Category: Boston

Biogen Idec Isn’t Sweating Possible Sale of Genentech to Roche

Big biotech news came yesterday from Basel, Switzerland, where pharmaceutical giant Roche announced an unsolicited $43.7 billion bid to buy the rest of South San Francisco-based Genentech (NYSE: [[ticker:DNA]]) that it doesn’t already own. The news has a ripple effect in Massachusetts for smaller biotechs that have partnerships with Genentech, the industry’s pioneering company. That … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Isn’t Sweating Possible Sale of Genentech to Roche”

EMC’s Flagship Document Software Wakes Up to Web 2.0

The news today out of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) is that Documentum, the company’s massive software suite for managing business content from e-mail to HR forms to press releases, is getting the beginnings of a Web 2.0 facelift, with new features such as tagging, ranking, groups, Twitter-like messaging, and a vastly improved user interface … Continue reading “EMC’s Flagship Document Software Wakes Up to Web 2.0”

At OSCON, Novell Relaunches ICEcore as Kablink

In February, Waltham, MA-based Novell acquired SiteScape, a Maynard, MA startup that had created an open-source Web conferencing platform called ICEcore. At the OSCON 2008 open source conference today in Portland, OR, Novell announced that it’s spinning off ICEcore as an independent project under a new name, Kablink. The Kablink software, which has new workflow … Continue reading “At OSCON, Novell Relaunches ICEcore as Kablink”

Philips Electronics to Move U.S. Headquarters to Massachusetts

The giant Dutch company Philips Electronics will move its North American headquarters from New York City to Andover, MA, according to reports in Andover’s Eagle Tribune and the Boston Globe. The move is expected to be announced at a press conference with representatives from Philips and governor Deval Patrick tomorrow. Philips’ healthcare division has had … Continue reading “Philips Electronics to Move U.S. Headquarters to Massachusetts”

30 Startup Ideas from Y Combinator

Fresh out of ideas for your next technology startup? No worries—investor/programmer/Web guru Paul Graham, founder of the Cambridge, MA, and Mountain View, CA-based Y Combinator startup incubator, published a handy list this weekend of 30 niches waiting to be filled by clever entrepreneurs. Graham says he published the list because the ideas represent the kind … Continue reading “30 Startup Ideas from Y Combinator”

BioEnergy International Acquires Assets of OmniGene Bioproducts

BioEnergy International, a privately-held developer of biofuels and renewable biochemicals based in Quincy, MA, said it has acquired certain assets from Cambridge, MA-based OmniGene Bioproducts. The acquisition gives BioEnergy skilled employees in molecular biology, cell biology and fermentation technology, the company said. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

Best Practices for Corporate Blogging

A Meetup meetup for people interested in how to use blogs more effectively for corporate communication. From the event description: “07:00 – 07:30 Self Introduction, exchange business cards 07:30 – 08:00 Best Practices for Corporate Blogging – Presenter: Zach Hofer-Shall, a Social Media Consultant 08:00 – Discussion, networking We are fortunate to have a social … Continue reading “Best Practices for Corporate Blogging”

SummerMash Boston

Pete Cashmore, Karen Hartline, and Brett Petersel from Mashable, one of the Web’s leading blogs on social networking and Web 2.0 technology, are doing a six-city summer tour and they’ll be at the Roxy in Boston—hosting drinks, light appetizers, and “a few surprises”—on August 5. Information here.

New England Venture Activity Picks Up Slightly in Second Quarter, but Still Nowhere Near 2007 Levels

Second-quarter venture activity in the New England region recovered somewhat after a tepid first quarter—but was still down significantly compared to the same period a year ago, according to data released over the weekend by Dow Jones VentureSource. Private equity investments by New England venture firms totaled $714 million for the quarter, a 16 percent … Continue reading “New England Venture Activity Picks Up Slightly in Second Quarter, but Still Nowhere Near 2007 Levels”

U.S. Venture Financing Down Slightly in Second Quarter; Solar Energy is One Bright Spot

Reflecting the general economic slowdown, venture investment in U.S. companies decreased moderately in the second quarter of 2008, according to reports released over the weekend by Dow Jones VentureSource, a unit of the financial news giant’s enterprise media group, and by the MoneyTree division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Total funds shelled out by venture firms in the … Continue reading “U.S. Venture Financing Down Slightly in Second Quarter; Solar Energy is One Bright Spot”

Web Innovators Group 19

The latest incarnation of David Beisel’s festival of pre-venture-funded startups. Main dish presenters: Givvy – John Treadway Brring – Rob Carney Pixily – Prasad Thammineni, Vikram Kumar, Anand Rajaram Side dish presenters: TuneRooms – Matt Falkowski, Kevin Gardiner, Erik Symonds PeopleAhead – Thomas Chevalier, Carlos Larracilla JobVent – Craig Spitzkoff VendorCity – JC Cameron OpenVote … Continue reading “Web Innovators Group 19”

Yet Another $1 Billion for Evergreen Solar, Alnylam and Novartis Extend Alliance, & More Deals

I’m running out of “green” jokes to use in headlines describing the steady march of cash toward Evergreen Solar’s coffers. The latest example of that, plus a surprising number and variety of venture financings and other deals for one summer week, below. —Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ESLR]]) announced yet another large, long-term order for the photovoltaic … Continue reading “Yet Another $1 Billion for Evergreen Solar, Alnylam and Novartis Extend Alliance, & More Deals”

Massachusetts Global Warming Legislation: Economic Drag or Stimulant?

In case anyone didn’t get the memo, energy prices are going up. This trend will most likely continue for two very simple reasons: Worldwide energy demand is rising, and global fossil fuel supplies are tightening. Add to this the need for critical action on the part of all nations to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) … Continue reading “Massachusetts Global Warming Legislation: Economic Drag or Stimulant?”

CambridgeSoft Corporation Receives $21,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3833d33f-7898-45fa-a824-c8770568de86&Preview=1 Date 7/21/2008 Company Name CambridgeSoft Corporation Mailing Address 100 CambridgePark Drive Cambridge, ME 02140 Company Description CambridgeSoft’s products are used primarily in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries, as well as in higher education and in academic and government research. The company’s principal software offering, Chem & Bio Office, which includes … Continue reading “CambridgeSoft Corporation Receives $21,000,000 New Financing Round”

It’s Easy Being Green: Seattle Is Greenest City, Oregon Is Greenest State; Massachusetts and Washington #2 and #4

In terms of eco-friendliness, the Pacific Northwest and New England—Xconomy’s two homes—are both sitting pretty. In terms of education, however, one of them is not. That’s according to the 2008 Business Facilities rankings report, released this week. The annual survey, which compares different business environments around the country, ranks cities and states based on everything … Continue reading “It’s Easy Being Green: Seattle Is Greenest City, Oregon Is Greenest State; Massachusetts and Washington #2 and #4”

Theragenics Knits Up Needletech Deal

Attleboro, MA-based Needletech Products, which manufactures needles used for range of medical procedures such as core biopsies, aspiration biopsies, and spinal anesthesia, has agreed to be purchased by Buford, GA-based medical device maker Theragenics (NYSE: [[ticker:TGX]]) for $47.8 million in cash, Theragenics reported this week. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter … Continue reading “Theragenics Knits Up Needletech Deal”

ConnectEDU Connects with PrepHeadquarters

Boston-based ConnectEDU, which provides online tools to help high school students, parents, and counselors manage the college admissions process, announced yesterday that it has acquired competitor PrepHeadquarters, a Chicago-based startup whose online services help counselors communicate with students and parents and track student progress. The terms of the acquisition, which will extend ConnectEDU’s network to … Continue reading “ConnectEDU Connects with PrepHeadquarters”

Can Evernote Make You into a Digital Leonardo?

Historians believe that Leonardo da Vinci—one of my biggest heroes, if you hadn’t already guessed by reading my columns—filled about 30,000 notebook pages with his drawings, diagrams, discourses, and doodles. Only about 6,000 of those pages survive today, but what wondrous pages they are. Martin Kemp, a leading Leonardo biographer and visual historian at Oxford … Continue reading “Can Evernote Make You into a Digital Leonardo?”

RXi Takes a Untraditional Route to the Public Market, Now Working To Get Pharma to Pay The Bills

Tod Woolf’s company, RXi Pharmaceuticals, has a lot of things going for it. The CEO’s old Harvard classmate—and Nobel Prize winner—Craig Mello leads his scientific advisory board, and the company has technology, RNA interference, that big drugmakers are paying big bucks for. So could this startup make it through a traditional initial public offering in … Continue reading “RXi Takes a Untraditional Route to the Public Market, Now Working To Get Pharma to Pay The Bills”

Elementary, My Dear Video: Elemental Technologies Raises $7.1 Million, Goes After Media Conversion Market

Everyone knows that Internet video is taking off. With the popularity of YouTube, online TV shows, and other video sites, the market seems to be ready. But now there are plenty of new problems to be solved on the technology and business side, from content delivery and coding to search and advertising. And the companies … Continue reading “Elementary, My Dear Video: Elemental Technologies Raises $7.1 Million, Goes After Media Conversion Market”

Peptimmune Picks Up $8.9M

Peptimmune has finished an $8.9 million second close of its Series D financing, the Cambridge, MA-based firm announced today. The funding, led by New Enterprise Associates, MPM Capital, Hunt Ventures, Boston Medical Investors, and Silicon Valley Bank Capital, will be used to further development of Peptimmune’s treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Tyco Secures Surveillance-Video-Analysis Firm Intellivid

Tyco International, the Bermuda-based conglomerate focused on safety and security technologies, said today that it has acquired Intellivid, a venture-backed startup in Cambridge, MA, that makes software for analyzing digital video from in-store security cameras. As a result of the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, Intellivid will be folded into Tyco’s American … Continue reading “Tyco Secures Surveillance-Video-Analysis Firm Intellivid”

BG Medicine Raises $40M

BG Medicine, a molecular diagnostics firm in Waltham, MA, announced today that it has closed a Series D financing round worth $40 million. Legg Mason Capital Management, GE Asset Management, and SMALLCAP World Fund, participated, as did existing investors Flagship Ventures, Gilde Healthcare Partners, Humana, Stelios Papadopoulos. BG pulled a planned IPO back in January; … Continue reading “BG Medicine Raises $40M”

Genzyme, PTC Therapeutics Form Collaboration on Drug For Genetic Diseases

Genzyme has struck another big drug development partnership, this time with PTC Therapeutics, a privately-held biotech in South Plainfield, NJ. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]), the world’s largest maker of drugs for rare genetic disorders, is paying $100 million in upfront cash, plus milestone payments and royalties for the right to co-develop and co-market … Continue reading “Genzyme, PTC Therapeutics Form Collaboration on Drug For Genetic Diseases”

Genzyme Reaching For a Slice From Biogen’s Breadbasket, Multiple Sclerosis Drugs

If Genzyme gets its way, it will be eating Biogen Idec’s lunch in a few more years. The two Cambridge, MA-based companies, the largest independent biotechs in the state, could be duking it out with competing multiple sclerosis treatments, in a market worth an estimated $8 billion to $9 billion annually by 2011. It would … Continue reading “Genzyme Reaching For a Slice From Biogen’s Breadbasket, Multiple Sclerosis Drugs”

Bluefin Sells Sub to Horizon Marine, Competes with iRobot for Big Navy Contract

Greg told you last month about Bedford, MA-based iRobot’s collaboration with the University of Washington to turn its Seaglider undersea robot into a commercial product. Not to be outdone, Cambridge, MA-based Bluefin Robotics announced this week that it has received its first commercial contract for a similar autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the Spray Glider. And … Continue reading “Bluefin Sells Sub to Horizon Marine, Competes with iRobot for Big Navy Contract”

BG Medicine, Inc. Obtains $40,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f0ad714-20b4-4621-ac80-2cbd26cfe906&Preview=1 Date 7/17/2008 Company Name BG Medicine, Inc. Mailing Address 610 Lincoln Street North Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description BG Medicine is a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel molecular diagnostics based on biomarkers to improve patient outcomes and contain healthcare costs. Our technology platform uniquely … Continue reading “BG Medicine, Inc. Obtains $40,000,000 Series D Financing”

Tyco International Ltd. Acquires IntelliVid Corporation for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=abfe71b6-3f79-4cba-8485-f6b1975ef848&Preview=1 Date 7/17/2008 Company Name IntelliVid Corporation Mailing Address 10 Fawcett Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description IntelliVid’s mission is to enable organizations to use video in ways never thought possible to enhance profits, prevent loss and create a safer environment for their employees and customers. Website http://www.intellivid.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction … Continue reading “Tyco International Ltd. Acquires IntelliVid Corporation for Undisclosed Sum”

Allied Minds Backs Precision Biopsy

Boston-based investment firm Allied Minds has founded a new medical device company, Precision Biopsy, in cooperation with the University of Colorado. The new firm is developing an “optical” biopsy needle for diagnosing prostate cancer; the device uses spectroscopy to differentiate between normal and malignant tissue in real-time. Allied Minds specializes in very early-stage investments in … Continue reading “Allied Minds Backs Precision Biopsy”

Wakonda Raises $9.5 Million for New Solar Cell Technology, Relocates to Medford

Rochester Institute of Technology spinoff Wakonda Technologies will use a $9.5 million Series A venture round announced today to pursue a new technique for manufacturing photovoltaic cells that are more efficient but cost less than mass-market solar cells. Backers for the startup, which is moving from New York state to Medford, MA, include Advanced Technology … Continue reading “Wakonda Raises $9.5 Million for New Solar Cell Technology, Relocates to Medford”

Art Technology Group Co-Founder Jeet Singh Releases Third Album

Everybody running a startup must wonder from time to time what it would be like to leave it all behind and live on a balmy Caribbean island. And if you want to know what it sounds like, check out Supersaturated, the just-released third album from Jeet “Miki” Singh, co-founder of Art Technology Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARTG]]). … Continue reading “Art Technology Group Co-Founder Jeet Singh Releases Third Album”

Vericept Closes New Financing

Waltham, MA-based Vericept, a provider of so-called data leakage prevention (DLP) products, announced it has closed a financing of up to $8 million. The deal was led by Sigma Partners, according to Vericept, which provides more that 800 companies and organizations with tools to aid compliance and protect against data breaches.

Alnylam, Novartis Extend RNA Interference Collaboration

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, the developer of drugs using RNA interference technology, said today that Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company Novartis has chosen to extend their RNAi collaboration another year, through October 2009. The partnership, worth as much as $700 million to Alnylam if certain development milestones are met, was first struck in 2005. Under the deal, Novartis (NYSE: … Continue reading “Alnylam, Novartis Extend RNA Interference Collaboration”

MIT and Startup Sue Affymetrix, Enlight Garners Big Pharma Backers, Genocea Targets Cheaper Vaccines, & More Life Sciences News

Perhaps nostalgic for his days poring through the documents in the iRobot case, Bob uncovered what could wind up being a doozy of a patent dispute—this time involving gene chips rather than battle bots. Here’s that, and the rest of the week’s life sciences news. —MIT and E8 Pharmaceuticals—a startup founded by MIT and Harvard … Continue reading “MIT and Startup Sue Affymetrix, Enlight Garners Big Pharma Backers, Genocea Targets Cheaper Vaccines, & More Life Sciences News”

Predictive Biosciences Hires New Chiefs for Finance, Medicine

Predictive Biosciences, a privately held maker of diagnostic tests for cancer, said today it has hired Ellen Sheets to become its first chief medical officer, and Vikram Lamba as its chief financial officer. Sheets is joining the Lexington, MA-based startup after holding the same position at Bedford, MA-based Hologic (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HOLX]]), a company which specializes … Continue reading “Predictive Biosciences Hires New Chiefs for Finance, Medicine”

Cortria Hires CEO Grau To Develop Heart Drugs That Won’t Make You Red in the Face

Cortria thinks it has discovered a way to get the heart benefits of niacin drugs without the embarrassing side effect of making patients red in the face. If it’s right, the Boston-based company might have a drug that can be taken alongside statins, the multi-billion dollar cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by millions of people in the … Continue reading “Cortria Hires CEO Grau To Develop Heart Drugs That Won’t Make You Red in the Face”

EMC’s Iomega and Mozy Divisions Offer Combined Desktop and Cloud-Based Backup

As Bob observed in a March story, EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based information infrastructure and content management firm, is very good at acquiring companies whose technologies fit with its existing technology architecture. But it isn’t so well known for actually melding the technologies from various acquisitions into new products. VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]), for example, … Continue reading “EMC’s Iomega and Mozy Divisions Offer Combined Desktop and Cloud-Based Backup”

Eleme Medical Secures $18,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=35bb071d-3088-4d8e-9b44-0f3bfcb43d0e&Preview=1 Date 7/16/2008 Company Name Eleme Medical Mailing Address 10 Al Paul Lane Merrimack, NH 03054 Company Description Elemé Medical™ is an emerging, privately funded aesthetics company. The Company’s SmoothShapes™ System is a painless, non-invasive laser-based system indicated for the temporary improvement in the appearance of cellulite. Website http://www.elememedical.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Eleme Medical Secures $18,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

Wakonda Technologies Lands $9,500,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fbd2c7ca-b9fd-456c-bd1c-7cc0a7fbe6c5&Preview=1 Date 7/16/2008 Company Name Wakonda Technologies Mailing Address 800 Boylston Street Boston, ME 02199 Company Description Wakonda Technologies is developing proprietary solar electric technology that is more efficient than crystalline silicon and lower in cost than thin film alternatives. Website http://www.wakondatech.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,500,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Wakonda Technologies Lands $9,500,000 Series A Funding Round”

Collegium Collects $20 Million in Venture Round, Led by Frazier

Collegium Pharmaceutical just got some capital that may make it more difficult for people to abuse narcotic pain medicines. The specialty drugmaker based in Cumberland, RI, said today it raised $20 million in a fourth-round venture financing. Seattle-based Frazier Healthcare Ventures led the investment, which included previous investors Boston Millennia Partners and Westfield Capital Management. … Continue reading “Collegium Collects $20 Million in Venture Round, Led by Frazier”

3Com-Realtek Settlement Replaced by $70 Million Licensing Agreement

Marlborough, MA-based 3Com and Realtek Semiconductor Corporation of Hsinchu, Taiwan, said yesterday that they’ve resolved a longstanding patent dispute over Realtek network controller chips that 3Com claimed appropriated aspects of its parallel processing technology. 3Com won a $45.3 million judgment against Realtek in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in April, … Continue reading “3Com-Realtek Settlement Replaced by $70 Million Licensing Agreement”

Even More Greenbacks for Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ESLR]]) of Marlborough, MA, seems to have struck the right tune with its customers. Today the company announced yet another long-term order for its photovoltaic solar panels, this time from German-based IBC Solar. The order, worth $1.2 billion, brings Evergreen’s total contractual backlog to nearly $3 billion. “This contract represents the single … Continue reading “Even More Greenbacks for Evergreen Solar”

Lycos Introduces Drag-and-Drop “Web 2.0 Publishing for the Masses”

Back in May we wrote about the re-launch of Lycos Cinema, which Waltham, MA-based Lycos had tricked out with a new chat interface that lets up to 10 friends in different locations watch and comment on the same movie simultaneously. It turns out that was just the first step in a multi-part strategy to reinvent … Continue reading “Lycos Introduces Drag-and-Drop “Web 2.0 Publishing for the Masses””

T2 Biosystems Diagnostic Holds Its Own In Comparison Against Hospital Tool

T2 Biosystems is putting some punch in a very small package. The company has gotten some early validation for its 8-pound prototype medical diagnostics machine, through a paper published last week in Nature Medicine, which says the T2 instrument performed on par with hefty hospital-based diagnostic tools that are the size of a chest of … Continue reading “T2 Biosystems Diagnostic Holds Its Own In Comparison Against Hospital Tool”

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Raises Another $8.4 Million for Next-Generation RNAi

Investors apparently can’t get enough of RNA interference. Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held developer of RNAi drugs in Cambridge, MA, has raised $8.4 million to cap off a first-round venture financing totaling $21.4 million. Dicerna attracted the newest cash from Abingworth, as well as additional funds from Oxford Bioscience Partners and Skyline Ventures, who seeded the … Continue reading “Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Raises Another $8.4 Million for Next-Generation RNAi”

Massachusetts Experts Expect Job Losses in Manufacturing Sector to Level Off, Possibly Reverse

For more than 60 years, the number of jobs in manufacturing has been on the decline in Massachusetts. But that trend is finally at an end, say the authors of a new report, Staying Power: The Future of Manufacturing in Massachusetts. The large employment losses are over because most of the firms that couldn’t survive … Continue reading “Massachusetts Experts Expect Job Losses in Manufacturing Sector to Level Off, Possibly Reverse”