Another month gone by in Seattle, and another Silicon Valley company has moved in to establish a beachhead for recruiting tech workers. And they all seem to say the same thing: This area is rich with talent. That’s certainly true—not to mention cheaper, compared to the Bay Area. But all of those companies often wind … Continue reading “Seattle’s Tech Job Crunch: How Long Can the Valley Invaders Poach from Microsoft, Amazon Before the Talent Well Runs Low?”
Category: National
Genentech Eye Drug, Under Scrutiny, Passes Study in Diabetic Patients to Open Up New Market
Genentech put out some good clinical trial news today which suggests it has a chance to expand the market of its franchise drug for eye diseases, right at the moment the drug is facing a lot of pressure. The South San Francisco-based unit of Roche said today that its targeted drug for eye diseases met … Continue reading “Genentech Eye Drug, Under Scrutiny, Passes Study in Diabetic Patients to Open Up New Market”
TechStars Takes Off, Jumptap Touts Patents and Partnerships, & Other Tech Tidbits Around Town
There were a number of tech developments this week that I didn’t get a chance to digest yet. That’s in part because I couldn’t eat solid food for, like, two days. Let’s just move on. —As one incubator class (Y Combinator) wrapped up its session on the West Coast, another one got started here on … Continue reading “TechStars Takes Off, Jumptap Touts Patents and Partnerships, & Other Tech Tidbits Around Town”
The Lean LaunchPad at Stanford—Class 3: Value Proposition Hypotheses
The Stanford Lean LaunchPad class was an experiment in a new model of teaching startup entrepreneurship. This post is part three. Part one is here, two is here. Syllabus is here. Week 3 of the class and our teams in our Stanford Lean LaunchPad class were hard at work using Customer Development to get out … Continue reading “The Lean LaunchPad at Stanford—Class 3: Value Proposition Hypotheses”
“Consumer Surplus” from Personal Technology Is Soaring in the Age of Appreciation
It used to be that purchases began depreciating in value the moment you bought them. A new car, for example, might as well come with a little Kelley Blue Book countdown under the odometer showing its declining resale price. Indeed, the idea that property depreciates is so universal that it’s built into our accounting methods … Continue reading ““Consumer Surplus” from Personal Technology Is Soaring in the Age of Appreciation”
SV Feels Lonely at the Top, Canaan Finds Biotech Groove, Portola Gets Drug Back, & More in Bay Area Life Sciences News
This week seemed like as good a time as any to run a couple features on biotech VCs who are seeking to stay relevant as their business faces a serious identity crisis. —SV Life Sciences, the $2 billion diversified healthcare fund with offices in San Francisco, Boston, and London, is feeling pretty flush with a … Continue reading “SV Feels Lonely at the Top, Canaan Finds Biotech Groove, Portola Gets Drug Back, & More in Bay Area Life Sciences News”
San Diego’s Ligand Takes Advantage of the Great Recession to Build New Drug Pipeline
Aside from the name, there isn’t much at Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LGND]]) that resembles the San Diego biotech that went public in 1992. During the 15 years that followed its IPO, Ligand brought five drugs to market, reported 2005 sales of more than $176 million, and once employed 650 people. The same company posted annual … Continue reading “San Diego’s Ligand Takes Advantage of the Great Recession to Build New Drug Pipeline”
Alnylam Sued By Tekmira, Curis Cancer Drug Shows Results, Still River Gets $11.5M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
We had plenty of headlines from New England area drug companies this week, with news of clinical trial results, technology developments, lawsuits, and funding. —The FDA set April 28 as the date that an advisory committee will meet on Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) application for approval of telaprevir, its experimental drug for hepatitis … Continue reading “Alnylam Sued By Tekmira, Curis Cancer Drug Shows Results, Still River Gets $11.5M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2011: Winners, Losers, and a Remainder
The biggest challenge for a company at SXSW Interactive is getting noticed. Now drawing 17,000 registrants and with heavy-hitting corporate sponsors, there are plenty of companies that come to the event and spend plenty of dollars. With so much going on, the winner is the company that can turn heads and get people talking during … Continue reading “Takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2011: Winners, Losers, and a Remainder”
Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund Seeks Additional Firepower
The Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund (SWMF) is close to completing an add-on round of financing to bolster its original $50 million fund. Managing director Pat Morand said he expects to announce something in a month or two. Though Morand declined to disclose the size of the add-on, he said it would be at … Continue reading “Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund Seeks Additional Firepower”
Canaan Strings Together Some Good News, Just as the Pressure Mounts on VC Model
Every time I walk into a venture capitalist’s office these days, I essentially ask a polite but pointed variation of the same question, which boils down to this: Are you toast? Or are you becoming toast? Luckily for the folks at Canaan Partners, they have had some incremental good news from their portfolio, which suggests … Continue reading “Canaan Strings Together Some Good News, Just as the Pressure Mounts on VC Model”
A 2011 Tool Kit for Savvy Cleantech Investors
2010 was a banner year for U.S. cleantech investment and M&A deals. The 371 mergers, acquisitions and capital-raising transactions in 2010 were a record high. The aggregate transaction volume was $14.7 billion—55 percent higher than 2009. Cleantech funding rose 65 percent, to $10.1 billion from $6.1 billion in 2009. Large-scale wind, solar and geothermal projects … Continue reading “A 2011 Tool Kit for Savvy Cleantech Investors”
As Cyber Threats Mature, So Do Boston-Area Security Firms: RSA, Fidelis, Cyber-Ark, and More
Sometimes what’s bad for companies is good for business. That’s the case for a number of Massachusetts security software firms. These days, the Boston area seems to have renewed its claim as an epicenter of cyber security activity. In the wake of the recent, much-publicized cyber attack on RSA Security, a division of Hopkinton, MA-based … Continue reading “As Cyber Threats Mature, So Do Boston-Area Security Firms: RSA, Fidelis, Cyber-Ark, and More”
February Freeze: Massachusetts Startup Funding Shrinks to $130.9 M
How far the mighty fall. Investments in Massachusetts startups soared to $242.5 million in January, but last month tech and life sciences companies raised just over half that, $130.9 million, in 24 equity-based deals, according to data provided by CB Insights’ FundingFlash, a daily roundup of companies receiving venture capital, angel investment, and growth equity … Continue reading “February Freeze: Massachusetts Startup Funding Shrinks to $130.9 M”
Drugstore.com, Veteran of the Dot-Com Bust, Grabbed by Walgreens in $429M Deal
Bellevue, WA-based drugstore.com is being scooped up by Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, for $429 million in cash. Deerfield, IL-based Walgreens (NYSE: [[ticker:WAG]]) said it would maintain drugstore.com’s headquarters and a separately branded website. Drugstore.com (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DSCM]]) presently employs about 1,000 people in its offices, distribution centers and call center. The acquisition price of … Continue reading “Drugstore.com, Veteran of the Dot-Com Bust, Grabbed by Walgreens in $429M Deal”
Y Combinator’s Winter 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief
The Y Combinator venture incubator program, now finishing its sixth year, seems intent on growing until it breaks. And in fact, it may be reaching that point already. There were 43 companies in the Y Combinator Winter 2011 (YC W11) batch; that’s nine more than the Summer 2010 class, and one side effect was that … Continue reading “Y Combinator’s Winter 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief”
Topera Maps Abnormal Currents of the Heart, Novalar Plans Shutdown, New Verenium CEO Drafts Strategy, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
San Diego’s life sciences community took two steps forward last week, as two new startups stepped into the light with new medical device technologies, and then one step back with the closure of another company founded in 2000. We have all the latest moves for you, plus a lot more. —San Diego’s Topera Medical, which … Continue reading “Topera Maps Abnormal Currents of the Heart, Novalar Plans Shutdown, New Verenium CEO Drafts Strategy, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Zaarly’s Wild Ride: Winning a Weekend, Quitting a Job, and the $100 Midnight Cheeseburger
People have paid good money to hear Eric Koester‘s advice about running a startup. One of his cardinal rules: Don’t go into business with people you don’t know very well. “Founders—it’s like marriage. You’re basically pinning your hopes on each other,” Koester says. So much for that bit of wisdom. This time Koester ignored his … Continue reading “Zaarly’s Wild Ride: Winning a Weekend, Quitting a Job, and the $100 Midnight Cheeseburger”
13 Tips for Getting Help for Your Startup
It takes a village to raise a startup. TechStars, and other mentor-driven accelerators, understand this. Experienced entrepreneurs understand this. Investors understand this. New entrepreneurs often do not understand this; and those new entrepreneurs that do understand it often don’t know who they need in their village or how to work with them once they figure … Continue reading “13 Tips for Getting Help for Your Startup”
SeaGen Strikes Abbott Deal, Omeros Passes Study, Alnylam Fires Back at Tekmira, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Another week, another deal for Seattle Genetics. This company is clearly on a roll. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) raked in another $8 million upfront payment this week from a big drugmaker that wants to use its technology for linking targeted antibodies to toxins that make them more potent. This time, Abbott Laboratories shelled out for … Continue reading “SeaGen Strikes Abbott Deal, Omeros Passes Study, Alnylam Fires Back at Tekmira, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Chegg, Fending Off Rivals, Overhauls Textbook Rental Site to Include Class Scheduling and Homework Help
Chegg, one of the first movers in the online textbook rental business, has attracted some tough competitors like BookRenter, so it can’t afford to stop innovating. And this week the company is out to show that it hasn’t. The Santa Clara, CA-based startup today unveiled an overhauled website that ties its rental business together with … Continue reading “Chegg, Fending Off Rivals, Overhauls Textbook Rental Site to Include Class Scheduling and Homework Help”
VBI Progressing with Vaccines That Don’t Require Refrigeration
Expect to hear more about the vaccine developer VBI this year. The company has made some progress in addressing a major bugaboo in the vaccine field—the need to keep the vast majority of them at cool or freezing temperatures or risk spoilage. VBI (formerly called Variation Biotechnologies), which moved its headquarters from Canada to offices … Continue reading “VBI Progressing with Vaccines That Don’t Require Refrigeration”
BoroPharm seeks to expand at U-M North Campus Research Complex
When Pfizer closed its Ann Arbor, MI-based research facility in 2008, taking over 2,000 jobs with it, the community mourned the loss of such a prestigious, high tech employer. BoroPharm, however, saw an opportunity. “When they left…companies like ours were able to find people and offer them positions,” BoroPharm CEO Todd Zahn says. “In typical … Continue reading “BoroPharm seeks to expand at U-M North Campus Research Complex”
Cray Says Layoffs Make Room for Future Hires, Headcount to Stay Roughly Flat by Year’s End
Seattle supercomputing company Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]) is cutting about 50 jobs as it reconfigures its employee mix, according to a regulatory filing. The company didn’t specify what types of jobs were being cut, or say where they were located, other than to indicate the losses aren’t concentrated in any particular place or category. Cray’s headquarters … Continue reading “Cray Says Layoffs Make Room for Future Hires, Headcount to Stay Roughly Flat by Year’s End”
Genzyme-Spinout Peptimmune Files for Chapter 7 Liquidation
Peptimmune, a Somerville, MA, biotech firm that has been developing a long-lasting drug for multiple sclerosis, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on Monday, according to a court filing. VentureWire reported the news this morning. The biotech—which was acquired by Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) in 1999 and then spun off from the Cambridge, MA-based drugmaker as an independent … Continue reading “Genzyme-Spinout Peptimmune Files for Chapter 7 Liquidation”
Accordent Buyout Provides Exit for San Diego’s TVC Capital
San Diego-based TVC Capital, a small private equity firm focused on software investments, realized a gain in Pleasanton, CA-based Polycom’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PLCM]]) $50 million cash acquisition of El Segundo, CA-based Accordent Technologies. In a statement today, Pleasanton, CA-based Polycom’s Sudhakar Ramakrishna says, “We believe Accordent has the most elegant video content management solution on the … Continue reading “Accordent Buyout Provides Exit for San Diego’s TVC Capital”
Gemvara Sparkles with $15M Series C, Leads Way in Mass Customization of Jewelry
Gemvara, the Lexington, MA-based online jewelry customization startup, announced today it has pinned down a $15 million Series C funding round. The financing was led by London-based Balderton Capital—who also led a $15 million round for Cambridge, MA-based mobile app developer SCVNGR earlier this year—and included returning Gemvara investors Highland Capital Partners and Canaan Partners. … Continue reading “Gemvara Sparkles with $15M Series C, Leads Way in Mass Customization of Jewelry”
Omeros Combo Drug Passes Cataract Surgery Study
Omeros has some news out this morning on one of the lesser-known members of its drug development pipeline. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMER]]) said today that its experimental treatment for patients undergoing eye surgery to correct cataracts was safe, able to maintain pupil dilation during the procedure, and reduce postoperative pain and irritation. The … Continue reading “Omeros Combo Drug Passes Cataract Surgery Study”
Tethys Snags U.S. Air Force Support for Big Diabetes Prevention Study
Tethys Bioscience is making a big bet as a company that it can help prevent people from getting diabetes. Now it has got some critical support to help it prove that idea. Emeryville, CA-based Tethys is announcing today it has secured a partnership with the U.S. Air Force to see if the company’s PreDx test … Continue reading “Tethys Snags U.S. Air Force Support for Big Diabetes Prevention Study”
Yale Spinoff Hadapt Hops Out of Stealth, Looks to Help Big Companies Handle Big Data
If you don’t know Hadoop from a hole in the wall, please meet Justin Borgman. He’ll break it all down for you. Borgman is the co-founder and CEO of Hadapt, a New Haven, CT-based startup that is coming out of stealth today at GigaOm’s Structure Big Data conference in New York City. Hadapt calls its … Continue reading “Yale Spinoff Hadapt Hops Out of Stealth, Looks to Help Big Companies Handle Big Data”
Who’s Going to Pay for Future Drug Development? (Part 2)
In the first part of this article, I detailed how pharma and biotech companies, along with the federal government, provide the majority of funding for biomedical research in the U.S. In this second part, I’ll turn my attention to a number of other sources, both for-profit and nonprofit, that also provide the capital that drives … Continue reading “Who’s Going to Pay for Future Drug Development? (Part 2)”
SV Life Sciences, Flush with $523M Fund, On the Hazard of Having a Lot of Dough
You’d think that when the venture capital industry is going through a historic shrinkage, life must be pretty good at SV Life Sciences. This $2 billion diversified healthcare fund, with main offices in San Francisco, Boston, and London, was one of the fortunate few VC funds that was able to reload with a $523 million … Continue reading “SV Life Sciences, Flush with $523M Fund, On the Hazard of Having a Lot of Dough”
Inkling Snags Investments from McGraw-Hill and Pearson to Scale Up iPad Textbook Operation
McGraw-Hill and Pearson, the world’s two largest educational publishers, have both pitched in for a Series B financing round at Inkling, the San Francisco company founded by a former Apple manager to build interactive textbooks for the iPad. As with Inkling’s Series A round last August, the amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed, but in … Continue reading “Inkling Snags Investments from McGraw-Hill and Pearson to Scale Up iPad Textbook Operation”
Harvest Power Gets $52M, Zynga Buys Floodgate, Synageva Snaps Up $25M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
New England’s tech and life sciences companies are roaring into spring with a number of startup financings, acquisitions, and partnerships. —Harvest Power, a Waltham, MA-based startup focused on producing energy from organic waste, announced it had raised a $51.7 million Series B funding round led by Generation Investment Management, a firm co-founded by Al Gore and … Continue reading “Harvest Power Gets $52M, Zynga Buys Floodgate, Synageva Snaps Up $25M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Novalar Plans Shutdown Following Sale of OraVerse to Septodont
It turns out that Novalar Pharmaceuticals’ decision to sell OraVerse, its dental anesthesia reversal agent, was only half the story. Novalar CEO Donna Janson tells The San Diego Union-Tribune today that the venture-backed company has no other drug candidates in its pipeline and will soon shut down. The Union-Tribune says the company plans to lay … Continue reading “Novalar Plans Shutdown Following Sale of OraVerse to Septodont”
Own Raises Another $50,000, Nabs Coffee House Customers
It has been nearly two years of hard work but Own president/founder Verdi Erel Ergun can finally say what every new company wants to say. “We now have a real product with real paying customers!” Ergun e-mails me. Since Xconomy first profiled the Ann Arbor, MI-based startup last summer, Own has raised $50,000 from Invest … Continue reading “Own Raises Another $50,000, Nabs Coffee House Customers”
Amazon Pushes Ahead with “Appstore” Despite Apple’s Lawsuit over “App Store” – a Trademark that Microsoft also Opposes
The Seattle area’s two tech giants, Amazon.com and Microsoft, find themselves on the same side today—battling a trademark claim by Apple. As expected, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) said Tuesday that it was indeed opening its new Appstore for Android, despite a recent federal lawsuit by Apple (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AAPL]]) claiming trademark infringement of that company’s App Store … Continue reading “Amazon Pushes Ahead with “Appstore” Despite Apple’s Lawsuit over “App Store” – a Trademark that Microsoft also Opposes”
Verenium, Shorn of Biofuels Business, Returns to San Diego and its Diversa Roots
It felt like something was coming to an end last July, when energy giant BP said it was paying $98.3 million to acquire the cellulosic biofuels business of Cambridge, MA-based Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]). But as Verenium consolidates its headquarters and remaining operations in San Diego, incoming CEO James Levine told me in so many words … Continue reading “Verenium, Shorn of Biofuels Business, Returns to San Diego and its Diversa Roots”
Clouds, Clean Air, Cancer, and Cardio: Some Massachusetts Companies On the Rise
Just catching up on a few financings around the state on this fine spring morning. —Waltham, MA-based CloudFloor, a stealthy cloud-computing startup, announced it has raised more than $3 million in Series A financing from undisclosed investors. The company, which started in 2010, is led by former Gomez execs Jaime Ellertson and Imad Mouline. According … Continue reading “Clouds, Clean Air, Cancer, and Cardio: Some Massachusetts Companies On the Rise”
Noteleaf Seeks to Sync Up Online Calendars, Contacts, For Meeting Prep On-The-Go
This is the second in a series of profiles of Y Combinator Winters 2011 (YC W11) startups. Whatever your thoughts about modern technology and whether it’s making life better or just busier, you can’t say that no one feels your pain. In fact, hundreds of new startups pop up every year to fix perceived pain … Continue reading “Noteleaf Seeks to Sync Up Online Calendars, Contacts, For Meeting Prep On-The-Go”
Who’s Going to Pay for Future Drug Development? (Part 1)
In case you haven’t noticed, heart disease remains a debilitating illness for millions. Cancer, despite some recent advances, has not been cured. Drug resistant strains of bacteria are spreading across the globe. There are still no effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and a huge number of other illnesses. The number … Continue reading “Who’s Going to Pay for Future Drug Development? (Part 1)”
AT&T Grabs T-Mobile, Online Retail’s Tax Drain, Thoughts from “Chasm” Author Geoffrey Moore, & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup
The Seattle area’s longstanding prominence in the wireless carrier sector was thrown into question this weekend with AT&T’s announcement that it was purchasing Bellevue, WA-based T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. It will take months to see how the feds handle this proposed acquisition. But at least in the meantime, AT&T is saying all the right … Continue reading “AT&T Grabs T-Mobile, Online Retail’s Tax Drain, Thoughts from “Chasm” Author Geoffrey Moore, & More in the Seattle-area Tech Roundup”
Can Southeast Michigan’s Four Accelerators Play Nice With Each Other?
Last week, the Kauffman Foundation released details from a six-month study that cataloged the capabilities of the region’s four top economic development groups: Ann Arbor Spark, TechTown in Detroit, Automation Alley in Troy, and Macomb-OU Incubator. Collectively, the report boasts, the groups “have created more than 1,000 jobs and invested approximately $18 million in hundreds … Continue reading “Can Southeast Michigan’s Four Accelerators Play Nice With Each Other?”
Taskforce—the Y Combinator Startup With a Solution for E-mail Overload
This is the first in a series of profiles of Y Combinator Winter 2011 (YC W11) startups. E-mail: it’s both a blessing and a curse. It’s become the central tool for business and personal communication, yet for exactly that reason it gets more and more difficult every year to keep up with the growing number … Continue reading “Taskforce—the Y Combinator Startup With a Solution for E-mail Overload”
Now What? Novalar Sells Its Anesthesia Reversal Drug to Septodont
In an unexpected development, San Diego’s Novalar Pharmaceuticals says today it has sold OraVerse, its dental anesthesia reversal agent and only FDA-approved product, to Lancaster, PA-based Septodont, a leading supplier of dental anesthetics. The big question arising from the sale is what’s next for Novalar? OraVerse has been the main focus of the company’s business … Continue reading “Now What? Novalar Sells Its Anesthesia Reversal Drug to Septodont”
Jumio, Zediva, Enphase, Android: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area Biztech News
And now for something completely different: Jumio’s mock-shock video playing up the sanitary hazards of cash didn’t amuse some Huffington Post readers, but I got the company and its PR firm to talk about why they made the video and why they aren’t worried about a backlash. Animoto’s system for making slide shows from your … Continue reading “Jumio, Zediva, Enphase, Android: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area Biztech News”
Synageva Grabs $25M for Rare Diseases Drug Pipeline
Synageva BioPharma has nabbed $25 million in private equity financing as the Lexington, MA-based firm makes progress with its pipeline of treatments for rare diseases—an area that seems to be white hot these days, given Sanofi-Aventis’ (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]) $20.1 billion buyout of Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) and other recent developments. Synageva says that its previous lead investors participated … Continue reading “Synageva Grabs $25M for Rare Diseases Drug Pipeline”
Atheros Approves Qualcomm’s $3.1B Offer, Websense Explores Sale, Maxwell Gains Traction, & More San Diego BizTech News
A couple of major M&A deals that involve some of San Diego’s biggest tech companies are in the works. We’ve got the details, along with the rest of our Monday morning roundup. —San Diego-based Websense (NASDAQ: [[ticker:WBSN]]), which provides Internet security software that companies use to limit employees’ access to business-related websites, has retained Frank … Continue reading “Atheros Approves Qualcomm’s $3.1B Offer, Websense Explores Sale, Maxwell Gains Traction, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Think Obamacare Will Suffocate New Drug Development With Price Controls? Think Again
There were a million arguments against healthcare reform a year ago. One was that if President Obama got his way and expanded health insurance to millions of uninsured people, and the government made a real effort to study the comparative effectiveness of drugs at high and low prices, it was really the first step toward … Continue reading “Think Obamacare Will Suffocate New Drug Development With Price Controls? Think Again”
Buy Your Ticket Now for VC65 on April 6 and Get a Free Copy of Bill Draper’s Book, The Startup Game
Here at Xconomy, we know something about the great investor-entrepreneur relationships that are often behind the best companies: not only are we a startup ourselves, we write about the venture capital and startup scene every day. And as you may have heard, together with the National Venture Capital Association and the MIT Museum, we are … Continue reading “Buy Your Ticket Now for VC65 on April 6 and Get a Free Copy of Bill Draper’s Book, The Startup Game”