Category: National

Lucigen Takes On Diagnostic Giants With On-the-Spot Pathogen Tests

[Corrected 1/30/14, 8:58 am. See below.] Lucigen’s ambitious plan to challenge big diagnostic firms with its own rapid tests for infections like flu and strep traces its origins to a Yellowstone National Park hot spring dubbed “Octopus Spring.” That’s where molecular biologists David Mead and colleague Tom Schoenfeld in the early 2000s discovered an enzyme … Continue reading “Lucigen Takes On Diagnostic Giants With On-the-Spot Pathogen Tests”

Viggle, Wetpaint’s Acquirer, Buys Dijit to Build TV Loyalty Program

Life is tough these days for the TV networks. They still make money by supplying advertisers with eyeballs, just like they always did. They still bring in eyeballs by paying producers for shows, which are more expensive than ever. But as eyeball bait, TV shows just aren’t as effective as they used to be. Gone … Continue reading “Viggle, Wetpaint’s Acquirer, Buys Dijit to Build TV Loyalty Program”

J&J Opens Data Vault to Yale, in ‘Unprecedented’ Transparency Move

Pharma companies have been feeling the heat for years from people who argue they must be more transparent with raw clinical trial data—including the good and the bad—so that independent researchers can verify their claims and learn more from failed studies that traditionally get buried. Today, Johnson & Johnson is planting a stake in the … Continue reading “J&J Opens Data Vault to Yale, in ‘Unprecedented’ Transparency Move”

Dicerna Prices Upsized IPO at $15 Per Share, Starts Trading Thursday

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals had little trouble raising cash from Wall Street investors late Wednesday. The Watertown, MA-based company has priced its IPO at $15 per share, blowing past its projected range of $11 to $13 per share. It sold 6 million shares in the offering, up from the 5 million it initially planned to sell. All … Continue reading “Dicerna Prices Upsized IPO at $15 Per Share, Starts Trading Thursday”

$40M Establishes New Center for Stem Cell Genomics in Bay Area, SD

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine today awarded $40 million to create a new Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics, to be led by Stanford University molecular geneticist Michael Snyder and including major research groups in San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Palo Alto. Snyder was at the center of an important paper published in 2012 … Continue reading “$40M Establishes New Center for Stem Cell Genomics in Bay Area, SD”

Seattle Roundup: PNNL, ADA, Donuts, Syntonic Wireless, Scout, Sparq

Catching up on the latest non-Super Bowl related tech news: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is adding to its already substantial advanced energy research program; Ada Developers Academy is off to a solid start with great local support; Donuts is rolling out generic top-level domains including .HOLDINGS and .PLUMBING, with more to come; Syntonic Wireless has … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: PNNL, ADA, Donuts, Syntonic Wireless, Scout, Sparq”

Transit Wireless Brings Verizon Wireless Signal to NY Subway Stations

After months of talks and elbow grease, Transit Wireless has connected Verizon Wireless to some subways beneath New York’s streets. So far, some 35 stations, largely along Manhattan’s west side, are being lit up with the carrier’s voice and data network. This is one part of a big project that Transit Wireless, based in Long … Continue reading “Transit Wireless Brings Verizon Wireless Signal to NY Subway Stations”

Quick Left Merges with Sprintly, Inherits Two Offices on West Coast

Quick Left, a Boulder, CO-based software consulting company, is merging with Sprintly, a company that develops project management tools for software developers, the companies announced Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the company will be named Quick Left and the company’s headquarters will be in Boulder. The deal expands Quick Left’s … Continue reading “Quick Left Merges with Sprintly, Inherits Two Offices on West Coast”

Shareaholic’s New CTO Gillett Gives Lessons From 5 Big-Data Startups

Depending on whom you ask, “big data” is either (a) still the future of technology and business, or (b) the fastest way to kill a serious conversation. Christopher Gillett understands both ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, the newly hired CTO of Boston startup Shareaholic sees the buzzword as increasingly meaningless. “The term … Continue reading “Shareaholic’s New CTO Gillett Gives Lessons From 5 Big-Data Startups”

Robo Madness, Xconomy’s 3rd Annual Robotics Bash, Coming April 10

Consider a few of the big news headlines in the field of robotics in the last 12 months: —NASA’s Curiosity rover celebrated its first year on Mars, and its first kilometer traveled, and found evidence of ancient freshwater lakes on the red planet. Meanwhile, Voyager 1 left the solar system, and a Chinese rover soft-landed … Continue reading “Robo Madness, Xconomy’s 3rd Annual Robotics Bash, Coming April 10”

Augmented Reality Meets Nursing in Evena’s Vein-Hunting Glasses

The first time I heard about Evena Medical’s new computer-powered glasses, I immediately thought of two obvious user groups for them. Nurses, and vampires. Good thing vampires aren’t real. If you’re looking for veins, Evena’s glasses can reveal them with a high-tech 3D light imaging system that maps the body’s vasculature. Nurses, unlike vampires, have … Continue reading “Augmented Reality Meets Nursing in Evena’s Vein-Hunting Glasses”

Boston Roundup: CloudLock, HubSpot, Ministry of Supply, EMC

[Updated 9:40 a.m.] Some fundraising and annual financials to spice up your midweek: —CloudLock, a Waltham, MA-based seller of data security software for businesses, has raised a $16.5 million Series C round. The investment was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with previous backers Cedar Fund and Ascent Venture Partners also contributing. The company last raised … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: CloudLock, HubSpot, Ministry of Supply, EMC”

Epic Sciences Compiling Data on Ultra-Sensitive Cancer Diagnostic

San Diego’s Epic Sciences said today it has signed an agreement with LabCorp (NYSE: [[ticker:LH]]) to help speed up European clinical trials that are using Epic’s technology to identify tumor cells in the blood. LabCorp, the Burlington, NC, company officially known as Laboratory Corporation of America, operates one of the world’s largest networks of medical … Continue reading “Epic Sciences Compiling Data on Ultra-Sensitive Cancer Diagnostic”

Thong Le Takes Over at Accelerator, With Eyes on Seattle and NYC

Seattle hasn’t cranked out many big-idea biotech startups in the last few years, and now it’s up to Thong Le to see whether he can provide a spark. Le, 38, has taken over as the CEO of Accelerator, the venture-backed outfit that builds early-stage biotech startups with big aspirations. He joins the operation after more … Continue reading “Thong Le Takes Over at Accelerator, With Eyes on Seattle and NYC”

Simple Energy Raises $6M More to Gamify Utilities, Engage Consumers

Simple Energy, a Boulder, CO-based startup that develops cloud-based customer engagement software for energy utilities, has raised a $6 million Series B round, the company announced Tuesday. The Westly Group led the round, and managing partner Steve Westly will join Simple Energy’s board of directors, the release said. The group is a cleantech venture capital … Continue reading “Simple Energy Raises $6M More to Gamify Utilities, Engage Consumers”

In California, Walgreens & Walmart Are Rethinking Retail Health

On January 1, 2014, a bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown fundamentally transformed how pharmacists operate in California. The new law allows pharmacists in the most populous state in the nation to independently prescribe vaccinations, hormonal contraception, smoking cessation medications, and travel medicine without physician oversight or supervision. Importantly, the bill declares that “pharmacists are … Continue reading “In California, Walgreens & Walmart Are Rethinking Retail Health”

Ford Taps Researchers at Stanford, MIT to Develop Automated Vehicle Tech

Last month, Ford unveiled its hybrid research vehicle, a Ford Fusion designed to help test automated driving, to a crowd of international reporters at its headquarters in Dearborn, MI. Last week, Ford announced it will partner with researchers at Stanford and MIT to continue its work developing automated vehicle technology. Greg Stevens, global manager for … Continue reading “Ford Taps Researchers at Stanford, MIT to Develop Automated Vehicle Tech”

With Record $275M Gift, Sanford-Burnham Unveils New 10-Year Plan

San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute says today it has landed a $275 million pledge from an anonymous donor, just as the institute is embarking on a new 10-year strategic plan. The plan sets forth a vision for aligning the nonprofit institute’s basic biomedical research, translational research, and drug discovery and development. In a statement … Continue reading “With Record $275M Gift, Sanford-Burnham Unveils New 10-Year Plan”

Life Sciences Innovation Key for UT’s New Medical School Dean

It’s always been a little odd that the University of Texas at Austin—one of the nation’s largest universities and known for its top-tier research—does not have its own medical school. The absence of one came about in a bit of political horse-trading toward the end of the 19th century. Texas voters agreed to allow the … Continue reading “Life Sciences Innovation Key for UT’s New Medical School Dean”

Internet Attacks via Indonesia Drop Off After Big Spike

A few months ago, Internet traffic routing company Akamai noticed something interesting: a significant rise in the amount of attack traffic coming from Indonesia, making that country the world’s top launching pad for malicious hackers. It didn’t last. Attacks originating from Indonesian IP addresses have dropped back into their previous No. 2 spot in Akamai’s … Continue reading “Internet Attacks via Indonesia Drop Off After Big Spike”

From Foursquare to Shake: Furst Helps Legal Startup Drum Up Business

With a new hire that speaks to its lofty aspirations, New York startup Shake has nabbed an executive from Foursquare. This month Jake Furst became vice president of business development at Shake, the developer of a mobile app for creating concise legal documents. Drafting someone from a higher profile company to work at a fledgling startup … Continue reading “From Foursquare to Shake: Furst Helps Legal Startup Drum Up Business”

What the World Needs Now Is (Probably Not) a Pill for Perfect Pitch

I remember seeing an episode of Desperate Housewives during the show’s first season called Running to Stand Still. In the episode, Lynette, working mom of many, takes her kid’s ADD medicine in order to be supermom and create costumes for the school play while balancing all of her other tasks. It was a classic self-prescribed … Continue reading “What the World Needs Now Is (Probably Not) a Pill for Perfect Pitch”

Ping Identity, MobileDay CEOs Teach Students About Building Companies

It’s not often two of Colorado’s most successful tech executives share what they’ve learned over the course of their careers, but it happened Thursday, when Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand and MobileDay CEO Howard Diamond talked about building businesses. Durand and Diamond were in Boulder to help kick off the University of Colorado at Boulder’s … Continue reading “Ping Identity, MobileDay CEOs Teach Students About Building Companies”

U-M Spinoff HygraTek Strives to Build a Better Coating

When Anish Tuteja was first pondering the technology that would eventually form the backbone of HygraTek, a University of Michigan spinout, he considered the humble cooking pan. Tuteja was doing post-doctoral work at MIT at the time, and he noticed that water will bead on a pan, but oil spreads. He started thinking about how … Continue reading “U-M Spinoff HygraTek Strives to Build a Better Coating”

From Madden NFL to Emotional Intelligence: Trip Hawkins’ Journey

Trip Hawkins says the idea behind his new educational video game company If You Can came to him fully formed, and totally by surprise. “For me, the way entrepreneurship has always worked is I will see a picture, and it will be a complete picture, and what that picture tells me is so compelling that … Continue reading “From Madden NFL to Emotional Intelligence: Trip Hawkins’ Journey”

Epizyme Heads Back to Wall Street, Plans $140M Raise

Epizyme saw its stock jump up a few weeks ago after hitting a milestone in its big partnership with Celgene. Now it plans to use some of that momentum to raise some more cash from public investors. On Monday morning, Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission showing it … Continue reading “Epizyme Heads Back to Wall Street, Plans $140M Raise”

Dragon Innovation Offers $100K Investment for $1M Crowdfunding Wins

Crowdfunding campaigns have made it much easier for small companies to corral a bunch of pre-orders from an online fanbase. But it’s not always smooth sailing once the money starts piling up—especially for companies that make electronic gadgets. Startups like Pebble and Lockitron, each of which raised millions of dollars in early orders, have struggled … Continue reading “Dragon Innovation Offers $100K Investment for $1M Crowdfunding Wins”

Marshfield Clinic Aims to Boost Tech Transfer With Cleveland’s Help

The next scientific discovery with the potential to revolutionize healthcare could come from anywhere, whether it’s a massive Boston hospital or a rural Midwestern clinic. But when it comes to the complicated process of taking those discoveries to market, a Boston research team is going to have access to resources its rural brethren can only … Continue reading “Marshfield Clinic Aims to Boost Tech Transfer With Cleveland’s Help”

Gene Therapy Lurches Ahead, Sees Thorny Future Questions on Price

Imagine for a minute you’re a teenager with a rare genetic muscle disease nobody has ever heard of. No treatment exists. Your doctor says you might die if you ever eat pepperoni pizza. The medical literature says you’ll never get to be an athlete, get a real job, start a family. You’ll probably die in … Continue reading “Gene Therapy Lurches Ahead, Sees Thorny Future Questions on Price”

Houston Entrepreneur Starts Microfinance Program to Boost Startups

[Updated 1/27/14 7:49 am] Entrepreneurship is an intensely personal business. Customers and investors must have faith in you, not just your product. A decade ago, Prasad Menon met a would-be entrepreneur, who not only fixed his wonky garage doors but also called days later just to check that all was well. “He seemed like the … Continue reading “Houston Entrepreneur Starts Microfinance Program to Boost Startups”

Four Colorado Startups Advance to Next Round in Startup Tournament

Four Colorado startups punched their tickets to Washington, DC, last night after winning regional titles in the 1776 Challenge Cup, a global business plan competition. The competition is trying to find promising startups that can solve problems in healthcare, education, energy, and urban planning or “smart cities.” The event is managed by the 1776 startup … Continue reading “Four Colorado Startups Advance to Next Round in Startup Tournament”

Milwaukee Pharma Supplier Fontarome Chemical in Receivership

Fontarome Chemical, a Milwaukee-area pharmaceutical ingredients supplier, has filed for receivership, according to online court records. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported the news. In such cases, a state court appoints a receiver to oversee a business’s financial operations and potentially liquidate assets or sell the business to pay creditors. The cause of Fontarome’s financial … Continue reading “Milwaukee Pharma Supplier Fontarome Chemical in Receivership”

Rideshare App Bandwagon Gets Around Legally in the NYC Battleground

Getting a taxi in a busy city is a problem plenty of startups have been trying to solve. There are potholes, though, that developers of ridesharing and car-hailing apps may run into, trouble that has nothing to do with technology. So far, New York’s Bandwagon has avoided much of the courtroom drama that has plagued Uber, … Continue reading “Rideshare App Bandwagon Gets Around Legally in the NYC Battleground”

Using Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Against an Age-Old Disease

When I started working on the research and science of leprosy more than a decade ago, people thought this chronic infectious disease would eliminate itself and burn out over time. We didn’t have time for that. Why? Nearly 250,000 new cases of leprosy are diagnosed every year, and many more go undetected. Approximately 10 percent … Continue reading “Using Cutting-Edge Science and Technology Against an Age-Old Disease”

The New Internet Economy: A Chat With Alibaba CTO Wang Jian

Don’t compare Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group to Amazon, eBay, Google, or other U.S. Internet giants. Think bigger. Think Walmart. Yet even Walmart doesn’t quite capture the scale or nature of Alibaba’s operations. To CTO Wang Jian, who visited Seattle this week, Alibaba provides such a fundamental, all-encompassing service to the modern economy that it’s … Continue reading “The New Internet Economy: A Chat With Alibaba CTO Wang Jian”

Texas Biotech Leaders Doubt CPRIT Will Get Its Groove Back

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas is back in business again, and is seeking a fresh start after a well-documented scandal. But many in the life sciences startup community are skeptical that the once-ambitious state agency will ever become a catalyst for creating high-impact biotech companies that could build on the state’s momentum … Continue reading “Texas Biotech Leaders Doubt CPRIT Will Get Its Groove Back”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Enanta, NY Disruptors, Repligen, & More

Perhaps expectedly, it was a slow week for East Coast biotech as many took a deep breath following the JP Morgan madness. But if the crowding IPO queue is any indication, things are about to heat up in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a roundup of all the local headlines, including some Xconomy … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Enanta, NY Disruptors, Repligen, & More”

Hockney’s iPad: How Technology Illuminates the Way We See

The best painters don’t just make pretty, eye-catching pictures. They make us think about what it means to see. On the canvas, they must reduce the three dimensions of the living world to two—but if they’re good at it, they add a different kind of depth in the process. David Hockney is very, very good … Continue reading “Hockney’s iPad: How Technology Illuminates the Way We See”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Shire, Illumina, Tandem, and More

Much of the week’s life sciences news concerned the end-of-year data on venture capital activity, and how much money flowed into San Diego’s biotech and device companies in 2013. And then there was Shire’s San Diego stumble. I’ve got it all wrapped up here. —Less than three years after acquiring San Diego-based Advanced BioHealing, Ireland’s … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Shire, Illumina, Tandem, and More”

Detroit Auto Show Spotlights Wearable Technology and Connected Cars

The 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is wrapping up in Detroit this week, and this year’s edition marks the first time I’ve ever seen a smart bike on display at a car show—which, in a way, is a sign that the auto industry has bounced back and is seeking innovative ways to differentiate … Continue reading “Detroit Auto Show Spotlights Wearable Technology and Connected Cars”

Enanta, No Longer Obscure, Seeks Slice of Big Hepatitis C Market

When Jay Luly took the reins at a privately-held biotech startup called Enanta Pharmaceuticals in 2003, he thought he was in for a quick fix. A floundering biotech based on a peptide-morphing technology, Enanta needed a new direction. He was an entrepreneur-in-residence at a venture firm at the time, which is a sort of gig … Continue reading “Enanta, No Longer Obscure, Seeks Slice of Big Hepatitis C Market”

Walled Gardens Make Good Neighbors, Argues Nextdoor CEO

Nirav Tolia has a pretty audacious goal for his young social media company, and he wasn’t afraid to say it out loud when I interviewed him recently. “Our aspiration is to be approaching the same scale as Facebook,” says Tolia, who co-founded the San Francisco, CA-based neighborhood network Nextdoor in 2010. Nextdoor connects people who … Continue reading “Walled Gardens Make Good Neighbors, Argues Nextdoor CEO”

Boulder’s JumpCloud Raises $3.1M to Make DevOps Server Tools

JumpCloud, a Boulder, CO-based startup that is developing server management tools for software development and IT teams, has closed a $3.1 million Series A round, according to paperwork the company has filed with the SEC. JumpCloud, which was formerly known as SafeInstance, launched publicly in September and is developing cloud-based software that allows users to … Continue reading “Boulder’s JumpCloud Raises $3.1M to Make DevOps Server Tools”

Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Work to Bridge Gaps

A database of Wisconsin entrepreneurs and their skill sets. A statewide internship program matching college students with startups hungry for cheap-but-energetic talent. A series of meet-ups streamed over the Web. These were among the ideas floated Wednesday night at an event in Madison meant to bridge the state’s various startup communities. By the end of … Continue reading “Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Work to Bridge Gaps”

22 Colorado Startups to Compete Tonight in Global Startup Challenge

Washington, DC might be the nation’s capital, but it’s not known for putting its resources toward helping startups. A group known as 1776 is trying to change that, and they’ve come to Denver as part of their effort to build a global network of startups. 1776 runs a startup co-working space and mentorship program in … Continue reading “22 Colorado Startups to Compete Tonight in Global Startup Challenge”

Early Bird Ends Soon for Feb. 21 Healthcare Summit: Get Your Invite

Innovations in the lab, in software, and in how doctors, hospitals, patients, and scientists view the world and relate to each other are transforming the way healthcare is delivered and consumed. Join us for a very special event as we bring together approximately 75 leaders in drug development, healthcare, venture capital, big data, and more … Continue reading “Early Bird Ends Soon for Feb. 21 Healthcare Summit: Get Your Invite”

Robertson Gives Rockefeller $25M For Drug Discovery

Christmas came late for Rockefeller University, in the form of a $25 million check to help keep some of its promising drug discovery projects afloat. A gift from the Robertson Foundation, formed by former hedge fund manager Julian Robertson and his family, will allow for the creation of the Robertson Therapeutic Development Fund at Rockefeller, … Continue reading “Robertson Gives Rockefeller $25M For Drug Discovery”

Join Us, And New York’s “Life Science Disruptors,” On March 6

There’s something brewing in New York biotech. Call it a grass roots movement. No longer are the region’s scientists, non-profits, and entrepreneurs simply pounding the tables. They’re taking action. Institutions are banding together, forming initiatives hell bent on commercializing local research. Government-backed funds are teaming with local venture firms to put funds together to spur … Continue reading “Join Us, And New York’s “Life Science Disruptors,” On March 6″