Life sciences leaders gathered last week in a Rice University auditorium for BioHouston’s Life Science Forum where they heard keynotes and panel discussions on Texas biotech’s challenges and promise. But the key work of boosting innovation may have been happening across the courtyard, where BioHouston had arranged a series of personal meetings connecting entrepreneurs with … Continue reading “BioHouston Life Science Forum Spotlights Texas Biotech Innovation”
Category: National
IBM Buys Online Database Provider Cloudant as Cloud Wars March On
IBM is taking another bite out of the cloud software world as it tries to keep up with much younger technology companies. Today, IBM announced it was buying Boston-based Cloudant, an online database software provider. The price wasn’t revealed. Cloudant had raised about $15 million in private investment since it was founded in 2008. Cloudant’s … Continue reading “IBM Buys Online Database Provider Cloudant as Cloud Wars March On”
Quanttus Dives Into Personal Health With $22M From Khosla, Matrix
Last summer, we were the first to report on a stealthy MIT startup that’s trying to become a big player in personal health and wellness. Well, that company is now one of the better-funded efforts in this emerging sector. Quanttus, a 25-person startup based in Cambridge, MA, announced today that it has raised a $19 … Continue reading “Quanttus Dives Into Personal Health With $22M From Khosla, Matrix”
Hiring in Biotech is Tricky. But Algorithms Won’t Save the Day
People who appreciate baseball stats agree: Jonny Gomes of the Boston Red Sox is a below-average player. Yet, if you pay attention to his intangibles, he looks better. Even with lousy performance data, he was credited with playing a key role last fall in helping his team win the World Series. The Gomes example reminds … Continue reading “Hiring in Biotech is Tricky. But Algorithms Won’t Save the Day”
“All Hat, Ton of Cattle…”
Had a remarkable day Friday in Houston crawling around the Texas Medical Center. I was in town to speak at the Xconomy Healthcare Summit—an incredible roster of speakers and attendees, I must say. As Ron DePinho, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, characterized, this part of Houston is as if someone put the Kendall Square … Continue reading ““All Hat, Ton of Cattle…””
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Lithera, CardioCell, and More
ResMed founder Peter Farrell was characteristically outspoken, funny, and acerbic as he talked about the origins of Carlsbad-based ResMed at a luncheon in his honor. I have the details, along with the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news over the past week. —Lithera, a San Diego biotech developing an injectable drug for reducing belly … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Lithera, CardioCell, and More”
Isis Shares Climb on Early Data for Rare Spine Disorder Drug
Isis Pharmaceuticals could earn a big check if a drug it’s developing for a rare spinal disorder is up to snuff with Biogen Idec. Though that decision hasn’t been made by the Cambridge, MA-based biotech giant just yet, Isis took a step forward with some early results from a mid-stage study. Carlsbad, CA-based Isis (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Isis Shares Climb on Early Data for Rare Spine Disorder Drug”
WhatsApp, $19 Billion, and the Unreal Economy of Silicon Valley
Facebook announced Wednesday that it will acquire mobile messaging provider WhatsApp, a five-year-old startup in Santa Clara, CA, for $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock, and another $3 billion in restricted stock units. So, $19 billion when all’s said and done. The deal is eyebrow-raising on any number of levels. What made WhatsApp … Continue reading “WhatsApp, $19 Billion, and the Unreal Economy of Silicon Valley”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: HART, CoStim, Forest/Actavis, & More
[Updated, 3:20 pm ET] Local universities, investment firms, and non-profit groups have been increasingly teaming up of late to get basic research off the ground. A couple more such deals were struck this week. Those stories and much more below: —David Green spent almost two decades leading Holliston, MA-based Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HBIO]]) before taking … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: HART, CoStim, Forest/Actavis, & More”
Boston Tech Roundup: Irrational, Wayfair, Spark, ClickSoftware
[Updated 8:40 a.m.] Layoffs, IPO filings, investment, and an acquisition in this trip through a few of the week’s storylines around the greater Boston technology sector: —Irrational Games, developers of the big console franchise BioShock, has abruptly shut down. In a post on the company’s website, co-founder Ken Levine says he wants to build a … Continue reading “Boston Tech Roundup: Irrational, Wayfair, Spark, ClickSoftware”
BlueTree Network Co-founder Launches Healthcare App Venture
[Updated 2/25/14, 3:16 pm. See below.] Epic Systems veteran Reggie Luedtke is launching his second healthcare information technology startup, a venture that he hopes will coax healthcare providers to share more data and break down bureaucratic divisions across the industry. The new company, called Branch2, wants to build software that can connect the various parts … Continue reading “BlueTree Network Co-founder Launches Healthcare App Venture”
With Australian Partner, Boulder Ionics Looks to Improve Batteries
Building better batteries is one of the biggest challenges in cleantech—if not all of tech. Experts believe more efficient and stable energy storage systems could make electric vehicles cheaper and safer, allow the military to power vital equipment, and create ways for utilities to store excess energy they generate. Boulder Ionics, a startup based in … Continue reading “With Australian Partner, Boulder Ionics Looks to Improve Batteries”
New Economy Initiative Scores $33M in New Funding
Nine of the New Economy Initiative’s (NEI) ten original funders have committed another $33 million to the initiative, which allows the NEI to continue its work supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in Southeast Michigan. The William Davidson Foundation has come on as a new funder. “We have a heavy focus on entrepreneurial and innovation outputs with … Continue reading “New Economy Initiative Scores $33M in New Funding”
Seattle’s OpenCar Wants to Bring ‘Long Tail’ of Apps Into Vehicles
As we all know, there’s an app for that, whatever it is. But chances are, it’s not available for your car. So perhaps you stick with the one on your smartphone, furtively glancing down—dangerously, illegally—when you should be focused on driving. OpenCar, a Seattle startup, has an audacious goal that could help solve that problem, … Continue reading “Seattle’s OpenCar Wants to Bring ‘Long Tail’ of Apps Into Vehicles”
What Does $19B Buy? Market Validation for Text Messaging
When Facebook acquired WhatsApp last night, most of the initial headlines focused on the value of the deal and overall shock at how big the number actually was. Examples ranged from “Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in deal shocker” (Reuters) to “Stunner: Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash, stock” (Forbes). … Continue reading “What Does $19B Buy? Market Validation for Text Messaging”
Aereo & the Rebel Startup Myth: Some Say “Not Where You Want to Be”
There is a certain mystique to playing the radical in an old, traditional industry. However, stirring things up almost guarantees the incumbents will push back—and push back hard. If that tension leads to a legal spat, most startups do not have a war chest ready for a lengthy battle. Nor do they have the time. … Continue reading “Aereo & the Rebel Startup Myth: Some Say “Not Where You Want to Be””
Join Xconomy for ‘What’s Hot in Cancer Immunotherapy’ on April 22
Two or three years ago, most biotech pros would have scoffed if you had predicted a revival of cancer immunotherapy. Dendreon flopped, right? Oh, how quickly things change. Today, researchers have never been more excited about different ways to harness the immune system to kill cancer cells. Medical meetings saw a series of eye-opening presentations … Continue reading “Join Xconomy for ‘What’s Hot in Cancer Immunotherapy’ on April 22”
Are Universities Creating Too Many Biotech Startups?
Bruce Booth, the biotech venture capitalist known for his social media savvy, sent a Tweet last month that caught my eye. He tweeted in reference to the number of academic spinoffs reported in the 2012 AUTM Licensing Survey Report, “What % biotech? My bet, ~ half.” Extrapolating from Top U.S. universities, institutes for life sciences in … Continue reading “Are Universities Creating Too Many Biotech Startups?”
2014 Trends in Early-Stage Life Sciences Investment
The Affordable Care Act has certainly made headlines over the past year—and the ACA, along with several other developments in the current venture funding environment, is beginning to radically reshape value creation in the life sciences and for biotechnology firms. Below, I provide some updates on trends, challenges, and opportunities for life sciences companies in … Continue reading “2014 Trends in Early-Stage Life Sciences Investment”
This Ain’t Like Dusting Crops, Boy. Oh, Wait…Actually, It Is.
Awhile back I blogged about Ashwin, one of my ex-students wanted to raise a seed round to build Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) with a hyper-spectral camera and fly it over farm fields collecting hyper-spectral images. These images, when processed with his company’s proprietary algorithms, would be able to tell farmers how healthy their plants were, … Continue reading “This Ain’t Like Dusting Crops, Boy. Oh, Wait…Actually, It Is.”
Roundup: Front Desk, Context Relevant, Principle Power & More
Seattle tech news stories that have caught our attention in the last week or so include a Series A funding for Front Desk, a big data security partnership for Context Relevant, a milestone for SNUPI Technologies, a step forward for Principle Power’s proposed wind farm off the Oregon coast, and nice recognition for Exo Labs. … Continue reading “Roundup: Front Desk, Context Relevant, Principle Power & More”
Marketing Automation Startup Signpost Plans Major Denver Expansion
Signpost, a venture-backed startup that creates marketing automation software for small- and medium-sized businesses, has hung up its shingle and a help wanted sign at a new location in Denver. The company, which has raised $15 million from Google Ventures and other investors, recently relocated its Denver office to a new, 8,500-square-foot office near downtown … Continue reading “Marketing Automation Startup Signpost Plans Major Denver Expansion”
Intel Survey: Americans Skeptical, Yet Hopeful, About Smart Cities
Intel thinks it’s only a matter of time before cars, streets, highways, buildings—in short, most parts of the urban infrastructure—get a brain upgrade. And naturally, it expects that Intel chips will be powering much of the new smarts. But the Santa Clara, CA-based semiconductor giant knows that public fears about sensor networks and large-scale data … Continue reading “Intel Survey: Americans Skeptical, Yet Hopeful, About Smart Cities”
Skyhook Wireless Sold While Patent Lawsuits Drag On
Skyhook Wireless was one of the Boston tech sector’s early showcase companies in the mobile era. But battles with big technology companies hampered that promise, and in late 2012 a new CEO arrived from one of the company’s investors to help right the ship. Today, we’re seeing the results: Skyhook is being sold to TruePosition, … Continue reading “Skyhook Wireless Sold While Patent Lawsuits Drag On”
New San Diego Biotech Charts Stem-Cell Therapies for Heart Disease
CardioCell, a new San Diego biotech spun out of privately held Stemedica Cell Technologies, stepped into the light today, saying it is beginning a mid-stage clinical study in the United States to evaluate the use of its proprietary stem cells to treat patients with heart attacks. The company says it’s also beginning a late-stage trial … Continue reading “New San Diego Biotech Charts Stem-Cell Therapies for Heart Disease”
Google Capital Takes Minority Stake in Renaissance Learning
Renaissance Learning, the education software firm based in central Wisconsin, has received a $40 million investment from Google Capital that makes the fund a minority stakeholder, the companies announced today. The deal values Renaissance at $1 billion. The New York Times first reported the $40 million figure. The deal marks Google Capital’s first investment in … Continue reading “Google Capital Takes Minority Stake in Renaissance Learning”
Kapitall, With Fresh $13M in Hand, Aims to Simplify Online Investing
A New York-based developer of an online investing platform now has more money to dabble with. Kapitall announced Wednesday it raised $13 million in a round led by Linden Venture Fund, with Bendigo Partners and others participating. The company, founded in 2008, created a game-style interface to make it easier for the layperson to navigate … Continue reading “Kapitall, With Fresh $13M in Hand, Aims to Simplify Online Investing”
One Month to Mobile Madness on 3/19: Who Are the Next Disruptors?
What does the next generation of mobile technology look like? Who will its users be, and what do they want from it? And what does “mobile” even mean anymore? We want answers, and we want them now. OK, soon. Yes, we’re one month away from Xconomy’s sixth annual Mobile Madness conference on Wednesday, March 19. … Continue reading “One Month to Mobile Madness on 3/19: Who Are the Next Disruptors?”
Rice’s OwlSpark Creates Network of University-based Accelerators
Accelerators help startups succeed by leveraging their networks of successful entrepreneurs and investors, whose advice can be catalysts for growth. Now, Rice University’s OwlSpark accelerator wants to create its own network, one that can help make it—and other university programs—better at boosting student-run startups. “We plan to create a comprehensive database of university accelerators and … Continue reading “Rice’s OwlSpark Creates Network of University-based Accelerators”
Born Online, Fashion Startups Still Flock to Bricks and Mortar
Ministry of Supply has its high-tech credentials pretty well nailed. The Boston-based company was founded by a group of MIT students who wanted to make comfortable, durable men’s dress clothes out of scientifically advanced materials. Its first shirt employed temperature-regulating technology also found in NASA space suits. Some of its clothes are knitted by robots. … Continue reading “Born Online, Fashion Startups Still Flock to Bricks and Mortar”
Madison Biotech Supplier Goes Lean to Stave Off Foreign Competitors
When you say the words “lean” or “Six Sigma” on the shop floors of industrial plants across the globe, people immediately know what you’re talking about. Pioneered decades ago by automakers determined to cut waste out of their manufacturing processes, those same ideas are now starting to permeate the chemical vats and microscopes of biological … Continue reading “Madison Biotech Supplier Goes Lean to Stave Off Foreign Competitors”
Tumor Cells’ Weird Appetites for Amino Acids Are Aeglea’s Targets
Researchers are always looking for the Achilles’ heel of cancer—some weakness in tumor cells that can be attacked by drugs while leaving normal cells unharmed. Austin, TX-based Aeglea BioTherapeutics is trying to exploit a vulnerability that might make it possible to starve certain cancers to death. In some tumors, the cells can no longer make … Continue reading “Tumor Cells’ Weird Appetites for Amino Acids Are Aeglea’s Targets”
A2B Bikeshare Aims to Build a Better Bike-Sharing System
Millennials are famous for being not terribly keen on owning cars. Instead, they’re interested in alternative forms of transportation, such as public transit, on-demand hourly car rentals, and bike sharing. This is causing a major shift in the way car companies woo customers; January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, for instance, marked the … Continue reading “A2B Bikeshare Aims to Build a Better Bike-Sharing System”
Balancing Power Between Biotech and Big Pharma Benefits Both
Xconomy’s Luke Timmerman recently suggested that biotechs’ IPO option has shifted the balance of power between Big Pharma and biotech closer to parity, and the big guys have lost (or at least loosened) their iron grip on venture-backed biotech. As he put it, The power dynamic between the two parties is the closest it’s been … Continue reading “Balancing Power Between Biotech and Big Pharma Benefits Both”
Six Wisconsin Firms Gain Access to Milwaukee Institute Supercomputer
The R&D efforts within six Wisconsin startups and more established companies will get a boost from a supercomputer, thanks to a new grant program. The recipients of the one-year grant program were announced today. They will each receive between $10,000 and $50,000, as well as access to the nonprofit Milwaukee Institute’s high-performance computing and data … Continue reading “Six Wisconsin Firms Gain Access to Milwaukee Institute Supercomputer”
Aaron Marcus, Bard of User-Centered Design, Battles “High-Order Crap”
Aaron Marcus, watching from his perch on Euclid Street in the Berkeley hills above San Francisco Bay, has seen the business world’s infatuation with design rise and recede, rise and recede. Ten or 20 years ago, if you’d traveled to San Francisco or Silicon Valley in search of help designing a consumer product or a … Continue reading “Aaron Marcus, Bard of User-Centered Design, Battles “High-Order Crap””
Gates Foundation Hires Second Biotech VC to Connect With Startups
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to get more biotech entrepreneurs to work on global health, and it just hired another venture capitalist to give the initiative a boost. Charlotte Hubbert, a former vice president at H.I.G BioVentures and associate at Seattle-based Accelerator, is joining the Gates Foundation as a program investment officer … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Hires Second Biotech VC to Connect With Startups”
Lithera Raises Additional $8M for Injectable Drug to Melt Belly Fat
San Diego-based Lithera says it has secured an additional $8 million to close its Series C round of financing that began more than a year ago. The aesthetic biotech, founded in 2007, has been advancing FDA-registered drugs already approved for use in other indications. Lithera’s lead drug is intended for use as an injectable drug … Continue reading “Lithera Raises Additional $8M for Injectable Drug to Melt Belly Fat”
Immuno-Oncology Fever Rages as Novartis Snaps Up CoStim
How much is Big Pharma salivating over cancer immunotherapy these days? CoStim Pharmaceuticals, a little startup just about a year removed from its first big funding round, has already been snatched up by Swiss pharma giant Novartis. Novartis has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire CoStim, a Cambridge, MA-based startup backed by MPM Capital, Atlas … Continue reading “Immuno-Oncology Fever Rages as Novartis Snaps Up CoStim”
Wisconsin Roundup: Uber, New Seed Fund, ‘Aladdin’ Closing
Last week was a busy one for Wisconsin’s tech and innovation community. Here are some notable news items, in case you missed them: —Uber, the popular and (in some circles) notorious ride-sharing app, launched in Milwaukee. It’s the first Badger State location in which Uber has planted itself. It attempted to make a splash with … Continue reading “Wisconsin Roundup: Uber, New Seed Fund, ‘Aladdin’ Closing”
Ex-Harvard Bio Prez Leads Spin-Off’s Plan to Make Engineered Organs
David Green had led Holliston, MA-based Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HBIO]]) for almost two decades when he was faced with a big career choice. The company was about to spin off a new firm that would take with it an ambitious technology Harvard Bio had been developing to make engineered organs—a high-risk, high-reward project. Green had … Continue reading “Ex-Harvard Bio Prez Leads Spin-Off’s Plan to Make Engineered Organs”
Software startups from Houston to Australia Dominate New Surge Class
Houston cleantech accelerator Surge kicked off its third class Monday, with startups that aim to source and sell energy capacity and digitize oilfield operations, among other innovations. Surge, which launched three years ago, is the nation’s only accelerator geared to the cleantech sector. It has catered to startups in upstream imaging and modeling, digitizing operational … Continue reading “Software startups from Houston to Australia Dominate New Surge Class”
Molecular Diagnostics Are in a Rut. The Industry Needs the FDA
Some of the more exciting ideas in biotech are coming up in molecular diagnostics. There’s cool science at work. A number of tests have potential to cut down on overtreatment, reduce waste in healthcare, and give physicians clever new ideas on how to help patients. But this industry, which accounts for less than 2 percent … Continue reading “Molecular Diagnostics Are in a Rut. The Industry Needs the FDA”
Wisconsin Restaurant Ordering Platform EatStreet Raises $3.7M
EatStreet, the online restaurant ordering platform based in Madison, WI, has raised $3.7 million in a financing round, according to a document filed this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Seventeen investors have taken part so far in the equity offering that could reach $5 million at close, according to the SEC filing. … Continue reading “Wisconsin Restaurant Ordering Platform EatStreet Raises $3.7M”
Rapt Media Seeks Attention with Interactive Video Platform
Some experts are betting that interactive video is about to reach its potential as the next big thing in online advertising. Boulder, CO-based Rapt Media is working to prove them right. Rapt Media this week released a new Web-based software program that marketers and content creators can use to create interactive video and websites. Rapt … Continue reading “Rapt Media Seeks Attention with Interactive Video Platform”
15 Places to Turn for Technology News That Really Matters
Nobody on their deathbed says they wish they’d spent more time reading tech blogs. Don’t get me wrong: It’s great that consumers and entrepreneurs have so many places today to get news about the world of Internet startups, mobile devices, software, and venture investing. Back in 1998-2001, the last time things were this crazy in … Continue reading “15 Places to Turn for Technology News That Really Matters”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Cadence, Mast, Illumina, and More
Last year’s biotech buyout spree continued apace last week with the acquisition of San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals. I’ve got the details, along with the rest of the local life sciences news. —Looking to accelerate growth in its specialty pharmaceuticals business, Irish Big Pharma Mallinckrodt (NYSE: [[ticker:MNK]]) said it plans to buy San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Cadence, Mast, Illumina, and More”
Houston’s 2nd.MD Digitizes Second Opinions to Empower Patients
Entrepreneurs often have very personal reasons for setting up shop. Clinton Phillips’s motivation was his daughter having a stroke at birth—and nobody realizing it until months later. “When a baby’s bundled, you don’t notice that they’re not moving around or kicking as they should be,” he says. Four months later, he and his wife noticed … Continue reading “Houston’s 2nd.MD Digitizes Second Opinions to Empower Patients”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Voyager, Concert, Retrophin, & More
(Updated, 9:05 am ET) The East Coast got buried in snow this week—again—but biotech activity was raging regardless. More IPOs priced (of course). A new high-profile startup emerged from stealth. A small acquisition wowed Wall Street. Those headlines and more below: —Third Rock Ventures has had success so far with its first gene therapy portfolio … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Voyager, Concert, Retrophin, & More”
Wisconsin, Michigan Researchers Partner on Non-Food Biofuels
According to a December report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Patricia Dehmer, chief science officer for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was recently asked to name a program funded by her office that was producing tangible results. Her response? Madison’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) and five other similar research centers across the … Continue reading “Wisconsin, Michigan Researchers Partner on Non-Food Biofuels”