Category: Boston

The Boston and Seattle iPhone Apps Catalog

It’s been one month to the day since Apple simultaneously released the iPhone 3G, pushed the 2.0 version of the iPhone firmware to all iPhone owners, started distributing native iPhone applications through the App Store, and launched its MobileMe communications service. Of all these changes, the most momentous, in the context of the mobile industry … Continue reading “The Boston and Seattle iPhone Apps Catalog”

An Accelerator, By Any Other Name…Does Not Smell as Sweet

Carl Weissman shook his head in disbelief when he got the e-mail. A couple years ago, the Cambridge Healthtech Institute in Massachusetts was inviting him to speak on a panel that wasn’t about how to start successful life sciences “incubators.” Instead, this discussion was about how to put together the same thing, but called a … Continue reading “An Accelerator, By Any Other Name…Does Not Smell as Sweet”

Three Ways (Times Three) for Entrepreneurs to Blow It

Nobody likes to fail. No entrepreneur or venture capitalist thinks a particular venture is going to be the one to fail. As veteran venture capitalist Bob Crowley at the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation says, “we’ve never made a bad investment; just investments that have gone bad.” If we as investors or entrepreneurs thought the odds … Continue reading “Three Ways (Times Three) for Entrepreneurs to Blow It”

A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News

New England tech firms ended last week right where the Beijing Olympics began—with a much-anticipated event timed to the lucky number eight. That, and the rest of the week’s biz-tech dealings below. —Observers have been waiting for some time now for A123 Systems—the Watertown, MA-based maker of advanced batteries whose customers include GM and Black … Continue reading “A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News”

Isis Biopolymer Inc. Secures $3,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ebaf979e-0ee3-4d2b-8646-af000ca84242&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2008 Company Name Isis Biopolymer Inc. Mailing Address 555 Jefferson Boulevard Warwick, RI 02886 Company Description Isis Biopolymer, Inc. (“Isis”) is an early stage, Rhode Island-based medical device company. Isis has developed a major advance in intelligent non-invasive drug delivery, the Isis Patch™. The Isis Patch is a personalized, single-use, … Continue reading “Isis Biopolymer Inc. Secures $3,000,000 Series A Financing”

PatientKeeper Inc. Lands $7,500,000 Series F Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b8e380f8-25e1-4d57-9415-918a52e6dcce&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2008 Company Name PatientKeeper Inc. Mailing Address 275 Washington Street Newton, MA 02458 Company Description PatientKeeper, Inc. provides physicians with software that delivers clinical and financial benefits. Only PatientKeeper is designed to support a physician through the entire day. Website http://www.patientkeeper.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,500,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “PatientKeeper Inc. Lands $7,500,000 Series F Financing Round”

CA Reaffirms that Non-Competes are Non-Starters—Will MA and WA Listen?

Updated with additional comment, see below: The arguments have been piling up against non-compete agreements here in the Bay State (and they’re not unknown in our sister city of Seattle, either). Over the past year, we’ve chronicled the debate several times, including an advance look at a debate about the debate held at the Berkman … Continue reading “CA Reaffirms that Non-Competes are Non-Starters—Will MA and WA Listen?”

NEC Snaps Up Netcracker

Netcracker Technology, a Waltham, MA, company that makes software used by telecom companies to manage order fulfillment and other operations, announced today that it will be acquired by Tokyo-based electronics and communications giant NEC. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.

A123 Systems Files for IPO Seeking Up to $175 Million (and Betting on Lucky No. 8?)

August 8, 2008. The Olympics Games begins in Beijing. A123 Systems, the Watertown, MA-based advanced battery maker with big operations in China, files for an IPO. Coincidence? Maybe not. The number 8 is considered lucky in China because it is similar to the Mandarin word for “wealth.” That’s why the opening cermony for the Olympics … Continue reading “A123 Systems Files for IPO Seeking Up to $175 Million (and Betting on Lucky No. 8?)”

In Defense of the Endangered Tree Octopus, and Other Web Myths

This March marked the 10th anniversary of the campaign to save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus from extinction. If you’re not familiar with the elusive tree octopus, it’s an arboreal cephalopod found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic National Park west of Seattle. Every spring the creatures migrate from their lairs in the forest … Continue reading “In Defense of the Endangered Tree Octopus, and Other Web Myths”

Y Combinator Model “Too Messy” for Microsoft, Says YC Founder

On Wednesday, Greg highlighted the provocative suggestion of Kevin Merritt, CEO of Seattle startup Blist, that Microsoft should return to its “risk taking, entrepreneurial roots…” by investing in early-stage startups along the lines of the Y Combinator model. By supporting the startups in return for some stock and a commitment to use Microsoft development software, … Continue reading “Y Combinator Model “Too Messy” for Microsoft, Says YC Founder”

ChosenSecurity, Inc. Receives $6,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a4533ba6-e5c2-4198-9989-63af49279f03&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2008 Company Name ChosenSecurity, Inc. Mailing Address 57 Wells Avenue Newton, MA 02459 Company Description Chosen Security, Inc. is a leading specialist for identity verification and security services, ensuring safe and secure online communication and transactions. Since 1997, the company, previously a subsidiary of GeoTrust, has offered certificates and security … Continue reading “ChosenSecurity, Inc. Receives $6,000,000 Series A Funding”

Neuron Systems Inc. Garners $8,960,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=458182fe-2818-4bf1-ae60-b0c3b5cf8cfc&Preview=1 Date 8/8/2008 Company Name Neuron Systems Inc. Mailing Address 245 First St Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description The company is a drug developer for treatment of retinal diseases. Website http://www.neuron.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,960,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “Neuron Systems Inc. Garners $8,960,000 Series A Funding Round”

Will Popcuts Out-Surrge Surrge with Music Rewards Program?

The news in TechCrunch last night about the public beta launch of Popcuts, a startup founded by Cambridge, MA- and Mountain View, CA-based Y Combinator that proposes to reward music buyers by giving them a slice of the revenue every time someone else buys a song they already bought, sounded awfully familiar. Then it came … Continue reading “Will Popcuts Out-Surrge Surrge with Music Rewards Program?”

If You Can Beat BeatThat.com’s Prices, They’ll Pay You

For many online shoppers, no sooner have they hit the “buy” button than they’re struck by angst over whether they missed out on a better deal at another site. But at BeatThat.com, a consumer electronics shopping site that emerged from beta testing yesterday, there’s less reason to worry: the site digs up the Web’s best … Continue reading “If You Can Beat BeatThat.com’s Prices, They’ll Pay You”

Amgen Looks to Biomarkers to Boost Its Batting Average in Developing New Drugs

Amgen had an epiphany of sorts a little more than four years ago. The world’s largest biotech company decided clinical trials had become too much of a crapshoot, and it needed to shake up its way of developing new drugs. This really isn’t unique to Amgen, it’s more like an industry emergency. Drug companies spent … Continue reading “Amgen Looks to Biomarkers to Boost Its Batting Average in Developing New Drugs”

Alnylam’s In the Money: Expects $500 Million in Bank at Year-End

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is building one big cash horde for a company with no moneymaking products. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said today that it expects to sign two or more “major new alliances” in the next six to 18 months, and it is now telling Wall Street it will have $500 million in cash in … Continue reading “Alnylam’s In the Money: Expects $500 Million in Bank at Year-End”

Genzyme, Isis Start Pivotal Trial for High Cholesterol

Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) and its partner, Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]), said today they have started a pivotal clinical trial for patients with a genetic disorder that causes exceptionally high levels of cholesterol. The study will enroll 100 patients in the U.S. and Canada, to take 200 milligrams of the experimental drug … Continue reading “Genzyme, Isis Start Pivotal Trial for High Cholesterol”

$15M for Tetraphase

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals of Watertown, MA, announced today that it has raised a $15 million second tranche of its $25 million Series A financing. The cash comes from Mediphase Venture Partners, CMEA Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, Flagship Ventures, and Skyline Ventures, who backed the startup when it spun out of Harvard in 2006 to develop synthetic antibiotics, … Continue reading “$15M for Tetraphase”

Verenium, BP in $90 Million Ethanol Deal

Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]), a Cambridge, MA-based biofuel firm, and BP, the United States’ largest oil and gas producer, announced a strategic partnership today under which Verenium will receive up to $90 million over the next year and a half for work on facilities producing low-cost cellulosic ethanol. Verenium controls the rights to a class of … Continue reading “Verenium, BP in $90 Million Ethanol Deal”

Alnylam’s Ebola Work Gets $7.5 Million Commitment

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) said today that the National Institutes of Health has committed $7.5 million to continue funding another year of its program to develop RNA interference technology against hemorrhagic fever virus, including the deadly Ebola virus. The Cambridge, MA-based company originally got the contract in September 2006, and has received $14.2 million for … Continue reading “Alnylam’s Ebola Work Gets $7.5 Million Commitment”

In Coda to Robotic FX Lawsuit, iRobot Introduces Its Own Version of Negotiator Robot

The last time I saw a Negotiator robot was in a federal courtroom in Boston, where Jameel Ahed—the founder and CEO of Robotic FX and the defendant in an intellectual-property-theft lawsuit brought by his former employer, iRobot—was driving the nimble little device around the judge’s bench via remote control. Robotic FX lost that suit last … Continue reading “In Coda to Robotic FX Lawsuit, iRobot Introduces Its Own Version of Negotiator Robot”

Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Program on the Rise, Biogen and Partner Fall on Tysabri News, Alnylam Stakes RNAa IP Claim, & More Life Sciences News

Last week was a mixed one for Boston-area life sciences firms—Biogen Idec got the news the market’s been dreading, while several of its neighbors announced pipeline progress. —Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and Ireland’s Elan (NYSE: [[ticker:ELN]]) took a big hit on the news that two multiple sclerosis patients taking the companies’ … Continue reading “Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Program on the Rise, Biogen and Partner Fall on Tysabri News, Alnylam Stakes RNAa IP Claim, & More Life Sciences News”

VideoSchmooze: Boston

From the event listing at Eventbrite: “Did you know Boston is the epicenter of the broadband video world, home to more exciting startups and established companies that are changing the video landscape than anywhere else in the country? Come to VideoNuze’s VideoSchmooze, the first event of its kind bringing together the executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and … Continue reading “VideoSchmooze: Boston”

Clinical Data Acquires Adenosine To Expand Drug Pipeline

Clinical Data, the Newton, MA-based maker of diagnostic tests, said today it has acquired Adenosine Therapeutics to expand its roster of drug candidates in cardiology, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and sickle cell anemia. Clinical Data (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDA]]) agreed to pay $11 million in cash for the Charlottesville, VA-based Adenosine, and also entered into a $22 million, … Continue reading “Clinical Data Acquires Adenosine To Expand Drug Pipeline”

Helicos Forms Collaboration with Uppsala University Researchers

Helicos Biosciences, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HLCS]]) the Cambridge, MA-based maker of genetic analysis tools, said today that a genomics research group at Sweden’s Uppsala University has agreed to collaborate with the company’s scientists to examine changes in the nucleus of cells when they are exposed to growth factor proteins. Separately, the company announced that a U.S. cancer … Continue reading “Helicos Forms Collaboration with Uppsala University Researchers”

Epix Secures $50 Million Capital Commitment

Epix Pharmaceuticals, the Lexington, MA-based developer of an experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease, said today that Kingsbridge Capital has committed to provide as much as $50 million of capital over the next three years through buying new shares. The actual amount raised by the company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPIX]]) will depend on the number of shares it … Continue reading “Epix Secures $50 Million Capital Commitment”

DynaTrace Takes $12.9 Million

Waltham, MA-based DynaTrace Software, whose products diagnose performance problems in large, distributed enterprise systems from companies like SAP, Microsoft, and IBM, announced today that it has closed a second round of funding totaling $12.9 million. The Series B investors included Bay Partners of Menlo Park, CA, and existing investor Bain Capital Ventures of Boston. In … Continue reading “DynaTrace Takes $12.9 Million”

RFID Kits Go On Sale at ThingMagic Store

Last week we wrote about ThingMagic’s compact new RFID reader, Astra, which is designed to fit into small spaces such as office ceilings, allowing more kinds of organizations to use RFID technology to track tagged items. This week ThingMagic is bringing out an additional set of products intended to help organizations experiment with RFID technology. … Continue reading “RFID Kits Go On Sale at ThingMagic Store”

Xerox Moves R&D Headquarters to Boston (Kind Of)—Looking to Network, Develop Green Technologies, and Hit the Airport Faster

Talk about telecommuting. As of a few weeks ago, Sophie Vandebroek has been running Xerox’s global R&D organization—comprised of the famous Palo Alto Research Center and three other centers in the U.S., France, and Canada—out of her new home office in Lincoln, MA. As chief technology officer of Norwalk, CT-based Xerox and president of its … Continue reading “Xerox Moves R&D Headquarters to Boston (Kind Of)—Looking to Network, Develop Green Technologies, and Hit the Airport Faster”

Navilyst Medical, Boston Scientific Spin-Off, Aiming to Tap Veins Without Causing Infections

Much has been written about Boston Scientific’s retrenching, in light of the decline in its business with stents, the tiny wire mesh devices that prop open clogged arteries. Now as Boston Scientific focuses on its core businesses, one of the units that has been spun off has a new name, Navilyst Medical. The company has … Continue reading “Navilyst Medical, Boston Scientific Spin-Off, Aiming to Tap Veins Without Causing Infections”

Core Security Brings Penetration Testing to Broader Market

If you’re a typical homeowner, it would probably be overkill to have a live-in plumber who spends all his time checking the pipes for leaks. But if your plumbing system were constantly getting new parts, carrying volatile new liquids, and fending off corrosive agents, it might not be such a bad idea. That’s the basic … Continue reading “Core Security Brings Penetration Testing to Broader Market”

Alnylam Obtains Intellectual Property For RNA Activation, Turning Genes On Instead of Off

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of drugs that work by inhibiting production of certain proteins, said today it has obtained key intellectual property for technology to do the opposite. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) completed exclusive license agreements with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the University of California, San Francisco, and the Salk … Continue reading “Alnylam Obtains Intellectual Property For RNA Activation, Turning Genes On Instead of Off”

Affinnova, Evolver of Consumer Products, Evolves Itself

Creating a new diet soda, deodorant, or dish soap is a notoriously chancy business: consumers are unpredictable, and experience and intuition can only get a product designer so far. But what if you could apply the power of evolution to product development—subjecting various ideas to generation after generation of Darwinian competition, with consumers themselves as … Continue reading “Affinnova, Evolver of Consumer Products, Evolves Itself”

ConforMIS Introduces Third Implant for Arthritic Knees

ConforMIS, an orthopedic device maker in Burlington, MA, said today it is introducing the third product in its line of implants designed to make knee surgery less invasive. Made to order for each patient based on data from CT or MRI scans; these implants replace only the areas of the knee showing signs of osteoarthritis. … Continue reading “ConforMIS Introduces Third Implant for Arthritic Knees”

The Solar Hype Cycle: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me

The other day the Boston Globe had a piece on solar technology coming of age in which Caltech chemistry professor Nathan Lewis stated: “We’re not in a hype cycle…If you go to Silicon Valley and around Route 128, everyone and their brother who used to make computer chips are now trying to make thin-film solar … Continue reading “The Solar Hype Cycle: Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”

Two Cleantech Firms Plan IPOs, In-Q-Tel Backs Software Security Firm, Forrester Lands JupiterResearch, & More Deals News

A pair of New England tech firms sparked up an otherwise slow summer week by announcing their intentions to go public in a market that’s scared off virtually everybody else. —Not one but two New England cleantech firms filed for IPOs. Wind-farm developer First Wind of Newton, MA, registered for an offering worth up to … Continue reading “Two Cleantech Firms Plan IPOs, In-Q-Tel Backs Software Security Firm, Forrester Lands JupiterResearch, & More Deals News”

InstallFree Lands $8,500,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=861fb121-bb48-4cf3-96fe-2b4f70a5771e&Preview=1 Date 8/4/2008 Company Name InstallFree Mailing Address 60 Long Ridge Road Stamford, CT 06902 Company Description Centrally distribute and manage clientless true virtual applications that work on locked-down computers with no limitations while maintaining complete intercommunication capabilities with virtual and non virtual resources. Website http://www.installfree.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “InstallFree Lands $8,500,000 Series B Funding Round”

Two Alternative Energy Companies Brave Anti-IPO Winds

August doldrums don’t appear to be affecting the New England clean energy industry. Two area companies—one in wind, one in solar—filed for initial public offerings with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Together the companies hope to raise three-quarters of a billion dollars—and to restore some movement to the technology IPO market, which has been … Continue reading “Two Alternative Energy Companies Brave Anti-IPO Winds”

Biogen Idec, Elan Shares Plummet on News of Two PML Cases With Tysabri

Shareholders in Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and its partner Elan are getting pounded today. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech’s shares fell 25 percent, to $52.05 at 10:11 a.m. today after it reported two new cases of a rare, often fatal brain infection called PML, among patients taking its multiple-sclerosis drug Tysabri. Shares of Ireland-based Elan (NYSE: … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Elan Shares Plummet on News of Two PML Cases With Tysabri”

Vertex Marching Ahead With Cystic Fibrosis Program

All eyes aimed at Vertex Pharmaceuticals tend to focus, understandably, on its experimental drug for hepatitis C. The Cambridge, MA-based company showed in mid-stage clinical trials that the drug, called telaprevir, could eliminate the liver-damaging virus from the blood for about twice as many patients as do standard treatments; the firm is now on a … Continue reading “Vertex Marching Ahead With Cystic Fibrosis Program”

Turn your iPhone or iPod into a Portable University

You can’t earn a college degree just by watching iPod videos (at least, not yet). But if it’s pure knowledge you’re after, there’s a veritable bounty of it available at the “iTunes University” section of Apple’s iTunes store, tuition-free. iTunes U isn’t new—Apple launched it on May 30, 2007, the same day it introduced iTunes … Continue reading “Turn your iPhone or iPod into a Portable University”

Biogen Idec, Elan Report Two New Cases of Rare Brain Infection in Tysabri Patients

Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and Ireland’s Elan reported some serious bad news this afternoon on their multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri. Two new patients taking the drug in Europe have developed the rare and often fatal brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Elan Report Two New Cases of Rare Brain Infection in Tysabri Patients”

Ampersand Wants to Add $400 Million

Wellesley, MA-based private equity firm Ampersand Ventures, which invests in pharmaceutical, medical device, manufacturing, and enterprise software companies, has embarked on fundraising for a new fund targeted at $400 million, according to a report today at PE Hub. It’s been two years since the firm raised its current $212 million fund.

Forrester Orbits, Buys Jupiter for $23M

In a merger of market research minds, Cambridge, MA-based Forrester Research (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FORR]]) announced today that it will purchase JupiterResearch and its parent company, JUPR Holdings, from MCG Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MCGC]]) for $23 million in cash, plus assumed liabilities. JupiterResearch, with 2007 revenues of roughly $14 million, has 83 employees. Forrester reported 2007 revenues … Continue reading “Forrester Orbits, Buys Jupiter for $23M”

Helicos Looking to Grow in Bay State, Thanks to Gov. Patrick’s Life Sciences Initiative

If things break right for Helicos Biosciences, president Steve Lombardi will have to make a big decision about growth. Specifically, where to build a manufacturing plant for hundreds of highly skilled people making its genetic analysis machines? To hear Lombardi tell the story, no decision has been made, but he’s leaning toward doing it in … Continue reading “Helicos Looking to Grow in Bay State, Thanks to Gov. Patrick’s Life Sciences Initiative”