Sage Therapeutics this morning reported that its most advanced clinical prospect, a neurological drug known as brexanolone, failed its first big test. Sage (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SAGE]]), of Cambridge MA, said the drug didn’t do much better than a placebo in a Phase 3 trial of patients with a rare, life-threatening form of epilepsy called super refractory … Continue reading “All Eyes on Depression Trials as Sage Neuro Drug Flunks Epilepsy Test”
Category: Boston
Goldman Sachs Leads $38M Investment in Cloud Storage Firm Nasuni
Cloud data storage company Nasuni has padded its war chest with a $38 million growth equity investment led by a Goldman Sachs fund. The new funding brings the Boston-based company’s total venture capital haul to about $120 million since it was founded in 2009. Nasuni last raised money in December 2016, a $25 million combination … Continue reading “Goldman Sachs Leads $38M Investment in Cloud Storage Firm Nasuni”
Rackspace Continues Acquisition Strategy, Buying Competitor Datapipe
San Antonio—Rackspace is continuing to pick up its competitors a year after becoming a private company. The cloud-computing firm has acquired Datapipe, a privately held company that manages servers and public and private cloud-computing systems for customers globally, much like Rackspace. Rackspace isn’t revealing terms of the deal, other than that it is the San … Continue reading “Rackspace Continues Acquisition Strategy, Buying Competitor Datapipe”
Balter Launches Cryptocurrency Investment Service, Flipside Crypto
The promise of cryptocurrencies has a lot of investors excited, but many don’t know how to go about putting money into the emerging, complex currencies. That’s part of the idea behind Flipside Crypto, a new Boston-based venture that helps a select group of wealthy individuals invest in digital currencies. Flipside is not a financial advisor. … Continue reading “Balter Launches Cryptocurrency Investment Service, Flipside Crypto”
To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required
Amazon lists one requirement in the stunning request for proposals it issued Thursday, which invites cities across North America to compete to host a second corporate headquarters for the tech and commerce giant. Economic development officials are justifiably salivating at the once-in-a-generation opportunity to attract what is arguably the 21st century’s most important company, and … Continue reading “To Win Amazon’s HQ2, Incentives Are Nice, But Talent Is Required”
Bio Roundup: RNAi Drama, Immunotherapy Data, Lasker Winners & More
The summer doldrums are over. Biotech news came at a breakneck pace this week both before and after Labor Day, starting with the surprise resignation of Novartis’s top executive just days after the Swiss company notched an historic FDA approval. From there, the week featured big headlines, both good and bad, from several trials in … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: RNAi Drama, Immunotherapy Data, Lasker Winners & More”
Five Regions That Could Draw Amazon’s Next Headquarters
[Updated 4:26 p.m. See below.] Amazon sent cities across North America into a frenzy Thursday after announcing plans to build a second headquarters outside of Seattle, bringing with it tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic development benefits. The tech and commerce giant says it wants cities and states to apply … Continue reading “Five Regions That Could Draw Amazon’s Next Headquarters”
Levin, Holtzman, 183 Other Bio Leaders Urge White House to Preserve DACA
Biotech CEOs Jeremy Levin and Steve Holtzman are continuing their recent push to spur the life sciences industry to speak out against government policies it doesn’t agree with. Levin, CEO of Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVID]]) and Holtzman, the head of Decibel Therapeutics, co-authored a letter to the Trump administration and congressional leaders asking them to … Continue reading “Levin, Holtzman, 183 Other Bio Leaders Urge White House to Preserve DACA”
IBM Puts $240M Into Joint A.I. Research Lab With MIT
IBM has bet much of its future on the promise of artificial intelligence. It’s still unclear whether that strategy will pay off, but the company continues to make significant investments in the technology area. The latest move: IBM will pour $240 million over 10 years into a joint A.I. research lab in partnership with MIT. … Continue reading “IBM Puts $240M Into Joint A.I. Research Lab With MIT”
On Eve of Big Data Reveal, Patient Death Stalls Alnylam Hemophilia Drug
After years of ups and downs, RNA interference is as close as it’s ever been to producing its first drug. But the field’s roller coaster ride hit another bump this morning: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is suspending development of an experimental hemophilia drug after a patient in a clinical trial died from brain swelling. It’s a setback … Continue reading “On Eve of Big Data Reveal, Patient Death Stalls Alnylam Hemophilia Drug”
NextCODE Reloads With $240M, Eyes IPO, As Genomic Data Demand Grows
Is the time finally right for companies trying to manage and store vast amounts of genomic data? The story of Wuxi NextCODE appears to make that case. The successor to an Icelandic genomics company that struggled through a bankruptcy, NextCODE was sold to China’s Wuxi Pharmatech for $65 million in 2015, and has now closed … Continue reading “NextCODE Reloads With $240M, Eyes IPO, As Genomic Data Demand Grows”
Esther Dyson Joins Healthcare + A.I. on 11/2: Early Bird Ends Today
Grab your ticket to attend Xconomy’s newest event in the Boston area, Healthcare + A.I. Leaders in healthcare and artificial intelligence will discuss the challenges and opportunities around business models, regulations, data access, patient privacy, and much more. Join us on November 2 at Pfizer’s offices in Cambridge, MA, to take a look at how … Continue reading “Esther Dyson Joins Healthcare + A.I. on 11/2: Early Bird Ends Today”
Time Zones Matter: Why Kronos Opened an Indy Tech Center
[Correction, 9/7/17, 11:45 a.m. See below.] Kronos, a Lowell, MA-based company focused on workforce management software and services, has operations across the world. It serves customers in more than 100 countries, raking in over a billion dollars in revenue annually. So it might be surprising that, according to chief services officer and senior vice president … Continue reading “Time Zones Matter: Why Kronos Opened an Indy Tech Center”
Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding
How many texts did you send today? And how many did you send to a business? Whatever the number, Zipwhip and the investors who just poured another $22.5 million into the Seattle company are betting you’ll be sending more—and they’re not alone. Zipwhip makes software that allows businesses to better communicate with customers via text … Continue reading “Zipwhip Continues Business Texting Push With $22.5M in New Funding”
HubSpot Buys Dating App, Joule Winds Down, & More Boston Tech News
It’s time to catch up on the latest happenings in the Boston-area tech scene: —Joule Unlimited, a decade-old biofuels company that raised at least $200 million in venture capital, is reportedly calling it quits. The Bedford, MA-based company laid off nearly all of its 120 employees, sold its New Mexico manufacturing facility, and is trying … Continue reading “HubSpot Buys Dating App, Joule Winds Down, & More Boston Tech News”
Lasker Award Goes to HPV Vaccine Developers Lowy, Schiller
A top prize in American biomedical science was awarded today to two scientists for their discoveries that led to the development of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer caused by the sexually transmitted virus. Douglas Lowy (pictured right), acting director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and John Schiller (left), also at … Continue reading “Lasker Award Goes to HPV Vaccine Developers Lowy, Schiller”
Aras Downloads $40M to Help GE, Microsoft & Others Design Products
As more hardware and devices get connected to the Internet, their increasing complexity is requiring more advanced software to coordinate how they get designed, manufactured, and repaired. That’s helping drive demand for companies like Aras, a 17-year-old business that sells “product lifecycle management” software to large enterprises like Airbus, General Motors, and Microsoft. And today, … Continue reading “Aras Downloads $40M to Help GE, Microsoft & Others Design Products”
From Robotic Chefs to Broadband Tech, Here Are 5 New Boston VC Deals
It’s time to catch up on some of the latest venture funding news from the Boston area. We’re tracking new money for companies whose products span software, telecommunications equipment, lab devices, robots, and food. Read on for details. —EverTrue scooped up $6 million in funding led by University Ventures, according to a press release e-mailed … Continue reading “From Robotic Chefs to Broadband Tech, Here Are 5 New Boston VC Deals”
Seeking to Cash in For Investors Again, Rhythm Pharma Files For IPO
Most biotechs pursue either a sale or an IPO to reward their investors. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is now trying to accomplish both. A year after Rhythm funneled a stomach drug into a subsidiary and sold it to Allergan for $200 million, the Boston-based company—developing a different drug for rare forms of obesity—has filed for an IPO. … Continue reading “Seeking to Cash in For Investors Again, Rhythm Pharma Files For IPO”
As Key Data Loom, Nobel Winner Mello Reflects on RNAi “Sci-Fi” Story
The story feels like a Hollywood flick, not reality—at least to University of Massachusetts Medical School molecular medicine professor and Nobel Prize winner Craig Mello. Nearly 20 years ago, Mello, Stanford University pathologist Andrew Fire, and their colleagues co-discovered RNA interference, a method of switching off or “silencing” genes before they can make potentially damaging … Continue reading “As Key Data Loom, Nobel Winner Mello Reflects on RNAi “Sci-Fi” Story”
Catch Dragonfly, IFM, Tesaro at “Disruptors” on Sept. 28
How do you succeed not once, but twice in biotech? How do you push a scientific idea forward without any venture capital? And how does one even begin trying to scour the globe for a diamond–in-the-rough cancer drug that has slipped through the cracks? These questions underlie the three stories Xconomy has lined up for … Continue reading “Catch Dragonfly, IFM, Tesaro at “Disruptors” on Sept. 28″
Coming to Boston Was a “No-Brainer”: Xconomy’s Newcomer Award Finalists
Building a biotech business comes down to a lot of meetings and networking with potential new partners, hires, investors and others. Having all of these folks, along with top academics, highly concentrated in an urban center (that also has a lot of nice restaurants and coffee shops to meet in) was a key factor in … Continue reading “Coming to Boston Was a “No-Brainer”: Xconomy’s Newcomer Award Finalists”
Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T
[Corrected, 9/18/17, see below] The FDA has forced Cellectis to shut down two Phase 1 trials it has been running to test an “off the shelf” type of cell therapy—a stinging setback to the France- and New York-based company’s aspirations to leapfrog other developers of CAR-T, a type of cancer immunotherapy that the FDA just … Continue reading “Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T”
As Architects Adopt VR, Acentech Adds Sound Simulations to the Mix
Architects are starting to embrace virtual reality as a tool for showing clients what their future buildings could look like. Now, Acentech wants to integrate audio simulations so they can hear what the spaces would sound like, too. The Cambridge, MA-based consulting business spun out of the renowned BBN Technologies (now owned by Raytheon) more … Continue reading “As Architects Adopt VR, Acentech Adds Sound Simulations to the Mix”
U-M Life Sci Institute Looks Ahead with $150M Initiative, Symposium
The University of Michigan’s Life Sciences Institute (LSI) is hosting its 16th annual Saltiel Life Sciences Symposium later this month, and for the first time, rather than focusing on a narrow segment of the industry, the lineup of speakers will discuss the technologies behind some of the sector’s most exciting recent innovations. “Alan [Saltiel] started … Continue reading “U-M Life Sci Institute Looks Ahead with $150M Initiative, Symposium”
Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More
[Corrected 9/5/17, 12:22 p.m. See below.] The far-out idea of reprogramming a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer, known as CAR-T, entered the mainstream this week, and two numbers highlight the tale. The first is $11.9 billion, the price Gilead Sciences is paying for Kite Pharma and its cancer-fighting cell therapy pipeline. It’s one of … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More”
Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?
Novartis said Wednesday that it would not charge for its newly approved cellular immunotherapy, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah)—the first so-called CAR-T product to ever come to market—if it fails to help patients within a month. If the cell therapy, approved for kids with leukemia who have run out of other options, starts to work within a month, … Continue reading “Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?”
InVivo Therapeutics CSO Ulich Loses Job in Corporate Restructuring
Thomas Ulich, chief scientific officer of InVivo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVIV]]) since 2015, is out of a job. The Cambridge, MA, biotech is eliminating 13 positions, including Ulich’s, as part of a corporate restructuring, according to regulatory filings. InVivo says the restructuring will help the company focus its resources on its experimental treatment for spinal cord … Continue reading “InVivo Therapeutics CSO Ulich Loses Job in Corporate Restructuring”
A Decade of Innovation: Photos From Xconomy’s 10th Anniversary Bash
This summer, Xconomy celebrated a big anniversary—our 10th as a company. We got started in the Boston area (Kendall Square) in 2007 and expanded the next year to Seattle and San Diego, with many more cities and regions to come. Our mission has always been to report on cutting-edge businesses and technologies from the front … Continue reading “A Decade of Innovation: Photos From Xconomy’s 10th Anniversary Bash”
NYT on Neurable’s Brain-Controlled Virtual Reality Game: It Works
When Neurable first popped up on Xconomy’s radar in late 2015, it was a small, mostly student-led University of Michigan spinout working on cutting-edge brain-computer interface innovations that would allow people to control software using only their thoughts. Back then, it sounded exciting yet fairly far out. However, a lot has changed since. Today, Neurable is … Continue reading “NYT on Neurable’s Brain-Controlled Virtual Reality Game: It Works”
Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles
Read today’s news and you’d think fully autonomous vehicles—commercial vehicles, in particular—will be everywhere in the very near future. With headlines like these, it’s no wonder: Self-Driving Trucks Could be on Highways in 3 to 4 Years U.S. and Europe Race to be First to Self-Driving Trucks Ford Plans Self-Driving Car for Ride Share Fleets … Continue reading “Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles”
Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000
Ahead of schedule, Novartis has received the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy called CAR-T, which uses a cancer patient’s own immune cells as the medicine. Within days, children and young adults with a severe form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia could receive the treatment at a handful of centers across the U.S. … Continue reading “Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000”
Blackhawk Pays $175M for Maine-based E-Commerce Business CashStar
CashStar, a company that makes digital gift cards and commerce software, has sold to financial tech business Blackhawk Network for $175 million in cash. Venture capital-backed CashStar will stay in New England, keeping offices in Waltham, MA and Portland, ME, where its headquarters are located. The company is becoming part of Blackhawk’s digital and incentives … Continue reading “Blackhawk Pays $175M for Maine-based E-Commerce Business CashStar”
Facebook Boston to Open New Office, Hire 500 People: Report
[Updated 8/30/17, 12:30 pm, with comment from Facebook.] Facebook is reportedly planning to go on a hiring spree in the Boston area. The giant social networking company, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, intends to move into a new office in Cambridge, MA, next year and add more than 500 local employees, the Boston … Continue reading “Facebook Boston to Open New Office, Hire 500 People: Report”
Otonomy Scraps Hearing Loss Drug After Phase 3 Flop, Shares Routed
Investment in experimental drugs for hearing loss, long an untapped field in the pharmaceutical industry, may be picking up, but drugs that actually help with these disorders remain elusive. One of the closest contenders suffered a big setback today, as Otonomy revealed that a drug it has been developing for Meniere’s disease, a condition defined … Continue reading “Otonomy Scraps Hearing Loss Drug After Phase 3 Flop, Shares Routed”
ESports Startup Gamer Sensei Tracks Down $4M for Video Game Coaching
[Updated 8/30/17, 8:07 am, with comments from co-founder.] The popularity of eSports is surging around the world, and elite video game competitors are getting rich winning tournaments in front of sold-out arenas. Investors think that spells opportunity for Gamer Sensei, a Boston-based startup that connects eSports players with professional gamers who provide one-on-one online lessons. … Continue reading “ESports Startup Gamer Sensei Tracks Down $4M for Video Game Coaching”
Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem
The word ecosystem conjures up a rain forest in Ecuador, where sunlight, soil, water, and a multitude of species exist together in a self-sustaining environment that is constantly evolving. This image from biology translates perfectly into what many people like to call an innovation ecosystem. Think of a group of people developing a new idea, … Continue reading “Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem”
Celgene Broadens Forma Deal, Adding $195M More for Drug R&D
Celgene and Forma Therapeutics are expanding their already extensive relationship. The Summit, NJ-based drugmaker has exercised a $195 million option to widen the breadth of the 2014 deal it signed with Forma to co-develop drugs for cancer and other therapeutic areas—an agreement that gave Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) the option to buy Forma down the road. … Continue reading “Celgene Broadens Forma Deal, Adding $195M More for Drug R&D”
Jazz Pharma, ImmunoGen Strike Up Drug Pact in Leukemia and More
ImmunoGen has yet to bring one of its own antibody cancer drugs to market, but the Waltham, MA, company has had some success with its pharma partners. On Tuesday it added Jazz Pharmaceuticals to the mix. Jazz (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JAZZ]]) is paying ImmunoGen $75 million in cash for rights to two early-stage ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) drugs … Continue reading “Jazz Pharma, ImmunoGen Strike Up Drug Pact in Leukemia and More”
Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?
The news broke Sunday night that Uber has offered the job of CEO to Dara Khosrowshahi, the outspoken steady hand guiding Bellevue, WA-based online travel giant Expedia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXPE]]) for the last dozen years. Khosrowshahi and Uber have not officially confirmed the news as of Monday evening. An internal e-mail from Barry Diller, Expedia chairman, … Continue reading “Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?”
SetPoint Nabs $30M For More Tests of Bioelectric Device as RA Therapy
SetPoint Medical is trying to use tiny pulses of electricity to treat inflammation in the body, and it now has an additional $30 million in funding to continue testing its approach in humans. The capital infusion announced Monday for SetPoint is a Series D round of investment. The company says it plans to use the … Continue reading “SetPoint Nabs $30M For More Tests of Bioelectric Device as RA Therapy”
Uber Picks Expedia Leader As CEO Over Immelt, Whitman: Reports
In a last-minute shuffle Sunday night, Uber’s strife-ridden board chose Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as the new chief executive for the troubled ride-hailing giant, Recode reported. Khosrowshahi, whose name hadn’t been rumored as a CEO prospect for Uber, was waiting in the wings after the exits over the weekend of two other finalists for the … Continue reading “Uber Picks Expedia Leader As CEO Over Immelt, Whitman: Reports”
Power to the Patient: Meet Xconomy’s Patient Partnership Award Finalists
It’s clear at this point that patients are no longer just subjects in clinical trials. Thanks to the growing power of patient advocacy groups—and an FDA eager to hear their perspective—patients and drug developers are increasingly finding creating ways to work together, as we’ve seen with the four finalists in the Patient Partnership category of … Continue reading “Power to the Patient: Meet Xconomy’s Patient Partnership Award Finalists”
RegenxBio to Acquire Dimension Tx in Combo of Gene Therapy Companies
Dimension Therapeutics has agreed to be acquired by RegenxBio, the gene therapy developer that originally helped form the company four years ago. RegenxBio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGNX]]), based in Rockville, MD, will pay $3.41 per share in the all-stock deal valued at approximately $86 million. By comparison, Cambridge, MA-based Dimension (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DMTX]]) went public at $13 per … Continue reading “RegenxBio to Acquire Dimension Tx in Combo of Gene Therapy Companies”
Bio Roundup: Drug Price Debates, NY Bio Blooms & CEOs Take Social Stand
In these politically divided times, Americans this week found near universal agreement on one thing: A celestial event that plunges a summer day into temporary darkness is a captivating experience. The totality of the solar eclipse lasted less than 3 minutes. If you missed it, you’ll have to wait until 2024 for the next one. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Drug Price Debates, NY Bio Blooms & CEOs Take Social Stand”
Boston Tech Watch: Rethink Robotics, SquadLocker, Semcasting & More
There was a flurry of tech deals announced this week in Boston, including the acquisitions of Applause, Digital Lumens, and Dragon Innovation, and a $6 million investment in GNS Healthcare. Here are a few more deals you might have missed: —Rethink Robotics raised $18 million from investors, part of a funding round announced last December … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Rethink Robotics, SquadLocker, Semcasting & More”
Axial Bio Names Rao Chief Medical Officer, Two Other VPs Appointed
Srinivas Rao has joined Boston-based Axial Biotherapeutics as chief medical officer. Prior to Axial, Rao was chief medical officer of Newark, CA-based Depomed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DEPO]]). His experience includes executive roles at Kyalin Biosciences and Cypress Biosciences. Axial also appointed Ryan Barrett to vice president of corporate development, and Bridget Cole to vice president of medicinal … Continue reading “Axial Bio Names Rao Chief Medical Officer, Two Other VPs Appointed”
Stand Up to “Bully” Trump: Bio CEOs Levin, Holtzman Call to Their Peers
Biotech CEOs Jeremy Levin and Steve Holtzman have watched the violence in Charlottesville, VA, and its continuing aftermath with disgust. But they aren’t just upset about the rally, the violence and death, and President Trump’s equivocating blame of “many sides.” Levin, of Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVID]]), and Holtzman, of Decibel Therapeutics, have been disappointed with … Continue reading “Stand Up to “Bully” Trump: Bio CEOs Levin, Holtzman Call to Their Peers”
Osram Greenlights Acquisition of Digital Lumens as IoT Powers Up
[Corrected 8/23/17, 5:30 pm. See below.] Lately, if you blink, you might miss the news of another sale of a Boston-area tech company. The latest is Digital Lumens. Germany-based lighting manufacturer Osram has agreed to acquire the nine-year-old Boston firm, which sells LED lighting systems equipped with sensors and controlled by software. The purchase price … Continue reading “Osram Greenlights Acquisition of Digital Lumens as IoT Powers Up”
Memphis Meats Cooks Up $17M Funding Round for Lab-Grown “Meat”
Memphis Meats says it has developed a way to grow animal cells into products that have the look, texture, and taste of meat from farm-grown chickens. The San Francisco Bay area startup is now working to scale up its production process, and it has raised $17 million in funding toward that goal. The Series A … Continue reading “Memphis Meats Cooks Up $17M Funding Round for Lab-Grown “Meat””