Woody Allen is often quoted as saying 80 percent of life is just showing up. This past week Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a decent check, and just as important, he showed up for life sciences. It’s a small gesture, but a start. The social-networking wizard took some time out of his week to stop … Continue reading “Zuckerberg Takes a Small Step in Right Direction, Backing Biotech”
Category: National
Dan Bricklin, Apperian, ByteLight Join Mobile Madness Lineup on March 19
Too many good people, too few slots. Such is the curse of Mobile Madness. Nevertheless we forge on. I’m pleased to announce a few more speakers for Mobile Madness 2013, our fifth annual mobile conference on March 19 at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA. I hope to have the agenda finalized by next week. —Dan … Continue reading “Dan Bricklin, Apperian, ByteLight Join Mobile Madness Lineup on March 19”
Roundup: Version One Ventures, Scope 5, Gigabit Squared, and Fledge
In the news this week: Canadian fundraising with an eye on U.S. startups, funding for sustainability software company Scope 5, Seattle’s high-speed broadband project expanding, and a new flock of Fledglings. —Vancouver, B.C., angel investor Boris Wertz has raised $19 million for Version One Ventures, a seed fund planning to back early stage tech startups … Continue reading “Roundup: Version One Ventures, Scope 5, Gigabit Squared, and Fledge”
Bizdom, TechTown, Invest Detroit Launch $1M Technology Exchange
Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, Detroit business incubators Bizdom and TechTown are partnering with Invest Detroit on a new initiative called the Detroit Technology Exchange (DTX). DTX will consist of programs geared toward strengthening Detroit’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, attracting and retaining talent, and getting investment money flowing through the local startup … Continue reading “Bizdom, TechTown, Invest Detroit Launch $1M Technology Exchange”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: IBM, ImmunoGen, Breakthrough Prize, & More
The symbiotic ties between industry and university scientists were a big theme this week in East Coast news. Some top academic researchers became instant millionaires as tech moguls honored their biomedical innovations, and new university institutes launched projects to accelerate progress in the pharmaceutical world. And the FDA’s approval of a new Genentech cancer drug … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: IBM, ImmunoGen, Breakthrough Prize, & More”
Genentech, ImmunoGen Win FDA OK for Souped-Up Breast Cancer Drug
Genentech’s scientists have long wondered about what would happen if they could deliver a more powerful version of their original hit antibody drug for breast cancer. Now they’ll see. The South San Francisco-based company, a unit of Roche, said today that it won FDA clearance to start selling ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) as a new treatment … Continue reading “Genentech, ImmunoGen Win FDA OK for Souped-Up Breast Cancer Drug”
Blaze Bioscience Caps Off $8.5M Financing, Charges Toward Clinic
Seattle-based Blaze Bioscience has gotten a little extra vote of confidence, a little more cash, and a few more smart people to help it move ahead with its new cancer surgery technology. Blaze, a spinoff from Jim Olson’s lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is announcing today it has closed its Series A … Continue reading “Blaze Bioscience Caps Off $8.5M Financing, Charges Toward Clinic”
Battery Ventures’ Recent Fund Performance: Nothing Special
With this week’s news that Battery Ventures has closed new venture capital funds worth a combined $900 million, we thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the firm’s recent performance. So we turned to information from state pension funds, one of the few sources of publicly available information about venture capital … Continue reading “Battery Ventures’ Recent Fund Performance: Nothing Special”
Adimab Grows Up, Looks to Pay Off the VCs In Unusual Way
Adimab has raised a shade under $40 million in venture capital since it was founded in 2007. If things break the way co-founder and CEO Tillman Gerngross expects, this could be the year the VCs get their money bank without him going through the trouble of an IPO, or selling out to some Big Pharma … Continue reading “Adimab Grows Up, Looks to Pay Off the VCs In Unusual Way”
I Switched from Mint.com to Pageonce. Maybe You Should Too.
[Update: As of May 2013, Pageonce has officially changed the name of its app and service to Check.] For more than a decade, I was a faithful user of Quicken, Intuit’s desktop personal finance program. I stopped using it in 2008 after Mint.com came along, giving me the ability to monitor all my accounts from … Continue reading “I Switched from Mint.com to Pageonce. Maybe You Should Too.”
National Science Foundation Scales Up Entrepreneurship Program
The National Science Foundation said today that it will fund a major expansion of its Innovation Corps program, an effort to teach NSF-funded university researchers how to build profitable startups around their technologies. In its initial stages, the two-year-old “I-Corps” program has been flying researchers to Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and Georgia Tech … Continue reading “National Science Foundation Scales Up Entrepreneurship Program”
Investors Talk Cluster F*ck Deals, Control Issues, and Series A Crunch
Wednesday night’s Enterprise Tech Meetup in New York ran like many panels where venture capitalists gab about what excites them in the market—until Ed Zimmerman called out a troubling trend he sees among some startup funding deals. “Companies have started raising these cluster f*ck rounds,” he said. “In these rounds you’ll have a dozen investors, … Continue reading “Investors Talk Cluster F*ck Deals, Control Issues, and Series A Crunch”
Battery Ventures Closes New Funds at $900M
Battery Ventures, a major Boston-area VC firm, has raised two new funds that total $900 million. The firm says its approach will remain pretty consistent—covering a broad array of bets on companies in several technology sectors, at several different stages of growth. Battery Ventures, which also has offices in Silicon Valley and Israel, is putting … Continue reading “Battery Ventures Closes New Funds at $900M”
Track180 Builds iPad App to Bring More Context, Balance to Online News
The best entrepreneurs are an elusive mix of tech-business expert, clear-headed thinker, contrarian, psychologist, and elevator repairman. Because, really, if you know how to fix elevators, you can pretty much do anything. That would apply to Drue Hontz, the founder and CEO of Track180, a startup in New Haven, CT, that’s trying to reinvent how … Continue reading “Track180 Builds iPad App to Bring More Context, Balance to Online News”
Shedding Baggage, Alnylam Turns a Corner
What convinces investors that a drug discovery company is likely to bring products to the market, and rewards to shareholders? It comes down to just a few things: Proprietary biology. Confident management. Experience driving products into clinical trials and onto the market. Enough of a story to be able to raise money. And the likelihood, … Continue reading “Shedding Baggage, Alnylam Turns a Corner”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: IPOs, ResMed, Ventrix, CovX, & More
Last week, there was only a trickle of life sciences news out of San Diego. This week the dam broke, and there’s a lot of news—including two IPO filings by San Diego biotechs. —San Diego’s Sophiris Bio, a startup developing a new drug treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate, plans to raise … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: IPOs, ResMed, Ventrix, CovX, & More”
With $30M in Financing, Living Proof Primps for More Good Hair Days
Cambridge, MA-based Living Proof says today it has raised $30 million to expand its line of hair care products, and to support the development and commercialization of additional beauty products. In today’s statement, the company says it also has begun its first national marketing campaign with actress Jennifer Aniston and her world famous hair. Living … Continue reading “With $30M in Financing, Living Proof Primps for More Good Hair Days”
Innovations in Financial Technology: Wisdom of the Crowd
It is of particular interest to me when an established industry begins to innovate and move in new directions. Financial technology has been an active area of innovation all along, but the advent of social media and crowd sourcing has infused new life to the sector. Aside from crowdfunding, here at 1M/1M we are also … Continue reading “Innovations in Financial Technology: Wisdom of the Crowd”
Meet the 14 New Rock Health Startups Innovating in Digital Health
San Francisco’s Rock Health startup accelerator held its fourth semi-annual Demo Day at UCSF’s Genentech Hall Wednesday afternoon. Investors and journalists heard pitches from 14 startups working to introduce new health-related services for consumers and new ways to improve the efficiency of the U.S. healthcare system. On the consumer side, one intriguing presenter was Beam … Continue reading “Meet the 14 New Rock Health Startups Innovating in Digital Health”
On the Cusp of Commercialization, Hydrovolts Runs Out of Cash
Seattle renewable energy equipment maker Hydrovolts, which was on the “cusp” of initial commercial sales of its small hydroelectric turbines, is evaluating its options after running out of capital. “The company does not have operating capital right now, and we’re looking at ways to restructure it and move forward,” Hydrovolts president and chief operating officer … Continue reading “On the Cusp of Commercialization, Hydrovolts Runs Out of Cash”
Aaron Swartz Prosecutor: Legal System Needs Mental Health Fixes
The top federal prosecutor in the case of Internet activist Aaron Swartz says the young man’s suicide was “a tremendous tragedy” that points to the need for better mental health services in the broader court system. In an interview with Boston NPR station WBUR, Boston-based U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz declined to delve into the details … Continue reading “Aaron Swartz Prosecutor: Legal System Needs Mental Health Fixes”
Coming Soon: the Detroit Bus Company’s Newest Transit Innovations
Andy Didorosi, the founder and CEO of the Detroit Bus Company, is on a mission. Not content to merely revolutionize the city’s transit system, which is in desperate need of fixing, Didorosi is rolling out a new set of innovations over the coming months. When we went a rollicking ride along on one of Didorosi’s buses … Continue reading “Coming Soon: the Detroit Bus Company’s Newest Transit Innovations”
Boston Deals: CounterTack, E4 Health, MassChallenge
A few short news items to catch up on from around the New England innovation scene—and beyond: —CounterTack, a digital security firm that relocated to Waltham in 2011, has raised some $4.3 million in equity, according to an SEC filing. CounterTack, which was previously known as NeuralIQ, raised a $9.5 million Series A round in … Continue reading “Boston Deals: CounterTack, E4 Health, MassChallenge”
Facebook, Google Moguls Give $33M in Prizes to Biomedical Stars
[Updated 11:35 am with Zuckerberg comment] Some of the highest achievers in technology are giving away a lot of money to people who have made some of the biggest achievements in biotech. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, along with Google’s Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki, announced today they have come … Continue reading “Facebook, Google Moguls Give $33M in Prizes to Biomedical Stars”
Rod Brooks, Chris Anderson, Aldo Zini to Star at SRI Robotics Event
A couple of weeks ago we opened ticket sales for our second annual Silicon Valley robotics forum. It’s called Robots Remake the Workplace. But we could have just as easily called this April 11 event When Bad Things Happen to Good Robots. That’s because the national media is practically blowing a gasket over a freshly … Continue reading “Rod Brooks, Chris Anderson, Aldo Zini to Star at SRI Robotics Event”
NYU to Train Data Scientists for E-Commerce, Pharma, and Other Markets
With all the talk of big data these days, many businesses are still looking for talent to turn massive amounts of information into something they can use. New York University announced Tuesday it is creating a Center for Data Science, along with a master’s-level degree program to train big-data professionals for commercial and public sectors. … Continue reading “NYU to Train Data Scientists for E-Commerce, Pharma, and Other Markets”
Ed-Tech Isn’t for Wimps: Noodle’s Katzman on Building a Winner
Technology entrepreneurs are increasingly turning their sights on education, with visions of liberating knowledge from the textbook publishing cabals and driving down the costs that lead to heavy student loan debt. That’s a good thing. But just like any other sector drawing a lot of startup interest, there’s starting to be plenty of dreck in … Continue reading “Ed-Tech Isn’t for Wimps: Noodle’s Katzman on Building a Winner”
Lost My iPhone in Royal Danish Moat—Can You Beat That?
I don’t have too many firsts to my name. But I’m betting I’m the first to lose an iPhone 5 in the moat of Rosenborg Castle, the famous Danish royal family castle in the heart of Copenhagen. At least in 2013. It just happened today—luckily my laptop was back at the hotel. I am here … Continue reading “Lost My iPhone in Royal Danish Moat—Can You Beat That?”
Natera Joins Quest in Four-Way Battle for Prenatal Genetic Tests
[Corrected: 9:10 am PT] Parents have long wanted to know whether they are about to bring a child into the world with a chromosomal abnormality like Down syndrome. There’s never been a noninvasive, simple, and highly accurate way to make that call at an early stage of pregnancy. But after a flurry of innovation in … Continue reading “Natera Joins Quest in Four-Way Battle for Prenatal Genetic Tests”
Bolt Emerges with $3.5M Fund to Support Hardware Startups in Boston
If hardware is the new black, then Bolt is the new “accelerator.” Actually, Bolt doesn’t much like the term. Instead, it fancies itself a “toolkit” for hardware startups. But the accelerator label gets some mileage, because Bolt has landed in Boston to nurture young companies and build a new business—and, perhaps, a new industry—around connected … Continue reading “Bolt Emerges with $3.5M Fund to Support Hardware Startups in Boston”
Sanitas Gets FDA Clearance to Market ‘Wellaho’ for Chronically Ill
Sanitas, a San Diego health IT startup, said yesterday the FDA has cleared its secure Web and mobile platform for supporting outpatients who are chronically ill. The company submitted a premarket notification for Wellaho, its personalized outpatient management system, in late November. An FDA review agreed in January that Wellaho is a class II medical … Continue reading “Sanitas Gets FDA Clearance to Market ‘Wellaho’ for Chronically Ill”
The Academy Awards: Biopharma Edition
Academy Award season is upon us, with the Oscars being polished up in anticipation of the big night. Who knows which Hollywood heavyweights and newcomers will be recognized for their seminal contributions to this year’s films? Suppose, however, that there was a drug industry version of the awards. What kind of categories would there be, … Continue reading “The Academy Awards: Biopharma Edition”
Trends to Watch at This Year’s Big AGBT Meeting
Mainstream news stories often mistake technology for science. Such conflation likely reflects how gizmos and knowledge, like arteries and veins, form a virtuous cycle: understanding nature requires, and refines, good tools. In genomics, that symbiosis burns brightest at Advances in Genome Biology & Technology (AGBT), the yearly nucleic acid trip in Florida, where new sequencing … Continue reading “Trends to Watch at This Year’s Big AGBT Meeting”
U-M Opens Law Clinic for Student Startups
The entrepreneurial ecosystem at the University of Michigan quietly added another layer last year with the establishment of a law clinic that offers free legal services to student entrepreneurs. Described by officials as a first at the university, the clinic is joining the growing number of similar endeavors on college campuses across the nation as … Continue reading “U-M Opens Law Clinic for Student Startups”
Gary Vaynerchuk Chats with Dave McClure, Calls Entrepreneurs a Rare Breed
Angel investor, Wine Library-phenom, and VaynerMedia co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk dropped by last week’s 500 Startups demo day in New York for a brazenly candid talk on investment strategies and deal valuations. “I don’t give a [expletive] about the numbers,” he said. “I don’t understand the math of it well enough. I’m a salesman. I bet … Continue reading “Gary Vaynerchuk Chats with Dave McClure, Calls Entrepreneurs a Rare Breed”
Sophiris Bio Files $75M IPO, Plans Pivotal Trials of Prostate Drug
San Diego-based Sophiris Bio, which was founded in Vancouver B.C. and already trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq and raise almost $75 million through an IPO, according to a regulatory filing. The life sciences startup has been developing a new drug treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), … Continue reading “Sophiris Bio Files $75M IPO, Plans Pivotal Trials of Prostate Drug”
Itron CEO Talks Smart Grids and Cities, Big Data, China, and Water
Based outside of Spokane, WA, but with a business presence in 120 countries, Itron is the quiet, global giant in the state’s cleantech sector—and a key part of the Pacific Northwest’s cluster of smart grid businesses. Philip Mezey took the helm of Itron at the start of the year, guiding a company in an enormous … Continue reading “Itron CEO Talks Smart Grids and Cities, Big Data, China, and Water”
Crazy Enough to Change the World
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow … Continue reading “Crazy Enough to Change the World”
Mindflash Zooms Ahead in Online Employee Training, Adds $3.5 Million
In the world of online training and education, personal video instruction sites like Udacity, Coursera, Khan Academy, and Lynda.com have been sucking up a lot of the oxygen. Certainly, that’s where the big venture dollars are going: Udacity raised $12 million last year, Coursera pulled in $22 million, and Lynda.com recently attracted a whopping $103 … Continue reading “Mindflash Zooms Ahead in Online Employee Training, Adds $3.5 Million”
NanoString Starts Selling First Breast Cancer Test in EU
NanoString Technologies is now officially in the diagnostics business. Seattle-based NanoString is announcing today that it has begun selling its first diagnostic product in the European Union and Israel. It’s called the Prosigna Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay, and it’s designed to provide a digital readout on the expression of 50 genes that are … Continue reading “NanoString Starts Selling First Breast Cancer Test in EU”
Cloze Goes Live with Mobile App to Combat E-mail and Social Overload
Got e-mail problems? Tired of trying to keep up with all the latest social-media updates? Then retire and move to Fiji. But if that’s not an option, well, keep reading. Yes, the race is on to help people better manage their inboxes and contacts, particularly on mobile devices. With this month’s release of Mailbox, the … Continue reading “Cloze Goes Live with Mobile App to Combat E-mail and Social Overload”
The Reimbursed Personal Genome—-Five Years Away?
Genome sequencing will be a routine diagnostic test for patients at the new Institute for Precision Medicine in New York City, a joint project of the Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Doctors will be searching for new genetic clues about disease by taking an unbiased survey along the genome, rather than scanning only … Continue reading “The Reimbursed Personal Genome—-Five Years Away?”
Sage Bionetworks Absorbs Dream, Plans Open Science ‘Challenges’
Sage Bionetworks is a nonprofit, so it isn’t in the business of doing mergers and acquisitions in the traditional sense. But today it’s completing a merger of sorts that will enable it to expand its reach on the Web. Sage, the Seattle-based nonprofit working to spark an open-source biology movement, is announcing today it will … Continue reading “Sage Bionetworks Absorbs Dream, Plans Open Science ‘Challenges’”
High Hanging Fruit
Let’s face it. There are tens of thousands of super smart, tech-savvy, funded teams out there chasing the next Massively Viral consumer Internet phenomenon. Think of it like an incredibly parallel search algorithm where every conceivable customer acquisition twist and hook is being explored with effectively infinite resources of fine young minds backed by the … Continue reading “High Hanging Fruit”
Biotech & Pharma Whining About Talent: That Makes Me Mad
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies axed something like 150,000 workers from 2009 through 2012. Now guess what? Those same companies are complaining, in a recent report from the consulting firm PwC, that they are unable to find enough qualified workers to fill key positions they need to grow. Sometimes, you come across a message in one of these … Continue reading “Biotech & Pharma Whining About Talent: That Makes Me Mad”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: RQx Pharma, Elcelyx, Lux, & More
Not a heavy week for local life sciences news. Here’s a quick wrap. —San Diego’s RQx Pharmaceuticals said it signed a drug discovery partnership with Genentech, the Roche subsidiary based in South San Francisco, CA, that could result eventually in $111 million in milestone payments. RQx was founded two years ago with about $3.5 million … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: RQx Pharma, Elcelyx, Lux, & More”
State Funds Collaborations Between Small Companies, MI Universities
The Michigan Corporate Relations Network has issued a request for proposals from tech entrepreneurs looking to speed up their commercialization efforts. Under the Small Company Innovation Program (SCIP), small- to medium-sized companies can receive matching funds for research projects at one of the organization’s participating universities: Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, Michigan State … Continue reading “State Funds Collaborations Between Small Companies, MI Universities”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Jounce, Tokai, Lux, & More
Companies in the life sciences centers around Boston and New York made news this week with movement on cancer drug programs and efforts to create therapies by influencing the immune system. Maverick VC firm Lux Capital raised another $245 million, and health care companies will share in it. Meanwhile, scores of New York City health … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Jounce, Tokai, Lux, & More”
Prostate Cancer Drug Winners and Losers at ASCO GU
The latest clinical research in prostate cancer is being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitorinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in Orlando, FL. Presentations started yesterday, and run through tomorrow, but here’s some quick commentary on three of the early “winners” and “losers” in the oral presentations. Winners San Francisco-based Medivation (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MDVN]]): … Continue reading “Prostate Cancer Drug Winners and Losers at ASCO GU”
Roundup: Cozi, X2Impact Raise Funds, Angels Report, and More
Investors are making bets on Seattle companies including family organizer Cozi and X2Impact, which aims to prevent sports head injuries, while angel groups the Keiretsu Form Northwest and Northwest Energy Angels closed the books on 2012. And what happens if you locate an accelerator inside an incubator? An accelerbator? An inculator? 9Mile Labs and SURF … Continue reading “Roundup: Cozi, X2Impact Raise Funds, Angels Report, and More”