Skyline Ventures, one of the high-profile venture firms in the U.S. biotech and medical device business over the past 15 years, has let go three of its six partners and postponed plans to raise a new venture fund, Xconomy has learned. Skyline, which has offices in Palo Alto, CA, Waltham, MA, and Stamford, CT, raised … Continue reading “Exclusive: Skyline Ventures Cuts Partners, Postpones Fundraising”
Category: National
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Pfizer, Rhythm, NPS, More
It was a busy week for East Coast life sciences companies, with acquisitions, IPOs, and regulatory news topping the headlines. —It was a big payday on Monday for NextWave Pharmaceuticals of Cupertino, CA, when New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) agreed to shell out up to $700 million for the company, all so it could get the rights … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Pfizer, Rhythm, NPS, More”
Brad Feld: Is Big Data Bullshit? Not Quite, But Don’t Be Distracted
If you already find it hard to contemplate the flood of data flowing into businesses of all kinds, just wait. “Twenty years from now, the thing we call ‘big data’ will be tiny data,” said Brad Feld, managing director of Foundry Group. “It’ll be microscopic data. The volume that we’re talking about today, in 20 … Continue reading “Brad Feld: Is Big Data Bullshit? Not Quite, But Don’t Be Distracted”
RIIS On Android Security (And Why Consumers Should Be Worried)
Nolan Godfrey, founder and president of a Southfield, MI-based IT company called RIIS, has the soul of a writer. An early expert on Java security, he eventually fell in love with the written word and only reluctantly came back to computers after realizing he wrote “too slowly to make any money.” But he also has … Continue reading “RIIS On Android Security (And Why Consumers Should Be Worried)”
Tech Tidbits from Aaron Levie to Zmags: Crashlytics, Flashnotes, iRobot, & More
[Updated, 3:20 pm] Catching up on a bunch of news in the Boston tech scene during a frantic week of events (e.g., our Big Data conference yesterday; stay tuned for more on that). Here are some noteworthy items from around town, mostly about startups: —Cambridge, MA-based Crashlytics says Aaron Levie, the co-founder and CEO of … Continue reading “Tech Tidbits from Aaron Levie to Zmags: Crashlytics, Flashnotes, iRobot, & More”
Hear From Siri Co-Founder Adam Cheyer & More at Mobile Madness NW
We’re really excited to invite you to our next big Xconomy event in Seattle, Mobile Madness Northwest, happening the afternoon of Dec. 12. And we’ve got a big name in the technology world to help us kick things off. Adam Cheyer is one of three co-founders of Siri, the company behind the eponymous virtual personal … Continue reading “Hear From Siri Co-Founder Adam Cheyer & More at Mobile Madness NW”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, AirStrip, Ligand, & More
It’s been a chockablock week for San Diego’s life sciences community, with buyouts, investment deals, and milestone payments. Here’s our roundup. —Accelrys (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ACCL]]), the San Diego scientific software developer, said it’s paying $30 million in cash to acquire Aegis Analytical, a Lafayette, CO-based maker of specialized software that helps drug makers manage quality control … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, AirStrip, Ligand, & More”
Xconomist of the Week: NPS’s Francois Nader Shares Lessons Learned
NPS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NPSP]]) is gearing up for its first FDA approval, a mere 26 years after the company was founded. It is also six years since CEO Francois Nader joined the Bedminster, NJ, firm to engineer a dramatic structural overhaul, turning a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, which had spent decades developing drugs for osteoporosis, … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: NPS’s Francois Nader Shares Lessons Learned”
After Long Texas Run, WBT Innovation Conference Opens in San Diego
What began a decade ago as an opportunity for scientists from America’s national laboratories to present their ideas and innovations to investors and technology licensing executives begins today at the San Diego Convention Center. The conference was known as the “World’s Best Technology Showcase” when it opened in 2002 at the Arlington, TX, Convention Center. … Continue reading “After Long Texas Run, WBT Innovation Conference Opens in San Diego”
Decide Rejects Ads, Rolls Out Memberships for Smart Shopping Service
Shopping recommendation service Decide is pulling the trigger on a very big change today, one that says a lot about the perils online startups can face when it’s time to turn their product into actual businesses. Decide, stocked with veterans of price-tracking service Farecast, offers a shopping recommendation service for consumers through its website and … Continue reading “Decide Rejects Ads, Rolls Out Memberships for Smart Shopping Service”
The iPad Mini: Good News for Education, But “Not a Game Changer”
Well, it’s official—Apple has introduced the iPad mini, defying late founder Steve Jobs, who reportedly commented in 2010 that users would have to “sand down their fingers” to use a tablet touchscreen smaller than that of the original iPad. Why would Apple change its mind about the need for a mid-size tablet? In a column … Continue reading “The iPad Mini: Good News for Education, But “Not a Game Changer””
TiE Detroit Establishes New Angel Investment Group
TiE Detroit, the local chapter of the global entrepreneurial network, announced it has established an angel investment group to leverage the skills, capital, and connections of its members in an effort to bolster up-and-coming Michigan startups. Sonali Vijayavargiya, chair of the TiE Detroit Angels and managing director at Ann Arbor, MI-based Augment Ventures, says the group … Continue reading “TiE Detroit Establishes New Angel Investment Group”
Meet Benjamin Romano, Our New Tech and Cleantech Writer in Seattle
Xconomy Seattle just added a heavy hitter to our lineup. I’m thrilled to announce that Benjamin Romano is the newest member of our editorial team, starting today as a senior editor in Seattle focused on the tech and cleantech industries. Ben brings a load of relevant experience to this job. He spent four years at … Continue reading “Meet Benjamin Romano, Our New Tech and Cleantech Writer in Seattle”
Fishy Founding
I have a confession to make. Much to my profound personal surprise, I have become seriously addicted to fishing. Mind you, not the idyllic fly casting on the Scottish Weirs clad in tweed over waders sort of fishing. We’re talking big tuna fish into the hundreds of pounds trolled up from the depths of the … Continue reading “Fishy Founding”
Auxogyn Trains A Computer Eye on Embryos for IVF
When infertility doctors are about to help a couple conceive a baby through in vitro fertilization, they have to make some momentous bets. The possible consequences of those bets include a high-risk pregnancy with multiple infants, on one extreme, and no pregnancy at all on the other. In their quest for a healthy birth, doctors … Continue reading “Auxogyn Trains A Computer Eye on Embryos for IVF”
Radius Fourth Boston-area Biotech This Year Going for IPO
[Corrected 10/24, 9:00 am. See below.] Radius Health, which raised a stunning $91 million in venture funding last December, has set the price range for its planned IPO, aiming to cash in on both the strong IPO market for Boston-area biotechs and the world’s aging population. The Cambridge, MA-based company , in the midst of a … Continue reading “Radius Fourth Boston-area Biotech This Year Going for IPO”
Accelrys Adds Another Scientific Software Company to Its Portfolio
After merging with Symyx Technologies in 2010, acquiring Contur Sofware in 2011, and buying VelQuest earlier this year, San Diego scientific software developer Accelrys (Nasdaq: [[ticker:ACCL]]) says today it is buying Aegis Analytical. Accelrys is paying $30 million in cash for Aegis, a company based in Lafayette, CO, (near Boulder) that makes software used to … Continue reading “Accelrys Adds Another Scientific Software Company to Its Portfolio”
MassChallenge Winners: GRIT, LiquiGlide, RallyPoint, Strong Arm
The latest batch of MassChallenge startups have concluded their four-month blitz through the massive accelerator program, which attracted more than 1,200 applications from around the globe. And that means it’s time to hand out some checks. The final 26 startups gave their quick pitches at last night’s award ceremony, showcasing an impressive breadth of entrepreneurial … Continue reading “MassChallenge Winners: GRIT, LiquiGlide, RallyPoint, Strong Arm”
As Zynga Boston Closes, Gaming Community Speaks Volumes
Social-gaming giant Zynga has laid off over 100 employees and has closed its Boston-area office, according to a report in TechCrunch and numerous tweets around town. The company is also laying off staff in Austin, TX, and possibly Chicago, according to an update. Zynga Boston was formed in the summer of 2010 when San Francisco-based … Continue reading “As Zynga Boston Closes, Gaming Community Speaks Volumes”
IAC Makes OkCupid Co-Founder Boss of its Entire Online Dating Segment
Internet and media company IAC (Nasdaq: [[ticker:IACI]]) in New York is shaking up the management in its online dating segment. The company says that Sam Yagan, CEO and co-founder of OkCupid, has been appointed CEO of Match Inc. overseeing all of IAC’s online dating operations, which includes Match.com, the largest dating site on the planet, … Continue reading “IAC Makes OkCupid Co-Founder Boss of its Entire Online Dating Segment”
Time Kills All Deals
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. —Narrator, Fight Club No matter how compelling your product or service is, no matter how great the terms you are proposing, no matter how appealing you are as a promoter or salesperson, given enough time, your deal will fall apart. It won’t … Continue reading “Time Kills All Deals”
AirStrip Expands Mobile EMR Development with Wellcome Trust Funding
AirStrip Technologies is based in San Antonio, TX, but the startup has been expanding its ties in San Diego since Alan Portela stepped in as CEO almost two years ago. Portela, who was previously a longtime health IT executive with San Diego-based CliniComp International, says AirStrip has been moving from its origins in technology that … Continue reading “AirStrip Expands Mobile EMR Development with Wellcome Trust Funding”
NuoDB, ParElastic Racing to Build Database Systems of the Future
It ain’t exactly Microsoft vs. Oracle circa 2000, but the Boston area has its own little database war going on. I’m talking about NuoDB vs. ParElastic. What, you haven’t heard of either one? Well, that’s because they’re working on the world’s next big database system. And you probably haven’t heard of that either, because it … Continue reading “NuoDB, ParElastic Racing to Build Database Systems of the Future”
Seattle Genetics Gets $25M in Broader Abbott Deal
The world has been beating a path to Seattle Genetics’s door the past couple years as it has proven it can make a “smart bomb” cancer drug work. And it’s translating into a series of more and more lucrative partnerships. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today that Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $25 million … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Gets $25M in Broader Abbott Deal”
Trendspotting: The Variegated Social Web
The social Web is gradually taking over the Internet. From search to shopping, everything is getting social these days. Time for an overview of what we see in the 1M/1M portfolio from all corners of the social web. Lutebox Ali Ahmed, who used to be an entrepreneur-in-residence at Groupon, co-founded Lutebox, a Walkie-Talkie shopping venture … Continue reading “Trendspotting: The Variegated Social Web”
Credit Suisse, State Investment Funds Parting Ways
Back in July, Credit Suisse, the global banking giant, announced that is was selling off its Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG). Since the CFIG administers more than than $500 million in capital spread across the state government’s various investment funds—one of the largest pools of private equity capital in Michigan—there are potentially big ramifications if the CFIG is sold. Now, … Continue reading “Credit Suisse, State Investment Funds Parting Ways”
The Flexibility to Explore: Zuckerberg on Facebook’s Early History
The mob scene outside Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium this Saturday resembled the prelude to a big rock concert, and in some ways, it was. For today’s generation of young tech entrepreneurs, Mark Zuckerberg—the headline speaker, for the third year running, at Y Combinator’s Startup School—is like Mick Jagger, Madonna, and Justin Bieber rolled into one. In his … Continue reading “The Flexibility to Explore: Zuckerberg on Facebook’s Early History”
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: End Coming for Windows in Enterprise
If you ask cloud computing evangelist Marc Benioff about the future of Windows and PCs in the enterprise world it comes as no surprise that he sees this era rapidly coming to an end. That change, he believes, may be closer than ever if this week’s release of Windows 8 gives chief information officers the … Continue reading “Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: End Coming for Windows in Enterprise”
5 Startups to Watch: RunKeeper, Paydiant, PeerTransfer, & More
If you’re looking to get your head into the Boston tech scene, this is a pretty good week to start. Today we’re watching a number of startups making noise and helping put Boston-area entrepreneurs, expertise, and issues on the map—these are local stories with global impact. The news cuts across mobile apps, advertising, payments, and … Continue reading “5 Startups to Watch: RunKeeper, Paydiant, PeerTransfer, & More”
Pfizer to Acquire NextWave for $700 Million
New York-based Pfizer (NYSE:[[ticker:PFE]]) today announced that it will acquire NextWave Pharmaceuticals, a privately held specialty pharma company based in Cupertino, CA, that makes a liquid drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a transaction worth up to $700 million. NextWave’s drug methylphenidate hydrochloride (Quillivant XR) is a liquid form of the off-patent drug Ritalin, … Continue reading “Pfizer to Acquire NextWave for $700 Million”
Alnylam Gets $22.5M From Genzyme for Asia Rights to Amyloidosis Drug
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has said it is modeling itself after Genzyme, and now it has formed a new partnership with the pioneering developer of drugs for rare diseases. Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), the developer of RNA interference drugs, said today it has agreed to give Genzyme an exclusive license to develop and market ALN-TTR02 as … Continue reading “Alnylam Gets $22.5M From Genzyme for Asia Rights to Amyloidosis Drug”
Quant5 Rolls Out Marketing Analytics Software for Big Data Wannabes
The problem for Doug Levin is the noise. The noise is around “big data,” the increasingly nebulous field of technology that involves businesses managing huge amounts of information and trying to glean insights from things like customer transactions, browsing habits, and behavioral trends. For all of the companies calling themselves big data, Levin asks, are … Continue reading “Quant5 Rolls Out Marketing Analytics Software for Big Data Wannabes”
Who Will Survive the Biotech VC Downturn? The Young and the Proven
[Updated: 10:10 am PT, 12/10/12] Most people, if they’re being honest, don’t have a clear plan for what they’ll be doing in their careers five years from now. But career planning is serious, high-stakes business for biotech venture capitalists. When a firm raises a new fund to invest in biotechnology, the partners have to personally … Continue reading “Who Will Survive the Biotech VC Downturn? The Young and the Proven”
Job Growth Malarkey: Avoid the Mermaid Strategy
Last week’s presidential debate once again focused on the need to create new jobs in the United States. And yet with barely two weeks to go until the election, neither candidate presented a convincing or nuanced understanding of the dynamics of job creation. Together the two candidates referred to “small business” 21 times during the … Continue reading “Job Growth Malarkey: Avoid the Mermaid Strategy”
E. Donnall Thomas, Bone Marrow Transplant Pioneer at the Hutch, Dies at 92
E. Donnall Thomas, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who helped put the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on the map with his pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation, died on Saturday. He was 92. Thomas had been suffering from cardiovascular disease, according to his obituary in The Seattle Times. Thomas was a legend at the Seattle-based … Continue reading “E. Donnall Thomas, Bone Marrow Transplant Pioneer at the Hutch, Dies at 92”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Pfenex, OncoSec, & More
Venture funding for San Diego’s life sciences companies continued to flow at a healthy rate during the third quarter that ended in September, according to data released earlier today. We’ve got that and more. —Former Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: [[ticker:OPTR]]) chairman Michael Chang, who was ousted by the company’s board earlier this year, will lead Taiwan’s … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Pfenex, OncoSec, & More”
Wetpaint Starts Licensing its Facebook-Based Media Distribution Tech
Turns out all that celebrity gossip-mongering had a point. Wetpaint, the well-funded Seattle digital media startup headed by Blue Nile co-founder Ben Elowitz, is now licensing its Facebook-focused content distribution system to outside publishers. The first deal is with Hubert Burda Media, a German publisher that owns Web and traditional magazine titles. Terms weren’t disclosed, … Continue reading “Wetpaint Starts Licensing its Facebook-Based Media Distribution Tech”
MoneyTree Report: Q3 Venture Activity in Detroit Strongest Ever
According to MoneyTree Report data released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Detroit had its strongest quarter in venture activity since the firm began tracking the data in 1995. In the third quarter of 2012, there were five deals worth a whopping $106.3 million, according to the report. One has to … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report: Q3 Venture Activity in Detroit Strongest Ever”
Neurovance Raises $7 Million for ADHD Drug Development
Neurovance, a spin-out of Euthymics Bioscience, both based in Cambridge, MA, closed a $7 million series A1 funding round on Thursday to advance development of its EB-1020 drug for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which it says will be less addictive than other treatments on the market. The funding round was led by existing investor … Continue reading “Neurovance Raises $7 Million for ADHD Drug Development”
Moleskine Goes Digital: The Story Behind Evernote’s Smart Notebook
Certain pairings make the world a better place. Peanut butter and jelly. Fred and Ginger. Pinot Noir and chocolate. Evernote and Moleskine. That last one might not be familiar to you, yet. But a few weeks ago, the Milan, Italy-based publisher Moleskine introduced a new line of “Smart Notebooks” designed to be used in conjunction … Continue reading “Moleskine Goes Digital: The Story Behind Evernote’s Smart Notebook”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Orphan Drugs, Financings, More
Here’s our roundup of this week’s news from the Boston and New York life sciences communities. — It was a big week for biotech companies focused on developing treatments for very rare diseases, sometimes called “ultra-orphan” diseases. Two Food & Drug Administration advisory panels of outside experts met this week to consider two such ultra-orphan … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Orphan Drugs, Financings, More”
Square, Box, GitHub Dominate Third-Quarter Venture Activity in Bay Area
The whopping $200 million in fourth-round funding collected by San Francisco-based Square in September topped the list of third-quarter venture deals in the region by a wide margin. The only funding events that held a candle to the digital payment company’s huge Starbucks-fueled round were Box’s $125 million round in July, led by private equity … Continue reading “Square, Box, GitHub Dominate Third-Quarter Venture Activity in Bay Area”
Dear Members of Congress: Don’t Gut the NIH Budget
In 1973, research spearheaded by Herbert Boyer at the University of California San Francisco and Stanley Cohen at Stanford University led to the discovery of recombinant DNA technology and, in turn, genetic engineering. That basic scientific investigation, supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ultimately spawned an entire industry. What we now … Continue reading “Dear Members of Congress: Don’t Gut the NIH Budget”
San Diego Venture Funding at Odds with U.S. Trend; Our Top 10 Deals
Venture funding in San Diego has been running counter to the downward drift we’ve been seeing nationwide, and third-quarter VC activity was no exception, according to regional data released today as part of the MoneyTree Report. Venture activity has been so strong in San Diego, in fact, that the $957.7 million that venture firms invested … Continue reading “San Diego Venture Funding at Odds with U.S. Trend; Our Top 10 Deals”
Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10
Venture firms invested $6.48 billion in 890 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended September 30, according to the MoneyTree Report being released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Venture activity remained strong during the third quarter in the software sector, but funding for life sciences and … Continue reading “Some Q3 Megadeals Amid Decline in U.S. VC Activity: Behold the Top 10”
Onswipe’s Jason Baptiste on Ramping Up & Reinventing Tech for Touchscreens
[Corrected, Oct. 19. See below] Talking to Jason Baptiste always reminds me of why tech entrepreneurs are in the game. And, perhaps more importantly, how they go about playing that game. Baptiste is the co-founder and CEO of Onswipe, the New York startup that’s trying to reinvent digital content on touchscreen devices for media publishers … Continue reading “Onswipe’s Jason Baptiste on Ramping Up & Reinventing Tech for Touchscreens”
Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model: The Photos
Big Pharma is cutting back on internal R&D, many biotech venture capital firms that once financed innovation are going extinct, and federal research budgets are under perennial attack. It’s all enough to make a guy wonder, where are all the great new drugs going to come from in the next decade if there’s so much … Continue reading “Reinventing Biotech’s Business Model: The Photos”
Upgrade, Downgrade: Pokki Offers Windows 8 Users a Familiar Menu
Next week, Microsoft is scheduled to officially kick off its marketing campaign for Windows 8, described as the most radical overhaul of the PC operating system since Bill Gates persuaded Mick Jagger to let him use “Start Me Up” to promote Windows 95. Microsoft obviously has a lot riding on its new tile-like startup display, … Continue reading “Upgrade, Downgrade: Pokki Offers Windows 8 Users a Familiar Menu”
Dunkin’ or Starbucks? Placed Tracks Consumer Moves to Find Out
If you’ve been to the Northeast, you’ve seen it firsthand. For some unexplainable reason, people go absolutely bonkers for Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. And thanks to mobile-marketing startup Placed, we can see just how rabid those customers are. When the Seattle-based startup tracked the movements of consumers in several cities around the country, it found that … Continue reading “Dunkin’ or Starbucks? Placed Tracks Consumer Moves to Find Out”
Xconomist of the Week: Angel John Landry Says No to Consumer Apps, Couples
[Updated, October 18, 2012–see below] A few weeks ago, Xconomy posted a slide-show extravaganza called Top Angel Investors of New England that featured short profiles of 34 of the region’s leading individual investors. To help choose the candidates, we culled through editors’ knowledge banks, and surveyed entrepreneurs and investors alike. One name on nearly everyone’s … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Angel John Landry Says No to Consumer Apps, Couples”