Executives at Carlsbad-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) were upbeat in a conference call this week, after the company reported encouraging news on several fronts. The company said Monday it had received a $10 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca after the London-based pharmaceutical giant advanced their joint development of a drug for liver cancer and added … Continue reading “Isis Execs Upbeat as AstraZeneca Expands Cancer Drug Collaboration”
Category: National
Amazon’s Grocery Expansion: A Match Made in Sales-Tax Heaven
In Amazon’s hometown of Seattle, people are pretty used to the sight of bright green Amazon Fresh trucks zipping around the city, loaded down with containers and bags full of groceries delivered to their door. Now it’s looking like folks in other cities might start getting a taste of Amazon’s grocery deliveries. And they’ve got … Continue reading “Amazon’s Grocery Expansion: A Match Made in Sales-Tax Heaven”
Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News
A pair of Seattle startups aren’t saying much publicly, but SEC filings show that Seeq and Highline have the ears and wallets of some investors. Apex Learning also raised new capital. In other news, WhitePages acquires Mr. Number, Seattle’s presentation software makers forge ahead, and the White House is coming down on patent trolls. —Seeq … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Apex, Seeq, Highline, and More Seattle News”
Aveo Cuts 140 Jobs As Fallout From FDA Panel Continues
Aveo Oncology’s workforce is now bearing the brunt of the collateral damage from the company’s failure before an FDA advisory panel in May. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech has outlined a sweeping restructuring plan that will involve slashing 140 jobs—roughly 62 percent of its employees. Aveo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVEO]]) expects to save about $190 million over the … Continue reading “Aveo Cuts 140 Jobs As Fallout From FDA Panel Continues”
IBM Buying SoftLayer in Cloud-Computing Wars
IBM announced Tuesday it is acquiring Dallas-based SoftLayer, which will serve as the keystone for its new cloud service division, along with IBM’s SmartCloud franchise. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but published estimates speculate it was a $2 billion purchase price. The acquisition comes as the Armonk, NY-based computing giant seeks to buttress … Continue reading “IBM Buying SoftLayer in Cloud-Computing Wars”
Cyber Security Firm LogRhythm Setting Tempo for March to an IPO
Logging in to a network, whether for work, to check your bank balance, or to play video games, has become one of life’s routine hassles. But if you think logging in is a hassle, try running a network that must track thousands or millions of people trying to get access—and instantly predicting who has bad … Continue reading “Cyber Security Firm LogRhythm Setting Tempo for March to an IPO”
Edge Therapeutics Raises $18M to Better Treat Head Injuries
Edge Therapeutics believes it can combat the delayed, life-threatening effects that can happen days or weeks after aneurysms and severe head injuries by tweaking well-known drugs. With its biggest financial haul to date, the New Providence, NJ-based biotech will get its first chance to test that thesis on a large scale by putting its lead … Continue reading “Edge Therapeutics Raises $18M to Better Treat Head Injuries”
Zynga to Shutter Offices in New York, Dallas, LA—Game Over for OMGPOP
The crops seem to be withering in the land of “FarmVille.” When social game company Zynga (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ZNGA]]) announced on Monday plans to cut 520 employees, about 18 percent of its overall staff, its New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas offices reportedly landed on the chopping block. Zynga did not immediately respond to requests for … Continue reading “Zynga to Shutter Offices in New York, Dallas, LA—Game Over for OMGPOP”
Prime Student Loan Leads New Pack of Entrants in Education Finance
It’s June, which means school is just getting out. For new college grads (and post-grads), that means the pain of paying back student loans is just about to begin. Student loans are a busy topic lately. The total debt and default rates in the industry are sky-high. President Obama has been sparring with Congress over … Continue reading “Prime Student Loan Leads New Pack of Entrants in Education Finance”
Protagonist Pulls in $14M, Led by J&J, For Peptide Pills
Not many companies know how to make peptide molecules that can be packaged in a pill, but Menlo Park, CA-based Protagonist Therapeutics just got a vote of confidence that it can pull off that nifty little trick. The company is announcing today it has raised $14 million in a Series B venture financing that was … Continue reading “Protagonist Pulls in $14M, Led by J&J, For Peptide Pills”
BMC Software, Going Private, Puts Consumer Spin on IT, Cloud Services
As companies large and small try to figure out where they fit in with cloud computing and IT services, a competitive landscape has evolved where everyone is vying to create the next big innovation. BMC Software, a 33-year-old firm, is making its way through the cloud-computing maze in Houston, and it is defending its territory … Continue reading “BMC Software, Going Private, Puts Consumer Spin on IT, Cloud Services”
Get to Know Your College Town With Guidesmob’s Apps
When I was in college, back in the 1990s, new students curious about what their university’s town had to offer relied on the local alternative weekly newspaper’s annual guide to places to go and things to do. Published in late summer, some of the information in it was already outdated by mid-semester as restaurants and … Continue reading “Get to Know Your College Town With Guidesmob’s Apps”
InsightSquared Gets $8M to Continue (Boring) Business Intelligence Growth
A few weeks ago, Fred Shilmover, the CEO and co-founder of InsightSquared, gave the most boring interview I’ve done all year. In this case, that’s a good thing. The Cambridge, MA-based business-intelligence startup is announcing $8 million in Series B funding today, led by new investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Previous investor Atlas Venture also participated … Continue reading “InsightSquared Gets $8M to Continue (Boring) Business Intelligence Growth”
We Owe it to Patients to Provide a Reliable Supply of Medicines
Too often in recent years, medicines for life-threatening conditions have been in short supply. It is unnecessary and avoidable for patients, their families, and health care professionals to experience and worry about medicine availability on top of the anxiety caused by their medical conditions. A reliable supply of high-quality medications is something all drug makers … Continue reading “We Owe it to Patients to Provide a Reliable Supply of Medicines”
ASCO Wrap-Up: Cancer News from the West Coast
Anybody with a more than passing interest in cancer has been transfixed the last few days by the news coming out of Chicago. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting has been especially newsy this year, chock full of important clinical trial news—some good, some bad, and some that you’d have to give … Continue reading “ASCO Wrap-Up: Cancer News from the West Coast”
With $1.3M in Seed Funding, Arcturus Adds to RNAi Hub in San Diego
San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics, a startup founded earlier this year to develop new drugs based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology, says it has raised $1.3 million in seed funding from multiple individual investors in the United States and Canada. The startup, founded by pharmaceutical scientists and former Nitto Denko executives Joseph Payne and Pad Chivukula, … Continue reading “With $1.3M in Seed Funding, Arcturus Adds to RNAi Hub in San Diego”
How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures
[Updated 6/4, see below.] Intellectual Ventures, the controversial patent licensing company headed by former Microsoft technology chief Nathan Myhrvold, is under the microscope again. And a pair of Boston-area technology companies are part of the courtroom drama. This weekend, NPR and public radio program This American Life delved into the U.S. patent system again, following … Continue reading “How Carbonite, EMC Beat a Patent Troll Tied to Intellectual Ventures”
DeVice Wins the Hack4Colorado Pot for App that Helps Feed ‘Vices’
What do you get when you put 100 Denver-area hackers together for about 48 hours and give them access to loads of data about hiking trails, where city dwellers can plant urban farms—and where you can buy marijuana legally? You get 18 apps that can help rescuers find injured hikers, connect urban farmers to buyers, … Continue reading “DeVice Wins the Hack4Colorado Pot for App that Helps Feed ‘Vices’”
Balanon Leaves Detroit Labs for Protean Payment
Last Friday morning, Xconomist Henry Balanon, co-founder and director of mobile at app development shop Detroit Labs, sent an e-mail through the Madison Building, Detroit Labs, and Bizdom e-mail lists telling respondents that, effective at the end of the workday, he was leaving the company he co-founded: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision because I’ve … Continue reading “Balanon Leaves Detroit Labs for Protean Payment”
Biodesix’s VeriStrat Test for Cancer Treatment Passes Phase 3 Trial
Biodesix, a Boulder, CO-based company that develops molecular diagnostic tests, said today that it has passed a key clinical trial that shows its VeriStrat test can give physicians a better idea of what to do next after the first round of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer has failed. The result of the trial, from … Continue reading “Biodesix’s VeriStrat Test for Cancer Treatment Passes Phase 3 Trial”
L’Oréal, New Coalition, & Others Seek Increased Role for Women in Tech
Campaigns to elevate the presence of women in technology have sprung up of late in New York, and one of the latest efforts was last week’s formation of the NY Tech Meetup: Coalition for Women in Technology. Co-founded by NY Tech Meetup, Control Group, and Girl Develop It, the new alliance wants to raise awareness … Continue reading “L’Oréal, New Coalition, & Others Seek Increased Role for Women in Tech”
Founders and CEOs: You Can’t Outsource Learning
In a startup instead of paying consultants to tell you what they learned you want to pay them to teach you how to learn. Roominate, one of my favorite Lean LaunchPad teams came out to the ranch last week for a strategy session. Alice and Bettina had taken an idea they had tested in the … Continue reading “Founders and CEOs: You Can’t Outsource Learning”
Hair-Raising Follica Study Could Point to Baldness Therapy
[Updated, 11:00 am ET] Few stories have struck a chord with Xconomy’s readership quite like that of Follica, the PureTech Ventures-incubated startup founded in 2006 with plans to combat male and female pattern baldness by using adult stem cells to grow new hair follicles. Unfortunately, details regarding Follica’s science—let alone its clinical progress—have been as … Continue reading “Hair-Raising Follica Study Could Point to Baldness Therapy”
TechStars Austin Will Complement City’s Vibrant Startup Scene
When TechStars last month announced that Austin would be home to its next outpost, many of us had the same thought: We thought you would have been there long ago. After all, the Texas capital is not a Johnny-come-lately on the technology scene. “It’s not for a lack of awareness about Austin, but more about … Continue reading “TechStars Austin Will Complement City’s Vibrant Startup Scene”
The Biotech IPO Scorecard: Who’s Up, Who’s Down in 2013
Remember Plexxikon? The Berkeley, CA-based company had a lot of talent for structural biology-based drug design, an impressive new treatment for melanoma, and a strong management team. Two years ago, nobody on Wall Street cared one whit. Plexxikon flirted with the idea of going public, found little interest, and sold itself off to Japan-based Daiichi … Continue reading “The Biotech IPO Scorecard: Who’s Up, Who’s Down in 2013”
With Big Bucks Chasing Big Data, Will Consumers Get a Cut?
As consumers, we’re often told a stampede of “big data” will soon make our lives better. Safer and cheaper healthcare, more effective government, lower prices at the corner store—it’s all possible when big companies start digging into the digital information produced by a constantly connected society. Today, the central bargain underwriting most of those lofty … Continue reading “With Big Bucks Chasing Big Data, Will Consumers Get a Cut?”
Merck Joins Bristol, Genentech in Great Cancer Immunotherapy Race
Merck wasn’t the first company to develop targeted antibody drugs 15 years ago, and wasn’t first to show immunotherapy could work against cancer a couple years ago. But the giant drugmaker has put itself in the small group of companies bringing forward a wave of new treatments that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer … Continue reading “Merck Joins Bristol, Genentech in Great Cancer Immunotherapy Race”
Epizyme Soars 50 Percent in IPO Debut
It didn’t take much time for Epizyme to capture the hearts, minds, and cash of public investors Friday. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) saw overwhelming support from investors for its IPO, which priced at $15 per share Thursday night—the high end of the $13 to $15 range it set a week prior. The good … Continue reading “Epizyme Soars 50 Percent in IPO Debut”
Galvanize, Denver Startup Week Win Plaudits from Denver’s Old Guard
Denver’s old-school business establishment tipped its hat this week to the leaders of the city’s burgeoning entrepreneurial scene. Galvanize, the coworking space that’s quickly become the hub for Denver’s top tech startups, and Denver Startup Week both received awards from the Downtown Denver Partnership, one of Colorado’s largest economic vitality groups. The annual awards historically … Continue reading “Galvanize, Denver Startup Week Win Plaudits from Denver’s Old Guard”
Plexxikon Leadership Duo, Peter Hirth and Kathy Glaub, Exit Daiichi
Peter Hirth and Kathy Glaub, the executive duo who led Berkeley, CA-based Plexxikon on its quest to develop an important new treatment for melanoma, worked together for more than a decade, and they are heading out the door together. Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo, the company that acquired Plexxikon for $805 million upfront a little more than … Continue reading “Plexxikon Leadership Duo, Peter Hirth and Kathy Glaub, Exit Daiichi”
Venture for America’s 2nd Class Brings out LinkedIn and HuffPo Bosses
Last night Venture for America celebrated its second, and much larger, class of fellows with the help of The Huffington Post’s president, Arianna Huffington, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Venture for America recruits seniors and recent grads from top universities to work for two years at startups in urban areas across the country. Later this … Continue reading “Venture for America’s 2nd Class Brings out LinkedIn and HuffPo Bosses”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Epizyme, Alkermes, Ophthotech, & More
If you’ve been away all week at an extended post-Memorial Day barbecue, have no fear! We’ve got all of your East Coast biotech news wrapped up below: —Waltham, MA and Dublin, Ireland-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) unveiled detail results from its mid-stage clinical trial on ALKS 5461, its experimental drug for major depressive disorder. The drug, … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Epizyme, Alkermes, Ophthotech, & More”
Alkermes Unveils Full Mid-Stage Data On Depression Drug
[Updated, 9:45 am ET] Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) has released all the details from a mid-stage clinical trial on a drug that attacks depression in a whole new way, giving the company a shot to add a potentially big moneymaker to its portfolio should the results hold up in a bigger study. The Dublin, Ireland and … Continue reading “Alkermes Unveils Full Mid-Stage Data On Depression Drug”
11 Reasons Why Flickr, Not Facebook, Is the Place to Put Your Photos
What’s the best way to put your pictures on the Internet these days? There are at least two answers to that question. If you’re just asking which photo sharing service is the most popular, then Facebook is the hands-down winner. People upload roughly 350 million photos to the social network every day. Snapchat isn’t far … Continue reading “11 Reasons Why Flickr, Not Facebook, Is the Place to Put Your Photos”
Why Not Test a Supply Chain Model? What We’ve Got Isn’t Working
I find myself siding more with Flagship’s Noubar Afeyan than with Katrine Bosley in the intriguing conversation emerging in Xconomy in recent weeks over the supply chain model for early stage biotech. Today neither biotech nor pharma are producing a sufficient supply of new products. If we can’t figure out a way to profitably finance … Continue reading “Why Not Test a Supply Chain Model? What We’ve Got Isn’t Working”
Epizyme Prices IPO at $15 Per Share, Begins Trading Friday
[Updated: 8:05 pm ET] Epizyme has gotten plenty done in a short period of time: since it set up shop in 2007, it’s locked in three rounds of financing, signed several partnership deals with big drugmakers, and has two drugs either in clinical trials or on the verge of starting them. Now, it will see … Continue reading “Epizyme Prices IPO at $15 Per Share, Begins Trading Friday”
Jobs for Non-Natives: Washington Tech Economy Fueled by “Imports”
[Updated 6/6/13, 3:05 p.m. See below.] Despite chronic underinvestment in education, Washington state’s innovation sector has held its own or even gained ground over the last decade—something business leaders did not predict. “When we started benchmarking in 2003, we felt sure that our state would not be able to sustain and grow our innovation economy … Continue reading “Jobs for Non-Natives: Washington Tech Economy Fueled by “Imports””
There’s Less Pie in the Sky as Wireless Health Gets Connected
Attendance at the annual Wireless-Life Sciences Convergence Summit in San Diego has remained relatively steady in recent years (the first conference was held in 2006), but there has been a phase change in the industry over the past year. As with many emerging technologies, the wireless health industry has been growing slowly, slowly, slowly—and then … Continue reading “There’s Less Pie in the Sky as Wireless Health Gets Connected”
Nuance Bolsters Automotive Offering with $80M Tweddle Acquisition
Nuance Communications, the voice recognition technology company, is making its second major Seattle-area acquisition, spending $80 million in cash for Tweddle Connect, an in-car content delivery system developed by a unit of Detroit-based Tweddle Group. Burlington, MA-based Nuance—whose Dragon Drive software already powers most voice control systems in 20 million new cars a year—would bolster … Continue reading “Nuance Bolsters Automotive Offering with $80M Tweddle Acquisition”
Ailing ARCA Biopharma Seeks $20M to Fund Trials, Stay in Business
ARCA biopharma announced today it will try to raise $20 million in an equity offering to stay afloat while it continues Phase 2 and 3 trials of its treatment for atrial fibrillation. The Broomfield, CO-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ABIO]]) is small pharmaceutical developer focused on genetically targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases. Its lead product is bucindolol … Continue reading “Ailing ARCA Biopharma Seeks $20M to Fund Trials, Stay in Business”
Boston Roundup: Nuance, Twitter, Carbonite, NuoDB, Adelphic
[Updated 4:20 pm] An acquisition, a product launch, some executive shuffles, and more in this collection of recent tech-news headlines from around the Boston area: —Nuance Communications, the Burlington, MA-based speech-recognition software company, is digging deeper into the automotive industry. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]) says it’s spending $80 million to buy a connected-car business from … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Nuance, Twitter, Carbonite, NuoDB, Adelphic”
Oncothyreon Nabs $10M, Pays $10M, For Array Biopharma Cancer Drug
[Updated: 6:35 am PT 5/31] Seattle-based Oncothyreon disappointed a lot of people last year who were betting that it had found a promising new immunotherapy for patients with lung cancer. But even when that drug failed in December, the company still had plenty of cash left, and it is using some of the money to obtain … Continue reading “Oncothyreon Nabs $10M, Pays $10M, For Array Biopharma Cancer Drug”
Report: MI Graduates Starting Companies at Double the National Average
The University Research Corridor (URC), a partnership launched in 2006 by Michigan’s three major research universities, released a report today at the Mackinac Policy Conference detailing a sharp increase in entrepreneurial activity among its graduates. According to the report, alumni from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University are starting their own companies … Continue reading “Report: MI Graduates Starting Companies at Double the National Average”
ChaCha’s Dan Hodges Expects Guided Answers to Rival Web Searches
When “guided search” platform ChaCha hired Dan Hodges in March to be its president the company also set up a New York office for him to head up its growth. ChaCha is a mobile Web platform for getting questions answered with the help of human guides. Users can submit questions via text message, the ChaCha … Continue reading “ChaCha’s Dan Hodges Expects Guided Answers to Rival Web Searches”
Top 20 Under-the-Radar Trends in Innovation
What’s the most important trend in innovation that nobody is talking about? We at Xconomy reached out across our national network of innovation leaders (the Xconomists) to get some answers to this question, and to spur some intercity discussion. What we got back was astounding for its diversity and depth. And while it’s no longer … Continue reading “Top 20 Under-the-Radar Trends in Innovation”
At a Startup, Does Being the Only Woman in the Room Matter?
It’s hardly a secret that the male-dominated world of high-growth entrepreneurship doesn’t boast a treasure trove of women. Despite the fact that female-led start-ups have a track record of driving success, businesses founded by women account for less than 9 percent of venture funding. Considering that 50 percent of the people walking the earth are … Continue reading “At a Startup, Does Being the Only Woman in the Room Matter?”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Nucelis, Evoke, PharmAkea & More
It was a week of diverse news from San Diego’s life sciences community, even with the Memorial Day holiday. From digital health to drug development, and a new center for stem cell imaging, here’s our wrap-up. —The Eighth Annual Wireless-Life Sciences Convergence Summit kicked off in downtown San Diego with a featured talk by Joseph … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Nucelis, Evoke, PharmAkea & More”
Postmates Sets Up Shop in New York—Right in Seamless’s Backyard
Today Postmates revealed it has expanded its app-driven, shopping and delivery service to New York with a team operating in the Flatiron neighborhood. This puts the San Francisco startup in three cities, including Seattle, and on New York-based Seamless’s home turf. Postmates lets consumers order prepared food, groceries, and even office supplies that will be … Continue reading “Postmates Sets Up Shop in New York—Right in Seamless’s Backyard”
Cadence Biomedical Nets $1M, Loads of Press, for Walk-Assist Device
Brian Glaister has had the kind of run over the past few weeks that entrepreneurs dream of. After years of toiling in obscurity, working just to develop a decent prototype, his startup, Seattle-based Cadence Biomedical, has suddenly grown into a media darling. It was featured in a pretty lengthy write-up in The Seattle Times. The … Continue reading “Cadence Biomedical Nets $1M, Loads of Press, for Walk-Assist Device”
Planetary Resources Launches Campaign to Launch Private Space Telescope
In its bid to reinvent the model for space exploration, Planetary Resources is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the world’s first private space telescope, which they say will underscore public support for going where no one has gone before. Since unveiling itself to the public at the Museum of Flight a little more than … Continue reading “Planetary Resources Launches Campaign to Launch Private Space Telescope”