Category: Boston

Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care

It’s got advisors like Bob Langer and Judah Folkman, a particularly innovative strategy, and more than 15 years of research behind it. But Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences is starting out by trying to be as small as it possibly can be. With just $10 million in initial financing, and that all tied to strict milestones, … Continue reading “Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care”

Think “Local”—New MIT Media Center To Build Tools to Foster Civic Engagement

You don’t have to look far to find signs that participation in local communities is on the decline in the United States. In one obvious example, overall voter turnout in local elections is at a low ebb: according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts survey only 26 percent of Americans aged 18 to 25 claim … Continue reading “Think “Local”—New MIT Media Center To Build Tools to Foster Civic Engagement”

Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc

In a move that will create one of the largest life sciences companies in Massachusetts, shareholders of both Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) and Cytyc (NASDAQ: CYTC) today approved Bedford, MA-based Hologic’s $6.2 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of the Marlborough diagnostics and device maker. The match seems a good one. When it was announced in May, analysts were … Continue reading “Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc”

Starbucks Taps Akamai to Support “Now Playing” Service; Our Feelings Still Hurt

I can’t decide if I think this is a further snub, or a subtle attempt to make amends. Last month, when Apple and Starbucks unveiled their “Now Playing” service—which lets iPhone- and laptop-wielding Starbucks customers wirelessly purchase whatever song happens to be playing in the coffee shop via iTunes—Wade vented his venti frustration over the … Continue reading “Starbucks Taps Akamai to Support “Now Playing” Service; Our Feelings Still Hurt”

The Boston-China Biopharma Connection

The Great Bubble is dead and gone, but like Elvis it’s still occasionally sighted. Daytraders, for instance, could have sworn it was gyrating across their screens when WuXi PharmaTech recently went public. The Shanghai-based company leaped onto the Big Board on August 9 after pricing its shares at $14 each. The stock quickly rose by … Continue reading “The Boston-China Biopharma Connection”

FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling”

Ouch. After years of waiting for the good news that would push its test into the mainstream, Exact Sciences instead just got a warning letter from the FDA. It could just be a temporary setback, but it means Marlborough, MA-based Exact (NASDAQ: EXAS) needs to have its ducks in a row to negotiate this critical … Continue reading “FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling””

Why EMC Bought Mozy: A Leading Exec Provides More Insight

It’s Mozy’s subscription-service business model and the opportunity it provides for EMC to extend its corporate customer base—not access to the consumer market for which Mozy is best known—that was the primary motivation for EMC (NYSE: EMC) to purchase the online backup service earlier this month. That was the upshot of a conversation I had … Continue reading “Why EMC Bought Mozy: A Leading Exec Provides More Insight”

Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology

It’s one of Boston’s best-kept secrets, but the city is a mecca—perhaps the mecca—for entrepreneurs who understand both music and technology. As Xconomy has spun up over the last three-and-a-half months, we’ve been intrigued to learn about one company after another that specializes either in music production and distribution or in helping musicians network with … Continue reading “Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology”

Army Asks for $8.8 Million Worth of IRobot’s PackBots; Order Part of Existing Contract

Burlington, MA’s iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced this morning that it had received a U.S. Army order worth $8.8 million to deliver 40 of its PackBot robots, plus equipment and spare parts. The order was made on behalf of the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Redstone Arsenal—the same office that spearheaded the recent X-Bot competition … Continue reading “Army Asks for $8.8 Million Worth of IRobot’s PackBots; Order Part of Existing Contract”

Cubist Takes Option to Acquire Illumigen

Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals announced it will pay $4.7 million, plus another $1 million in research and operating costs, for an exclusive option to buy Seattle’s Illumigen Biosciences. Illumigen’s lead compound is a protein-based treatment for hepatitis C. If Cubist exercises its option it will pay $9 million upfront, plus development and regulatory milestone payments … Continue reading “Cubist Takes Option to Acquire Illumigen”

SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too

Talk about a colorful past. Spun out of a blood-collection business shortly after 9/11, SeraCare Life Sciences saw its fortunes skyrocket and then crash spectacularly. Now, just a few months after emerging from bankruptcy, things are a lot quieter. The biggest change at the company is a new “emphasis on quality and integrity” says CFO … Continue reading “SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too”

Woburn Startup Extrudes Diesel Filters Like Pasta; The Way to Cleaner Cars?

What’s the common thread between the space shuttle’s thermal tiles, log-cabin mansions in Aspen, Play-Doh, pasta makers, and diesel engines? There is one—really—but to find out what it is, you have to pay a visit to GEO2 Technologies in Woburn. The clean-energy startup has turned an industrial warehouse just off I-95 into a giant kitchen-laboratory, … Continue reading “Woburn Startup Extrudes Diesel Filters Like Pasta; The Way to Cleaner Cars?”

Genzyme Rises on Promising Campath Data and (or) Takeover Speculation

(Updated at 5:50 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 15) It was a down day for the market, but Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) shares had a nice pop on news that the company’s leukemia drug Campath had proven more effective in a Phase 2 trial than a Merck drug as a treatment for multiple sclerosis—and speculation that with … Continue reading “Genzyme Rises on Promising Campath Data and (or) Takeover Speculation”

Hologic Faces Lawsuit, OLPC Chooses a Distributor, Point Therapeutics Agrees to a Reverse Merger, and More

While we were up to our ears in court documents from iRobot and Genzyme, a whole lot of other stuff was happening in New England technology circles. —With a vote on its proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Marlborough, MA’s Cytyc (NASDAQ: CYCT) slated for this Thursday, Bedford-based diagnostics and imaging firm Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) is … Continue reading “Hologic Faces Lawsuit, OLPC Chooses a Distributor, Point Therapeutics Agrees to a Reverse Merger, and More”

Icahn Offered $23 Billion for Biogen Idec—Elan Won’t Block Sale

Carl Icahn has offered $23 billion for Biogen Idec and believes that would be a good value; meanwhile Biogen partner Elan said it would not stand in the way of the sale, Bloomberg reported this morning. In the wake of Friday’s announcement that Biogen would consider selling under the right terms, Icahn is giving out … Continue reading “Icahn Offered $23 Billion for Biogen Idec—Elan Won’t Block Sale”

What’s Wrong With Energy Investing? Part II

I had the good fortune to receive a substantial amount of feedback on my first post on this subject a few weeks ago. The feedback was productive and helped to clarify key points and in general reinforced my conviction laid out in the Part I entry. In that article, I advanced the idea that while … Continue reading “What’s Wrong With Energy Investing? Part II”

“Dear Your Honor”—Some Legal Maneuverings from the iRobot-Robotic FX Files

In the course of following the mesmerizing courtroom drama of the iRobot-Robotic FX case it’s become part of our daily routine to check for new legal filings—a habit that’s grown even stronger as we wait for a decision on whether a preliminary injunction will be issued against Robotic FX. (And when we forget, our faithful … Continue reading ““Dear Your Honor”—Some Legal Maneuverings from the iRobot-Robotic FX Files”

The WPI Robotics Symposium: Engineering the Revolution

The robots are already here, but they’re coming in ever-greater numbers. WPI is holding this half-day-plus symposium to mark the launch of its new degree program in Robotics Engineering, which it says is the first such program in the country. One panel features legendary inventor Dean Kamen and Helen Greiner, co-founder and chair of iRobot … Continue reading “The WPI Robotics Symposium: Engineering the Revolution”

Biogen Idec on the Block; Icahn’s Interest in Buying the Firm Confirmed

After months of speculation that it might be an acquisition target, Cambridge biotech giant Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced this evening that it is, indeed, evaluating the possibility of a sale. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn was among an unspecified number of third parties from whom Biogen has received “expressions of interest,” the company said in … Continue reading “Biogen Idec on the Block; Icahn’s Interest in Buying the Firm Confirmed”

VMware: The Stock That Won’t Stop

The virtualization software made by VMware (NYSE: VMW) and competitors like Microsoft, Virtual Iron, and XenSource is all about hiding the details: it can make a single computer server run multiple applications on multiple operating systems, or it can make multiple computer servers look like a single server running a single application. How many machines … Continue reading “VMware: The Stock That Won’t Stop”

Bay State Led in Venture Funds Raised in First Three Quarters

The money has been flowing in the Bay State. Massachusetts venture capital firms raised $6.6 billion in the first nine months of this year, the most of any state in the nation, according to data released yesterday by Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. The total for Massachusetts firms—which between them closed 18 venture funds during … Continue reading “Bay State Led in Venture Funds Raised in First Three Quarters”

Kiva’s Robots Bring New Meaning to Movable Shelves

News coming across the wire yesterday from Kiva Systems in Woburn caught my eye. Not so much for the news itself, which is about a routine corporate partnership, but because I had just learned about the company’s incredibly cool little robots the night before. Kiva is the best kind of startup: one built around soothing … Continue reading “Kiva’s Robots Bring New Meaning to Movable Shelves”

Xcellerex Raises $31 Million in a New Round of Venture Financing; Aims to Accelerate Biologics Production

Biomanufacturing of vaccines, protein-based drugs, and other biomolecules is a notoriously tricky endeavor—especially when it comes to scaling up production—so it would stand to reason that commercializing technology to simplify the process would be an attractive business model. That logic seems to be holding true for Marlborough, MA’s Xcellerex, which announced today that it has … Continue reading “Xcellerex Raises $31 Million in a New Round of Venture Financing; Aims to Accelerate Biologics Production”

STEM Summit IV: Accelerating Forward

No, this isn’t another stem-cell conference. It’s a forum for leaders of K-12 and higher education institutions, businesses, community groups, and state and local policy makers to discuss the state of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Massachusetts. The state isn’t graduating enough students to fill the open STEM workforce positions, and the … Continue reading “STEM Summit IV: Accelerating Forward”

What Does It Take to Build a Billion-Dollar Company in New England?

It was only slightly colder in Vermont than in Boston. A small group of us had just flown in to Rutland, then taken a minivan to The Equinox, an historic resort in the picturesque town of Manchester Village. The group included well-known Boston area entrepreneur and Sycamore Networks co-founder Desh Deshpande; Jerry Fishman, CEO of … Continue reading “What Does It Take to Build a Billion-Dollar Company in New England?”

EnjoyMyMedia Launches with New Video, Scanning Features

Back in August we wrote about Concord, MA-based EnjoyMyMedia, which was beta-testing a system it’s positioning as everyman’s media-sharing technology. The company describes itself as a mini-TV network; at its site, you can download a program that lets you turn any folder on your computer into a “transmitter” that will “broadcast” any file you put … Continue reading “EnjoyMyMedia Launches with New Video, Scanning Features”

Xcellerex, Inc. Secures $31,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6b79608f-e83c-48cb-942f-c2003e45e456&Preview=1 Date 10/11/2007 Company Name Xcellerex, Inc. Mailing Address 170 Locke Drive Marlborough, MA 01752 Company Description Xcellerex is revolutionizing the way biomolecules are developed, manufactured and commercialized. Xcellerex is built around a unique biomanufacturing platform that features the innovative application of single-use component technology. Website http://www.xcellerex.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Xcellerex, Inc. Secures $31,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

Glaxo Grabs Synta Melanoma Drug in Deal Worth up to $1.1 Billion

Yes, that’s $1.1 billion. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) leapt at STA-4783 just a couple of weeks after Lexington, MA-based Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNTA) presented some promising news about the experimental drug at a European cancer meeting. Adding STA-4783 to standard chemotherapy more than doubled the survival time in a Phase 2b trial in patients with metastatic … Continue reading “Glaxo Grabs Synta Melanoma Drug in Deal Worth up to $1.1 Billion”

Targanta Stumbles As Stock Begins Trading

Cambridge biopharmaceutical company Targanta Therapeutics staggered out of the blocks as its stock made its public debut today. The company (NASDAQ: TARG), which is focused on developing antibiotics to combat serious infections, opened at $10 per share and at just before 2:30 p.m. was limping along at $9.51 (down about 5 percent), not too far … Continue reading “Targanta Stumbles As Stock Begins Trading”

Genzyme and Bioenvision Win Court’s Permission to Reopen Voting on Troubled Merger Agreement

Am I the only one here who’s having disturbing flashbacks to November 2000? Remember those long weeks when otherwise rational people were driven to distraction trying to find an answer to the once seemingly simple question of who won the vote? We’ve been following Genzyme’s troubled bid to acquire New York-based Bioenvision for months now … Continue reading “Genzyme and Bioenvision Win Court’s Permission to Reopen Voting on Troubled Merger Agreement”

MIT $100K Competition, Ignite Clean Energy Prize Will Combine Resources

The leaders of two major New England business competitions announced today they will join forces and create a new prize to encourage faster development of the region’s clean-energy sector. Clark Waterfall, chair of the three-year-old Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition (ICE), and Jeffrey Sabados, lead organizer this year for the 18-year-old MIT $100K Entrepreneurship … Continue reading “MIT $100K Competition, Ignite Clean Energy Prize Will Combine Resources”

Bug Labs: The Open-Source Hardware Store

“We want to replace consumer electronics with community electronics.” That’s the kind of cocktail conversation we tech bloggers can’t pass up. And when I heard it from one of the folks at the bar last night, I knew I had stumbled into the right place—the Bug Labs happy hour at the Middlesex Lounge just off … Continue reading “Bug Labs: The Open-Source Hardware Store”

IRobot-Robotic FX Backgrounder: As A Key Ruling Nears, An Attempt to Clear Up Some Questions About the Case

Heat knife. Hot-plate device. Welding tool. Welding fixture. What exactly was found in the dumpster? What exactly did Jameel Ahed admit to throwing out, and what does he say might be planted? What was the point of iRobot program manager Tom Frost’s testimony? What are the main issues before the judge? I spent part of … Continue reading “IRobot-Robotic FX Backgrounder: As A Key Ruling Nears, An Attempt to Clear Up Some Questions About the Case”

MIT $100K: Elevator Pitch Contest

MIT $100K entrepreneurship competition recognizes that great ideas need to be completed by great team for successful ventures. With the Elevator Pitch Contest, the brand-new addition to the $100K competition series, inventors can test their ideas with passion during a 60-second pitch and be rewarded by eight $1000 prizes, including the soon-to-be famous “crowd favorite,” … Continue reading “MIT $100K: Elevator Pitch Contest”

Clean Perspectives: Moving Towards a Solar Economy in MA

Clean Perspectives is a series of fireside chats / networking events bringing together politicians, investors, entrepreneurs, and policy experts to discuss their visions for the future and answer questions from the community at large on Cleantech. This month’s panel will discuss technology and policy innovations on the road to a solar economy in Massachusetts. www.cleanperspectives.com

Eye-Popping $37M Financing Fuels Great Start for Optherion

The market for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatments is expected to balloon over the next few years as the population gets older, and plenty of people think there’s room for some billion dollar drugs there. After all, the disease is one of the main causes of blindness in older adults. That fact helped New Haven-based … Continue reading “Eye-Popping $37M Financing Fuels Great Start for Optherion”

Akamai Rolls Out Service to Speed Internet-based Applications

Cambridge-based Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) is famous for building a global network of Web servers that cache clients’ content closer to users, speeding delivery of popular videos and other information. In the last two years, Akamai has built on that network to help speed all kinds of Web traffic, including the information exchanged via Web-based software … Continue reading “Akamai Rolls Out Service to Speed Internet-based Applications”

The Integration of Engineering and Cancer Biology

This morning, MIT announced the creation of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. David Koch, a co-owner of Koch Industries with his brother Charles (both are graduates of MIT), made a very generous gift to the university to establish the new Institute. The word “Integrative” in the name of the Koch Institute … Continue reading “The Integration of Engineering and Cancer Biology”

A Visit to Boston’s Own Robot-Plane Skunk Works

Unbeknownst to the lunch crowds who fill the streets around the Cambridge Marriott every weekday, Kendall Square has its very own Area 51: a mini-aircraft hangar on the fourteenth floor of One Broadway. Part of the newly opened R&D outpost of Manassas, VA-based Aurora Flight Sciences, the space is used to test unpiloted machines such … Continue reading “A Visit to Boston’s Own Robot-Plane Skunk Works”

The Great Elevator Pitch Competition: You Have 60 Seconds to Convince Me to Give You a Million Dollars (or $10 Million)

It was a good crowd, probably close to 130 people, that piled into Kirsch Auditorium at MIT’s Stata Center on Monday night. Four brave students were there to stand in front of them, each with only 60 seconds to pitch their business idea. Talk about pressure. And to add to their angst, the students had … Continue reading “The Great Elevator Pitch Competition: You Have 60 Seconds to Convince Me to Give You a Million Dollars (or $10 Million)”

AT&T Goes Shopping in MA, Adobe Does Same, Memsic Files for an IPO, and More

What better way to spend a holiday Monday than catching up on last week’s news? Here are the highlights: —In acquisition news, AT&T announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Cambridge, MA-based Interwise for roughly $121 million in cash. Interwise offers voice, Web, and video conferencing services on a fixed price/unlimited usage basis. The … Continue reading “AT&T Goes Shopping in MA, Adobe Does Same, Memsic Files for an IPO, and More”

Still No Conclusion to Genzyme-Bioenvision Saga

A special meeting of Bioenvision shareholders, continued from yesterday, was adjourned once again this afternoon with no final word on whether or not the shareholders had approved Genzyme’s bid to acquire the New York-based biotech. The meeting was originally convened yesterday so that Bioenvision (NASDAQ: BIVN) shareholders could vote on Cambridge-based Genzyme’s (NASDAQ: GENZ) much-debated … Continue reading “Still No Conclusion to Genzyme-Bioenvision Saga”

More Boston-Area Companies Join Facebook Bandwagon

Two more local Web companies announced this week that they’ve created applications for Facebook, the phenomenally popular social-networking site that’s seemingly on a mission to become an open-but-proprietary replacement for the World Wide Web. One company is Framingham, MA-based Nimbit, which offers a range of online services to independent musicians, including the Nimbit Online Merch … Continue reading “More Boston-Area Companies Join Facebook Bandwagon”

MyPunchbowl, the Web 2.0 Route to Planning Your Next Party, Closes Seed Round

If you grew up on reruns of the Mary Tyler Moore show, as I did, you might remember the running joke about Mary’s parties, which always turned into disasters. Well, if Mary had had a tool like MyPunchbowl, she might have had better luck. This quintessential Web 2.0 service, launched in January by Natick, MA-based … Continue reading “MyPunchbowl, the Web 2.0 Route to Planning Your Next Party, Closes Seed Round”

TetraPhase Aims to Fill the Antibiotic Pipeline—and its Executive Office

TetraPhase Pharmaceuticals, spun out of Harvard in 2006 with $25 million to develop synthetic antibiotics, reached an important corporate milestone last week: the company had its first paintball outing. Though still a startup, with 14 people in its Watertown, MA, headquarters off Arsenal Street (just behind the AutoZone), the company went through the corporate team-building … Continue reading “TetraPhase Aims to Fill the Antibiotic Pipeline—and its Executive Office”

Genzyme Takeover Bid for Bioenvision Still Alive as Special Session Adjourns For the Day

With the vote on Genzyme’s takeover bid seemingly far closer than expected, shareholders of New York-based Bioenvision adjourned a special meeting today, the company announced this afternoon. The session will resume tomorrow with the outcome apparently too close to call. At issue is Cambridge-based Genzyme’s (NASDAQ: GENZ) $5.60-per-share offering price for Bioenvision (NASDAQ: BIVN). That … Continue reading “Genzyme Takeover Bid for Bioenvision Still Alive as Special Session Adjourns For the Day”

EMC Confirms Its Rumored Acquisition of Mozy, Will Keep Consumer Backup Service

EMC today confirmed the widely reported speculation that it had acquired privately held Utah-based Berkeley Data Systems, which operates the online-backup service Mozy. Terms of the deal were not announced. However, last month the tech blog TechCrunch broke the news of the impending acquisition and pegged the price at $76 million. Mozy is a nice … Continue reading “EMC Confirms Its Rumored Acquisition of Mozy, Will Keep Consumer Backup Service”