FitnessKeeper, the Boston-based startup known for its RunKeeper mobile app, is announcing today that it has pulled in a $10 million funding round, led by new investor Spark Capital, with participation from existing investor O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV) and new investor Revolution Ventures. The money will go towards helping the company, whose RunKeeper app tracks users’ … Continue reading “FitnessKeeper Inks $10M Investment to Develop “Consumer Health Platform””
Category: National
Harvest Automation, TeraDiode Lead List of Tech Financing Deals
A list of the most recent tech financings around Boston paints a pretty representative picture of what kinds of companies are getting built here (robotics, hardware, defense tech, custom goods via the Web). Consider: —Billerica, MA-based Harvest Automation, a maker of agricultural robots, has raised $7.8 million in new funding led by Entree Capital. We … Continue reading “Harvest Automation, TeraDiode Lead List of Tech Financing Deals”
Brad Feld’s Startup Advice: Your Company Is Your Product; Get People to Do the Right Thing
“You will have meltdowns on a regular basis. You will have those moments. Make sure you have people you can talk to when you have those moments.” That was Brad Feld, the tech entrepreneur-turned-venture-capitalist, on Friday afternoon, speaking to a room of Boston and New York entrepreneurs and angel investors, at an event organized by … Continue reading “Brad Feld’s Startup Advice: Your Company Is Your Product; Get People to Do the Right Thing”
Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 1)
John Lechleiter has spent his entire 32-year career at Eli Lilly, and now he’s the CEO just as the company faces one of the bigger challenges in its history. Over a three-year stretch, Lilly will lose patent protection on five blockbuster drugs that generated $12.7 billion in sales last year—more than half of its revenues. … Continue reading “Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 1)”
Melinda Moree Steps Down as CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health
Melinda Moree, the Seattle-based CEO of a group that serves as a liaison between for-profit biotech and nonprofit global health organizations, is moving on. Moree is stepping down as CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health, a nonprofit seeks to help develop biotech innovations like drugs, vaccines and diagnostics that can be applied in poor … Continue reading “Melinda Moree Steps Down as CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health”
Regeneron Wins FDA Approval of Drug for Leading Cause of Blindness in Elderly
The folks at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals are going to have a happy weekend right before they settle down for Thanksgiving. Tarrytown, NY-based Regeneron (NASDAQ: [[ticker:REGN]]) said today it has gotten clearance from the FDA to start selling afilbercept (Eylea) as a new treatment for the “wet” form of age-related macular degeneration. The drug, also known scientifically … Continue reading “Regeneron Wins FDA Approval of Drug for Leading Cause of Blindness in Elderly”
Clearwire Debt, Artale’s Latest, Zoomingo Raises: Week-Ending Seattle News Tidbits
Three quick items from around the Seattle-area tech scene this week: —Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) shares have fallen sharply again on word from new CEO Erik Prusch that the Kirkland, WA-based wireless provider could skip an upcoming debt payment. Prusch discussed that possible step in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The Associated Press and … Continue reading “Clearwire Debt, Artale’s Latest, Zoomingo Raises: Week-Ending Seattle News Tidbits”
DeNovo Sciences Wins Accelerate Michigan’s $500K Grand Prize
Fifty-three companies and 42 angel and investment groups participated in this year’s Accelerate Michigan business plan competition, which just wrapped up Thursday evening with the announcement of contest winners. At stake, according to event organizers, was more than $1 million in cash and prizes. Participants competed for prizes ranging from $10,000 to $500,000 over three … Continue reading “DeNovo Sciences Wins Accelerate Michigan’s $500K Grand Prize”
Harvard Innovation Lab Opens to Foster New Generation of Student Entrepreneurs: Five Things We’ve Already Learned
When last we checked in with Gordon Jones, it was six months ago and he had just been appointed the inaugural director of the Harvard Innovation Lab. It was May, the birds were singing, the Red Sox had pulled out of their season-starting slump, and anything seemed possible. Now the cold, dark days are upon … Continue reading “Harvard Innovation Lab Opens to Foster New Generation of Student Entrepreneurs: Five Things We’ve Already Learned”
Medivo Raises $7M in Series A Funding Round Led by Safeguard Scientifics
Health care IT company Medivo in New York raised $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: [[ticker:SFE]]) in Wayne, PA according to a press release issued Thursday. Medivo, founded in 2010, provides a platform for data analytics and connects lab testing services with physicians and patients. According to the press statement, … Continue reading “Medivo Raises $7M in Series A Funding Round Led by Safeguard Scientifics”
AlloCure Stem Cell Trial Provides Glimpse of Promising Treatment for Kidney Damage
Ever since nephrologist Robert Brenner joined Burlington, MA-based AlloCure in 2010, he’s been eager to find out how the company’s experimental stem-cell treatment for acute kidney injury would perform in people. Last week, he got his first hint of the answer—and it was a positive one. On Nov. 12, AlloCure presented results from a Phase … Continue reading “AlloCure Stem Cell Trial Provides Glimpse of Promising Treatment for Kidney Damage”
How MiNeeds, a Local-Services Startup Run by Software Guys, Softened Up for Weddings
When the ex-Microsofties behind local services site MiNeeds thought about expanding their business, they got what seemed like weird advice. They had built their company as a resource to help people connect with service providers like plumbers, painters, accountants, and more. But when they looked to expand into wedding services, they found a niche that … Continue reading “How MiNeeds, a Local-Services Startup Run by Software Guys, Softened Up for Weddings”
My Immunex Remembrance: Getting Scooped on the Biggest Biotech Story of 2001
We’re less than two weeks away from our biggest Seattle biotech event of the year, “The Immunex Impact” on Dec. 1. As part of this event, I’ve enlisted a number of well-known veterans of Immunex—Dave Urdal, Stewart Parker, Steve Graham, Janis Wignall, Doug Williams and Patricia Beckmann—to share one of their favorite stories about the … Continue reading “My Immunex Remembrance: Getting Scooped on the Biggest Biotech Story of 2001”
Why Mint.com for Health Is a Terrible Idea, and How Keas Pivoted
If you’re a hammer, you just want to smash nails; if you’re a programmer, you just want to build features. But features do not a successful product make. This is the central myopia that eventually blinds even the most brilliant engineer-entrepreneurs, unless they’re smart enough to surround themselves with people who can check their bias. … Continue reading “Why Mint.com for Health Is a Terrible Idea, and How Keas Pivoted”
Veracyte Finds a Way to Make a Buck Cutting Waste in Thyroid Cancer Treatment
How can a company charge $3,500 per patient for some new gee-whiz diagnostic test, and then go around claiming it will save the healthcare system money? Lots of companies hem and haw when asked to prove their medical innovations save the system money, but South San Francisco-based Veracyte is putting cost-effectiveness front and center in … Continue reading “Veracyte Finds a Way to Make a Buck Cutting Waste in Thyroid Cancer Treatment”
Aileron Expands Roche Deal, Agios Gets $78M, Genzyme MS Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Clinical data, startup financings, and collaborations, oh my. It’s been a busy New England life sciences news week. —Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme revealed that its experimental multiple sclerosis treatment, alemtuzumab (Lemtrada), significantly reduced relapses and disability in a Phase 3 trial where it was tested head-to-head against Rebif, a form of interferon sold by EMD Serono and … Continue reading “Aileron Expands Roche Deal, Agios Gets $78M, Genzyme MS Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Qteros Cuts Staff, Including CEO, as Biofuels Business Struggles
It is a dark time for biofuels companies—and industrial biotech around Boston, more broadly. Xconomy has learned that Qteros, a heavily funded developer of cellulosic ethanol technology based in Marlborough, MA, has laid off most of its staff, including its CEO John McCarthy. The news was reported earlier today by Dan Primack at Fortune. Xconomy … Continue reading “Qteros Cuts Staff, Including CEO, as Biofuels Business Struggles”
Wayne State Med Students To Get Access to Latest Surgical Simulation Tools
The Health and Wellness Foundation of Greater Detroit announced last week that it has awarded $250,000 to finance the construction of nine web-enabled laparoscopic training simulators for residents and medical students on the Detroit Medical Center campus of Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. This grant is intendede to give students access to the latest simulation technologies in developing … Continue reading “Wayne State Med Students To Get Access to Latest Surgical Simulation Tools”
Eli Lilly Pumps $4M into IDRI to Continue Hunt for TB Drugs
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is increasing its bet on a small team of TB drug hunters in Seattle. Indianapolis-based Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]) said today it has agreed to provide $4.2 million over the next four and a half years to the Seattle-based Infectious Disease Research Institute to continue its efforts to discover drugs for tuberculosis. … Continue reading “Eli Lilly Pumps $4M into IDRI to Continue Hunt for TB Drugs”
Marketo, Zuora, BrightRoll, Impermium: Bay Area BizTech News by the Numbers
Time for our rundown of recent deals and other key biztech news around the Bay Area, from biggest to smallest. $50 million—Series D venture financing announced yesterday for Marketo, the San Mateo, CA-based startup providing software to help companies manage sales lead generation. New investor Battery Ventures led the round, which was joined by existing … Continue reading “Marketo, Zuora, BrightRoll, Impermium: Bay Area BizTech News by the Numbers”
Boston, Meet the i-lab: The Future of Entrepreneurship Begins Here
When I entered Harvard as a freshman, there was no central focus on startups or entrepreneurs. Student groups were splintered and stagnating, and there were no main faculty members whom I could approach about entrepreneurship. I was intimidated to approach students or faculty from Harvard’s graduate schools, and there was no cross-campus collaboration. Harvard’s startup … Continue reading “Boston, Meet the i-lab: The Future of Entrepreneurship Begins Here”
Martino Joins Ambit, Nordhoff Leaves Gen-Probe, Swarmology Raises $1.2M, and More San Diego Life Sciences News
It was a week of beginnings and endings—and fundings—in San Diego’s life sciences sector. There’s a beginning to our roundup as well, and you are there now. —San Diego’s Ambit Biosciences named Michael Martino as CEO. Martino spent the previous 30 years overseeing new product launches, drug development, funding, and other business activities at CareFusion, … Continue reading “Martino Joins Ambit, Nordhoff Leaves Gen-Probe, Swarmology Raises $1.2M, and More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Physio-Control Breaks Away From Medtronic, Via $487M Acquisition by Bain Capital
One of the venerable names of the Seattle life sciences cluster, Physio-Control, is going to stand on its own two legs once again with the help of some old friends from Bain Capital. Minneapolis-based Medtronic (NYSE: [[ticker:MDT]]) is announcing today an agreement to sell 100 percent of its ownership in Redmond, WA-based Physio-Control, the maker … Continue reading “Physio-Control Breaks Away From Medtronic, Via $487M Acquisition by Bain Capital”
A Shortcut in Engine Design: Specialized Software Models Soot Formation
In Fairbanks, AK (where I spent a year after I graduated from college), winter temperatures can plunge to minus 40 degrees (F) for weeks at a time, creating ideal conditions for a local phenomenon called “ice fog.” When temperatures get that cold, the air can’t hold much water vapor. Automotive engine exhaust is mostly water … Continue reading “A Shortcut in Engine Design: Specialized Software Models Soot Formation”
Rapid7 Roars Ahead with $50M for Security Software Expansion
If you’re a cyber security company, get your funding while it’s hot. On the same day security software firm CounterTack (fka NeuralIQ) said it is moving from DC to the Boston area and taking a venture round, Boston-based Rapid7, a security assessment software company, says it has raised a $50 million Series C round from … Continue reading “Rapid7 Roars Ahead with $50M for Security Software Expansion”
Aileron CEO Hails Expanded Roche Deal as a Validation of Stapled-Peptide Drug Technology
Yesterday, Cambridge, MA-based Aileron Therapeutics announced that a collaboration it had formed with European drug giant Roche in 2010 has been expanded. The companies, which have been working together on two programs focused on turning Aileron’s “stapled peptide” technology into cancer treatments, have now added a third program focused on inflammatory diseases. The financial details … Continue reading “Aileron CEO Hails Expanded Roche Deal as a Validation of Stapled-Peptide Drug Technology”
Agios Nabs $78M From Partner Celgene, Existing VCs, and Public Funds
Cambridge, MA-based Agios said today it has secured $78 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing. Included in this round are Agios’s drug-development partner Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]), along with existing investors Arch Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, and Third Rock Ventures. The company also attracted several new investors that it did not name, except to say … Continue reading “Agios Nabs $78M From Partner Celgene, Existing VCs, and Public Funds”
CounterTack Collects $9.5M for Cyber Security, Opens Boston-Area Headquarters
For every tech company that leaves Boston, it seems, another one moves in. In this case, the local security software cluster just got stronger—and a new approach to combating cyber attacks has arrived. CounterTack, a security company formerly known as NeuralIQ, has rebranded itself and moved its headquarters from Alexandria, VA, to Waltham, MA. The … Continue reading “CounterTack Collects $9.5M for Cyber Security, Opens Boston-Area Headquarters”
BillGuard, Backed by Khosla Ventures, Wants to Stop Sneaky Credit Card Charges
Yaron Samid, CEO and co-founder of BillGuard in New York, likens his company to Robin Hood and his merry band on a mission to return pilfered money to the masses. With $10 million raised in October in a Series B funding round led by Khosla Ventures, BillGuard has set out to further develop its technology, … Continue reading “BillGuard, Backed by Khosla Ventures, Wants to Stop Sneaky Credit Card Charges”
Affymax Gears Up for its Make-or-Break Moment, As Anemia Drug Faces FDA Scrutiny
Take one look at Affymax’s stock chart and you’d never guess the most important day in its history, a classic make-or-break moment, is coming up Dec. 7. It looks like nobody is giving the company a snowball’s chance in you-know-where to succeed. The big event coming up for Palo Alto, CA-based Affymax (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFY]]) will … Continue reading “Affymax Gears Up for its Make-or-Break Moment, As Anemia Drug Faces FDA Scrutiny”
Biopharmaceuticals: Nothing Compares to You
Are biotech and pharma companies doing well, or falling apart at the seams? People will have differences of opinion on this, but one thing is clear: it’s all relative. At a speech to a trade group in Philadelphia last month, James Greenwood, president of the biotechnology trade group BIO, asked the government to stop picking … Continue reading “Biopharmaceuticals: Nothing Compares to You”
Decide Debuts Price-Predicting iPhone App for Holiday Gadget Shoppers
You’ve really got to feel for people working in the retail trenches this time of year. Not only are they getting ready to deal with a blitz of savings-crazed shoppers, they now have to contend with smarty-pants consumers who can aim their smartphone at any piece of merchandise to see if that holiday deal really … Continue reading “Decide Debuts Price-Predicting iPhone App for Holiday Gadget Shoppers”
Mobile Madness, Windows Phone, Clarisonic: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines
This week’s wrapup of Xconomy Seattle tech headlines features two great entrepreneur/investors who will be featured at Mobile Madness Northwest, our action-packed half-day forum Dec. 6 at F5 Networks. We’re pairing up two people whose experiences span big-company products and proto-company startups: Wesley Chan of Google Ventures, and Charlie Kindel, formerly with Windows Phone (and a … Continue reading “Mobile Madness, Windows Phone, Clarisonic: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines”
Why Do People Answer Questions on Q&A Sites? Ask.com Users Speak Up
Today’s main infotech feature on Xconomy San Francisco is about Ask.com, the Oakland, CA-based search company that has been busy transforming itself into a question-and-answer service powered by an army of community members. If you can’t find an instant answer through Ask.com’s Web search tool, you can easily pose it to other Ask.com users. Depending … Continue reading “Why Do People Answer Questions on Q&A Sites? Ask.com Users Speak Up”
Hot Wiring Entrepreneurship: An Experiment in Detroit
It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. There are no shortage of problems to solve, ever-lowering barriers to entry, and near-ubiquitous access to low/no-cost technologies, which makes damn near anything possible. I adore working side-by-side with those who also see the world as an experience in which to participate rather than just consume. I … Continue reading “Hot Wiring Entrepreneurship: An Experiment in Detroit”
Ask.com Rediscovers Its Roots as a Question & Answer Site-Powered by People This Time
What’s the best way to tell my mother-in-law that we’re not going to visit her at Thanksgiving? My college friend has taken over my friendship with another guy, and now both are ignoring me. Should I ask them why? What do you do if the girl you asked to marry you says no? [Questions posed … Continue reading “Ask.com Rediscovers Its Roots as a Question & Answer Site-Powered by People This Time”
FirstFuel’s Analytics Software Looks to Help Utilities Better Spend the Billions Allocated for Energy Efficiency
“Utilities have a big problem,” says Swapnil Shah, CEO and co-founder of Waltham, MA-based FirstFuel Software. “They have a big pile of money they have to spend to achieve certain goals,” he continues. “If they don’t achieve it, they get penalized by the state.” The goal is to increase home and commercial energy efficiency so … Continue reading “FirstFuel’s Analytics Software Looks to Help Utilities Better Spend the Billions Allocated for Energy Efficiency”
Join Us for a Live “Tweetchat” on the Biotech VC Crisis with Daphne Zohar of PureTech Ventures
The biotech VC world is in crisis. Just in the space of a few weeks, some venerable names have made some disturbing news. Prospect Venture Partners said it was unable to raise a new fund, Morgenthaler Ventures and Advanced Technology Ventures said they are splitting off their life sciences teams to raise a new merged … Continue reading “Join Us for a Live “Tweetchat” on the Biotech VC Crisis with Daphne Zohar of PureTech Ventures”
FDA Clears Portable Insulin Pump from San Diego’s Tandem Diabetes
The FDA has cleared the first commercial product from San Diego’s Tandem Diabetes Care, a wearable insulin pump, according to a statement today from the medical device startup. Tandem Diabetes says its “t:slim” insulin pump represents an advance in terms of practicality and ease of use for managing type 1 diabetes—particularly for people who manage their … Continue reading “FDA Clears Portable Insulin Pump from San Diego’s Tandem Diabetes”
Allena Pharma Launches With $15M From Third Rock and Other Top-Tier VCs
Allena Pharmaceuticals, based in Newton, MA, is announcing today that it has started up and raised $15 million in a Series A financing round, led by Third Rock Ventures, Frazier Healthcare, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The new company is pursuing protein therapeutics and is especially focused on kidney and urologic diseases. Its management team is … Continue reading “Allena Pharma Launches With $15M From Third Rock and Other Top-Tier VCs”
NYC BigApps Hackathon Gives Young Whizzes a Jumpstart at Entrepreneurship
Eric Rafaloff, creator of the Can I Park Here app, may have been destined to join New York’s startup community. After he got his first computer when he was eight years old, he wanted to learn how software worked at deeper levels. Now a young man of 19, Rafaloff took first place at last weekend’s … Continue reading “NYC BigApps Hackathon Gives Young Whizzes a Jumpstart at Entrepreneurship”
A Look Ahead for Washington State’s Life Sciences Cluster
This Friday the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) will release findings from its 2010 Economic Impact Report at their Governor’s Life Sciences Summit and WBBA Annual Meeting. With the sometimes volatile ups and downs of our industry, these findings have the potential to propel WBBA forward in both current and new initiatives and strategies … Continue reading “A Look Ahead for Washington State’s Life Sciences Cluster”
Shareholic Snaps Up Seed Money, Avaxia Inks $2.2M, RapidBuyr Buys BizDeals, & More Boston-Area Deals News
It’s been a quieter deals news week around New England, but Web software and drug developers have been reporting new financings and acquisitions. —Collabor, a Maynard, MA-based maker of collaboration software for businesses, is working on raising its first outside funding round from a group of area angel investors, according to CEO and founder Sandeep … Continue reading “Shareholic Snaps Up Seed Money, Avaxia Inks $2.2M, RapidBuyr Buys BizDeals, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Nordhoff Retiring from Gen-Probe Board
Henry “Hank” Nordhoff, who served as CEO for 15 years at San Diego-based Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GPRO]]) is retiring as chairman at the San Diego maker of biomedical diagnostic products, according to a statement from the company today. Nordhoff, 69, joined Gen-Probe as CEO in 1994, about two years after the company was spun out from … Continue reading “Nordhoff Retiring from Gen-Probe Board”
Intel Invests in Urban Airship, Inks Deal for Portable PC Apps
Those guys in Portland are pretty busy these days. Urban Airship, the Oregon-based supplier of push notifications and other services for mobile app developers, is being named today as one of the first two investments from a new $100 million mobile application-focused investment fund from the venture arm of tech giant Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]). The … Continue reading “Intel Invests in Urban Airship, Inks Deal for Portable PC Apps”
Windows Phone’s Good-Karma Strategy for Courting Developers
When it decided to attack the smartphone market with a new version of its mobile operating system, Microsoft did something that might sound a bit counterintuitive: Starting in last place, it dug the hole a little deeper. By tossing out the old version of Windows Mobile and starting anew, the company knew it would piss … Continue reading “Windows Phone’s Good-Karma Strategy for Courting Developers”
Aastrom Reports Positive Phase 2 Trial Results
Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM), a developer of experimental therapies for severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases, announced yesterday that it had achieved positive 12-month final results from a Phase 2 clinical trial testing ixmyelocel-T as a treatment for critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients with no revascularization options. CLI is a severe form of cardiovascular disease in the legs, … Continue reading “Aastrom Reports Positive Phase 2 Trial Results”
CardioDx Passes Trial, Determining When Chest Pain Is No Big Deal
Chest pain is one of the big reasons people go to the ER or to see their primary care doc. Often when people get there, it’s hard to tell who has serious heart disease or something less serious. Now Palo Alto, CA-based CardioDx is presenting study results that say its new blood test, in certain … Continue reading “CardioDx Passes Trial, Determining When Chest Pain Is No Big Deal”
Facecash, Vyatta, Ginzametrics: Bay Area Biztech by the Numbers
Time for our irregularly scheduled, data-driven roundup of news from the Bay Area technology world, starting with three separate $25 million items: $25 million—The amount raised back in August by Redwood City, CA-based Personal Capital, which on Friday launched a financial media site called Daily Capital. The news aggregator collects finance-related content from 500 sources. … Continue reading “Facecash, Vyatta, Ginzametrics: Bay Area Biztech by the Numbers”
Fenugreen and Dynamo Micropower Nab Top Spots at Kauffman’s Startup Open
Two Massachusetts companies, Fenugreen and Dynamo Micropower, took home the grand prizes this week at Startup Open, a competition put on by the Kauffman Foundation that recognizes startups with high-growth potential. Cambridge, MA-based Fenugreen develops all-natural food packaging material called FreshPaper that’s designed to give produce two to four times the shelf life it sees … Continue reading “Fenugreen and Dynamo Micropower Nab Top Spots at Kauffman’s Startup Open”