Category: National

Vyrix Forms Partnership to Commercialize Premature Ejaculation Drug

A Colorado-based drug company has formed a partnership with a Canadian pharmaceutical company to commercialize its drug for premature ejaculation. Vyrix Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement with Paladin Labs to market and sell tramadol (Zertane) in Canada, South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Vyrix is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: … Continue reading “Vyrix Forms Partnership to Commercialize Premature Ejaculation Drug”

Rice Alliance Taps Northwestern’s Hochberg to Boost Entrepreneurship

Rice University has brought some of Northwestern University’s entrepreneurial prowess to Houston. While a team from the Chicago-area institution did not win this year’s Rice Business Plan competition—healthtech startup Innoblative came in 4th—Northwestern teams won the previous two years, and consistently place in the finals. In July, Yael Hochberg, a Northwestern professor of finance who … Continue reading “Rice Alliance Taps Northwestern’s Hochberg to Boost Entrepreneurship”

Twitter to Buy Boulder, CO-based Social Data Startup Gnip

Twitter will acquire social data startup Gnip for an undisclosed price, the companies announced Tuesday. Boulder, CO-based Gnip collects public social-media activity from sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr and sells it to clients such as marketing and business intelligence firms. Not many details about the deal have been made public yet. According to a … Continue reading “Twitter to Buy Boulder, CO-based Social Data Startup Gnip”

Wearing Two Hats, Resnick Pushes Tech Issues on Madison Council

Scott Resnick’s appearance doesn’t exactly scream “politician.” On this particular afternoon, the 27-year-old is seated comfortably in the conference room of his software company’s office overlooking Lake Mendota in Madison, WI. He is wearing a collared shirt with blue, grey, and magenta stripes, along with tan pants. No suit, no tie, no problem. Anything above … Continue reading “Wearing Two Hats, Resnick Pushes Tech Issues on Madison Council”

Scripps Unveils New Drug Development Arm, Signs J&J as First Partner

Venture capital firms have long nurtured biotechnology startups that make use of discoveries from non-profit research centers—but the roster of such VC firms has been shrinking. To fill the gap in that financial ecosystem, both research institutions and pharmaceutical companies have been trying out new roles—and meeting each other in the middle. The Scripps Research … Continue reading “Scripps Unveils New Drug Development Arm, Signs J&J as First Partner”

AAVLife Gets $12M to Bring Gene Therapy to Rare Ataxia

Bluebird Bio is a symbol, in a way, of the renaissance of gene therapy. The Cambridge, MA-based company raised $116 million in an IPO last year, and a number of startups pursuing gene therapy have cropped up since. So perhaps its no surprise that the field’s new entrant, AAVLife, comes from some of the same … Continue reading “AAVLife Gets $12M to Bring Gene Therapy to Rare Ataxia”

Marketing Automation Provider Act-On Software Raises $42M, Eyes IPO

More cash is flowing into the online marketing business with Act-On Software hauling in a $42 million investment led by Technology Crossover Ventures and eying an initial public offering perhaps next year. Based in Beaverton, OR, Act-On, a maker of marketing automation tools, is following what is becoming a well-worn path towards the public markets … Continue reading “Marketing Automation Provider Act-On Software Raises $42M, Eyes IPO”

Office on iPad: Reports of its Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The day that iPad users and Microsoft Office suite lovers have been waiting for has finally arrived. Now the fate of dozens of third-party applications like Prezi and SlideShark hang in the balance. In a break with tradition, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the release of Office iPad on March 27. Under former CEO Steve … Continue reading “Office on iPad: Reports of its Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated”

Big Money Follows Big Talk at Rice University’s Startup Competition

All weekend long, Rice Alliance director Brad Burke needled members of the Goose Society with affectionate trash-talk, urging them to live up to their reputations as generous investors. After all, the “Grand Order of Successful Entrepreneurs” has provided much of the drama over the years on the final night of the Rice Business Plan competition. … Continue reading “Big Money Follows Big Talk at Rice University’s Startup Competition”

SilverRail Scores $40M, Wants to Be ITA (Not Kayak) of Train Travel

There’s a Boston-area travel tech company that you may have forgotten about, because it moved its management team to London a few years ago to focus on the European market. But no longer—the team is back, with a major new wad of cash. SilverRail Technologies, based in Woburn, MA, has raised a $40 million Series … Continue reading “SilverRail Scores $40M, Wants to Be ITA (Not Kayak) of Train Travel”

Drones, Oculus, WhatsApp & the Future of Communication

[Corrected 4/14/14, 6:13 pm. See below.] Facebook is aiming to become a telco. Drones are the towers. Oculus are the phones. WhatsApp is the service. Twenty-one billion dollars is cheap for a next-generation telco. There is more behind the WhatsApp and Oculus deals than the apparent need to bring teens and gamers under Facebook’s fold. Facebook and … Continue reading “Drones, Oculus, WhatsApp & the Future of Communication”

E-mail Adtech Player LiveIntent Finds its Stride, Plans More Growth

New York’s LiveIntent is just settling into its latest offices, but the company is already planning to bulk up its ranks. Dave Hendricks, president at the e-mail ad technology company, says LiveIntent’s staff of 100 will “grow radically again this year,” as it puts funding it raised to work. Content publishers use LiveIntent’s software to … Continue reading “E-mail Adtech Player LiveIntent Finds its Stride, Plans More Growth”

Investing in Dreams: Northwest Programs Educate New Angels

Desney Tan is a decorated computer scientist and principal researcher at Microsoft Research where he works on mobile and wearable devices. He’s done well enough to have “a couple extra dollars to toss around,” he says, and he wanted to take his passion for technology up another notch by investing some of those dollars in … Continue reading “Investing in Dreams: Northwest Programs Educate New Angels”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Halozyme, Zogenix, & More

A big drop in biotech stocks set the backdrop for much of the news out of San Diego’s life sciences community this week. The tide rises, and the tide falls. But the surf is forever—at least in San Diego. —A broad selloff in biotech stocks has prompted widespread concern that the biotech bubble is popping. … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Halozyme, Zogenix, & More”

Seattle Roundup: Founders’ Co-op New Fund; Allen Grant; Munchery & More

The big news this week is a new fund being raised by Seattle-based seed-stage investors Founders’ Co-op. Read on for details on this and new grants for research on human cell lineage from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation; the Munchery’s expansion to Seattle; a data breach via the sale of surplus state government computers; … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Founders’ Co-op New Fund; Allen Grant; Munchery & More”

Boston Tech Roundup: NetProspex, Lucidity Lights, Ubiquitous Energy

We’ve got financing deals across business software, consumer products, cleantech, and transportation to report in this weekly collection of innovation tidbits: —NetProspex, a provider of data software for marketing customers, has raised another $13 million. The Series C round was led by Spring Lake Equity Partners, and ups the company’s total fundraising to $27 million. … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: NetProspex, Lucidity Lights, Ubiquitous Energy”

Robo Madness 2014 Takeaways: Jobs, Education, & Redefining Autonomy

In celebration of National Robotics Week, Xconomy brought together big hitters from across the space yesterday to chat about the future of robotics at Robo Madness, our third annual Silicon Valley robotics forum. Nearly 200 entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, and students showed up at SRI International to hear speakers from top robotics companies on both coasts. … Continue reading “Robo Madness 2014 Takeaways: Jobs, Education, & Redefining Autonomy”

Roundup: Aastrom, Gale, STEM summer camps, Beringea, HelloWorld

Here’s a look at news you may have missed from around Southeast Michigan’s innovation community: —Aastrom Biosciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ASTM]]) has appointed Ross Tubo as chief scientific officer and David Recker as chief medical officer. Tubo was formerly vice president of stem cell research and chemokine biology at Genzyme, where he oversaw R&D for two of the first … Continue reading “Roundup: Aastrom, Gale, STEM summer camps, Beringea, HelloWorld”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Spero, Cerulean, & More

More handwringing from investors this week as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IBB]]) continued falling, and new entrants to the market had to lower their expectations to make a debut. It wasn’t all bad in biotech, however. This week’s roundup below. —Amid a dismal week for biotech stocks, Cambridge, MA-based Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGIO]]) was … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Agios, Spero, Cerulean, & More”

They Still Call it Telemedicine? Tracking the Evolution of HealthIT.

Recently, the Houston Technology Center asked me to join a panel discussion on “The Future of Telemedicine” at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. I was a bit surprised as I’ve never thought of myself as being part of the telemedicine industry. My business partner, Bryan Haardt, and I last year co-founded Decisio Health to sell software … Continue reading “They Still Call it Telemedicine? Tracking the Evolution of HealthIT.”

Diagnosis On-demand: Methodist Develops V-chip Medtech Device

Methodist Hospital Houston wants to make disease diagnosis as simple as a pregnancy test. That’s the idea behind the “V-chip,” a credit card-sized medical device being developed at the hospital that is designed to allow doctors and other caregivers to immediately diagnose as many as 50 diseases with just a drop of blood or urine. … Continue reading “Diagnosis On-demand: Methodist Develops V-chip Medtech Device”

Igenica Follows Genentech Into Antibody-Linked Cancer Drugs

Squint a little, and it’s easy to see the first five years of Burlingame, CA-based Igenica Biotherapeutics as a speeded-up version of the evolution of biotech pioneer Genentech. Igenica’s leadership ranks are studded with Genentech alumni, including its board chair David Goeddel, a pioneer in gene expression research who was the first scientist Genentech hired. … Continue reading “Igenica Follows Genentech Into Antibody-Linked Cancer Drugs”

D2P’s Biondi On Getting UW-Madison More for its ($1.2B) R&D Money

[Corrected 12/17/15, 11:34 a.m. See below.] University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the top-spending schools when it comes to research, but university administrators think its faculty and students could use a boost to turn their ideas into thriving companies. That’s the mandate for Discovery to Product (D2P), a new campus initiative that aims to hike … Continue reading “D2P’s Biondi On Getting UW-Madison More for its ($1.2B) R&D Money”

New Colorado-based Investment Firm Ganesh Capital Looking for Deals

Colorado entrepreneurs take note—there’s a new investment firm in town, and its founders want to place substantial bets on startups working to make positive social change, including tech companies. Ganesh Capital is a Boulder, CO-based firm looking to make investments between $50,000 and $5 million. Co-founder Marc Nemer said the firm would concentrate on startups … Continue reading “New Colorado-based Investment Firm Ganesh Capital Looking for Deals”

Non-Compete Debate Exposes Political Rift in Boston Tech Industry

Technology entrepreneurs and investors have long criticized non-competition agreements in Massachusetts, saying they stifle the ability of smart, ambitious people to create new companies and find better jobs. But, for the most part, they’ve lacked a powerful political ally to push the cause. That changed Thursday, when Gov. Deval Patrick said he would seek to … Continue reading “Non-Compete Debate Exposes Political Rift in Boston Tech Industry”

State Allots $6.8M to Invest Michigan Fund for Seeding Tech Startups

The Michigan Strategic Fund board announced today that is has designated $6.8 million in new state money for the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund 2.0, an investment fund targeting early-stage tech startups statewide. It will be managed by Invest Michigan, a new Detroit-based nonprofit led by Charlie Moret, a Connecticut transplant who most recently served as TechTown’s … Continue reading “State Allots $6.8M to Invest Michigan Fund for Seeding Tech Startups”

Cerulean Limps into Nasdaq Debut With $7 Per Share IPO

[Updated 4/10/14, 11:22 am] Apparently Wall Street wasn’t too keen on helping Cerulean Pharma get a second shot at proving its drug delivery technology. According to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, the Cambridge, MA-based company priced its IPO at $7 per share, far below the $11 to $13 per share range it had been hoping … Continue reading “Cerulean Limps into Nasdaq Debut With $7 Per Share IPO”

Celladon Gets FDA’s “Breakthrough Therapy” Status for Gene Therapy

[Corrected 4/10/14, 12:25 pm. See below.] The FDA has granted its “breakthrough therapy” designation for a gene therapy treatment in mid-stage development by San Diego’s Celladon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLDN]]), for patients with advanced heart failure. The FDA notified the company in a letter sent by fax Wednesday from the Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, … Continue reading “Celladon Gets FDA’s “Breakthrough Therapy” Status for Gene Therapy”

Agios Taps Wall Street Off Early Data, Aims For $75M

Agios Pharmaceuticals gave investors its first glimpse of encouraging, but early human clinical data a few days ago, and saw its shares soar as a result. Now, it’s looking to cash in. Cambridge, MA-based Agios (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGIO]]) wants to raise up to $75 million through a public stock offering, according to a regulatory filing. Agios … Continue reading “Agios Taps Wall Street Off Early Data, Aims For $75M”

Venture-Backed IPOs & Late-Stage Investments Surged in Q1

Venture capitalists saw the public markets awaken in the first quarter, and they’re betting the trend will continue. A new report from New York-based venture capital research firm CB Insights counts 35 venture-backed IPOs through the end of March, more than any single quarter since the fall of 2000. Mergers and acquisitions were also strong, … Continue reading “Venture-Backed IPOs & Late-Stage Investments Surged in Q1”

NASA On a Mission to Seek New Ideas at Hackathon for Space Tech

Space can be a frontier—in a non-Star Trek way. Like gold miners of old, some technologists see opportunities for disruption and commercialization beyond our atmosphere. NASA’s annual International Space Apps Challenge, coming up this weekend, will be a chance for innovators around the world to spawn ideas that might boldly go amongst the stars. The … Continue reading “NASA On a Mission to Seek New Ideas at Hackathon for Space Tech”

Rice Business Plan Contest In Gear, with Almost $2M Up for Grabs

The Rice University Business Plan competition begins today, a weekend of “April madness” that will see a starting lineup of 42 startups get whittled down to just one grand champion Saturday night. Now in its 14th year, the contest has grown into one of the highest profile platforms for student-led ventures in the world, attracting … Continue reading “Rice Business Plan Contest In Gear, with Almost $2M Up for Grabs”

MIT’s Bill Aulet: Wisconsin Can Benefit From Being Off ‘Beaten Track’

Innovation can come from anywhere, and there might be some advantages for Wisconsin being located in what is sometimes derisively called flyover country. Those are two thoughts shared with me recently by Boston-area entrepreneur Bill Aulet, managing director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and author of a top-selling book published last year … Continue reading “MIT’s Bill Aulet: Wisconsin Can Benefit From Being Off ‘Beaten Track’”

Software VC Tucks Fund for UC San Diego Deals into New Venture Fund

David Schwab, a managing director at Sierra Ventures, has created a new venture fund with an unusual provision—20 percent of the capital raised will be focused on commercializing innovations coming out of UC San Diego. Schwab, who joined Menlo Park, CA-based Sierra Ventures 18 years ago, said in a phone call yesterday that he is … Continue reading “Software VC Tucks Fund for UC San Diego Deals into New Venture Fund”

Medical Test Maker Venaxis Raises $18.4M, Files for FDA Approval

Venaxis, a small medical diagnostics company in Castle Rock, CO, has raised $18.4 million through a public offering that closed Monday. Venaxis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:APPY]]) is developing a protein biomarker-based blood test doctors can use to diagnose whether a patient has acute appendicitis. The test, known as APPY1, is intended to be used in emergency rooms … Continue reading “Medical Test Maker Venaxis Raises $18.4M, Files for FDA Approval”

State-Level Equity Crowdfunding: The Next Big Thing

Just a few weeks ago, Facebook’s surprise $2 billion purchase of virtual reality headset developer Oculus riled up some of the startup’s earliest financial backers, who said they got a raw deal while the founders got rich.  We’re talking about pre-order backers on Kickstarter here, not investors. But if new equity crowdfunding rules had been … Continue reading “State-Level Equity Crowdfunding: The Next Big Thing”

Wisconsin Startup Fishidy Wins Chance to Pitch Silicon Valley VCs

Fishidy, a Madison, WI-based startup that built a mapping tool and social network for fishing enthusiasts, will get a face-to-face meeting with Silicon Valley venture capitalists this summer, thanks to its winning pitch Tuesday at a Madison business conference. Fishidy was one of six Madison-area startups that presented to a crowd of about 250 people … Continue reading “Wisconsin Startup Fishidy Wins Chance to Pitch Silicon Valley VCs”

RunKeeper CEO: Smartphones Will Beat Fitness-Tracking Wristbands

If you want to check out a few fitness-tracking gadgets, the Boston headquarters of RunKeeper is a fine place to start. Scattered here and there in the bustling startup office, you’ll find piles of the smartwatches, sleep monitors, and motion-sensing wristbands that typify the recent surge in connected wearable devices. As a software company that … Continue reading “RunKeeper CEO: Smartphones Will Beat Fitness-Tracking Wristbands”

Spero Emerges With $3M, Backing From Roche, & Plans to Disarm Bugs

There seems to be a new scare every week in the world of antibiotics, because bacteria have the frustrating habit of evolving and becoming immune to current treatments. Atlas Venture’s latest seedling startup, Spero Therapeutics, believes it has a new type of answer for those tough-to-kill bugs—one that’s caught the attention, and potential dollars, of … Continue reading “Spero Emerges With $3M, Backing From Roche, & Plans to Disarm Bugs”

The Rise of the “People’s Web”

Silicon Valley is one of the most dynamic engines of capitalism the world has ever seen. For decades, technology providers focused on creating cutting-edge hardware and software designed to optimize efficiency, productivity, and data-based knowledge for large corporations. But today, many technology innovators are also working hard to level the playing field by providing individual … Continue reading “The Rise of the “People’s Web””

Kauffman Study: Weaker Entrepreneurship Spells Stronger Job Market

The U.S. saw slightly fewer businesses created last year, but there’s a silver lining: the poorer numbers nationwide likely indicate that a stronger job market relieved some of the pressure on people to start companies out of necessity. That’s among the takeaways from the latest Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, an annual study from the … Continue reading “Kauffman Study: Weaker Entrepreneurship Spells Stronger Job Market”

Destin Out, Karlen In: What’s Next for Atlas Venture?

There’s been a lot of personnel movement in Boston-area venture firms lately. On Tuesday, Dan Primack at Fortune reported that Atlas Venture partner Fred Destin is leaving the firm and that Jon Karlen, formerly of Flybridge Capital Partners, is joining Atlas as a new partner on the tech side. This is notable because Destin is … Continue reading “Destin Out, Karlen In: What’s Next for Atlas Venture?”

New York Wears Digital Heart on Its Sleeve, Talks Up Tech Job Growth

This spring, New York seems to want to prove it is a not-so-secret garden for technology. A study released last week paints a picture of a city with a chance to grow more rapidly—if it works harder at embracing technology. Several organizations—Google, the New York Tech Meetup, the Association for a Better New York, Citi, and … Continue reading “New York Wears Digital Heart on Its Sleeve, Talks Up Tech Job Growth”

Plymouth Ventures Invests in Certified Security Solutions

Plymouth Ventures, a venture capital firm in Ann Arbor, MI, has made the first investment from its third fund in Certified Security Solutions (CSS), a company based in Cleveland, OH. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. CSS is an information security company—it’s been in business more than a decade—that focuses on identification and … Continue reading “Plymouth Ventures Invests in Certified Security Solutions”

Closely Raises $3M To Continue Growth and Development of Perch App

The people who run small businesses are in a bind when it comes to social media. User reviews on Yelp shape their reputations. Deals advertised on Facebook and Twitter connect with new and current customers. But mastering social media takes time that overstretched small business owners don’t have. That’s the view of Perry Evans, founder … Continue reading “Closely Raises $3M To Continue Growth and Development of Perch App”

Announcing Napa Summit 2014: Get An Invite to Xconomy’s Elite Confab

For the past two years, Xconomy has held an invitation-only event in the heart of California wine country with a general focus on the economy, emerging technology, competitiveness, and jobs—and spanning the range of topics we cover, from information technology to life sciences, healthcare, energy, cybersecurity, food, and much more (read on). We convene some … Continue reading “Announcing Napa Summit 2014: Get An Invite to Xconomy’s Elite Confab”

Former Zipcar CEO Griffith Joins General Catalyst

When Scott Griffith took over as CEO of Zipcar, the car-rental startup was considered more of a political movement than a company. Griffith’s job was to make it a grown-up business.  Over the next decade, he would pilot Zipcar through market expansions, competitor acquisitions, an IPO, a rocky stock-market ride, and a buyout from one … Continue reading “Former Zipcar CEO Griffith Joins General Catalyst”

Alkermes Scores Phase 3 Win for Long-Lasting Schizophrenia Drug

Alkermes has earned a living making drugs created by other companies stay stable in the bloodstream longer and then splitting the financial rewards with those companies. For the first time, however, the Dublin and Waltham, MA-based company looks like it’ll soon have a marketed drug it won’t have to share with anyone. Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) … Continue reading “Alkermes Scores Phase 3 Win for Long-Lasting Schizophrenia Drug”