Category: National

Academia vs. BioPharma: Young Scientists Between A Rock and A Hard Place

I’ve reached the stage of my career where I’ve been invited to give “career retrospective talks” to grad students and post-docs at academic institutions. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable experience meeting a new generation of young scientists and hearing what’s on their minds. After delivering my seminar and sharing lots of stories and advice, … Continue reading “Academia vs. BioPharma: Young Scientists Between A Rock and A Hard Place”

Women in Engineering, and a Global Call for the Next MacGyver

Apparently, I’m pushy. I can’t help it. It’s my genes, and also all I’ve been through. When you’re a woman in engineering, there are a host of voices (some residing in your head, some not), telling you that you’re not good enough, not smart enough—that when you’re alone amid a sea of male faces at … Continue reading “Women in Engineering, and a Global Call for the Next MacGyver”

Seattle Roundup: Founders’ Co-op New Fund and Real Estate Moves

The big Seattle tech news this week was in real estate, as growing tech companies large and small continue the scramble for space. The early-stage startups will at least have another source of capital, thanks to a new fund raised by Founders’ Co-op. Read on for details of Expedia’s relocation, Porch’s new digs, Alibaba rumors, … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Founders’ Co-op New Fund and Real Estate Moves”

CU, Feld Create Residency to Lure Foreign Entrepreneurs to Boulder

Boulder is opening its arms to entrepreneurs from around the world with a new program created by venture capitalist Brad Feld and the University of Colorado’s Silicon Flatirons center for entrepreneurship. The university announced this week that it has launched a new entrepreneur in residence program that will give up to four entrepreneurs a year … Continue reading “CU, Feld Create Residency to Lure Foreign Entrepreneurs to Boulder”

Wisconsin Roundup: Ebola, Kiio, The Water Council, Uber, & More

Here’s a collection of the latest updates from Wisconsin’s technology and innovation community: —A new experimental vaccine to battle Ebola has shown early but promising results in protecting monkeys exposed to the virus. The vaccine, which is being co-developed by virus expert and University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka, takes a different approach than some … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Ebola, Kiio, The Water Council, Uber, & More”

Bankrate Acquires Detroit-Based Credit Monitoring Company Quizzle

Bankrate, the New York-based aggregator and publisher of online content about personal finance, announced yesterday that it acquired the Detroit credit-monitoring company Quizzle. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Quizzle was part of the “family of companies” under the Quicken Loans umbrella, created in 2008 as a special project by the marketing team … Continue reading “Bankrate Acquires Detroit-Based Credit Monitoring Company Quizzle”

Robot Revolution: Disrupting the Workplace as We Know It

We’re on the brink of the Third Industrial Revolution, with robots moving off the factory floor and emerging in the white-collar office. These “software robots” are being leveraged by businesses across industries to tackle rules-based processes and improve overall operational agility. Operational roles are well-suited for automatons since they, by definition, automatically follow and execute … Continue reading “Robot Revolution: Disrupting the Workplace as We Know It”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: NY Bio Fund, Sarepta, ZappRx, & More

Biotech clusters don’t happen overnight. Entrepreneurs, government agencies, academics, and others have to build them from the ground up. It takes years, a committed, collaborative effort, and an awful lot of money. That’s the kind of thing that’s going on in New York right now. There’s a long, long way to go, of course—Boston and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: NY Bio Fund, Sarepta, ZappRx, & More”

Doudna’s Caribou Bio Raises $11M To Expand Uses For Gene Editing Tech

Caribou Biosciences, one of the biotech startups working to advance a much-watched new technology for precise gene editing, announced today it has raised an $11 million Series A round from venture capital firms and Swiss drug giant Novartis. The money will help Berkeley, CA-based Caribou speed up its efforts to adapt a versatile genome editing … Continue reading “Doudna’s Caribou Bio Raises $11M To Expand Uses For Gene Editing Tech”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Auspex, Hyperion, NuVasive, & More

Xconomy national biotech editor Alex Lash is out wandering in the desert this week, so I’m stepping in as drover, and as biotech herds go, the one I’m rounding up today covers a lot of territory. Down San Diego way, Auspex Pharmaceuticals said “Okey Dokey” to a buyout offer worth close to $3.5 billion. Up … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Auspex, Hyperion, NuVasive, & More”

MD Anderson’s Chin Heads to UT to Lead Efforts to Fight Diabetes

Lynda Chin, who led the University of Texas MD Anderson’s efforts to corral big data to fight cancer, is leaving that post to join the UT System as its first associate vice chancellor for health transformation and chief innovation officer for health affairs. In her new position, Chin will create and lead the new Institute … Continue reading “MD Anderson’s Chin Heads to UT to Lead Efforts to Fight Diabetes”

Hawaii Project Taps Search to Suggest Right Books for the Beach

Finding the perfect book to take to the beach could be getting more scientific and serious, at least if Mark Watkins, founder of the Hawaii Project, is on to something. Watkins, a co-founder and former CEO of Goby, an MIT spinout that developed a search and recommendation engine for travelers, is trying to create the … Continue reading “Hawaii Project Taps Search to Suggest Right Books for the Beach”

Seattle’s Iconic Helix Biotech Campus to Be Expedia’s New Home

Expedia is moving its headquarters from Bellevue, WA, to the Amgen Helix campus in Seattle, a premier collection of biotech labs and office buildings along Elliott Bay that biotech industry backers had hoped would find a second life hosting another biotech company. Expedia, the online travel giant and one of Bellevue’s largest tech companies, is … Continue reading “Seattle’s Iconic Helix Biotech Campus to Be Expedia’s New Home”

Kayak Joins Growing Field of Tech Giants Hiring in Cambridge

The competition for technical talent in Kendall Square just got a little stiffer. Kayak, the online travel-search company, has recently moved into the neighborhood, and chief technology officer Giorgos Zacharia is spearheading an effort to build out the new office. Zacharia (pictured) leads a team of about 300 people spread out among four offices worldwide. … Continue reading “Kayak Joins Growing Field of Tech Giants Hiring in Cambridge”

Seamless Accelerator to Nurture Next Generation of Connected Devices

Rick DeVos, Amway heir and founder of ArtPrize and Start Garden, is backing a new venture in Grand Rapids, MI: an Internet of Things accelerator. A member of the Techstars Global Accelerator Network, the Seamless Accelerator has forged partnerships with Michigan-based corporations that mostly manufacture or design things, DeVos said. Companies participating as partners in … Continue reading “Seamless Accelerator to Nurture Next Generation of Connected Devices”

Shareholder Challenges Fujifilm’s Cellular Dynamics Acquisition

Fujifilm’s $307 million purchase of Wisconsin stem cell company Cellular Dynamics International is being challenged in court by a shareholder who claims the deal unfairly benefits the company’s board members and fleeces outside investors, according to online court records and the Wisconsin State Journal. Fujifilm, the Tokyo-based international conglomerate that has been expanding further into … Continue reading “Shareholder Challenges Fujifilm’s Cellular Dynamics Acquisition”

Renamed SKU, Consumer Goods Accelerator Announces New Startup Class

Fresh off a name change, Austin, TX-based consumer goods accelerator SKU has unveiled the seven startups that make up its fourth class. The former Incubation Station recast itself as SKU in homage to what founder Shari Wynne calls the “atomic unit of consumer goods.” Stock keeping unit, or SKU, is how individual products and services … Continue reading “Renamed SKU, Consumer Goods Accelerator Announces New Startup Class”

Ex-NYT Editor’s Startup Takes Shape, Raises Business Questions

Former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson filled in some more details about a journalism venture she’s starting with Steven Brill, saying it had hired writers and was “very close” to announcing an investor. Abramson, ousted from the Times in May 2014, and Brill, the serial entrepreneur best known for founding American Lawyer and … Continue reading “Ex-NYT Editor’s Startup Takes Shape, Raises Business Questions”

Conceivable Produces Fertility App With Seed Funding

An Austin, TX-based company is introducing an app today that incorporates Chinese medicine practices that are meant to help women get pregnant. The company, called Conceivable, has raised $800,000 in seed funding to make the app available for consumer use. A user of the app answers questions about, among other things, any abnormalities in her … Continue reading “Conceivable Produces Fertility App With Seed Funding”

ZappRx Nabs $5.6M, Inks Zafgen Deal to E-Prescribe Obesity Meds

One of the many challenges startups face is finding the right niche for a business. After a few years of navigating choppy waters, ZappRx may be on its way to smoother sailing—as evidenced by some news the Boston startup is disclosing today. ZappRx is making two announcements. First, the company—which is developing a way to … Continue reading “ZappRx Nabs $5.6M, Inks Zafgen Deal to E-Prescribe Obesity Meds”

Behavioral-Health Focused Quartet Plans Hires With $7M Series A

The preventive care movement has been conquering the medical world, with the goal of simultaneously making patients healthier and saving the healthcare system money by rooting out the causes of an illness. Quartet Health, a New York technology business that announced a $7 million Series A funding today, is applying the idea to behavioral health. … Continue reading “Behavioral-Health Focused Quartet Plans Hires With $7M Series A”

Ittavi Raises $2.6M To Take The Sting Out of Child Support

App developers are dangling thousands of new options before us in our spare time—should we learn a new language before that big trip, join a neighborhood network and share intel about yard sales and lost dogs, or design fabulous outfits by combining the best items from luxury fashion lines? Sheri Atwood is just one of … Continue reading “Ittavi Raises $2.6M To Take The Sting Out of Child Support”

Austin, TX’s Toopher Acquired By Cloud-Computing Giant Salesforce

Online security company Toopher has been sold to Salesforce, according to a note from its co-founders that appeared Wednesday on the company’s website. San Francisco-based Salesforce confirmed the sale. Terms were not disclosed. Toopher developed a technology that uses a person’s cell phone location to authenticate a user’s identity, in an effort to prevent online fraud … Continue reading “Austin, TX’s Toopher Acquired By Cloud-Computing Giant Salesforce”

Days After $22M Raise, Gelesis Files for IPO

Gelesis may have raised $22 million just last week, but apparently it had more up its sleeve than just a private equity financing. The Boston-based startup filed papers this afternoon to go public. It intends to use the proceeds from the offering to fund ongoing clinical trials for the anti-obesity pill it’s developing, known as … Continue reading “Days After $22M Raise, Gelesis Files for IPO”

Bioforward, Wisconsin Biotech Trade Group, Names 2nd CEO in 7 Months

Wisconsin’s top life sciences trade group has named its second new CEO in the past seven months. Bioforward said today that Lisa Johnson, currently the vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC), will take over for current CEO Laura Bray in early May. Bray was named Bioforward CEO in … Continue reading “Bioforward, Wisconsin Biotech Trade Group, Names 2nd CEO in 7 Months”

NuVasive CEO Resigns After Probe of Personnel and Policy Violations

San Diego-based NuVasive (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUVA]]), which makes specialized surgical products for use in spinal surgery, said today that chairman and CEO Alex Lukianov has resigned over violations of the company’s personnel and expense reimbursement policies. Greg Lucier, a NuVasive board member who is the former chairman and CEO of San Diego-based Life Technologies, was named … Continue reading “NuVasive CEO Resigns After Probe of Personnel and Policy Violations”

Northwest Smart Grid Demo Shows Promise, Need for Better Data

The largest smart grid demonstration project in the U.S., covering about a dozen utilities in five Northwest states, has shown how adding more information at all levels of the electricity system can improve efficiency and potentially lower costs. But the project, which wrapped up data collection last summer and is now sharing results, also highlighted … Continue reading “Northwest Smart Grid Demo Shows Promise, Need for Better Data”

Vaynerchuk at NJTC Conference Warns of Flood of Fake Entrepreneurs

It is the best of times to be an entrepreneur now, with easy money to be had, but gloom lurks on the horizon, according to Gary Vaynerchuk. “This is not going to last,” he said. On Tuesday, the investor and entrepreneur had a few choice words about the startup and funding scene in his keynote … Continue reading “Vaynerchuk at NJTC Conference Warns of Flood of Fake Entrepreneurs”

H-1Bs And How Changing The System Will Help Startups

In order for the American economy to thrive, we must rely on our ability to innovate. The U.S. government now estimates that job growth is almost three times faster in the innovation-rich fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics than the rest of the economy. Yet despite the explosion in demand, the steady supply of … Continue reading “H-1Bs And How Changing The System Will Help Startups”

Q1 Texas News: Investments, Accelerator Startups & Mark Cuban at SXSW

Innovation news in Texas started off the year with the announcement that billionaire IT entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” judge Mark Cuban would judge at the Impact Pediatric Health pitch day at South By Southwest. The first quarter of the year concluded with a story on the contest’s winning company—and its largest customer, Cuban himself. There … Continue reading “Q1 Texas News: Investments, Accelerator Startups & Mark Cuban at SXSW”

Equity Crowdfunding Backers Clash Over Fundraising Limits in States

After five years of bootstrapping his startup, Instancy, Harvey Singh’s company has a finished education software product, revenue, and a growing roster of employees. As Singh looks overseas to expand Instancy’s sales reach, he says he is now ready for outside investors. He wants to raise that capital through crowdfunding. The federal Jumpstart Our Business … Continue reading “Equity Crowdfunding Backers Clash Over Fundraising Limits in States”

Cancer Groups Tap The Crowd To Boost Clinical Trial Participation

Pushing a cancer therapy through clinical trials typically takes years and millions of dollars. But before trial organizers can even begin evaluating a drug’s safety and effectiveness in humans, they must first, of course, sign up patients to test it. Easier said than done, it turns out. At least a quarter of cancer clinical trials, … Continue reading “Cancer Groups Tap The Crowd To Boost Clinical Trial Participation”

Garabedian’s Rocky Road at Sarepta Ends With Abrupt Resignation

[Updated, 8:55 am ET] It’s been a strange journey for Chris Garabedian. As the CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics, he steered the company from a biotech afterthought to one of Wall Street’s darlings, earning the support of a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patient community desperate for an effective treatment. Yet there’s been another, more controversial side to … Continue reading “Garabedian’s Rocky Road at Sarepta Ends With Abrupt Resignation”

Openbay CEO: Diagnosis Software for Connected Cars Is a Big Market

Just as GPS navigation and power windows eventually became standard in vehicles, being connected to the Internet is the next automotive luxury upgrade that will become commonplace, according to Rob Infantino. He’s the CEO and founder of Openbay, an online marketplace for finding quotes on auto repairs. Openbay, a Boston company backed by Google Ventures … Continue reading “Openbay CEO: Diagnosis Software for Connected Cars Is a Big Market”

ATyr Pharma Raises $76M Round to Advance Physiocrine Drugs

San Diego’s aTyr Pharma has gotten all dressed up, but what’s the big occasion? The biotherapeutics company said yesterday it recently raised $76 million in Series E financing to advance its program in physiocrine-based drugs for treating rare immune diseases. The latest round brings total financing for aTyr (pronounced a-tire) to at least $184 million … Continue reading “ATyr Pharma Raises $76M Round to Advance Physiocrine Drugs”

Fresh Off Boston Move, CoLucid Plots IPO For Migraine Drug Push

CoLucid Pharmaceuticals has barely finished unpacking after relocating to Massachusetts last week, but it has already pulled one thing out of its moving boxes—a document outlining plans for an initial public offering. According to CoLucid’s IPO prospectus, the company could raise up to $86 million. But that figure is just a placeholder. The details won’t … Continue reading “Fresh Off Boston Move, CoLucid Plots IPO For Migraine Drug Push”

Algal Scientific Scores $7M Series B, Expands in Animal Health

Algal Scientific, a Plymouth, MI-based startup focused on developing algae-based chemicals to improve animal feed and human nutrition, announced this week that it has raised a $7 million Series B round. The round was led by Formation 8, with participation from Evonik Industries and Independence Equity, all of whom have invested in Algal Scientific in … Continue reading “Algal Scientific Scores $7M Series B, Expands in Animal Health”

At Q1’s End, Three Texas Technology Startups Announce New Funds

Three Texas technology companies have announced million-dollar investment rounds this week. —KeepTrax, a Dallas-based mobile app company, said Tuesday it has raised $1 million from Naya Ventures, a Dallas venture firm that focuses on mobile tech startups. KeepTrax, which calls itself an “Internet of Me” company, uses GPS and other mobile sensors to compile a … Continue reading “At Q1’s End, Three Texas Technology Startups Announce New Funds”

Sprinklr Gets $46M, Flexes Its Muscles in Social Media Monitoring

As I mentioned just yesterday, competition is pretty crowded in the social media monitoring sector. Tuesday morning, one of the players in this scene bulked up its war chest even more. Sprinklr, a New York-based developer of social media management software, raised $46 million in a round led by Battery Ventures, Intel Capital, and Iconiq … Continue reading “Sprinklr Gets $46M, Flexes Its Muscles in Social Media Monitoring”

Diffbot Turns Online Comments Into Market Intelligence Databases

Let’s say you’re a tech enterpreneur whose groundbreaking gizmo got rave reviews in influential publications, spurring months of lucrative sales. But later, sales slide downward, and you don’t know why. Turns out, a rumor is circulating in discussion forums that your product has a high failure rate after six months of use—a mistaken impression or … Continue reading “Diffbot Turns Online Comments Into Market Intelligence Databases”

The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage

After 40 years as a professional woman who by many standards has “made it,” I am struck by the extent to which young and highly educated—even Ivy-league educated—employees are challenged by the ambiguities and realities of the contemporary competitive workplace. Having always been exceptional, and having done what was expected of them, usually by their … Continue reading “The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage”

Spruce Nabs $15M Series A to Connect Dermatologists and Patients

Startups have been trying to digitize real world businesses for years in an attempt to make the experience easier, more cost effective, and efficient. Spruce, a company with an app that acts as a digital doctor’s office, has closed a $15 million Series A round to do just that for diagnosing and treating dermatological conditions. … Continue reading “Spruce Nabs $15M Series A to Connect Dermatologists and Patients”

Pivoting From IPO, Syndax Inks Combo Trial Deal With Merck

Syndax Pharmaceuticals sidestepped an IPO a few months back when it found its cancer drug, entinostat, might have a benefit it didn’t originally anticipate. Now the Waltham, MA-based company is putting that thesis to the test through a deal with Merck. The two companies announced this morning that they’ll run a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial … Continue reading “Pivoting From IPO, Syndax Inks Combo Trial Deal With Merck”

Mobiquity Acquires European Mobile Consultant Morgan Clark

Even in the high-tech business of enterprise mobile, it can help to have some feet on the ground. Mobiquity, a mobile-app maker and marketer for businesses, is acquiring a European technology-focused business consultant, Morgan Clark & Company. The deal is helping Boston-based Mobiquity add to its European-based mobile consulting business, as well as expand its … Continue reading “Mobiquity Acquires European Mobile Consultant Morgan Clark”

From Iceland to White House, Precision Medicine’s Promises & Hurdles

[Updated and corrected, 4/5/15, 6:51 pm. See below.] There is talk, and there is action. In the drive toward healthcare tailored for smaller and smaller groups of people, there was both last week, and both illustrated not just the promise of precision medicine, but the long haul until that promise is fulfilled. First, Iceland’s deCODE … Continue reading “From Iceland to White House, Precision Medicine’s Promises & Hurdles”

Arch, Flagship to Anchor NYCEDC’s $150M NY Biotech Fund

[Updated, 3/31/15, 3:35pm ET] New York biotech entrepreneurs have been asking the same question for years: How can Manhattan ever truly foster life sciences startups and build a biotech cluster when there just isn’t enough funding to go around for biotech startups in the city, or affordable lab space to grow them? Today, the New York … Continue reading “Arch, Flagship to Anchor NYCEDC’s $150M NY Biotech Fund”

Security Innovation Raises $4M to Connect Cars, Fight Hackers

Security Innovation, a Boston-area company that makes software that connects cars and programs that teach employees how to avoid security breaches, has raised $4 million in growth capital. Existing investor Brook Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Gordon M. Burns, a director of Compass Diversified Holdings. The funding brings the amount the … Continue reading “Security Innovation Raises $4M to Connect Cars, Fight Hackers”

Denmark’s Falcon Social Gets $16M More and Plans Further NY Expansion

With its U.S. beachhead already in place in New York, Denmark’s Falcon Social is looking to grow its presence stateside. The Copenhagen-based software-as-a-service company last week raised $16 million in a Series B round led by Dutch firm Prime Ventures, with Germany’s Target Partners and Denmark’s Northcap participating. Falcon Social so far has raised $25.33 … Continue reading “Denmark’s Falcon Social Gets $16M More and Plans Further NY Expansion”