The FDA is one of the easiest punching bags in American politics. Depending on your point of view, it’s either too hard on business with its unreasonable demands, or too soft on those predatory drug companies seeking to profit off Grandma’s illness regardless of whether the products are safe. When it does its job well, … Continue reading “Five Things Industry Can Do to Support True FDA Reform, and Restore Public Confidence”
Category: Detroit
Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge Now Underway
The revamped Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge (MCEVC) is now accepting applications, the University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship announced this week. The MCEVC is a business competition designed to help Michigan students turn cleantech ideas into thriving businesses. New this year is the contest’s six-month format, which includes skill-building and acceleration phases in addition … Continue reading “Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge Now Underway”
Saint Steve? Not Exactly. Apple and the Power of the Dark Side
Today’s column was co-written by myself and Curt Woodward, Xconomy’s Seattle-based senior editor. There’s a great term of art in the history profession: hagiography. It’s from the Greek for “holy writing,” and at one time it pertained mostly to biographies of saints. Well, there’s a whole lot of beatification going on this week as the … Continue reading “Saint Steve? Not Exactly. Apple and the Power of the Dark Side”
Five Perspectives on Steve Jobs: Reflections from Around the Xconomy Network
When the news broke that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died, there was no shortage of tributes and remembrances, from names big and small. And they’re still pouring out, from entrepreneurs, technologists, consumers, and more. We were able to tap into our network of guest authors, known as the Xconomists, for some insights into Jobs’ legacy … Continue reading “Five Perspectives on Steve Jobs: Reflections from Around the Xconomy Network”
The Essential Steve Jobs for Today’s Pharmaceutical Executive
It is hard to overestimate the importance of Steve Jobs on the American psyche. The co-founder and guiding force of Apple has died, succumbing to a long illness after only recently stepping down as chief executive. But his impact continues beyond his life, his business, his industry, his leadership, and his vision. One only needs to … Continue reading “The Essential Steve Jobs for Today’s Pharmaceutical Executive”
Steve Jobs & the Power of Vision: My Visits to the ‘Reality Distortion Field’
Steve was an incredible product visionary and had an uncompromising sense of product design. Aldus and desktop publishing came about because Steve had a vision of what was possible by marrying a plain paper copier to a computer to make the Apple Laserwriter. When the Laserwriter was introduced it cost $7000, more than twice as much … Continue reading “Steve Jobs & the Power of Vision: My Visits to the ‘Reality Distortion Field’”
Steve Jobs: The Soul of an Industry
When I heard the news of Steve Jobs’s death last night, even though I was hardly surprised, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut—as if the industry in which I’ve spent my career had lost its soul. I’m rarely shy about criticizing the titans of our industry, but from the beginning Steve … Continue reading “Steve Jobs: The Soul of an Industry”
Lycera Hires New CEO, Plans Move to U-M Research Center
Plymouth, MI-based biopharmaceutical company Lycera announced yesterday it has hired a new CEO: Kathleen Metters, former senior vice president and head of worldwide basic research at Merck. The company is also in the process of moving from Plymouth to a spot at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Center. Metters will continue to be based … Continue reading “Lycera Hires New CEO, Plans Move to U-M Research Center”
Steve Jobs: A Few Memories
I’m so sad this evening—as millions are—to hear of Steve Jobs’s death. Scattered over the last quarter century, I learned much from Steve Jobs, and was proud to consider him a friend. And indeed, he contributed in various ways to all three of my major life projects so far: Mathematica, A New Kind of Science and Wolfram|Alpha. I … Continue reading “Steve Jobs: A Few Memories”
Xconomist of the Week: Five Questions for New York Life Sciences 2031 Panelist Eric Schadt
Eric Schadt’s career as a scientist has been focused on unlocking genetic cues to common human diseases such as diabetes and obesity. He is the chief scientific officer of Pacific Biosciences, a Menlo Park, CA, company that develops gene-sequencing technologies. He recently joined Mount Sinai Medical Center as the director of the Institute for Genomics … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Five Questions for New York Life Sciences 2031 Panelist Eric Schadt”
How Steve Jobs Rewired Our Lives-and Raised Our Expectations
What was Steve Jobs’ greatest contribution to society? The amazing thing is that there are so many answers to choose from. Was it the insanely great Mac? Or perhaps the iPod and the MP3 music revolution? Or Pixar and Toy Story and all of the studio’s other animated wonders? Or the iPhone and the iPad … Continue reading “How Steve Jobs Rewired Our Lives-and Raised Our Expectations”
Amadesa Obtains $7,400,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e1d67c0-4eba-41bc-b573-944ded5dda9b&Preview=1 Date 10/6/2011 Company Name Amadesa Mailing Address 630 Davis Street Evanston, IL 60201 Company Description Amadesa provides complete website testing and relevancy targeting solutions to help marketers in e-commerce and e-business companies. Website http://www.amadesa.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,400,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Amadesa will use the … Continue reading “Amadesa Obtains $7,400,000 Series B Funding Round”
Steve Jobs: A Technology Guy For the Rest of Us
It’s impossible to overstate Jobs’s contributions. First, monumental contributions to design. Design is at least as much about what to omit as it is about what to include, and Jobs was a master of both. As you saw in the New York Times last month, Jobs’s design patents ranged from the Mac Air, the iPhone, … Continue reading “Steve Jobs: A Technology Guy For the Rest of Us”
Unless You Are Awesome, You Will Be Outsourced
We’re quickly moving to a new world where the wealth gap is compounding and increasing. We’re moving to a world that is going to look a lot like Hollywood: a few people enjoying insane success … and everyone else spends their days waiting tables. The delta between A-players and B-players in companies has always been … Continue reading “Unless You Are Awesome, You Will Be Outsourced”
Welcome to Detroit: Future Home of RobotTown?
Detroit already has a Greektown, a Corktown, a Poletown, and even Hockeytown. Soon, if Mark Salamango has his way, it will also have RobotTown, a nonprofit “living laboratory” dedicated to robotics innovation, testing, education, incubation, and events. Salamango compares RobotTown, which he hopes will have a campus in the middle of the city, to a … Continue reading “Welcome to Detroit: Future Home of RobotTown?”
Tweetchat on RNA Interference Upstages iPhone (Not Really, but It Was Still Fun)
Who says you can’t be smart, witty, or say anything of substance in 140 characters or less? Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore had a zinger ready yesterday as Apple’s dog-and-pony show was happening during the first Xconomy “Tweetchat,” on the latest ups and downs in RNA interference. “RNAi vs iPhone, RNAi better for patients” is … Continue reading “Tweetchat on RNA Interference Upstages iPhone (Not Really, but It Was Still Fun)”
Six Cities, Six Big Tech Ideas Coming to Boston on December 1: Stephen Wolfram to Keynote
Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. Ahem. [A giant “6×6” fills the screen.] Macho narrator voice: Star Wars had The Empire Strikes Back (Vader: “I am your father”) The Godfather had The Godfather Part II (Pacino: “You broke my heart”) Mad Max had The Road Warrior…well, you get the idea. Now Xconomy presents 6×6, the … Continue reading “Six Cities, Six Big Tech Ideas Coming to Boston on December 1: Stephen Wolfram to Keynote”
FDA, After Taking Heat, Offers Up Reforms to Support Pharma, Biotech & Device Innovation
The FDA has spent decades talking about how its job is to make sure all kinds of U.S. medical products are safe to use, and effective. Now it’s coming out with a new strategic outline on how it intends to do all that same stuff, while also spurring the development of more innovative drugs and … Continue reading “FDA, After Taking Heat, Offers Up Reforms to Support Pharma, Biotech & Device Innovation”
NxThera Lands $9,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=242e7f0c-5494-4953-80f4-3bc4ae22f589&Preview=1 Date 10/5/2011 Company Name NxThera Mailing Address 4186 Lexington Ave. St. Paul, MN 55126 Company Description NxThera develops medical technologies to treat a variety of endourology conditions, including BPH. The company’s technology platform utilizes a simple, minimally invasive, vapor therapy designed to measurably improve urinary flow and patient quality of life. … Continue reading “NxThera Lands $9,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
InterRad Medical Secures $10,000,000 Series C Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=711eab8c-04ff-4897-ad1e-6c0938a60fd7&Preview=1 Date 10/5/2011 Company Name InterRad Medical Mailing Address 181 Cheshire Ln. Plymouth, MN 55441 Company Description The company’s mission is the development and commercialization of innovative medical devices for use in minimally invasive interventional and surgical procedures. Website http://www.interradmedical.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds … Continue reading “InterRad Medical Secures $10,000,000 Series C Funding Round”
Pinnacle Looks Beyond Detroit as the Market for Its Opposed-Piston Engine
When Ecomotors International set out to change the way car and truck engines are built, it set up shop in Livonia, MI, a suburb of Detroit, in hopes of eventually licensing its technology to the big U.S. automakers. It was a calculated risk. As radical as Ecomotors’ opposed-piston engine design may be, at least the … Continue reading “Pinnacle Looks Beyond Detroit as the Market for Its Opposed-Piston Engine”
Join Us at 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific for RNAi “Tweetchat” with Alnylam’s John Maraganore
Here’s just a quick reminder that we’re doing the live Tweetchat today with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore. This chat, which anyone with a Twitter account is free to join, will be held today at 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific. The best way to follow the questions and answers will be to follow the live … Continue reading “Join Us at 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific for RNAi “Tweetchat” with Alnylam’s John Maraganore”
Cloudbot Garners New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b7a411f4-abc5-4763-8e04-f525c6f08603&Preview=1 Date 10/4/2011 Company Name Cloudbot Mailing Address 435 North LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60654 Company Description Cloudbot simplifies the way you interact with your apps. Website http://www.cloudbot.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes We are extremely pleased for the opportunity to work with the experts … Continue reading “Cloudbot Garners New Round”
Emergent BioSolutions Snags $1.25B Contract to Provide Anthrax Vaccine to Feds
Rockville, MD-based Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE: EBS) today announced it has landed a contract worth $1.25 billion over five years to provide the federal government with 44.75 million doses of BioThrax, the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect against anthrax infection. The company will manufacture the vaccine at its facility in … Continue reading “Emergent BioSolutions Snags $1.25B Contract to Provide Anthrax Vaccine to Feds”
Lee Davenport, A Technological Hero, Dies at 95: Here are His 7 Rules for Fostering Innovation
Over the weekend, I learned that one of my heroes, Lee Davenport, had just passed away. Lee died of cancer at the age of 95 in his longtime home of Greenwich, CT. That’s where I first met him in 1994, when I was researching a book about the MIT Radiation Laboratory, the World War II … Continue reading “Lee Davenport, A Technological Hero, Dies at 95: Here are His 7 Rules for Fostering Innovation”
Why Universities Are Key to the Future of Biotech, and How UCSF’s Chief is Showing the Way
These are hard times at universities in America. State support is dwindling, tuition is booming, and federal research dollars are in jeopardy. Morale has taken a beating. But U.S. academic research centers are still the driving force for innovative new medicines, like always. And anyone who cares about U.S. universities should pay attention to what’s … Continue reading “Why Universities Are Key to the Future of Biotech, and How UCSF’s Chief is Showing the Way”
Reinventing the Board
Imagine a world where technology companies are more successful and grow faster because of the strategic help and guidance from their boards of directors. Or, at least imagine a world where they don’t suffer from unhelpful, or worse, problematic boards that consume management’s precious time. Some commentators like Steve Blank, Jeff Bussgang, Brad Feld, and … Continue reading “Reinventing the Board”
Can Crowdsourcing Make a Dent in Unemployment? Ask MobileWorks
Jobs are the single biggest political issue of the day in the U.S., and rightly so. As of August, the official unemployment rate in the United States stood at 9.1 percent. That was down one point from the October 2009 peak of 10.1 percent, but still higher than at any time since the 1930s, with … Continue reading “Can Crowdsourcing Make a Dent in Unemployment? Ask MobileWorks”
Networked Insights Secures $20,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6471fd1c-cbc3-49ac-a71b-c25d656b785f&Preview=1 Date 9/30/2011 Company Name Networked Insights Mailing Address 33 East Main Street Madison, WI 53703 Company Description Networked Insights represents the shift from market research to customer generated insights. We enable companies to engage with their customers on a continual basis to deliver relevant insights on the market, customer and company … Continue reading “Networked Insights Secures $20,000,000 New Funding Round”
Notes from TEDxDetroit: Time for Action
Thinkers, doers, artists, hipsters, nerds, movers, and shakers gathered at the Max M. Fisher Music Theatre yesterday for TEDxDetroit, a beautifully organized confab of metro residents who have planted their flags firmly in the Motor City’s terra firma. These are the folks who are dedicated to pushing the city forward, whether through a “living” robot-tech … Continue reading “Notes from TEDxDetroit: Time for Action”
Excerpt from “The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America”
No particular group, right or left or somewhere else, is immune from the sense that change is accelerating at an ever faster pace with each passing year. The experience of too-rapid change, whether trivial or profound, is a characteristic of modernity. Information technologies are perhaps the sentinel sources and examples of what Alvin Toffler called “future shock” in 1970, right … Continue reading “Excerpt from “The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America””
Xconomist of the Week: Pfizer’s Barbara Dalton to Speak at Our NY Life Sciences 2031 Forum
As Pfizer’s vice president of venture capital, Barbara Dalton will bring two valuable perspectives to Xconomy’s Life Sciences 2031 panel discussion on October 13: that of a VC and that of a pharma executive. Dalton, who was trained in immunology and virology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, began her career as a research scientist … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Pfizer’s Barbara Dalton to Speak at Our NY Life Sciences 2031 Forum”
BidPal Network Garners $5,600,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cb18d01d-4131-4d5b-8b55-e817d29482c5&Preview=1 Date 9/29/2011 Company Name BidPal Network Mailing Address 8425 Woodfield Crossing Indianapolis, IL 46240 Company Description BidPal Network has developed an innovative solution that wirelessly automates and accelerates the auction process. BidPal’s system enables guests to place bids on silent auction items at any time and from anywhere during the event. … Continue reading “BidPal Network Garners $5,600,000 Series B Financing”
Join Us for a Live ‘Tweetchat’ on the Future of RNAi, With Guest John Maraganore of Alnylam
Usually when I want to chat with someone, I still pick up that 19th century contraption called the telephone or sometimes meet in person. Each of those communications methods has its merits, but you can bring a lot more voices to a conversation through a real-time chat like the ones happening now on Twitter. So … Continue reading “Join Us for a Live ‘Tweetchat’ on the Future of RNAi, With Guest John Maraganore of Alnylam”
Body Shop Bids Lands New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6bbbf4d0-43d1-48c2-befd-e602221c80fc&Preview=1 Date 9/28/2011 Company Name Body Shop Bids Mailing Address 600 W Chicago Chicago, IL 60610 Company Description Back in 2005, I walked out of Red Lobster to find a nice big dent in the side of my car, put there by an unknown neighbor in a city I had just moved … Continue reading “Body Shop Bids Lands New Financing”
Accelerate Michigan Announces 53 Semi-Finalists
The 53 semi-finalists in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition have been announced. The global business-plan competition targets mid-to-late-stage business startups with the potential to generate an immediate impact on Michigan’s economy, as well as student concepts with longer-term business viability. (Students can still register up until the September 30 deadline.) At stake is more than … Continue reading “Accelerate Michigan Announces 53 Semi-Finalists”
MI Venture Capital Association Announces Two New Programs
Thanks to a $3.1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit Michigan Venture Capital Association announced it is accepting applications for two new programs designed to retain young talent and expand the state’s angel network. The Michigan Venture Fellows Program gives budding VCs the opportunity to spend 18 to 24 months in … Continue reading “MI Venture Capital Association Announces Two New Programs”
Unlimited Abilities: A View from the MedtechVision Conference
We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision. —Ralph Waldo Emerson In a world thick with healthcare conferences, MedtechVision, held September 15-16 at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park, CA, stood out, both for its quality of content and for its participants. “I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that it … Continue reading “Unlimited Abilities: A View from the MedtechVision Conference”
NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University
Wayne State University announced last week that one of its professors, Dr. Aloke Dutta, has received a $2.1 million grant for his work researching drugs that ease symptoms caused by Parkinson’s Disease. Dutta and his team aim to develop drugs with multiple ways of working to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and also to modify … Continue reading “NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University”
200 Women and 5 Men: How Women in Bio’s Network Could Close the Gender Gap
Women have come a long way in the biotech business the past couple decades, no doubt. But if you have any illusions that the industry is nearing gender balance in 2011, then you haven’t seen what I witnessed a few days ago in a hotel lobby in Seattle. The gender balance issue jumped out at … Continue reading “200 Women and 5 Men: How Women in Bio’s Network Could Close the Gender Gap”
U-M’s Faley on Entrepreneurial Programs’ Explosive Growth, and Ending the Midwestern Shame Game
“Entrepreneurialism is a virus that must be spread.” So said Samuel Zell 12 years ago as he and Anne Lurie (on behalf of her deceased husband Robert) gave the University of Michigan Ross School of Business $10 million to establish the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Since then, the Institute has extended its reach beyond U-M, playing … Continue reading “U-M’s Faley on Entrepreneurial Programs’ Explosive Growth, and Ending the Midwestern Shame Game”
Turning the Social Network Inside Out: What the Changes at Facebook Mean For Apple and Google-and You
One of the most persistent criticisms of Facebook is that it’s trying to build a “walled garden” analogous to AOL’s dialup service in the 1980s and early 1990s. Blogger Jason Kottke said it in 2007. Tim Berners-Lee said it in Scientific American in 2010. Google’s Vint Cerf revived the meme earlier this week at an … Continue reading “Turning the Social Network Inside Out: What the Changes at Facebook Mean For Apple and Google-and You”
How to Build a Web Startup: Lean LaunchPad Edition
As part of our Lean LaunchPad classes at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and for the National Science Foundation, students build a startup in 8 weeks using Business Model Design + Customer Development. One of the problems they run into is building a website. If you’re an experienced coder and user interface designer you think nothing is … Continue reading “How to Build a Web Startup: Lean LaunchPad Edition”
Xconomist of the Week: Ben Elowitz Goes Deep with TV Gossip, Maps the Future of Media
What does “Jersey Shore” star Snooki have to do with the future of online media? Plenty, it turns out. That’s one of the surprising things I learned recently chatting with Ben Elowitz, the CEO of Seattle-based Wetpaint, a well-financed startup that’s about a year into its newest mission: Trying to reinvent how content is created … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Ben Elowitz Goes Deep with TV Gossip, Maps the Future of Media”
U-M Prof Snags MacArthur Fellowship For Stem Cell Research
When Dr. Yukiko Yamashita’s cell phone rang with the news that she’d been named a MacArthur Fellow, she ignored the call. “Nobody important calls me on that phone, only my family,” Yamashita says. “I held the phone for 10 full seconds wondering if I should answer or not.” Deciding that it was a wrong number, … Continue reading “U-M Prof Snags MacArthur Fellowship For Stem Cell Research”
TechStars Raises $24M More, Offers Each Startup $100K; Founder David Cohen Talks “Quality Over Quantity”
The early-stage tech accelerator business just got even more competitive. Boulder, CO-based TechStars, which runs seed-stage mentorship programs for startups in Boulder, Boston, Seattle, and New York, announced today it has raised a new $24 million fund from a long list of investors that includes Foundry Group, IA Ventures, Avalon Ventures, DFJ Mercury, SoftBank Capital, … Continue reading “TechStars Raises $24M More, Offers Each Startup $100K; Founder David Cohen Talks “Quality Over Quantity””
Infinisource Secures New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=11017b69-ce70-46d8-b355-6949774aa34e&Preview=1 Date 9/21/2011 Company Name Infinisource Mailing Address 15 E. Washington Street Box 889 Coldwater, MI 49036 Company Description At Infinisource, our No. 1 priority is people. Whether it’s the Customer Service Representative answering the phone, the client or agent asking technical questions or a plan participant calling about premium payments, it … Continue reading “Infinisource Secures New Round”
It’s True: We’re Happy in Detroit
A few years ago, it dawned on me that I was driving to Detroit—80 miles each way–nearly every weekend. Why? Because there was nothing to freaking do in the city I lived in and Detroit seemed to have it all: concerts of every size and genre, live professional sporting events, awesome bars and restaurants. I … Continue reading “It’s True: We’re Happy in Detroit”
Plunging Valuations and Surplus of Groupon Clones Sets Off Frenzy of M&A Activity
Buyouts and mergers of Web companies that offer online “daily deals” have accelerated sharply over the past five months, driven by a rapid decline in valuations and a surplus of Groupon clones, according to a report issued today by CB Insights, a New York data services firm. CB Insights counted 22 global mergers and acquisitions … Continue reading “Plunging Valuations and Surplus of Groupon Clones Sets Off Frenzy of M&A Activity”
GrubHub.com Receives $50,000,000 Series E Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8e6333b8-055f-4fa7-b4a1-b97058f38b1f&Preview=1 Date 9/20/2011 Company Name GrubHub.com Mailing Address 2211 N. Elston Chicago, IL 60614 Company Description The company operates a website that allows users to learn which restaurants deliver food, view menus, reviews and more. Website http://www.grubhub.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $50,000,000 Transaction Round Series E Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “GrubHub.com Receives $50,000,000 Series E Financing”