The incoming Trump administration has posted an outline of its healthcare agenda on its transition website. There is no mention of drug pricing or what the administration might do about frequent price increases, such as Mylan’s EpiPen practice, that critics say are unsubstantiated and unethical. During the campaign, Trump’s official platform called for a change … Continue reading “Trump Team Outlines Healthcare Agenda—No Mention of Drug Prices”
Category: Boston
Win A Whole Genome Sequence at What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech 11/17
We are getting really excited about our upcoming What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech event, which is set for next Thursday (Nov. 17) at the Broad Institute in Kendall Square. But now it has gotten even more exciting because we will be raffling off a whole genome sequence to one of our lucky attendees. The sequencing … Continue reading “Win A Whole Genome Sequence at What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech 11/17”
Quick, How Might the Alien Spacecraft Work?
[This post is about the movie “Arrival“; there are no movie spoilers here.] “It’s an interesting script,” said someone on our PR team. It’s pretty common for us to get requests from movie-makers about showing our graphics or posters or books in movies. But the request this time was different: could we urgently help make … Continue reading “Quick, How Might the Alien Spacecraft Work?”
Watson Health and Broad Institute Team Up for $50M Cancer Collaboration
IBM Watson Health has been inking some big partnerships lately. Today the Cambridge, MA-based division of Big Blue said it has formed a five-year, $50 million research collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. IBM is footing the whole bill and contributing other resources as well. The organizations are teaming up to study … Continue reading “Watson Health and Broad Institute Team Up for $50M Cancer Collaboration”
Grab Your Ticket for The State of Cybersecurity on Dec. 8th
Join Xconomy for its first-ever public cybersecurity event on December 8 at WGBH. With the growing number of cyber attacks, we decided to bring this issue front and center to discuss what business leaders and consumers can do to help secure their data and IT systems, what opportunities are out there for investors and executives, … Continue reading “Grab Your Ticket for The State of Cybersecurity on Dec. 8th”
HubSpot Vet Grabs Cash For Crayon to Help Marketers Track Competitors
These days, marketing teams can quickly access lots of nuanced data about their own companies’ sales and marketing operations, thanks to software from firms like Salesforce (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) and HubSpot (NYSE: [[ticker:HUBS]]). But tracking the sales and marketing tactics of their competitors—pricing changes, new product launches, social media strategy, and so on—hasn’t been so easy. … Continue reading “HubSpot Vet Grabs Cash For Crayon to Help Marketers Track Competitors”
New U.S. “Roadmap” Lays Out Routes to Accelerate Robotic Technologies
Robotics technology is progressing faster than expected for self-driving cars, and drones are becoming ubiquitous throughout the United States, according to a lead scientist overseeing a robotics technology roadmap released last week. But robotics is moving slower than expected in some key areas, such as the development of dexterous gripper technology, intuitive user interfaces, and … Continue reading “New U.S. “Roadmap” Lays Out Routes to Accelerate Robotic Technologies”
Evaluate Group Garners New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7c014a09-fc67-4d1e-b978-a66b86c08e55 Date 11/10/2016 Company Name Evaluate Group Mailing Address 15 Broad Street Boston, MA 02109 USA Company Description Evaluate Group was established in 1996 by Dr. Jonathan de Pass, a former medical practitioner and a top-ranked pharmaceutical industry analyst. Dr. de Pass realized that the health care market needed a better way … Continue reading “Evaluate Group Garners New Round”
MoveWith Obtains $1,105,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=33674880-603c-42e2-b49f-bd2709fa5c9e Date 11/10/2016 Company Name MoveWith Mailing Address 109 Kingston St. 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02111 USA Company Description We believe that great teachers are the key to leading a healthy and active life. They’re the ones who make sure we never run out of motivation and who keep us smiling through … Continue reading “MoveWith Obtains $1,105,000 New Funding”
Has Technology Made Election Polls More Accurate? Not Yet
Statistical models, simulations, social media outreach, and the capacity to analyze big data sets—you’d think by now that technology would have delivered election forecasts that more reliably predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential race. But most pollsters—and the people who relied on them—were gobsmacked by Trump’s upset wins, not only in battleground states … Continue reading “Has Technology Made Election Polls More Accurate? Not Yet”
Machine Learning, Precision Medicine: What’s Hot in Healthtech 11/17
With the election in our wake (was there a spike in anxiety and sleep meds?), we can turn our full attention to our What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech event, which will take place next Thursday (Nov. 17) at the Broad Institute in Kendall Square. You can find more details about the event and get your … Continue reading “Machine Learning, Precision Medicine: What’s Hot in Healthtech 11/17”
Trump’s Election Stunner: Tech and Life Sciences Leaders React
Still processing what this will mean for technology, business, society, and humanity—I guess it’s going to take a while. In the meantime, here are 10 notable reactions from around the Xconomy network, mostly via Twitter. As you might guess, they are a mix of outrage, resiliency, hope, rationalizing, grandstanding, and some calls for calm and … Continue reading “Trump’s Election Stunner: Tech and Life Sciences Leaders React”
In Trump-GOP Tsunami, Blue-State Healthcare Ideas Swamped
[Updated, 11/9/16, 1:20 p.m. See below.] The 2016 U.S. election is over. The country has been rocked by the presidential race, with Donald Trump taking the White House. Every facet of American policy, our attitudes toward power and governance, even our national character will be topics of debate in coming months. Our healthcare system will … Continue reading “In Trump-GOP Tsunami, Blue-State Healthcare Ideas Swamped”
Milwaukee Wine Subscription Startup Now Also Shipping Cheese
Bright Cellars appears to have little difficulty adjusting to its surroundings. The monthly wine service, which started in Boston but moved to Milwaukee last year, says it is now also shipping boxes of artisan cheeses to customers’ doorsteps. The cheeses are all made in the Badger State, Bright Cellars says. “Wisconsin has some of the … Continue reading “Milwaukee Wine Subscription Startup Now Also Shipping Cheese”
GetHuman Secures $3,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c2b7f700-a385-49c7-86c2-11fcd1ea7977 Date 11/8/2016 Company Name GetHuman Mailing Address 51 Melcher St. Boston, MA 02210 USA Company Description At the core of GetHuman is the belief that very simple customer requests have become a complicated, tangled mess. One that involves long wait times, confronting multiple company reps, negotiating, enduring inappropriate upselling, and a … Continue reading “GetHuman Secures $3,000,000 New Financing”
sixQ Lands $1,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cece0464-3614-45f5-97a6-33bcfdaf34b1 Date 11/8/2016 Company Name sixQ Mailing Address 704 Washington St. North Easton, MA 02357 USA Company Description The sixQ innovation is simple, and like most disruptive innovations, was hiding in plain sight—the entire assessment lifecycle should be designed to ask and answer six question-types. That’s it. Website http://www.sixqsoftware.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “sixQ Lands $1,000,000 New Funding Round”
MachineMetrics Obtains $2,084,263 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b4671e9-c441-46de-a2bd-b5ec6d5209ad Date 11/8/2016 Company Name MachineMetrics Mailing Address 5 Strong Ave. Northampton, MA 01060 USA Company Description MachineMetrics opens a live view into production allowing workers to immediately react to manufacturing problems with real-time dashboards and notifications. Every second, data from each machine is stored securely and available for historical performance analysis … Continue reading “MachineMetrics Obtains $2,084,263 New Financing”
AquaBounty Charts Course to Market with $25M Intrexon Deal
Aquaculture company AquaBounty Technologies has scrapped plans to use a broad equity offering to raise the money it needs to bring its genetically engineered salmon to consumers. Instead, it has inked a deal to raise funds by selling securities to synthetic biology company Intrexon, its largest shareholder. The deal with Intrexon (NYSE: [[ticker:XON]]), announced Monday, … Continue reading “AquaBounty Charts Course to Market with $25M Intrexon Deal”
GetHuman Arms Itself With $3M to Fight Customer Service Battles
[Updated 11/7/16, 2:51 pm, with CEO comments at end of story.] GetHuman has raised $3 million from investors to boost its new service that fights people’s customer service battles for them. The funding round was led by NextView Ventures and Founder Collective, along with contributions from Operator.VC, Companyon, Correlation Ventures, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), and … Continue reading “GetHuman Arms Itself With $3M to Fight Customer Service Battles”
The Five Major Tech Trends of 2016
As we draw closer to the end of 2016, it is important that we take a moment to look back and reflect on all of the ways technology has inspired us, and transformed the way we live and do work. As technology becomes more pervasive in our lives, we increasingly look for simple but secure, … Continue reading “The Five Major Tech Trends of 2016”
New Data Show Biogen, Ionis Drug Might Help More With Rare Spine Disease
Up until this point, studies of an experimental drug from Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals had focused on patients with the most severe form of a rare, potentially deadly genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy. But new data released this morning show that the therapy, known as nusinersen (Spinraza), could have a much broader reach. Biogen … Continue reading “New Data Show Biogen, Ionis Drug Might Help More With Rare Spine Disease”
What Should Be on the Next President’s Cybersecurity Agenda?
From a hack of Democratic National Committee e-mails to fears that cyber attackers will attempt to interfere with tomorrow’s election, cybersecurity emerged as a crucial theme in this grueling presidential campaign. Neither candidate has said a lot about how he or she would address cybersecurity issues as president, although Hillary Clinton has offered more details … Continue reading “What Should Be on the Next President’s Cybersecurity Agenda?”
Boston Tech Watch: MassChallenge Awards, Startup Funding, & Layoffs
Hard to believe it’s already November. As we get ready to turn the clocks back an hour on Sunday, let’s take a look back at some recent tech news in the Boston area: —At a swanky gala event on Wednesday night, MassChallenge and its partners awarded $1.5 million in grants and prizes to 16 of … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: MassChallenge Awards, Startup Funding, & Layoffs”
Sanofi’s Experience With Dengvaxia May Speed Development of Zika Vaccine
Dengvaxia, the first licensed vaccine for dengue virus, has now been approved in 11 countries where dengue is endemic. But sales of the vaccine, which were initially projected to reach €200 million this year, barely reached €20 million in the first half of the year, with little sign of picking up. Sanofi Pasteur, the group … Continue reading “Sanofi’s Experience With Dengvaxia May Speed Development of Zika Vaccine”
MIT’s Venture Fund Gains Support, But Raises Questions from VCs
[Updated 11/6/16, 8:37 pm. See below.] Krishna Gupta was still an undergraduate student at MIT when he started his early-stage venture capital firm Romulus Capital in 2008. Seeking mentorship, he says he sent e-mails to professors around campus with the subject line “MIT venture fund.” MIT administrators weren’t thrilled. Gupta says he was contacted by … Continue reading “MIT’s Venture Fund Gains Support, But Raises Questions from VCs”
Bio Roundup: Clinical Shirkers, AMD Worriers, ASH Fallers & More
Our previous roundup came out last week before news broke that Susan Lindquist, a highly decorated and thoughtful researcher into the inner workings of proteins, passed away. She was 67. First at the University of Chicago and then MIT’s Whitehead Institute, Lindquist helped biologists see that all kinds of organisms—including ourselves—share errors of protein folding … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Clinical Shirkers, AMD Worriers, ASH Fallers & More”
Californians Still Hate Trump, But More Uncertain About Drug Companies
The polls are tightening. Millions of people are still making up their minds. National figures are making last-minute pitches. The decision could have huge implications for people across the U.S. We’re talking of course about next week’s vote on Proposition 61 in California, an attempt to control drug prices in the nation’s most populous state. … Continue reading “Californians Still Hate Trump, But More Uncertain About Drug Companies”
The Necessity of Innovation
Innovation is at the heart of wealth creation. Innovation is at the heart of job creation. Innovation is at the heart of building better lives for everyone. And innovation can be increased by conscious support. Innovation is enhanced by a culture of innovation, encouragement of talented inventors and entrepreneurs, collaboration between academics and business people, … Continue reading “The Necessity of Innovation”
Flatiron, Foundation Med Link Records of 20,000 Cancer Patients
[Updated, 11/3/16, 11:43 a.m. See below.] Some of the world’s largest non-profit cancer treatment centers are pooling patient information to gain new insights into the disease and potentially find new treatments. Now two for-profit companies that trade in cancer data are trying the same thing. Flatiron Health and Foundation Medicine have begun combining the health … Continue reading “Flatiron, Foundation Med Link Records of 20,000 Cancer Patients”
New Data Show Power, Limits of Bluebird’s Gene Therapy For Blood Diseases
Bluebird Bio is releasing new data this morning that speak to both the potential and the limitations of a gene therapy it’s been developing for two deadly blood diseases, sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The data, from abstracts for presentations that will be given at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in … Continue reading “New Data Show Power, Limits of Bluebird’s Gene Therapy For Blood Diseases”
Resilient Coders Tackles Tech Diversity Issues, One Person at a Time
Growing up in Boston, Steven Julien-Stewart witnessed the gentrification of the city’s neighborhoods, although at the time he didn’t fully understand what was happening—he just knew his neighbors were moving away. “When you’re younger, you’re not thinking about things like rent increases,” the 23-year-old says. “You just see friends disappear.” Julien-Stewart has moved between different … Continue reading “Resilient Coders Tackles Tech Diversity Issues, One Person at a Time”
Join Us at the Broad in 2 Weeks for What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech
How can we bring down skyrocketing healthcare costs? What will doctor visits look like in the future? And how are advances in technology—from software to devices to engineered microorganisms—impacting human health? Join Xconomy in two weeks to explore the answers to these questions and more at What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech, a special afternoon conference … Continue reading “Join Us at the Broad in 2 Weeks for What’s Hot in Boston Healthtech”
MedMinder Systems Receives $1,350,004 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=39feed8b-0a6a-4045-b15c-857b3e65f0d7 Date 11/3/2016 Company Name MedMinder Systems Mailing Address 200 Reservoir Street Needham, MA 02494 USA Company Description MedMinder Systems Inc. provides services that simplify medication management and improve medication adherence. Website http://www.medminder.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,350,004 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. 2 investors … Continue reading “MedMinder Systems Receives $1,350,004 New Round”
Xconomy Announces Channel Focused on the Future of Education
Since its inception more than nine years ago, Xconomy has focused its coverage on the business of high technology—across information technology, life sciences, healthcare, energy, robotics, and much more. But underlying all that, in a sense, is education. We have long run stories about STEM education, educational technology, and more—and even put out a special … Continue reading “Xconomy Announces Channel Focused on the Future of Education”
Massachusetts Builds Diverse Edtech Sector, Still Seeks Big Wins
Massachusetts has long been known as a hub for both software and education. Now, a growing cluster of companies has emerged at the intersection of those two industries—but the local education technology sector seems to be searching for an identity. A recent study of Massachusetts businesses found more than 400 education-related companies that employ at … Continue reading “Massachusetts Builds Diverse Edtech Sector, Still Seeks Big Wins”
Verastem Takes a Low-Cost Flier on Infinity’s Blood Cancer Drug
It wasn’t too long ago that a blood cancer drug from Infinity Pharmaceuticals was worth an up front, $275 million from AbbVie. But two years and some disappointing trial results later, Verastem has scooped it up at a fraction of the cost. Verastem (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSTM]]), a Boston company developing stem cell drugs for cancer, has … Continue reading “Verastem Takes a Low-Cost Flier on Infinity’s Blood Cancer Drug”
Clinton and Trump Platform Analysis: Which Is Best for Education Companies?
With election day less than a week away, voters are trying to imagine what turns the country might take under each of the presidential hopefuls. Tech entrepreneurs are likely considering how hospitable the new leadership might be to their specific industry sectors. Educational technology is one field worth examining, even though education hasn’t been a … Continue reading “Clinton and Trump Platform Analysis: Which Is Best for Education Companies?”
Splitwise Lands $5,033,335 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1715c9fd-afad-4738-abd2-73f0a9eeec59 Date 11/2/2016 Company Name Splitwise Mailing Address 95 Chestnut St. Providence, RI 02903 USA Company Description Splitwise is a Providence, RI based company that makes it easy to split bills with friends and family. We organize all your shared expenses and IOUs in one place, so that everyone can see who … Continue reading “Splitwise Lands $5,033,335 New Financing”
Biohaven Receives $80,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5e253804-c186-4329-8509-97ba1ad8d714 Date 11/2/2016 Company Name Biohaven Mailing Address 234 Church Street New Haven, CT 06510 USA Company Description Biohaven is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company with particular expertise in late stage clinical development and has portfolio of multiple late stage drug assets. Biohaven has licensed intellectual property from Yale University, Catalent, ALS Biopharma … Continue reading “Biohaven Receives $80,000,000 New Round”
CounterTack Receives $10,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=466dfc2f-0a84-4f77-8400-ee345aa823d4 Date 11/2/2016 Company Name CounterTack Mailing Address 100 Fifth Ave. 1st Floor Waltham, MA 02451 USA Company Description Through a combination of tamper-resistant, behaviorally-based detection, analysis and response technology, integrated on top of the most advanced Big Data platform, CounterTack equips teams with authoritative visibility and comprehensive attack context into endpoint … Continue reading “CounterTack Receives $10,000,000 New Financing”
CollegeVine Garners $3,100,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ff0245b9-1784-4fd9-b9a0-c4372c1b56fb Date 11/2/2016 Company Name CollegeVine Mailing Address One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 USA Company Description CollegeVine, founded as Admissions Hero in 2013, is a leading provider of one-on-one mentorship, college applications guidance, college essay assistance, tutoring, and test prep. Our mission is to level the playing field of college … Continue reading “CollegeVine Garners $3,100,000 Series A Financing Round”
Celldex, Aiming For More Cancer Drug Combos, Pays $62.5M For Kolltan
Celldex Therapeutics has been trying to bounce back ever since its lead drug, a cancer vaccine, fell short in clinical trials earlier this year. Today it has acquired privately held Kolltan Pharmaceuticals to help with that plan. Hampton, NJ, and Needham, MA-based Celldex is paying Kolltan shareholders with $62.5 million worth of Celldex stock. The … Continue reading “Celldex, Aiming For More Cancer Drug Combos, Pays $62.5M For Kolltan”
Hack This: Xconomy to Host the State of Cybersecurity on Dec. 8
The end may be near. No, I’m not talking about the U.S. presidential election. I’m talking about the chances of a catastrophic cyber attack on our companies and infrastructure (though the two may be related). With the mounting number of vulnerabilities out there—see last month’s massive Internet attack—what can we all do to help secure … Continue reading “Hack This: Xconomy to Host the State of Cybersecurity on Dec. 8”
CounterTack Grabs $10M to Expand Endpoint Security Business in Asia
Cybersecurity firm CounterTack announced a fresh $10 million funding round on Tuesday to help it compete in the increasingly crowded sector of security aimed at protecting organizations’ servers, computers, and other so-called “endpoint” devices. Waltham, MA-based CounterTack says it will use the money to expand its business on two fronts: increasing its sales in the … Continue reading “CounterTack Grabs $10M to Expand Endpoint Security Business in Asia”
Grace Hopper Conference Shines Light on Coding School for Afghan Girls
Houston— The tech industry can be difficult for women and under-represented minorities. For Fereshteh Forough, the degree of difficulty in recruiting women to the field is greater still. And so are the stakes. “There are general challenges, and there are Afghanistan challenges,” she said. Forough is the founder of Code to Inspire, a coding academy … Continue reading “Grace Hopper Conference Shines Light on Coding School for Afghan Girls”
Bayer, CRISPR Tap Sanofi Exec, Burns, to Run Gene Editing Venture
Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRSP]]) have named James Burns the president and CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Casebia Therapeutics, a joint venture the two companies created to develop gene editing drugs for blood disorders, blindness, and heart disease. Burns has been at Sanofi/Genzyme for three decades, and most recently ran the company’s North American R&D … Continue reading “Bayer, CRISPR Tap Sanofi Exec, Burns, to Run Gene Editing Venture”
On Front Lines Of Price Dispute, Eye Doctors Wary of New Drug Data
Drugs that treat a form of vision loss known as age related macular degeneration aren’t just big business. They’re also a controversial part of the national debate over high drug prices, and their increased use has put ophthalmologists in the crosshairs of insurers, the federal government, and the press. “Retina practices are under significantly increased … Continue reading “On Front Lines Of Price Dispute, Eye Doctors Wary of New Drug Data”
You May Have Helped Crash the Internet. But How Would You Know?
Cyberattackers this month brought down Internet access to Twitter, Netflix, Airbnb, the New York Times, and many other companies by hijacking thousands of poorly protected devices and forcing them to overwhelm a key Web traffic hub with a barrage of messages. You—in the form of your camera, printer, router, or other device—may have been one … Continue reading “You May Have Helped Crash the Internet. But How Would You Know?”
New York Institutions, VCs Team up to Build Drug Discovery “Bridge”
[Updated, 11:10 a.m. ET, see below] New York biotech has historically lagged behind more established life sciences hubs like Boston and San Francisco, but collaborations between its research institutions have helped the city start to move forward. Another step in that direction was taken this morning, with the launch of what’s being called Bridge Medicines. … Continue reading “New York Institutions, VCs Team up to Build Drug Discovery “Bridge””
Third Rock Gets $616M to Grow New Crop of Biotech Startups
Third Rock Ventures is known for making big bets on risky science, and over the past decade a number of those gambles have paid off for its shareholders. That success has helped the Boston firm close on a new $616 million fund, its largest ever. Third Rock is announcing that it’s wrapped up its fourth … Continue reading “Third Rock Gets $616M to Grow New Crop of Biotech Startups”