As Erin Kutz wrote about a few weeks ago, my fellow ATG co-founder Jeet Singh and I have recently launched Redstar, a “company that builds other companies.” Unlike most incubators and angel funds, which invest in companies that are already formed or at least well along in the process, Redstar’s goal is to create a … Continue reading “How to Hire an Entrepreneur”
Category: National
Boston Scientific Wants to be a Rock Star. But First, It Needs Some Stars.
Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) has been talking the talk of late. But its walk the past few years can be best described as a limp. There’s no mistaking the company’s new-found bravado as CEO Ray Elliott, who succeeded Jim Tobin in 2009, attempts to infuse the company with some of the energy that made his previous … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Wants to be a Rock Star. But First, It Needs Some Stars.”
What’s Brewing at Massive Health? A Chat with Newly Funded Co-Founders Sutha Kamal and Aza Raskin
Forget stealth mode—these days the coolest pre-launch Silicon Valley companies are in ninja mode. That’s how Sutha Kamal, the CEO of San Francisco-based Massive Health, describes his situation in a blog post today announcing the company’s $2.25 million seed funding round. Luckily, I got Kamal and co-founder Aza Raskin to come far enough out of … Continue reading “What’s Brewing at Massive Health? A Chat with Newly Funded Co-Founders Sutha Kamal and Aza Raskin”
MSU Spinoff Wants to Zap Battlefield Explosives with Smart Lasers
Improvised explosive devices (IED) have been the scourge of the U.S. military in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on high tech tools in order to defeat such frustratingly low tech weapons. East Lansing, MI-based BioPhotonic Solutions wants to add one more tool to the kit. The startup’s … Continue reading “MSU Spinoff Wants to Zap Battlefield Explosives with Smart Lasers”
Vitality Acquired By Healthcare Investor Soon-Shiong, Looks to Expand Wireless Products for Improving Healthy Behaviors
Cambridge, MA-based health IT firm Vitality announced today that it has been snapped up by a healthcare industry veteran and angel investor, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. The acquisition, whose dollar value was not made public, will help Vitality expand its product line of wireless devices focused on encouraging healthy behavior, and better target insurance companies and … Continue reading “Vitality Acquired By Healthcare Investor Soon-Shiong, Looks to Expand Wireless Products for Improving Healthy Behaviors”
Bluefin Labs, $6M in Hand, Looks to Help TV and Ad Execs Cash In on Social Media Analysis
An intriguing MIT startup has emerged from pseudo-stealth mode today with a splash of PR. Bluefin Labs, based in Cambridge, MA, spoke with TechCrunch about its strategy for applying text and language analytics to TV advertising and content. Bluefin Labs (not to be confused with Bluefin Robotics, another MIT spinout) is the brainchild of CEO … Continue reading “Bluefin Labs, $6M in Hand, Looks to Help TV and Ad Execs Cash In on Social Media Analysis”
Fluorotronics Sees a Spike in Business Opportunities for Use of Carbon-Fluorine Bond
Olga Sharts has worked as a Russian-English translator, but the Russian immigrant who came to San Diego in the 1990s can be difficult to understand when she’s excited. And when I met with her, she was very, very excited. Sharts is the founding CEO of Fluorotronics, an 11-year-old startup based in Vista, CA, launched to … Continue reading “Fluorotronics Sees a Spike in Business Opportunities for Use of Carbon-Fluorine Bond”
What Will the Bay Area Biotech Hub Look Like in 20 Years? Xconomy Event To Take the Long View on March 16
Quarterly earnings season is going full throttle, which means short-term thinking is top of mind in the markets. But in biotech, where innovations often take two decades to go from idea to the marketplace, it’s legit to ask now where things are really going in 20 years. So that’s the theme we’re tackling at the … Continue reading “What Will the Bay Area Biotech Hub Look Like in 20 Years? Xconomy Event To Take the Long View on March 16”
ReadyForZero’s Free Service Eases Credit Card Troubles
Y Combinator founder Paul Graham likes to advise entrepreneurs taking part in his startup incubator program to focus on “hair-on-fire” problems—areas where new ideas can take hold faster because people are in urgent need of a solution. In the consumer market, there couldn’t be a much bigger hair-on-fire problem than credit card debt. Households with … Continue reading “ReadyForZero’s Free Service Eases Credit Card Troubles”
Seattle Genetics Reloads Cash Reserves With $155M, On Cusp of Selling First Drug
Seattle Genetics has raised a new load of cash to brace itself for a big year ahead, as it prepares to hire a lot of people and introduce its first drug on the U.S. market. The Bothell, WA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it has raised another $155 million through a stock sale. The company … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Reloads Cash Reserves With $155M, On Cusp of Selling First Drug”
The World’s Most Innovative City
Most readers will be aware that Vertex announced it is moving from 900,000 square feet of laboratories and offices in Cambridge to over a million square feet in Boston. Some are asking if this spells serious trouble in Cambridge. This question surprises me. Cambridge is one of the world’s most important sources of next-generation technology … Continue reading “The World’s Most Innovative City”
AisleBuyer, Locately, Clearwire Join Xconomy’s Mobile Madness 2011 Lineup on March 9
I just got a new BlackBerry smartphone last weekend, which makes me a mobile expert—for circa 2005-2006 maybe. Luckily for you (and me), there’s a big event coming up called Mobile Madness, which will tell you all you need to know about the industry in 2011 and beyond. Xconomy’s third annual mobile conference, Mobile Madness … Continue reading “AisleBuyer, Locately, Clearwire Join Xconomy’s Mobile Madness 2011 Lineup on March 9”
Vertex Urges CDC to Recommend Hep C Screening, To Nudge “Second Tsunami” of Patients
If Vertex Pharmaceuticals gets its way in talks with U.S. public health officials, most people over 50 could soon get blood tests to screen for hepatitis C infections at the doctor’s office. If the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees this is a good idea, it could prompt another 1 million patients … Continue reading “Vertex Urges CDC to Recommend Hep C Screening, To Nudge “Second Tsunami” of Patients”
What To Do With The Mother Lode of Genomic Data? Find Out at ‘Computing In the Age of the $1,000 Genome’ on Monday Feb 7
We all have 3 billion chemical units of DNA in each of our cells, and scientists say they will soon be able to unravel our unique genome sequences for $1,000 or less. Since genes get dialed up or down at different points in life, when we are healthy or diseased, scientists want to sequence our … Continue reading “What To Do With The Mother Lode of Genomic Data? Find Out at ‘Computing In the Age of the $1,000 Genome’ on Monday Feb 7”
The Facebook of Food? Foodily Makes Meal Planning Social
Eating is usually a social experience. But choosing what to eat—that’s the more solitary pursuit. In most families, the meal planning, not to mention the shopping and the cooking, falls to one person, usually a busy mom who’s toiling alone until the food is on the table. There’s a startup in San Mateo, CA, that … Continue reading “The Facebook of Food? Foodily Makes Meal Planning Social”
EnerNOC Acquires M2M, H3 Launches With Eisai Funding, Genzyme Talks With Sanofi Advance, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Deals news this week spanned the cleantech, IT, and life sciences fields, and involved startup financing, acquisitions, and new company launches. —Boston-based energy management firm EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]) announced it had bought M2M Communications, a Boise, ID-based wireless technology company that works with energy utilities in the Midwest and California. EnerNOC said it paid $30 million … Continue reading “EnerNOC Acquires M2M, H3 Launches With Eisai Funding, Genzyme Talks With Sanofi Advance, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
White House Startup Investment Coincides with Sweeping Changes for TechStars, Y Combinator, Other Incubators: A Road to Recovery, or Another Bubble?
It’s been an unforgettable seven days for tech entrepreneurs—as if somebody poured startup juice into the nation’s water supply. First President Obama dedicates a good chunk of his State of the Union address to the virtues of high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship. Then Russian investor Yuri Milner and Silicon Valley super-angel Ron Conway pair up to … Continue reading “White House Startup Investment Coincides with Sweeping Changes for TechStars, Y Combinator, Other Incubators: A Road to Recovery, or Another Bubble?”
Going Mobile: TurboTax App for EZ Tax Filing is Latest Example of Intuit’s Broader Smartphone Initiative
Shortly after Brad Smith took over in January, 2008, as president and CEO of Intuit (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTU]]), he embarked on a “listening tour” to identify the Mountain View, CA, company’s biggest opportunities and challenges. In developing what he called the “case for change,” Smith combined what he heard with some broader trends, such as shifting … Continue reading “Going Mobile: TurboTax App for EZ Tax Filing is Latest Example of Intuit’s Broader Smartphone Initiative”
California Biotech, Despite Lots of Ugliness, Poised to Add Jobs, CEO Survey Says
California has horrific budget deficits, high taxes, high unemployment, and an overall economy for investment that’s still a bit shell-shocked from the financial crisis of 2008. And yet in one of the riskiest of all industries, life sciences, leading executives in California are confident that things are starting to turn for the better. That’s a … Continue reading “California Biotech, Despite Lots of Ugliness, Poised to Add Jobs, CEO Survey Says”
CareFusion Names Gallahue as Chairman and CEO
San Diego-based CareFusion (NYSE: [[tickerCFN]]), the medical equipment company that was spun out by Cardinal Health (NYSE:[[ticker:CAH)]] in late 2009, today named Kieran Gallahue as chairman and CEO, succeeding David Schlotterbeck, who had previously announced his retirement. CareFusion, which posted $3.9 billion in sales last year, is a medical technology company with such established products … Continue reading “CareFusion Names Gallahue as Chairman and CEO”
Startup America Starts Up—-Thoughts from the White House Kickoff
Yesterday the Kauffman Foundation and the Case Foundation helped to launch a new initiative called the Startup America Partnership. The idea emanated from the White House early in 2010 and has been germinating since that time. As many Xconomy readers are aware, the Kauffman Foundation has seeded programs to support entrepreneurs, entrepreneur education, and research … Continue reading “Startup America Starts Up—-Thoughts from the White House Kickoff”
Orexigen Fails to Win FDA Approval of Obesity Drug, Stock Crashes
Anyone who briefly thought Orexigen Therapeutics was the ray of light in a dismal world for obesity drug development will have to think again. Orexigen lost more than 70 percent of its value this morning on some devastating news from U.S. drug regulators. San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) and its partner, Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals, … Continue reading “Orexigen Fails to Win FDA Approval of Obesity Drug, Stock Crashes”
Genzyme-Sanofi Deal Might Be Close, Report Says
French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis’s long-sought takeover of Cambridge, MA-based biotech company Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) might happen within the next week or so, sources told The New York Times yesterday. The report came the same day that Genzyme announced that it had opened its books to Sanofi to allow its potential buyer to conduct due diligence. Sanofi—which … Continue reading “Genzyme-Sanofi Deal Might Be Close, Report Says”
Big Fish Games Adds a Big Fish, Angel Investor and Web Veteran Geoff Entress, to Its Board
The Seattle tech scene is getting tighter and more connected every day. Big Fish Games, the casual games developer and publisher, said today that Geoff Entress, the Seattle-area angel investor and venture partner with Voyager Capital, has joined the firm’s board of directors. He’s not an investor in Big Fish, but, as is typical with … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Adds a Big Fish, Angel Investor and Web Veteran Geoff Entress, to Its Board”
UW, Backed by Intel and U.S. Military, Sets Up Center to Merge Electronics, Photonics
Carver Mead and Lynn Conway pioneered a government/university/industry collaboration in the ’70s and ’80s that helped train a generation of engineers to design the chips inside the electronic devices we use today. Now the University of Washington is hoping to spark a new kind of alliance, inspired by Mead and Conway, to help scientists experiment … Continue reading “UW, Backed by Intel and U.S. Military, Sets Up Center to Merge Electronics, Photonics”
For Civionics Co-Founders, Southeast Michigan an Accessible Base to Launch Wireless Sensor Company
Jerry Lynch, co-founder and executive vice president of Civionics, has experience navigating high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystems. And his experience has taught him that southeast Michigan is a premier place to grow a fledging company. Lynch’s Ann Arbor-based company makes wireless sensors that can monitor everything from the structural stability of a bridge to the energy consumption … Continue reading “For Civionics Co-Founders, Southeast Michigan an Accessible Base to Launch Wireless Sensor Company”
Pervasis in “Advanced” Talks with Potential Partners for Blood-Vessel Healing Product, CEO Says
Pervasis Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of cellular therapies, has had the green light from the FDA to start a pivotal clinical trial of its lead candidate for improving blood vessel access in hemodialysis patients for about a year. Yet the startup, whose board and advisors include major scientific stars such as MIT’s Bob Langer, … Continue reading “Pervasis in “Advanced” Talks with Potential Partners for Blood-Vessel Healing Product, CEO Says”
Qualcomm Names 6 Finalists in Global QPrize Venture Financing Competition
I had to double-check after Qualcomm today announced the six regional finalists for its second annual QPrize venture investment competition. The San Diego wireless giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) held its inaugural QPrize event in 2009, but the logistics of running a global prize competition made it difficult to reprise the entire process in 2010. So this … Continue reading “Qualcomm Names 6 Finalists in Global QPrize Venture Financing Competition”
Scripps President Richard Lerner To Step Down, Be Replaced by Berkeley Chemist, Sources Say
Richard Lerner, the president of one of San Diego’s leading research institutions for the past two decades, will soon step down from the top job at The Scripps Research Institute—and he is likely to be replaced by a top chemist and molecular biologist from UC Berkeley, Xconomy has learned. No formal announcement has been made, … Continue reading “Scripps President Richard Lerner To Step Down, Be Replaced by Berkeley Chemist, Sources Say”
Eventbrite Shares Scaling Lessons, Okta Emerges from the Cloud, IPOs Coming for LinkedIn, Epocrates, and RPX, & More Bay Area BizTech News
With all the news flying last week about IPOs, you might almost think that the public markets were opening up again as a capital-raising opportunity for startups and an exit opportunity for their early investors. —LinkedIn filed registration papers to go public, saying it hopes to raise $175 million in an offering on either the … Continue reading “Eventbrite Shares Scaling Lessons, Okta Emerges from the Cloud, IPOs Coming for LinkedIn, Epocrates, and RPX, & More Bay Area BizTech News”
Venture Outlook 2011: Returning to the Way We Were
Charles River Ventures partner Bill Tai made an interesting analogy between surfing and venture investing for the San Diego audience that gathered last week at the San Diego Venture Group’s panel discussion on the venture outlook for the coming year. The annual event usually draws big crowds, and this year was no exception. Some 350 … Continue reading “Venture Outlook 2011: Returning to the Way We Were”
MassChallenge, With Lessons Learned, Gears Up for 2011 Startup Competition: A Definitive Debrief
It’s billed as the world’s largest startup competition and accelerator program, and it takes place right here in Boston. MassChallenge, coming off a successful first run in 2010, is gearing up to do it again this year—but not without some important changes and improvements to its structure. Last year, the Boston-area nonprofit organized a $1 … Continue reading “MassChallenge, With Lessons Learned, Gears Up for 2011 Startup Competition: A Definitive Debrief”
Engine Yard: The Ruby on Rails Company Salesforce Didn’t Buy
Salesforce.com startled Silicon Valley techies last month by acquiring Heroku, a San Francisco startup born just three years earlier at Y Combinator, the venture incubator program. Heroku’s specialty is hosting Web-based applications written in Ruby, a programming language so powerful yet easy to use that it has become the tool of choice for developers building … Continue reading “Engine Yard: The Ruby on Rails Company Salesforce Didn’t Buy”
Startups—So Easy A 12-Year-Old Can Do It
Out of the mouths babes. Maybe because it’s a company town and everyone in Silicon Valley has a family connection to entrepreneurship. Or maybe I just encountered the most entrepreneurial 12-year-olds ever assembled under one roof. Or maybe we’re now teaching entrepreneurial thinking in middle schools. Either way I had an astounding evening as one … Continue reading “Startups—So Easy A 12-Year-Old Can Do It”
Alexion Pharma Gobbles Up Taligen in $111M Buyout
There’s big news for Taligen Therapeutics this morning. Cheshire, CT-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALXN]]) has bought the Cambridge, MA, biotech startup for $111 million and potential future payments, the buyer said today. The deal allows Alexion to obtain Taligen’s lead candidate, TT30, which Taligen had been developing as a potential rival to Alexion’s drug eculizumab (Soliris) … Continue reading “Alexion Pharma Gobbles Up Taligen in $111M Buyout”
Qualcomm’s CEO Talks Wireless Health, InLab Ventures Pioneers New VC Model, Fallbrook Technologies Tops Deals List, & More San Diego BizTech News
If there was a theme to last week’s biztech news in San Diego, it might be learning how to negotiate the complexities of technology innovation. We’ve got it wrapped up for you, from Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs to Sorenson Media’s Eric Quanstrom. —During a panel discussion about combating chronic disease at last week’s World Economic Forum … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s CEO Talks Wireless Health, InLab Ventures Pioneers New VC Model, Fallbrook Technologies Tops Deals List, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Molecular Insight Pharma, Xconomy’s Neighbor, Faces Uncertain Future in Chapter 11
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, which shares a floor with Xconomy in the building at 101 Rogers Street, is in financial trouble. The Cambridge, MA-based company, a developer of molecular medicines for cancer founded in 1997, has been in Chapter 11 since December 9. The company, which defaulted last year on a $150 million bond, has been … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Pharma, Xconomy’s Neighbor, Faces Uncertain Future in Chapter 11”
Uptake Medical Ups and Goes to the O.C., Retains Technical Center in Seattle
One of the best-financed medical device startups in Seattle, Uptake Medical, has moved its headquarters to southern California to tap into a deeper pool for medical device industry talent, Xconomy has learned. Uptake Medical moved its headquarters to the medical device hub in Orange County last fall, CEO King Nelson says. The company has retained … Continue reading “Uptake Medical Ups and Goes to the O.C., Retains Technical Center in Seattle”
CloudTP Comes Out of Stealth, With $1M in Equity Seed Funding, to Help Big Companies Move Data to Their Own Private Clouds
Serial IT entrepreneur Chris Greendale is taking a crack at another company, which is involved in what he calls “carbon reduction by cloud computing. It’s not exactly the most commonly thought of means to sustainability, but his new firm, Boston-based CloudTP, is focused on helping firms reduce the need for their own physical data centers … Continue reading “CloudTP Comes Out of Stealth, With $1M in Equity Seed Funding, to Help Big Companies Move Data to Their Own Private Clouds”
Encouraging Women in Industry to Apply for Faculty Jobs
Over the years, I noticed that we’d hired some terrific faculty at the University of Washington who came directly from industry. These faculty members have quickly gotten up to speed, and they’ve loved their new academic careers. It occurred to me that this would be a great way to get more women faculty in science, … Continue reading “Encouraging Women in Industry to Apply for Faculty Jobs”
Uncle Sam Hearts Drugs, Not Devices. Why?
WTF! You can forgive medical device investors and CEOs if they’ve uttered that not-so-family-friendly acronym during the last year or so. First, the Food and Drug Administration signals it will likely tighten restrictions on the popular 510(k) regulatory program, which allows device makers to quickly develop new products that are slightly better or different than … Continue reading “Uncle Sam Hearts Drugs, Not Devices. Why?”
San Diego’s Fight Against Diabesity: The Photo Gallery
Obesity and diabetes are the two biggest health scourges we’ll face over the coming decades, according to public health officials. Yet it has never seemed more daunting to develop new treatments or technologies to put a dent in the twin epidemics. We had a fascinating conversation about the dilemma of this business last night at … Continue reading “San Diego’s Fight Against Diabesity: The Photo Gallery”
How the Challenger Disaster Changed My Life
The space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986—twenty-five years ago today. The disaster took the lives of six astronauts and one schoolteacher, and shook NASA to its core. Like other televised national traumas, it burned itself into the memories of millions of people. I was just a spectator to the catastrophe, … Continue reading “How the Challenger Disaster Changed My Life”
New Oncology R&D House H3 Biomedicine Launches in Cambridge, With Eisai Support
A new cancer treatment R&D operation is starting up in Cambridge, MA, based on the work of Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT founding members Stuart Schreiber and Todd Golub. H3 Biomedicine announced it has launched to develop treatments tailored to patients’ cancers, as part of a partnership with the U.S. unit of the Japanese … Continue reading “New Oncology R&D House H3 Biomedicine Launches in Cambridge, With Eisai Support”
LinkedIn Files for $175 Million IPO, Reveals Financial and Membership Details
Nearly eight years after its founding, LinkedIn, the professional social networking site funded by Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and Bessemer Venture Partners, today began the process of going public. The Mountain View, CA-based firm filed S-1 registration papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that it intends to raise up to $175 million in … Continue reading “LinkedIn Files for $175 Million IPO, Reveals Financial and Membership Details”
Washington Startups See Spike in Investing Dollars in December
Washington startups must have been good this year, because they sure did nab some serious dollars come holiday time. The state’s tech and life sciences companies collected a total of $69.4 million across 17 equity-based financings, nearly triple November’s funding pot, according to data on venture, angel, and growth equity financing provided by CB Insights … Continue reading “Washington Startups See Spike in Investing Dollars in December”
Merck, Staring at a Biotech Future, Seeks to Get in the Game With New Protein Drugs, Biosimilars
Biotech drugs will soon dominate the pharmaceutical industry, according to analyst estimates of what are projected to be the world’s top 10 selling therapies in 2014. Eight of these brands on this list are products of genetic engineering, while only two are traditional oral pills made through chemical synthesis. One other thing jumps out. Not … Continue reading “Merck, Staring at a Biotech Future, Seeks to Get in the Game With New Protein Drugs, Biosimilars”
Personalized Medicine Regulation Needs More Than Band-Aids
Last week, New York State assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow introduced the descriptively named “act to amend the insurance law, in relation to requiring coverage for genetic testing in accident and health insurance polices.” While not accompanied by a press release, or widely covered by media outlets, the bill merits close attention. While the substance of … Continue reading “Personalized Medicine Regulation Needs More Than Band-Aids”
Clinical Data Stock Soars on FDA Approval, Amgen Buys BioVex, Stromedix Raises $2M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
We saw news of regulatory approvals, acquisitions, financings, and an even a new venture group surrounding Boston’s life sciences firms this week. —A European Medicines Agency committee advised against approval of fampridine (Fampyra), Weston, MA-based Biogen Idec’s drug for improving multiple sclerosis patients’ ability to walk. Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]] says it will appeal the opinion. … Continue reading “Clinical Data Stock Soars on FDA Approval, Amgen Buys BioVex, Stromedix Raises $2M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Arena Pharmaceuticals Axes One-Fourth of Workforce As it Hangs On With Obesity Drug
Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) is making a big round of job cuts today to conserve cash as it keeps pushing to satisfy questions U.S. regulators have about its lead obesity drug in development. The San Diego-based developer of the obesity treatment lorcaserin said today it has eliminated 66 jobs, or about 25 percent of its … Continue reading “Arena Pharmaceuticals Axes One-Fourth of Workforce As it Hangs On With Obesity Drug”