, the company said late this afternoon in a … Continue reading “Vertex CEO Josh Boger Retiring In May; Matthew Emmens To Fill Role”

1366’s Campaign to Make Better, Cheaper Solar Cells Gets Boost from Department of Energy

1366 Technologies, the Lexington, MA-based MIT spinoff working on ways to manufacture cheaper, more efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells, said today that the Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative has selected the company for a performance-based award worth up to $3 million. 1366 president and CEO Frank van Mierlo says the company will get the money … Continue reading “1366’s Campaign to Make Better, Cheaper Solar Cells Gets Boost from Department of Energy”

Dyax and Biogen Expand Pact

Biotech firms Dyax (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DYAX]]) and Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]), both based in Cambridge, MA, have expanded a previous deal under which Dyax has discovered antibody drugs for Biogen with its phage display technology, according to a press release. The expanded deal guarantees Biogen 10 more product licenses, and, in return, Biogen will pay Dyax a $5 … Continue reading “Dyax and Biogen Expand Pact”

Sugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick”

Many people wouldn’t touch coffee or cereal without sugar. And the XO laptop would be useless without Sugar—the standard, Linux-based graphical interface for the little green laptop, nearly a million of which have been distributed to classrooms in developing countries by the Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation. While OLPC and Microsoft have been … Continue reading “Sugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick””

Venrock’s Bryan Roberts: Shakeout Is Coming to VCs, Not Just Companies

As venture-backed tech and life sciences companies around the country are hunkering down to figure out how to survive the downturn, the same can be said for the venture backers themselves. That was one of the interesting observations I heard during a recent interview in San Francisco with Bryan Roberts, a partner who specializes in … Continue reading “Venrock’s Bryan Roberts: Shakeout Is Coming to VCs, Not Just Companies”

FDA Committee Votes in Favor of Dyax Lead Drug for Rare Blood Disease

An FDA advisory committee recommended approval of Cambridge, MA-based Dyax‘s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DYAX]]) lead drug candidate, ecallantide, to treat severe attacks of a rare blood disease known as hereditary angioedema (HAE), according to an FDA spokeswoman. The advisory committee members voted 6-5, with two abstentions, that there was enough data to support the approval of the Dyax … Continue reading “FDA Committee Votes in Favor of Dyax Lead Drug for Rare Blood Disease”

Oracle to Buy mValent

Oracle (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ORCL]]), the enterprise software giant, says that it has agreed to acquire mValent, a Waltham, MA-based provider of software used to automate and manage applications. Redwood Shores, CA-based Oracle plans to integrate mValent its Oracle Enterprise Manager business. The deal—terms of which were not disclosed—is expected to close in the first half of this … Continue reading “Oracle to Buy mValent”

Harvard Researcher to Helm Merck’s Cancer Research, Genzyme Acquires Certain Exact Sciences Assets, NeurAxon Out to Axe Migraines, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences

New England life sciences firms gave us a little breather on the fast-breaking news this past week, so we had some time to take a closer look at some of the most interesting new companies and projects in the field. —Luke interviewed Tom Hughes, the CEO of Zafgen, and learned more about the startup’s plans … Continue reading “Harvard Researcher to Helm Merck’s Cancer Research, Genzyme Acquires Certain Exact Sciences Assets, NeurAxon Out to Axe Migraines, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences”

InterSystems CEO Ragon Donates $100M to Create New AIDS Research Institute

Local software entrepreneur Phillip “Terry” Ragon and his wife Susan Ragon have granted $100 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to form a research institute focused on developing vaccines for AIDS and other infectious diseases. The institute, called the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute, will include a team of engineers and scientists from MGH, … Continue reading “InterSystems CEO Ragon Donates $100M to Create New AIDS Research Institute”

AMAG Pharma Awaiting FDA Word on New Iron-Replacement Drug

AMAG Pharmaceuticals could be months away from a long-awaited green light from the FDA to begin sales of ferumoxytol (Feraheme), an iron-replacement treatment for people with kidney disease, and a potential cash cow for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AMAG]]). The promise of ferumoxytol has boosted the prospects of AMAG (formerly Advanced Magnetics), transforming the … Continue reading “AMAG Pharma Awaiting FDA Word on New Iron-Replacement Drug”

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Visits Microsoft to Build Ties With the Northwest

Yesterday morning in Redmond, WA, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts sat down with Ray Ozzie, the chief software architect of Microsoft. They talked about high-tech innovation in the Boston area, how Microsoft views its own global future, and how the company could work together with Massachusetts to help drive the local economy. “I was talking … Continue reading “Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Visits Microsoft to Build Ties With the Northwest”

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc. Lands $25,000,000 Series D Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=67a665de-f29d-4130-8d63-cc7dc216d0e7&Preview=1 Date 2/4/2009 Company Name Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc. Mailing Address 300 George Street New Haven, CT 06511-6663 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 … Continue reading “Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Inc. Lands $25,000,000 Series D Round”

Oracle Corp. Acquires mValent, Inc. for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=452fba75-bf98-4013-8218-1f5375e784bb&Preview=1 Date 2/4/2009 Company Name mValent, Inc. Mailing Address 230 Third Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description mValent tackles IT complexity and compliance with automation software that eliminates configuration management chaos in application infrastructure. Website http://www.mvalent.com/ Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial details of the … Continue reading “Oracle Corp. Acquires mValent, Inc. for Undisclosed Sum”

Collapse of Innovative Spinal Technologies was Years In the Making, Sources Say; CEO Responds

[Updated, see below.–WR] Our stories last week about the shutdown of Innovative Spinal Technologies, a Mansfield, MA, company that raised $75 million in private funding to market devices for stabilizing injured spines, prompted a number of IST’s former employees and business associates to contact Xconomy to help flesh out the details of the company’s demise … Continue reading “Collapse of Innovative Spinal Technologies was Years In the Making, Sources Say; CEO Responds”

Transforming Healthcare Summit

H.I.L. Forum presents an evening conference on healthcare reform. From the event website: “The American healthcare sector has never experienced such a time of crisis, uncertainty, and opportunity. As a result, the new Obama Administration has made healthcare the centerpiece of its stimulus and reform plans. Billions of dollars are flowing into healthcare from Bush’s … Continue reading “Transforming Healthcare Summit”

Molecular Insight Names CEO, Chair

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MIPI]]), based in Cambridge, MA, says that its board of directors has made John Babich its CEO and Anthony Martin its non-executive chairman of the board, among other leadership changes. Babich had served as interim chairman and CEO since September 2008, when the board of directors decided to replace former CEO David … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Names CEO, Chair”

HiWired Sold to Radialpoint

HiWired, a Needham, MA-based provider of remote technical support to Internet service providers, has agreed to sell its assets to IT security and services firm Radialpoint, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, according to Radialpoint. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. HiWired co-founders Michael Wexler and Singu Srinivas will join Radialpoint as vice president of premium care … Continue reading “HiWired Sold to Radialpoint”

Energy R&D Network Proposal Has Seattle, Boston Leaders Eyeing Possibilities

One intriguing idea getting shuttled around President Obama’s inner circle could end up pouring significant cash into the innovation hubs of Seattle and Boston. This idea, hatched at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., calls for building a national network of two dozen or more centers of excellence in cleantech R&D, with annual budgets of … Continue reading “Energy R&D Network Proposal Has Seattle, Boston Leaders Eyeing Possibilities”

Merck Nabs Harvard Scientist To Replace Rosetta Founder as Oncology Research Head

Merck is consolidating its cancer research in Boston, and now it has landed an academic research star from Harvard to run the place. The pharmaceutical giant said it has hired D. Gary Gilliland, a renowned Harvard cancer researcher, to be its new senior vice president of Merck Research Labs in charge of its oncology franchise. … Continue reading “Merck Nabs Harvard Scientist To Replace Rosetta Founder as Oncology Research Head”

Boston VCs Pour Cash into Cash4Gold’s Superbowl Spot

If you were watching the Superbowl yesterday, you may have seen the tongue-in-cheek ad in which down-on-their luck celebrities Ed McMahon and MC Hammer hawked Cash4Gold, a Pompano Beach, FL-based metal refinery that sends customers checks for mailing in their unwanted gold, silver, or platinum jewelry. An e-mail about the ad circulated this weekend by … Continue reading “Boston VCs Pour Cash into Cash4Gold’s Superbowl Spot”

Millipore Buys Guava

Billerica, MA-based Millipore (NYSE: [[ticker:MIL]]), a maker of equipment for life-sciences research and pharmaceutical manufacturing, says it will acquire Guava Technologies of Hayward, CA, under an agreement announced today. Millipore says it will pay $22.6 million for Guava, which makes flow cytometry and cell assay systems, including systems for counting CD4 T-cells in HIV/AIDS patients.

Nuance Still Stalking Zi

After its last bid to acquire Calgary, Alberta-based Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZICA]]) for $0.40 per share expired on Friday, Burlington, MA-based speech technology giant Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) now says Zi has until February 13 to respond to its offer. The board at Zi, which makes software for quickly typing text into mobile devices that … Continue reading “Nuance Still Stalking Zi”

Synta Melanoma Data Coming in May

Synta, the Lexington, MA-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it has completed enrolling 630 patients in a clinical trial of its lead product candidate for melanoma that has spread through the body. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) has a goal of releasing results from the study in May. We profiled Synta’s efforts to develop this … Continue reading “Synta Melanoma Data Coming in May”

New England VCs Well Down Midas List—Oxford’s Fambrough Leads Pack

Mike Moritz, John Doerr. John Doerr, Mike Moritz. It seems like those two Silicon Valley names perennially head Forbes’ Midas List of top VCs, often taking turns in the No. 1 spot. This year (like last year, though) it’s Doerr, of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in the first position, with Moritz of Sequoia Capital … Continue reading “New England VCs Well Down Midas List—Oxford’s Fambrough Leads Pack”

Stopping Migraines Before They Hurt: NeurAxon Pursues New Pain Drug

Nobody has yet come up with a drug that can stop the pain from migraine headaches before it starts. By this time next year, the people at Waltham, MA-based NeurAxon will know if they have created the first drug that works for the roughly one-third of patients who get a serious inkling before migraines kick … Continue reading “Stopping Migraines Before They Hurt: NeurAxon Pursues New Pain Drug”

Selling in a Downturn to a Single Bidder–at Maximum Value

Faced with a slowing economy, corporate buyers will increasingly turn to unsolicited acquisition offers to fulfill strategic objectives. Armed with cash and eying attractive buying opportunities, forward-looking corporations are now pinpointing potential acquisition targets that fill specific corporate needs and will help restart growth. For many prospective sellers now may surprisingly be an advisable time … Continue reading “Selling in a Downturn to a Single Bidder–at Maximum Value”

MTTC Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference V

Our friends over at the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, led by Xconomist Abigail Barrow, always put on a great conference featuring the latest life sciences technology from state research institutions and recently formed  companies spun off from those institutions (this is the fifth year, hence the V). The presentations are fast-paced and lively, the audience … Continue reading “MTTC Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference V”

SOURCE Boston 2009

The SOURCE conferences focus on the business of computer security, from technology to business practices, through what are billed as highly interactive sessions and networking opportunities. At this year’s Boston conference, the early bird rate is being extended to anyone who attended last year, no matter when they signed up—and to anyone those people refer. … Continue reading “SOURCE Boston 2009”

Governor Patrick Tours Cambridge Innovation Center

Companies headquartered at the Cambridge Innovation Center, a rental office facility where scores of Boston-area entrepreneurs have gotten their ideas off the ground, played host to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick this afternoon. Patrick and other officials—including Massachusetts Life Sciences Center president Susan Windham-Bannister and Greg Bialicki, Patrick’s choice to replace outgoing Secretary of Housing and … Continue reading “Governor Patrick Tours Cambridge Innovation Center”

Progress Toward Winning the War on Cancer

The American Cancer Society and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, which are partnering on the “Cancer Research Challenge,”  present an afternoon seminar on opportunities to accelerate academic and industry research on cancer treatments. Keynote speakers will include Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, and Matthew Meyerson, Associate Professor of … Continue reading “Progress Toward Winning the War on Cancer”