We’re less than a week away from Xconomy’s first major event in Detroit, Mobile Madness Motor City. The half-day forum is packed with some of southeast Michigan’s top technology innovators tackling Michigan’s growing mobile scene and the many ways mobile is revolutionizing the way we live, work, and play. You can still get tickets for this special … Continue reading “Mobile Madness Motor City: Ford’s Connelly Will Talk Trends”
Category: National
ArQule’s Lead Cancer Drug Fails Another Clinical Trial
More bad news for ArQule’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARQL]]) lead drug candidate, tivantinib. Just months after the drug failed a Phase 3 trial in non-small cell lung cancer, ArQule said today that tivantinib also failed in a Phase 2 trial against colorectal cancer. The Woburn, MA-based company is developing the drug in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo of Japan. ArQule’s … Continue reading “ArQule’s Lead Cancer Drug Fails Another Clinical Trial”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Trius, CoDa, Zacharon, & More
The annual International CES in Las Vegas again featured a Digital Health Summit, which included a number of San Diego-based startups. Rick Valencia of Qualcomm Life posted an interesting blog here, and an end-of-year report from Rock Health showed that investments in digital health startups increased more than 44 percent in 2012, to $1.4 billion … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Trius, CoDa, Zacharon, & More”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Bind, Boston Children’s, J&J, More
The life sciences industry was focused on the west coast, not the east, this week. Virtually all of the industry’s movers, shakers, and wannabes were at the 31st Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco Jan 7-9. My colleague Luke Timmerman will be combing his notebooks for features from this premier industry meeting for … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Bind, Boston Children’s, J&J, More”
Epocrates Attracted Athenahealth Buyout by Getting Back to Basics
When I sat down with Epocrates CEO Andrew Hurd on December 19, I wanted to know why the company had decided to abandon its ambitious project to build an electronic health record (EHR) system, which previous executives had portrayed as a cornerstone of the company’s expansion. I also wanted to hear what opportunities for growth … Continue reading “Epocrates Attracted Athenahealth Buyout by Getting Back to Basics”
Marxent Labs’ App Transforms Print Catalogs Into eCommerce Experience
Marxent Labs, the Detroit Venture Partners-backed startup developing augmented reality technology, has launched a new app with Ballard Designs that allows consumers to use their smartphones to transform print catalogs into an e-commerce shopping experience. By using image recognition technology, the new app enables expanded product details and reviews, social sharing, and “tap-to-buy” shopping. The … Continue reading “Marxent Labs’ App Transforms Print Catalogs Into eCommerce Experience”
Feld, Herron, and O’Driscoll Talk Startups and Investments at Eureka Park
Beyond the glitz of new big ticket electronics, startup innovations sparked chatter at this year’s International CES in Las Vegas—especially after a trio of high-profile VCs came to Eureka Park, the startup-focused exhibitor area at the show. Frank Gruber, founder of Las Vegas–based media company and events organizer Tech Cocktail, moderated the spirited chat that … Continue reading “Feld, Herron, and O’Driscoll Talk Startups and Investments at Eureka Park”
Mok Oh, Ex-PayPal, Joins North Bridge to Build “Consumer Big Data” Startup
When last we heard from Mok Oh, he was done with being chief scientist at PayPal. That was October, and the Boston-bred entrepreneur and veteran of companies like EveryScape and Where was on the move. We speculated he would dive back into the early stage startup world. And we would be correct. I got a … Continue reading “Mok Oh, Ex-PayPal, Joins North Bridge to Build “Consumer Big Data” Startup”
Mid-Priced Biotechnology Companies Bloom As M&A Targets in 2013
At the annual health care conference run by JP Morgan in San Francisco this week, and at satellite events surrounding it every year, hundreds of biotechnology companies showcased their work to investors who might advance them the capital to keep going. But the companies’ CEOs are also pitching their value to an equally important part … Continue reading “Mid-Priced Biotechnology Companies Bloom As M&A Targets in 2013”
Biogen ALS Failure Highlights Clinical Trial Frustrations
Drug development doesn’t get much more depressing than the so-far futile search for a lasting treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. More than 20 experimental drugs have failed in clinical trials, the most recent being Biogen Idec’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) closely watched dexpramipexole. Dex, as it is often called, made it all … Continue reading “Biogen ALS Failure Highlights Clinical Trial Frustrations”
Innovation or Litigation?
The story of the year in the technology industry has to be HP’s claims that it was deceived by Autonomy in the $11 billion purchase of the software company. The questions of who knew what, and who did (or didn’t) do what, will be discussed and debated for years. And as many business and technology … Continue reading “Innovation or Litigation?”
Got Cancer? Sorry, There’s No App for That
That’s right. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no apps for treating Parkinson’s either. Or ALS. Or Alzheimer’s, or one of a large number of other diseases I could name and you don’t want to have. Numerous pharma and biotech companies have created more than a hundred different apps, … Continue reading “Got Cancer? Sorry, There’s No App for That”
New Advanced Computing Institute Bolsters NW Big Data Cluster
The burgeoning big data cluster in Washington is getting a boost with a new partnership between the University of Washington and the federal government’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. They are forming the Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing, based at the UW. Experts from the UW and PNNL will research system design, data-driven science, modeling, and … Continue reading “New Advanced Computing Institute Bolsters NW Big Data Cluster”
Backed by $1M from Compuware, Glocal Offers Location-Based News Video Site
Aaron Hodai and Lincoln Cavalieri were high school buddies, lacrosse stars for Detroit Country Day who later went on to college at Syracuse (Lincoln) and the University of Michigan (Aaron). They kept in touch and decided to take their post-collegiate careers in an entrepreneurial direction. Despite having no specific IT or journalism background, what they … Continue reading “Backed by $1M from Compuware, Glocal Offers Location-Based News Video Site”
Anametrix Names CMO Thorogood as CEO, Replacing Founder Barrelet
After three years at the helm of San Diego analytics startup Anametrix, founder Blaise Barrelet has stepped aside as CEO, succeeded by Pelin Thorogood, the company’s chief marketing officer and a 20-year marketing and analytics strategist. Anametrix already is a global provider of Web-based marketing analytics for B2C companies. The change occurred over the holidays, … Continue reading “Anametrix Names CMO Thorogood as CEO, Replacing Founder Barrelet”
Prothena of South San Francisco Gets Head Start as Elan Spinoff
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” goes the famous quote attributed to Aristotle. But biotechnology company Elan didn’t see it that way when it split up its business units recently. In late December, Elan (NYSE: [[ticker:ELN]]) of Dublin, Ireland spun off its early stage drug discovery unit, now named Prothena (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRTA]]). … Continue reading “Prothena of South San Francisco Gets Head Start as Elan Spinoff”
Sastry, Startup Showcase Added to Mobile Madness Motor City Lineup
Ann Marie Sastry, president and CEO of the advanced battery startup Sakti3, is a giant in her field. She’s been working for more than a decade on the technology behind Sakti3’s solid-state lithium-ion battery for next-generation electric cars. Her company’s work has attracted investment from big names like GM, Khosla Ventures, and Beringea, as well … Continue reading “Sastry, Startup Showcase Added to Mobile Madness Motor City Lineup”
‘Small Ball’ Investing as an Alternative Model in Life Sciences
The phrase “the VC model is broken” has become cliché over the past few years. Many theories on why this is the case have been posed, including Sequoia Capital’s Douglas Leone, who told a VC conference at MIT last month, “Big is completely the enemy of great.” I agree with Leone; in fact, I have … Continue reading “‘Small Ball’ Investing as an Alternative Model in Life Sciences”
Boston Roundup: Athenahealth, Foundation, Attivio, & More
[Updated 9:05 am] It’s trade-show week in the technology and life sciences fields, with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco. That means announcements and deals have been pouring forth, along with some of the usual dealmaking and people-moving of note in the greater Boston technology … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Athenahealth, Foundation, Attivio, & More”
BIND CEO Says Amgen Deal Marks Nanomedicine Turning Point
BIND Bioscience CEO Scott Minick is having a good JP Morgan Health Conference. As reported early Tuesday by Xconomy, he was able to announce just one day in to the meeting that BIND signed its first major drug development deal, worth at least $180.5 million, with biotech powerhouse Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) of Thousand Oaks, CA. … Continue reading “BIND CEO Says Amgen Deal Marks Nanomedicine Turning Point”
jacAPPS Will Provide Tech Support to New Ford Developer Program
Now that we’re a little over a week away from Mobile Madness Motor City, we wanted to highlight one of the event’s panelists, Paul Jacobs. Jacobs is the CEO and founder of jacAPPS, based in Southfield, MI, which he says is the result of a 30-year career running Jacobs Media as a consultant to rock radio. (Jacobs … Continue reading “jacAPPS Will Provide Tech Support to New Ford Developer Program”
Shire Buys Third Rock’s Lotus Tissue Repair
Third Rock Ventures, the prolific five-year-old Boston-based VC firm, likes to bet on biotech startups that are developing unusual drugs, and today one of those bets paid off. Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPG]]) announced that it agreed to acquire Lotus Tissue Repair of Cambridge for an undisclosed amount, just 18 months after Third Rock unveiled the startup. Third … Continue reading “Shire Buys Third Rock’s Lotus Tissue Repair”
Wayfair and the Future of E-Retail: CEO Niraj Shah Talks Transition Strategy
When you’ve raised $200 million in venture funding, that qualifies you as the top VC-backed technology bet in Boston. When you’ve been profitable for the better part of a decade, and all the outside investment has come in the past year and a half, there’s probably a deeper story there. And when you say no … Continue reading “Wayfair and the Future of E-Retail: CEO Niraj Shah Talks Transition Strategy”
Bill Gates, Yuri Milner Join $13.5M Round For Foundation Medicine
Some prominent people with big money came together last fall to bet on Cambridge, MA-based Foundation Medicine and its vision for using genomic technology to improve cancer care. Now the company has attracted some even bigger pockets to the table. Foundation Medicine said today that Bill Gates has joined a $13.5 million expansion of its … Continue reading “Bill Gates, Yuri Milner Join $13.5M Round For Foundation Medicine”
After Clinical Trial Setback, San Diego’s MediciNova Sets New Course
MediciNova (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNOV]]) didn’t have much of a fallback strategy last May, when the San Diego biotech reported that a mid-stage trial of bedoradrine sulfate for intravenous treatment of acute asthma attacks “did not statistically meet the primary endpoint.” Investors responded by voting with their feet, hitting the exit in a sell-off that cut the … Continue reading “After Clinical Trial Setback, San Diego’s MediciNova Sets New Course”
Amgen in $180.5 Million Drug Development Deal with BIND Biosciences
Cambridge, MA-based BIND Biosciences got a large vote of confidence today for its novel targeted nanomedicine technology. The startup announced today that Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]), in Thousand Oaks, CA, has agreed to invest up to $180.5 million to co-develop a cancer drug based on BIND’s drug development platform, starting with upfront and milestone payments of … Continue reading “Amgen in $180.5 Million Drug Development Deal with BIND Biosciences”
New Finance Models For NW Cleantech, Sustainability As VC Wanes
Venture capital investment in cleantech was down locally and nationally for most of last year, as several firms retreated from a broad, ill-defined sector that may never have been well-suited to the typical VC model in the first place. The trend is expected to continue this year, which means young companies looking for funding from … Continue reading “New Finance Models For NW Cleantech, Sustainability As VC Wanes”
Programming Literacy Done Right: It’s About the Tools
Bonnie Nardi is an anthropologist who studies interactions between humans and computers. In 1993, she published her first book, A Small Matter of Programming. The book’s thesis is bold and simple: every human being can, and should, learn to program computers. The book didn’t get much attention outside of academia and is now long out … Continue reading “Programming Literacy Done Right: It’s About the Tools”
Risa Stack Leaves Kleiner; Third Valley VC to Join GE
Risa Stack, a partner at premier Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has left the firm to become general manager of emerging health innovations at General Electric. Stack announced the move Sunday night at a dinner organized by the Rock Health startup accelerator in San Francisco, and Kleiner confirmed it in a … Continue reading “Risa Stack Leaves Kleiner; Third Valley VC to Join GE”
Livio Connect Adds Freemium Service for App Developers
The Ferndale, MI-based startup Livio announced today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that its Livio Connect API for integrating smartphone apps with vehicle hardware systems will now be available as a “freemium” service. It’s the latest move after a busy 2012, in which the automotive business-to-business tech firm completed a Series C … Continue reading “Livio Connect Adds Freemium Service for App Developers”
Neo Aims to Reorder the Business World with Graph Databases
Today I’m going to tell you about an up-and-coming Silicon Valley startup, Neo Technology, that sells a radical new type of database. I know, databases are about as exciting to the average technology user as carburetors and doorstops. But before your eyes glaze over and you click on to the next article, let me explain … Continue reading “Neo Aims to Reorder the Business World with Graph Databases”
Athenahealth Goes Mobile, Acquires Epocrates for $293M
Who says we can’t build big, independent tech companies in Boston? Consider Athenahealth (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHN]]), the Watertown, MA-based health IT firm that is becoming a larger anchor for talent and technology, thanks to today’s announcement that it is acquiring San Mateo, CA-based Epocrates (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPOC]]), a mobile medical-app company. The deal is worth about $293 … Continue reading “Athenahealth Goes Mobile, Acquires Epocrates for $293M”
Seattle Roundup: Qliance, Remitly, Yapta, Clipboard Attract Investment
A steady stream of technology investment in the Seattle area continued as 2013 dawned, with Qliance Medical Management, Remitly, Yapta, and Clipboard attracting follow-on funding. The details: —Qliance Medical Management—a flat-fee primary care provider backed by the likes of Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and Drew Carey—raised $8.7 million out of a $10.1 million offering to … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Qliance, Remitly, Yapta, Clipboard Attract Investment”
NJ Coworking Spaces Chase Momentum on the Other Side of the Hudson
Rather than let the New York innovation community have all the fun, patches of startups are sprouting up across the Hudson River in New Jersey. The Garden State’s innovation scene is more diffuse compared with the concentrated activity in Manhattan and Brooklyn. But New Jersey coworking spaces such as JuiceTank Innovation Lab and Cowerks are … Continue reading “NJ Coworking Spaces Chase Momentum on the Other Side of the Hudson”
PatientSafe Raises $20M to Push Market Adoption of Health IT Device
San Diego’s PatientSafe Solutions, which developed a handheld smart device to improve nursing care, says today it has raised $20 million in a Series C round of financing led by the Merck Global Health Innovation fund. Existing investors TPG Capital, Camden Partners, and Psilos Group joined in the round. PatientSafe introduced its flagship health IT … Continue reading “PatientSafe Raises $20M to Push Market Adoption of Health IT Device”
TechStars Grad Ovuline Gets $1.4M for Pregnancy-Tracking Software
Alex Baron is a pretty hard-core technical guy: Advanced degrees in computer science and statistics, expertise in machine learning, experience in the finance world and high-tech industry. So when he was confronted with a sometimes-elusive piece of human biology—how to get two people together at just the right time to conceive a baby—it was pretty … Continue reading “TechStars Grad Ovuline Gets $1.4M for Pregnancy-Tracking Software”
Biotech CEOs See Insurers as the New Boogeymen, Not FDA
Most biotech executives would have said a few years ago that the FDA was the No. 1 barrier standing in the way of business success. It was the one thing they worried about most. But now biotech CEOs appear to be more concerned about a new kind of threat, coming from the people who pay … Continue reading “Biotech CEOs See Insurers as the New Boogeymen, Not FDA”
My Report Card for JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Picks
Forecasting trends in an industry that you cover every day, if you take time to think about it, is not that hard. Checking back a year later to see how right you were? That can be a little uncomfortable. Rather than add to the pile of predictions people have already made about biotech in 2013, … Continue reading “My Report Card for JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Picks”
Illumina Acquires Verinata Health, Prenatal Testmaker, For $350M
Illumina spent much of the last year trying to avoid being swallowed up by a bigger corporate fish, and now it has taken a gulp of its own out of the fast-growing market for prenatal genetic tests. The San Diego-based genetic instrument maker (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) said tonight it has agreed to pay $350 million upfront, … Continue reading “Illumina Acquires Verinata Health, Prenatal Testmaker, For $350M”
Mobility and Big Data: Why They Need Each Other to Thrive
Mobile devices and apps will generate seven exabytes of data by 2015, a number that will continue to double and perhaps triple each year. Not only are huge volumes of data/content being communicated through mobile networks, but there has been unexpected growth in related communications and transactions, such as: —Salesforce.com getting 60 percent of its … Continue reading “Mobility and Big Data: Why They Need Each Other to Thrive”
Repligen in Drug Development Licensing Deal with Pfizer
In a boost to the drug discovery side of its business, Repligen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGEN]]) said it has found a very big pharma partner for its spinal muscular atrophy program—New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]). Pfizer has agreed to pay up to $70 million to Waltham, MA-based Repligen for the licensing rights to any drugs that come out of … Continue reading “Repligen in Drug Development Licensing Deal with Pfizer”
Mayleben Ends Short-Lived Retirement to Lead Esperion
Remember a few weeks ago when we wrote about Tim Mayleben’s retirement from Aastrom? Well, it wasn’t a retirement for good: Mayleben has a new gig as the CEO of Esperion Therapeutics, the Plymouth, MI-based startup developing small-molecule drugs to lower cholesterol. During its early years, Mayleben served as the COO and CFO of Esperion, and “In … Continue reading “Mayleben Ends Short-Lived Retirement to Lead Esperion”
SD Life Sciences Roundup: Organovo, Aethlon, & Deals, Deals, Deals
San Diego’s life sciences community saw a spurt of venture deals over the past week. We’ve got a roundup for everyone who’s been on vacation. —Ignyta, a San Diego startup focused on improving the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, said it had raised a total of $6 million for its … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Organovo, Aethlon, & Deals, Deals, Deals”
Union Bay Capital, Tola Capital, Unitus Raise Funds
Local investment funds focused on technology companies have raised money as the calendar flipped from 2012 to 2013—more than $90 million, in separate moves by Union Bay Capital, Tola Capital, and Unitus Seed Fund. —Seattle private investment firm Union Bay Capital Partners has raised $72.3 million from 71 investors, out of an $80 million offering … Continue reading “Union Bay Capital, Tola Capital, Unitus Raise Funds”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Pfizer, J&J, Alkermes, More
Xconomy took Christmas week off, but the FDA didn’t—the agency issued a flurry of new drug approvals in the last two weeks of the year, bringing its total number of approvals for 2012 to 39, the highest yearly total in 16 years. Some of those last minute approvals benefited East Coast companies. (Drumroll, please): —- … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Pfizer, J&J, Alkermes, More”
10 Apps That Will Make You Feel Smarter & More Cultured in 2013
Right before the holidays, I shared a list of 20 Must-Have Apps for That Tablet Under the Tree. That list focused on apps for the iPad and Android tablets, and it was intended as an introductory guide for new tablet owners eager to test-drive their gifts with apps that really showcase the capabilities of today’s … Continue reading “10 Apps That Will Make You Feel Smarter & More Cultured in 2013”
Biogen Idec’s ALS Drug Fails Phase III Trial
A lot of patients’ hopes were dashed today with the news that Biogen Idec’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) closely watched drug dexpramipexole for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) failed in a late-stage clinical trial. The Weston, MA-based company said it will discontinue further development of the once-promising drug. Biogen said the drug neither slowed the loss of muscle … Continue reading “Biogen Idec’s ALS Drug Fails Phase III Trial”
Sialix Moves into SD’s Janssen Labs to Focus on Inflammatory Target
Experts in nutrition science have long fretted about the correlation between diets that are rich in certain foods—such as red meat and dairy products—with an increased risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases associated with inflammation. Ajit Varki, a UC San Diego professor of molecular and cellular medicine, has identified a potential explanation—from an … Continue reading “Sialix Moves into SD’s Janssen Labs to Focus on Inflammatory Target”
Synageva BioPharma Announces $80 Million Stock Offering
Synageva BioPharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GEVA]]) announced today that it is commencing an $80 million secondary offering, less than six months after raising $115 million in a July secondary offering. The Lexington, MA-based company is developing drugs for very rare diseases, and currently has one candidate, SBC-102, in a Phase I/II clinical trial. The drug targets lysosomal … Continue reading “Synageva BioPharma Announces $80 Million Stock Offering”
At Copious, The Love Button Drives Social Commerce
Here’s the simple premise behind Copious, the San Francisco-based social marketplace: despite all the buzz about “social commerce,” the social networking revolution hasn’t really come to online buying and selling between consumers. The two biggest exchanges, eBay and Craigslist, are products of the first Internet boom, circa 1995, and the experience of discovering products on … Continue reading “At Copious, The Love Button Drives Social Commerce”