[Updated 6/11/19, 7:31 am CT. See below.] Nick Mastronardi is finding success in countering the negative trend of endless partisan bickering by helping local governments gather public sentiments through online polling. Mastronardi (pictured above) is co-founder and CEO of Polco, a company based in Madison, WI, that he says is growing thanks to its ability to … Continue reading “Polco’s Tools Help Governments Coax Citizens Out of Echo Chambers”
Category: Boulder/Denver
3 Tips to Boost Security, Trust With Increasingly Remote Workforce
Employers are increasingly offering remote work options as a differentiator to attract top talent in today’s competitive hiring market. And, with modern technology at their fingertips, employees have come to expect a seamless working experience whether they’re home, in the office, or on the road. These new expectations, coupled with the increase of contract and … Continue reading “3 Tips to Boost Security, Trust With Increasingly Remote Workforce”
Bio Roundup: ASCO Wrap, Bluebird’s EU Tap, CRISPR Baby Risk & More
Welcome to conference week. That’s not an official moniker, but is there any busier time on the biopharma calendar? As the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting wrapped up in Chicago, the annual BIO conference kicked off in Philadelphia, and a deep dive into diabetes begins today in San Francisco. With half the biopharma world, … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: ASCO Wrap, Bluebird’s EU Tap, CRISPR Baby Risk & More”
ASCO 2019: The Long Game, Targeted Pills, First-Ever Buzz & More
The American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago has wrapped up for another year. Last week, we featured two stories that you wouldn’t find at the ASCO frenzy: Immunotherapy’s lack of progress in treating breast cancer, and one woman’s risky bet of tens of millions of dollars from her personal fortune to speed drug … Continue reading “ASCO 2019: The Long Game, Targeted Pills, First-Ever Buzz & More”
Study: Gene Edits in CRISPR Babies Could Boost Risk of Earlier Death
The Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who revealed last fall that he used CRISPR gene editing to try to make twin newborn girls immune to HIV infection, might have also given them a higher risk of death. That’s according to a new study from University of California, Berkeley data scientists who analyzed the records of more … Continue reading “Study: Gene Edits in CRISPR Babies Could Boost Risk of Earlier Death”
Bio Roundup: Opioids in Court, IPO Parade, Brain Cancer Bet & More
[Corrected 5/31/19, 8:48 am ET. See below.] Pharmaceutical companies that make or market opioids have found themselves in legal hot water, and much of the heat is coming from Oklahoma. This week, a trial began litigating Johnson & Johnson’s responsibility for opioid addiction in the Sooner State. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]) entered the Norman, … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Opioids in Court, IPO Parade, Brain Cancer Bet & More”
Agenda Posted for Net@50 on July 16 at MIT Media Lab
Come celebrate milestones the internet has made over the past 50 years at a special event called Net@50 on July 16 in Cambridge, MA, organized by the World Frontiers Forum and Xconomy. An afternoon forum at the MIT Media Lab will explore the big issues and challenges surrounding the internet. And a gala dinner at … Continue reading “Agenda Posted for Net@50 on July 16 at MIT Media Lab”
Can Tiny Drug Doses (and One Woman’s Fortune) Fight the Most Vicious Cancer?
When the brain goes bad, modern medicine is often powerless to help. That’s the case for Alzheimer’s disease, where drug after drug has failed, and the only approved treatments are marginally helpful at best. The same seems increasingly clear for the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. Its origins are mysterious, … Continue reading “Can Tiny Drug Doses (and One Woman’s Fortune) Fight the Most Vicious Cancer?”
Immunotherapy Is Now Here For Breast Cancer. What Are Its Prospects?
Drugs that rev up a patient’s immune system have changed how we treat cancers of the skin, lung, and more, offering people whose tumors have spread a chance to live longer than ever thought possible. But until this year, the field had nothing for breast cancer, which kills more women than any other cancer type. … Continue reading “Immunotherapy Is Now Here For Breast Cancer. What Are Its Prospects?”
Upland Software Acquires Marketing Software Business Kapost for $45M
Austin—Upland Software is paying $45 million to acquire Kapost, a Boulder, CO-based company with software for managing marketing content. Upland (NASDAQ: [[ticker:UPLD]]) sells business applications, including some for communicating with customers, managing sales, and automating financial and professional services. Kapost was founded in 2009 and sells software for planning, production, and distribution of marketing and … Continue reading “Upland Software Acquires Marketing Software Business Kapost for $45M”
Second US Gene Therapy, Approved for Rare Muscle Disease, to Cost $2M
The FDA today has made Zolgensma, a Novartis treatment for the rare genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy, the second approved gene therapy in the US. The news marks a milestone for SMA patients, who have only one other approved medicine available. But it comes with a cost: At $2.125 million, Zolgensma’s price tag creates a … Continue reading “Second US Gene Therapy, Approved for Rare Muscle Disease, to Cost $2M”
Bio Roundup: Zolgensma Watch, Brain Cancer Blues, Peloton Payout & More
Patients, doctors, family members, and drug-price watchdogs continued to wait for the expected approval of Zolgensma, a Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]) gene therapy for the rare inherited disease spinal muscular atrophy. Originally developed at a children’s hospital in Ohio, Zolgensma will be a litmus test for the nascent field. If approved this week or next, it … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Zolgensma Watch, Brain Cancer Blues, Peloton Payout & More”
Bio Roundup: Generic Drugs Graft, ASCO Ahead, ElevateBio Rises & More
Generic drugs are supposed to give consumers more choices and a counterweight to more costly branded medications. During his tenure as FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb often spoke about generics as a market force that could help tame climbing drug prices. But such tools only work when companies play fair. A lawsuit is now claiming that … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Generic Drugs Graft, ASCO Ahead, ElevateBio Rises & More”
ASCO Abstracts: Breast Cancer, Precision Treatments in the Spotlight
The world’s biggest annual cancer conference is just around the corner. Data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting each year can change medical practice and make or break companies whose drugs are under the microscope. That’s what makes even the “abstracts,” or snippets of data revealed a few weeks before the meeting, … Continue reading “ASCO Abstracts: Breast Cancer, Precision Treatments in the Spotlight”
Stock, Profit & AI: Carbon Black CEO Reviews Year Since IPO
It’s been a little over a year since Carbon Black debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange, raising $152 million selling its shares to the public for the first time. The Waltham, MA-based cybersecurity company’s stock price (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CBLK]]) has bounced around since its initial pricing at $19 a share and closing its first day of … Continue reading “Stock, Profit & AI: Carbon Black CEO Reviews Year Since IPO”
Milestones of Innovation 17: ‘Golden Spike’ Heralds Era of Cheap Steel
One hundred fifty years ago May 10, around mid-day, railroad promoters from two coasts clumsily drove the final spikes of America’s first transcontinental railroad near Promontory Point, Utah. Two of the spikes used that day were made of gold. The blows themselves triggered a telegraphic message to the world. The joining of the Central Pacific … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 17: ‘Golden Spike’ Heralds Era of Cheap Steel”
Tech Ethics, Regulation & Strategy: Here’s the Napa Summit Agenda
With Uber’s long-awaited IPO, Facebook’s mounting controversies, and ongoing debates over drug pricing and safety issues, come a great responsibility. A big story in the innovation community now is about the ethics and regulation of tech and life sciences. What are the right ways to safeguard the public, hold corporations accountable, and maintain economic growth? … Continue reading “Tech Ethics, Regulation & Strategy: Here’s the Napa Summit Agenda”
Bio Roundup: Rare Disease Showdowns, Prices on TV, Dealmania & More
The market for drugs for rare or “orphan” diseases continues to grow. An April report from Evaluate Pharma predicted sales of orphan drugs to rise 12 percent a year between now and 2024, when they will account for an estimated 20 percent of worldwide prescription drug sales. The field has gotten so competitive that multiple … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Rare Disease Showdowns, Prices on TV, Dealmania & More”
Two Days, Five Biotech IPOs, and $359M Raised for Clinical Trials
It will be hard to top last year’s flurry of biotech companies joining the public markets, but this week is shaping up to be the busiest for life science IPOs in recent memory. Five biotechs priced their IPOs and at least one more is coming. According to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, 47 IPOs have … Continue reading “Two Days, Five Biotech IPOs, and $359M Raised for Clinical Trials”
SMA, Migraine Data Lead Neuro Highlights from AAN Meeting
The American Academy of Neurology meeting in Philadelphia is rolling on through the end of this week. There has been plenty of news to digest already. New clinical data could herald cutting-edge treatments for migraine, the rare disease spinal muscular atrophy, the deadly neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and more. Xconomy previewed the conference last … Continue reading “SMA, Migraine Data Lead Neuro Highlights from AAN Meeting”
Bio Roundup: Head and Spine Previews, Biogen Moves, IPO Dreams & More
America continues to suffer from healthcare headaches. Our convoluted private-public insurance system was under scrutiny this week from Democrats, holding a “Medicare for All” hearing in the House, and from Republicans, as several GOP-led states and the Trump administration asked a federal court to sweep away Obamacare. Several companies also want to reduce headaches. This … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Head and Spine Previews, Biogen Moves, IPO Dreams & More”
At Big Neuro Meeting, Migraine Drug Competitors to Make Oral Arguments
The first new class of migraine drugs in decades won FDA approval last year. But the companies who commercialized these new therapies and their potential competitors are already planning new, more convenient versions, taken as pills instead of injectoins just below the skin, and they will present key data in the next few days at … Continue reading “At Big Neuro Meeting, Migraine Drug Competitors to Make Oral Arguments”
Beyond Meat’s IPO Bags $241M to Make Plant-Based Burgers Mainstream
A Beyond Meat burger is coming to a location near you—and soon. The food technology company’s upsized IPO has raised $241 million to finance plans to bring its plant-based “meat” to more grocery stores and restaurants across the country. Beyond Meat priced its IPO Wednesday evening at $25 per share, which was the high end … Continue reading “Beyond Meat’s IPO Bags $241M to Make Plant-Based Burgers Mainstream”
SMA Moment: Will Gene Therapy Shift Treatment, Costs of Muscle Disease?
This is a big moment for people diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, a rare and potentially lethal genetic disorder that destroys muscles. For decades, there was no way to change the trajectory of their disease. They now have one marketed medicine, and this month, chances are they’ll have another: a gene therapy that … Continue reading “SMA Moment: Will Gene Therapy Shift Treatment, Costs of Muscle Disease?”
Retailers, Startups Work to Offer Efficient E-Commerce Delivery
The on-demand delivery war in retail is on. In its quarterly earnings call Thursday, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced it would switch to one-day shipping for Prime members, halving the time the 100 million-plus people who subscribe to the service must wait before receiving their purchases. The Seattle e-commerce giant told analysts the move would cost around … Continue reading “Retailers, Startups Work to Offer Efficient E-Commerce Delivery”
Ford, Lincoln Owners Can Get Amazon Packages Delivered to Their Cars
Many of us know that anxious feeling that comes when Amazon texts a notification that it has delivered your package, except you’re nowhere near home at the time to receive it. The mind races: is the package sitting out in plain view for would-be thieves to notice? Will it be destroyed by a passing downpour? … Continue reading “Ford, Lincoln Owners Can Get Amazon Packages Delivered to Their Cars”
Elanco Bolsters Pet Products Pipeline With $234M Deal for Aratana
Drugs that treat dogs and cats are some of Elanco’s fastest growing products, and the animal health company is poised to make that category even bigger through a deal to buy pet medicines developer Aratana Therapeutics. Greenfield, IN-based Elanco (NYSE: [[ticker:ELAN]]) announced Friday an agreement to acquire Aratana (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PETX]]) in a stock deal valued … Continue reading “Elanco Bolsters Pet Products Pipeline With $234M Deal for Aratana”
Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Strategy, Drug Price Convo, NASH News & More
The road to every new drug approval is littered with the remains of earlier failures. Biopharmaceutical companies don’t like to talk about the failures. But it’s earnings season now, so some of them don’t have much choice. Biogen’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) earnings call this week was the first since its Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab failed in a Phase … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Strategy, Drug Price Convo, NASH News & More”
To Help Boost Female-led Startups, More Women Join Investor Ranks
Houston—Men have long leveraged their networks to succeed in business, and the tech industry has been no exception. Women, finding themselves outside of the club, are now creating their own networks to do the same. Katelyn O’Shaughnessy already had a solid track record, selling TripScope, a travel startup she co-founded in 2013, to Travefy two … Continue reading “To Help Boost Female-led Startups, More Women Join Investor Ranks”
SPECIAL REPORT: 2019 Blockchain Outlook — Reality Check
After a breakout year in 2017, the blockchain sector suffered a series of blows in 2018, from crashing cryptocurrency prices to increased regulatory scrutiny of crypto ventures and deepening skepticism about whether the technology was actually useful. Now, the industry has entered a crucial phase where blockchain developers need to overcome the limitations of the … Continue reading “SPECIAL REPORT: 2019 Blockchain Outlook — Reality Check”
Can We Afford to Be Cured? A Conversation With ICER’s Steve Pearson
[Corrected, 4/23/19, 7:10 p.m. See below.] New cell and gene therapies bring the possibility of cures once hardly imaginable. But the potential cures could also cost millions of dollars, like Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]), the owner of the gene therapy Zolgensma, has suggested in advance of an imminent FDA approval decision. As public backlash against high … Continue reading “Can We Afford to Be Cured? A Conversation With ICER’s Steve Pearson”
Cerebral Therapeutics Names Lisa Shafer Chief Scientific Officer
Lisa Shafer has been appointed chief scientific officer of Cerebral Therapeutics, the same position she held at her former company, NeuroBridge Therapeutics. Her experience also includes posts at Teva Pharmaceutical (NYSE: [[ticker:TEVA]]) and Medtronic (NYSE: [[ticker:MDT]]). In other moves, Aurora, CO-based Cerebral named Medtronic veteran Eric Distad its vice president of clinical development. Cerebral is … Continue reading “Cerebral Therapeutics Names Lisa Shafer Chief Scientific Officer”
Bio Roundup: Nationwide’s Rise, a Surgeon’s Quest, CRISPR USA & More
Persistence and perseverance were the themes of two of our top stories this week. First there’s the story of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Columbus, Ohio, hospital chose to invest in gene therapy when the field was in its darkest days. After some ups and downs, the team it put in place helped advance some of … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Nationwide’s Rise, a Surgeon’s Quest, CRISPR USA & More”
$100M for Talaris Gives Surgeon a Shot to Reinvent Organ Transplants
When Novartis dissolved its gene and cell therapy unit a few years ago, a bunch of projects the Swiss pharma giant had incubated were tossed aside. One of them was the work of surgeon Suzanne Ildstad, who has spent decades trying to develop a new way to improve the health outcomes of patients who need … Continue reading “$100M for Talaris Gives Surgeon a Shot to Reinvent Organ Transplants”
How an Ohio Kids’ Hospital Quietly Became Ground Zero for Gene Therapy
[Updated, 4/22/19, see below] If a once-modest regional hospital and its new biotech allies have their way, the capital of Ohio could one day rival America’s other biomedical hubs. “Our goal is to make Columbus the center of the universe for gene therapy,” says Doug Ingram, CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics. Sarepta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) is based … Continue reading “How an Ohio Kids’ Hospital Quietly Became Ground Zero for Gene Therapy”
Thwarting Opposition, Bristol Gets Shareholder OK for $74B Celgene Buyout
The early opposition has turned out to be just noise. Shareholders of Bristol-Myers Squibb today approved the pharma giant’s planned buyout of Celgene, paving the way for a deal that will create one of the largest biopharma organizations in the world, and send ripples throughout the sector. Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) said Friday that more than … Continue reading “Thwarting Opposition, Bristol Gets Shareholder OK for $74B Celgene Buyout”
Bio Roundup: EASL Does It, Alnylam’s BFF, Gene Therapy Deals & More
A major conference devoted to liver disease kicked off with updates from the race for approval of the world’s first drug to treat a form of advanced liver disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. The gene therapy field continued to attract venture cash and industry interest, and it was a busy week in Washington for … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: EASL Does It, Alnylam’s BFF, Gene Therapy Deals & More”
Senators Grill Pharmacy Benefit Execs About Skyrocketing Drug Prices
Executives from five of the companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers testified Tuesday before the Senate finance committee. It was the latest in a series of hearings centered on the rising cost of prescription medication, which has captured attention on both sides of the political aisle and is likely to become a … Continue reading “Senators Grill Pharmacy Benefit Execs About Skyrocketing Drug Prices”
Four Things Every Smart Startup Should Do as It Scales
Your startup began as “four smart people with laptops and a vision.” Fast-forward a few years and it’s a bona fide business with investors, employees, and a snappy logo. Stay on this path, and signs are good that you’ll continue to grow. It’s easy and convenient to keep doing what you’ve been doing as you … Continue reading “Four Things Every Smart Startup Should Do as It Scales”
Global Detroit, U-M Team on Program to Boost Immigrant-Led Startups
The American Dream was once a fairly simple concept: The nation would welcome strivers from across the world and invite them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, work hard, pay taxes, and become contributing citizens. However, immigration has become a highly charged political issue in the current era, making things more complicated. That’s one … Continue reading “Global Detroit, U-M Team on Program to Boost Immigrant-Led Startups”
Bio Roundup: Gottlieb’s Goodbye, AACR Recap, Migraine Drug Fight & More
Scott Gottlieb’s last day as FDA commissioner is today. His resignation announcement last month surprised some, given the earlier denials about leaving. But after two years of commuting between Connecticut, where his family remained, and the FDA’s Maryland headquarters, he decided to step down from the agency. What will Gottlieb’s legacy be? His efforts to … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Gottlieb’s Goodbye, AACR Recap, Migraine Drug Fight & More”
AACR 2019 Roundup: Notes from a Weekend of Early Stage Cancer Results
[Editor’s note: Alex Lash co-authored this report] The American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting is wrapping up in Atlanta today. The conference typically focuses on early research and clinical work, not the big trials that can change the way doctors practice medicine and that compete for headline space at conferences like the American Society … Continue reading “AACR 2019 Roundup: Notes from a Weekend of Early Stage Cancer Results”
“FacePalm” Bug Is a Jarring Wake-Up Call. And Not Just for Apple
Apple is a global icon. It was the first company in the world to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, and it is the most valuable company in the world today. For the second year in a row, Apple ranked as the world’s most-admired company, in a Fortune survey of 3,750 business executives. PC magazine … Continue reading ““FacePalm” Bug Is a Jarring Wake-Up Call. And Not Just for Apple”
Bio Roundup: Amyloid Angst, NASH News, Brammer Bagged & More
A week after the failure of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab, the ripple effects are still being felt—and not just by Biogen, which lost billions of dollars in market value in a flash. We’ll kick off this week’s roundup with the aducanumab reaction, which includes plenty of thoughts about the future of the so-called “amyloid hypothesis” … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Amyloid Angst, NASH News, Brammer Bagged & More”
Bio Roundup: Sage Postpartum Help, Biogen Bids Adu, Heart Beats & More
One group of people in dire need of medical relief got good news this week. The first drug for postpartum depression was approved. With its complicated logistics, side effects, and potential high cost, it won’t be for everyone who experiences the condition—1 of every 9 U.S. women giving birth. But at least it’s an option. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Sage Postpartum Help, Biogen Bids Adu, Heart Beats & More”
The Role of the Student Engineer in Medicine and Innovation
The last 50 years have seen many great technical advances in medical treatments, ranging from drug delivery and imaging to skin grafts and prosthetics. These advances—both large and small—have drawn on many fields and have transformed patient care. When examining the current state of clinical technology, the focus is naturally on the technology and its … Continue reading “The Role of the Student Engineer in Medicine and Innovation”
Bio Roundup: Golumbeski’s Legacy, CRISPR Moratorium, Rebate Week & More
While all eyes in the biopharmaceutical world are currently trained on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposal to buy Celgene for $74 billion, it wasn’t that long ago that another company’s gaze was fixed on the Summit, NJ, drug maker. In the early 2000s, before the FDA approved Celgene’s flagship multiple myeloma drug lenalidomide (Revlimid), Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]] … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Golumbeski’s Legacy, CRISPR Moratorium, Rebate Week & More”
Drug-Price Watchdog ICER Dives into Trump-Fueled Pharma Rebate Debate
[Updated 3/13/19, 12:20pm. See below.] With public and political winds blowing in the same direction, significant reform of the complicated U.S. drug-pricing system seems ever more likely. One part of the system that the Trump administration wants to overhaul are the secret rebates that drug makers, insurers, and middlemen negotiate behind closed doors. Replacements for … Continue reading “Drug-Price Watchdog ICER Dives into Trump-Fueled Pharma Rebate Debate”
The Life, Troubles, and Celgene Legacy of Deal Guru George Golumbeski
George Golumbeski is one of the most prolific dealmakers in the biopharmaceutical world. But the deal that changed his life is a pact he made with himself when he was ten years old. Playing with friends in front of his house in Hampton, VA, he watched his mother drag his dead-drunk father, a U.S. Air … Continue reading “The Life, Troubles, and Celgene Legacy of Deal Guru George Golumbeski”
Bio Roundup: Gottlieb Exits, Bristol Defends, Biogen Buys & More
In early 2017, Scott Gottlieb was considered the most moderate of the potential candidates to head the Food and Drug Administration, which is the most powerful regulator of medical products in the world. It wasn’t a high bar to clear. Libertarians who had questioned some of the basic premises of the FDA were in the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Gottlieb Exits, Bristol Defends, Biogen Buys & More”