This was a week of volatile ups and downs in Seattle biotech. Yeah, I know, what’s new? —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), the cancer drug developer that so many people love to hate, gave its critics some more ammunition in its quarterly financial report. The company reported $64.3 million in third quarter sales, which slightly edged … Continue reading “Dendreon Shares Tank Again, Elias Joins Gates Foundation, Seattle Children’s Gets $50M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Category: National
Sanford-Burnham Joins Fold at Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation
San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute says today it’s joining the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI), a global network that New York-based Pfizer established a year ago to foster collaborations between basic research and clinical applications. The Pfizer network of drug discovery innovation centers includes academic medical centers in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and … Continue reading “Sanford-Burnham Joins Fold at Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation”
Tru.ly’s Tech Takes a Crack at Verifying Online Identity for Liquor Websites, Gaming, Online Dating and More
Take a former D.C. lobbyist who’s now the owner of a chain of liquor stores, mix him with some security software engineers and you get Cambridge, MA-based Tru.ly. The startup’s software enables users to verify that they are who in fact they say they are online. Web users can apply for credentials via Tru.ly, with … Continue reading “Tru.ly’s Tech Takes a Crack at Verifying Online Identity for Liquor Websites, Gaming, Online Dating and More”
Bing Chief Stefan Weitz on Facebook in Search: Humans Crave Other Humans
Updated 11:30 am 11/3 with slides Sorry, experts: Information consumers don’t particularly care about all your highfalutin’ degrees and special titles. For a surprisingly large swath of online queries, friends and other real-world users are the key sources of opinions, says Stefan Weitz, Microsoft’s director of search. “People don’t know who to trust. They don’t … Continue reading “Bing Chief Stefan Weitz on Facebook in Search: Humans Crave Other Humans”
Clearwire Adds Subscribers, Stems Losses in Third Quarter
Years ago, Bellevue, WA-based Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) placed a big bet. It thought that an Intel-backed wireless technology called WiMax would become the foundation of the “4G” broadband data networks that will eventually take the place of today’s 3G networks. It bet wrong—a rival technology called long-term evolution (LTE), backed by Verizon, AT&T, and other … Continue reading “Clearwire Adds Subscribers, Stems Losses in Third Quarter”
Dendreon Edges Past Street Expectations With Third Quarter Provenge Sales, Shares Still Fall
[Update: 2:55 pm PT] Seattle-based Dendreon deeply disappointed investors with its last quarterly financial report, but today it reported sales of its prostate cancer drug continued to grow in the third quarter, slightly exceeding Wall Street forecasts. Shares fell about 20 percent in after-hours trading, though, as the company said it expects to see “modest” … Continue reading “Dendreon Edges Past Street Expectations With Third Quarter Provenge Sales, Shares Still Fall”
Zillow Acquires Real Estate Marketing Company, Registers Loss on HQ Move
Online real estate company Zillow, which announced a small quarterly loss related to its recent headquarters move, is acquiring Diverse Solutions, a company that provides online marketing tools for real estate agents. The stock-and-cash transaction is worth $7.8 million, Zillow (NASDAQ: [[ticker:Z]]) said Wednesday. Zillow said its net loss for the third quarter was $750,000, … Continue reading “Zillow Acquires Real Estate Marketing Company, Registers Loss on HQ Move”
Yahoo, Auditude, 100plus: Bay Area BizTech News by the Numbers
Time for our periodic data-driven roundup of funding news, acquisitions, and other developments in the Bay Area business and technology sphere. $270 million—The value of Yahoo’s acquisition of New York-based digital media company Interclick (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ICLK]]), announced yesterday. Interclick makes software that helps brands and agencies optimize their online advertising campaigns. Yahoo said the acquisition … Continue reading “Yahoo, Auditude, 100plus: Bay Area BizTech News by the Numbers”
Patience, Honesty, and The Strings of Free Money: Five Financing Themes from the Seventh Annual Conference on Clean Energy
The relationship between venture capitalists and cleantech startups sure seems pretty lukewarm these days, at least from what I saw yesterday at the seventh Conference on Clean Energy in Boston. The lunchtime “VC” panel on cleantech funding 2.0 actually focused more on why venture capital isn’t necessarily the best move for financing transformative energy technologies, and … Continue reading “Patience, Honesty, and The Strings of Free Money: Five Financing Themes from the Seventh Annual Conference on Clean Energy”
Yahoo Snatches Up Interclick for $270M to Enhance Its Ad Targeting
New York’s interclick (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ICLK]]), an advertising technology company, agreed to be acquired by Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]) for $270 million in cash, according to a press statement on Tuesday. Five-year-old interclick developed a platform to help advertisers process large volumes of data from multiple sources to better understand and target their audiences with online display … Continue reading “Yahoo Snatches Up Interclick for $270M to Enhance Its Ad Targeting”
Massive Health Builds an App for Healthy Eating; Think Foodspotting Meets FitnessKeeper
Do phones, food, photos, and fitness mix? Massive Health is hoping they do. The San Francisco mobile health startup, which debuted last spring with $2.25 million in seed funding from Felicis Ventures, Greylock, Andreessen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures, and Mohr Davidow Ventures, has come out with its first consumer app. It’s called The Eatery, and … Continue reading “Massive Health Builds an App for Healthy Eating; Think Foodspotting Meets FitnessKeeper”
Scouting San Diego, Battelle Chemist Seeks Catalyzing Role as Industrial Biotech Arises Here
Like a lot of big companies that offer contract R&D and specialized services, Columbus, OH-based Battelle has kept an office in San Diego for decades, mostly to manage technical programs and help clients like the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps on special projects. That started to change, though, just over a year ago when Bhima … Continue reading “Scouting San Diego, Battelle Chemist Seeks Catalyzing Role as Industrial Biotech Arises Here”
Seeding Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Venture-Finance Ecosystem
[Editor’s note: Cross-posted from The Economist, 11/2/11] New York Mayor-entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg, not known for shyness, recently proclaimed New York City as America’s new entrepreneurship capital, roaring past Boston in venture capital and soon to leave Silicon Valley in the dust as the “go to” destination for entrepreneurs. Indeed, the world media are awash with … Continue reading “Seeding Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Venture-Finance Ecosystem”
Bob Langer’s Latest Project: Fix Damaged Vocal Cords for Rock Stars, Cancer Patients
Bob Langer has probably been called a rock star a time or two, but now the famous MIT scientist’s work is being supported by actual rock stars. Langer, an Xconomist, is working on a project to create a vibrating gel which is thought to have potential to rejuvenate damaged vocal cords, according to a feature … Continue reading “Bob Langer’s Latest Project: Fix Damaged Vocal Cords for Rock Stars, Cancer Patients”
New York Genome Center to Open in February, Supported by $125M in Public and Private Funding
A few days after Xconomy New York debuted in April, famed biotech pioneer and Columbia University professor Tom Maniatis gave us a preview of the New York Genome Center, a proposed coalition of academic institutions coming together to support genomics research in the city. His vision is now reality: The Center officially launches tomorrow with … Continue reading “New York Genome Center to Open in February, Supported by $125M in Public and Private Funding”
GramercyOne, Profitably, and Erply Carve Out Territory in Cloud-Based Management Services; VCs Follow
A crop of New York startups is growing by providing other companies niche software via the Internet cloud. By leveraging the lower cost of offering Web-based software, these technology companies are out to attract new business customers and please their investors. In recent weeks, sales and marketing software firm GramercyOne closed $14.5 million in Series … Continue reading “GramercyOne, Profitably, and Erply Carve Out Territory in Cloud-Based Management Services; VCs Follow”
Join Us Thursday for a Twitter Chat with CEO Kabir Shahani of Marketing Tech Startup Appature
Twitter has already sucked away 20 percent of your life. What’s another 30 minutes? If you don’t know Kabir Shahani or his startup, Appature, here is your chance. I will be hosting a live Twitter chat with him tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 3). This open chat will start at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific … Continue reading “Join Us Thursday for a Twitter Chat with CEO Kabir Shahani of Marketing Tech Startup Appature”
UW Spinoff Cardiac Insight Looks to Spot Common Cause of Stroke with Stick-On Device
Tom Clement spent more than a year poking around the University of Washington, looking for the next hot medical device idea to develop after his long run at Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies. And now he’s latched onto a new technology he says could become a low-cost, disposable, and accurate way to diagnose a leading … Continue reading “UW Spinoff Cardiac Insight Looks to Spot Common Cause of Stroke with Stick-On Device”
Repligen Buys Novozymes Unit, World Energy Acquires GSE Consulting, Alnylam Partners With GSK, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The last week’s deals headlines have been shared among New England cleantech, IT, and life sciences companies. —Russian Federation fund Rusnano pumped money into two Bay State biotechs: Cambridge, MA-based BIND Biosciences and Watertown, MA-based Selecta Biosciences. Each startup got $25 million from Rusnano, a fund focused on nanotechnology investments, as well as $22.25 million … Continue reading “Repligen Buys Novozymes Unit, World Energy Acquires GSE Consulting, Alnylam Partners With GSK, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
New RealNetworks CEO: Former Adobe Exec Thomas Nielsen
RealNetworks, the dot-com era digital media company that has gone through a major overhaul in the past couple of years, has appointed former Adobe VP Thomas Nielsen president and CEO effective Nov. 9. Nielsen, who worked at Microsoft earlier in his career, also will join the company’s board. Nielsen comes to RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) from … Continue reading “New RealNetworks CEO: Former Adobe Exec Thomas Nielsen”
Al Gore Was Almost a VIP Scientist, and More to Remember at the Immunex Impact Dec. 1
Legend has it that former vice president Al Gore was once supposed to visit Seattle-based Immunex. Somebody had the bright idea of making a white lab coat with Gore’s name and “VIP scientist” embroidered on it, which probably would have made for an amusing photo op for the evening news. Ah, but according to former … Continue reading “Al Gore Was Almost a VIP Scientist, and More to Remember at the Immunex Impact Dec. 1”
ATDynamics Works to Reduce Drag in the Slow-to-Change Trucking Industry
Semi-trailers suck. Literally. As these boxy shapes barrel down the freeway, they leave a vacuum in the air behind them, and this area of turbulence and low pressure generates suction that accounts for at least a quarter of all aerodynamic drag on a tractor-trailer rig. If you could do something to disrupt the vacuum and … Continue reading “ATDynamics Works to Reduce Drag in the Slow-to-Change Trucking Industry”
RetroSense Therapeutics Licenses Vision Restoration Technology From Wayne State
Ann Arbor, MI-based RetroSense Therapeutics recently inked a deal with Wayne State University to license a novel gene-therapy approach to treating blindness that was originally studied in the university’s School of Medicine. The treatment offers promise to people suffering with incurable blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). AMD is the … Continue reading “RetroSense Therapeutics Licenses Vision Restoration Technology From Wayne State”
TechAmerica Names San Diego Tech Award Winners
It was 1993 when the San Diego chapter of the American Electronics Association organized its first high tech industry awards to recognize local companies for their business excellence, technology innovation, community involvement, and sometimes simply for persevering in the face of adversity. Since then, the nationwide organization that HP founder David Packard helped form in … Continue reading “TechAmerica Names San Diego Tech Award Winners”
Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. —Mark Twain Venture capitalists who are serious about turning their firms into more than one-fund wonders may want to have their associates actually start and run a company for a year. Running a company is distinctly different … Continue reading “Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs”
Gates at UW, PopCap’s Mobile Guru, Redfin’s Millions: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines
The past week in tech headlines was dominated by our leading alpha geek: Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates. Gates stopped by the University of Washington to give a short talk about the future of computing, and how he sees cheap, powerful storage and processing revolutionizing everything from robots to disease eradication (the part about … Continue reading “Gates at UW, PopCap’s Mobile Guru, Redfin’s Millions: Wrapping up Seattle Tech Headlines”
Achates Power Cites “Huge” Improvement in Diesel Fuel Savings, Emissions
San Diego’s Achates Power, a startup developing a radical new design for a diesel-powered truck engine, is blowing its own air horn today about its progress in demonstrating significant improvements in the efficiency and performance of its engine. Through a series of tests that began just over a year ago, Achates says its prototype has … Continue reading “Achates Power Cites “Huge” Improvement in Diesel Fuel Savings, Emissions”
Alnylam and Glaxo Partner on RNAi for Vaccine Production
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) announced today that it has formed a collaboration deal with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) centered around an RNAi technology Alnylam developed to enhance vaccine production. The technology, called VaxiRNA, uses molecules called “small interfering RNAs” (siRNAs) to silent specific genes that limit the efficient growth of viruses in vaccine manufacturing … Continue reading “Alnylam and Glaxo Partner on RNAi for Vaccine Production”
World Energy Buys GSE for $8.6M, Gains Foothold in Texas
Some interesting news in cleantech today. Worcester, MA-based World Energy Solutions (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XWES]]) said it has acquired GSE Consulting, an energy management and procurement firm based in Dallas, TX, for $8.6 million plus a potential earn-out. World Energy said it will bring on more than 20 GSE employees across three offices in Texas. The move … Continue reading “World Energy Buys GSE for $8.6M, Gains Foothold in Texas”
Truveris Seeks the Truth in Pharmacy Benefit Claims
Anthony Loiacono was hunting around for startup ideas a couple of years back when he came across a statistic he had a hard time believing: Every two weeks, $12 billion worth of pharmacy claims flows through the health-insurance system, and not a single one of those claims is checked for accuracy before it’s paid. “People … Continue reading “Truveris Seeks the Truth in Pharmacy Benefit Claims”
Modo Labs Closes $4M Series A, Looks to Take Education and Enterprise Apps by Storm
Score one for open source startups. Modo Labs, a Cambridge, MA-based mobile software company, is announcing today it has closed a $4 million Series A round from Storm Ventures and New Magellan Ventures. The round includes $2 million that the startup raised last year; the new money ($2 million) comes from Silicon Valley-based Storm, led … Continue reading “Modo Labs Closes $4M Series A, Looks to Take Education and Enterprise Apps by Storm”
Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices
One or more notices of upcoming biopharma industry conferences arrive in my email every day. I give their agendas a quick glance before deleting them, as they’re seldom in areas I focus on. The vast majority of presenters are plucked from the ranks of top-tier Big Pharma; there’s a seminar from Pfizer, a speaker from … Continue reading “Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices”
Top 10 Highlights From UnConference: Boston’s Big Data Cluster, Content Vs. Commerce & More
This year’s MassTLC Innovation UnConference, in Boston on Friday, was as overwhelming—and inspiring—as ever. Apart from the “secrets of scaling startups” session, which I recapped in a separate story, there was a lot going on. Far too much for any one person to take in. There were sessions on picking the right startup accelerator; building … Continue reading “Top 10 Highlights From UnConference: Boston’s Big Data Cluster, Content Vs. Commerce & More”
Exelixis To Push Ahead on Prostate Cancer Trial Without FDA Agreement: Shares Plunge
Exelixis has been talking with the FDA for months about reaching an agreement on the design of a pivotal trial for its prostate cancer drug, but now the company has essentially thrown up its hands and decided to push ahead in testing without any formal regulatory deal. Shares of the company fell more than 30 … Continue reading “Exelixis To Push Ahead on Prostate Cancer Trial Without FDA Agreement: Shares Plunge”
The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy
For the third quarter of 2011, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation leavened its otherwise morose quarterly survey of economics bloggers (PDF) with something new: a haiku contest. The 63 academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists who participated in the survey, including myself, were asked to describe the state of the economy in the form of a haiku, … Continue reading “The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy”
Morgenthaler Ventures, ATV To Merge Life Sciences Teams, Form New Fund
Morgenthaler Ventures and Advanced Technology Ventures, a couple of longstanding and diversified venture firms, have decided to split off their life sciences investment teams and merge them into a new independent biotech fund, Xconomy has learned. The news was reported earlier today by Fortune’s Dan Primack. The new life sciences fund, which doesn’t have a … Continue reading “Morgenthaler Ventures, ATV To Merge Life Sciences Teams, Form New Fund”
Seattle Children’s Nabs $50M Donation for Research, Plus $15M for Nursing, Clinical Care
Seattle Children’s Hospital probably has more fun than most hospitals every year on Halloween, but this year it has something really big to celebrate. The hospital said today it has secured a pair of charitable donations worth a combined $65 million to support its research programs, nursing education, and clinical care. One $50 million gift … Continue reading “Seattle Children’s Nabs $50M Donation for Research, Plus $15M for Nursing, Clinical Care”
Woes Mount for Local Energy Companies Beacon Power and American Superconductor
Things aren’t looking so sunny for Tyngsboro, MA-based Beacon Power (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCON]]) and Devens, MA-based American Superconductor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMSC]]), a couple of prominent public companies in the cleantech sector. —Beacon Power, a flywheel energy storage company, filed documents seeking Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection. The move has shone some negative light on the U.S. Department of … Continue reading “Woes Mount for Local Energy Companies Beacon Power and American Superconductor”
PATH CEO Chris Elias Resigns For Top Anti-Poverty Job at Gates Foundation
PATH president and CEO Chris Elias, who led the global health nonprofit to prominence over the past decade, is stepping down to become the president of global development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Elias joined PATH in 2000, when it had an annual budget of $44 million and a staff of 297 employees, … Continue reading “PATH CEO Chris Elias Resigns For Top Anti-Poverty Job at Gates Foundation”
Bizdom U: Transforming Detroit’s Brain Economy
Bizdom U, the Detroit incubator backed by Dan Gilbert, will now be nurturing even more local entrepreneurs thanks to a change in its business model. Starting with the fall session, which began on October 17, Bizdom switched to a model similar to that of TechStars or Y Combinator: After undergoing a rigorous screening, 30 startups … Continue reading “Bizdom U: Transforming Detroit’s Brain Economy”
Raising Funds: BillMyParents, Ortiva Wireless, and Organovo
[Corrected 11/3/11, 1:45 pm. See below.] A couple of tech fundings came through in recent regulatory filings, as well as a deal for Organovo, the San Diego medical device startup. Organovo’s scientific founder, Gabor Forgacs, was among the esteemed speakers at last week’s TedMed conference. Here are the details: [Corrected to explain filing] Organovo, the … Continue reading “Raising Funds: BillMyParents, Ortiva Wireless, and Organovo”
Scaling Up Startups: Takeaways from Gemvara, Kayak, LogMeIn, Wayfair, and More at MassTLC UnConference
Get a bunch of prominent Boston-area founders and CEOs in a room together, and ask them provocative questions. It’s a tried and true recipe for a good discussion, and that’s exactly what we got at the end of the day on Friday at MassTLC’s 2011 unConference at Hynes Convention Center in Boston. The topic was … Continue reading “Scaling Up Startups: Takeaways from Gemvara, Kayak, LogMeIn, Wayfair, and More at MassTLC UnConference”
StartUpdates: 1000memories Introduces Shoebox App, Animoto Makes Video Creation Easier, HealthTap Taps 5,000 Physicians
Author’s Note: I’ve got a problem. Because Xconomy is still relatively new to the San Francisco Bay Area, most of the stories I write are about companies we’re covering for the first time. Because there’s an endless supply of new companies, I can never quite empty out my notebooks. But at the same time, there’s … Continue reading “StartUpdates: 1000memories Introduces Shoebox App, Animoto Makes Video Creation Easier, HealthTap Taps 5,000 Physicians”
Pacira Wins FDA Approval of Pain Drug, Cushioning Pain of 3Q Loss
Parsippany, N.J-based Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PCRX]]) announced today that the FDA approved its long-acting form of a pain drug called bupivacaine, which Pacira brands as Exparel. The approval marked a positive end to a bruising drug-development saga that began a dozen years ago. It also brightened up Pacira’s otherwise so-so third-quarter earnings, which the company … Continue reading “Pacira Wins FDA Approval of Pain Drug, Cushioning Pain of 3Q Loss”
Aussie-Born PlayUp Brings its Social Game to U.S. Sports Fans
As the gridiron gladiators of the National Football League continue their march toward the Super Bowl, PlayUp USA in New York has put its mobile social network in the hands of sports fans in the United States. Parent company PlayUp in Australia developed the free iPhone and iPad app for sports fans with the help … Continue reading “Aussie-Born PlayUp Brings its Social Game to U.S. Sports Fans”
PopCap Mobile Chief Giordano Contestabile: Games as a Service Transform the Industry
Giordano Contestabile started working in mobile gaming before it was cool. Way before. Back then, the only available mobile games were based around sending and receiving text messages—something that brings in nice profits for mobile carriers, of course. “I’d go out and pitch this game, and the game was an SMS fishing game. Already it … Continue reading “PopCap Mobile Chief Giordano Contestabile: Games as a Service Transform the Industry”
Jobs at Center of UCLA Forecast, Sony Buys Out Partner, Wireless Health on Stage at CEA Forum, & More San Diego Biztech News
Economists from the UCLA Anderson Forecast and University of San Diego will break out details of their 2012 economic outlook at a conference in downtown San Diego this morning. The study was released earlier today. We have highlights, along with a roundup of last week’s San Diego tech news. —Job growth in the nation, state, … Continue reading “Jobs at Center of UCLA Forecast, Sony Buys Out Partner, Wireless Health on Stage at CEA Forum, & More San Diego Biztech News”
The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End
Only a couple stories in the past decade have given advocates of personalized cancer medicines much to brag about. There was Genentech’s Herceptin for a form of breast cancer in 1998, and Novartis’ Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia in 2001. But just a few short weeks ago, in August, we saw a flurry of FDA … Continue reading “The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End”
Platform-as-a-Service Startup Mendix Pockets $13M Series A
[Updated 10/31/11 10:00 am. See below.] Mendix, a Boston-based developer of software platforms enabling business customers to develop, deploy, and manage applications, has announced its Series A round of funding. The $13 million financing was led by growth equity firm Prime Ventures, with participation by Mendix seed investor HENQ Invest. [Paragraph and headline updated because originally … Continue reading “Platform-as-a-Service Startup Mendix Pockets $13M Series A”
Clearwire Board Member Wolff Resigns
Benjamin Wolff, a former CEO of Clearwire and close ally of company founder Craig McCaw, has resigned from the troubled wireless company’s board. Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) reported the change in a filing with federal regulators on Friday, saying Wolff’s “decision to resign is not due to any disagreements with the company.” McCaw’s investment firm, Eagle River … Continue reading “Clearwire Board Member Wolff Resigns”