Category: National

Sequenta Pockets $13M To Diagnose, Monitor Immune Systems Going Awry

The age of the $1,000 genome is said to be fast approaching, and the growing availability of fast, cheap DNA sequencing is already paving the way not just for new avenues of academic research, but also for intriguing new diagnostic startups like San Francisco-based Sequenta. This company, formerly known as MLC Dx, is announcing today … Continue reading “Sequenta Pockets $13M To Diagnose, Monitor Immune Systems Going Awry”

Peering Over the Horizon, WildBlue Co-Founder Tom Moore Sees Opportunities Beyond Launch of ViaSat-1 Satellite

The countdown hasn’t started just yet, but in five months, Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]) will be launching its first satellite, ViaSat-1, aboard a Proton rocket from the Baikonour Cosmodrome, the Russian space launch facility in Kazakhstan. “We’re done with the really tough testing, where you put the satellite in a thermal vacuum chamber and … Continue reading “Peering Over the Horizon, WildBlue Co-Founder Tom Moore Sees Opportunities Beyond Launch of ViaSat-1 Satellite”

Beyond 5×5: Five More Boston Startups You Should Know

We’re all gearing up for one of Xconomy’s biggest events of the year—today’s “5×5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas” forum, which is sold out. But I wanted to shine a little light on five other Boston-area companies I’ve been hearing about lately in my discussions with entrepreneurs and investors around town. Frankly, it’s impossible … Continue reading “Beyond 5×5: Five More Boston Startups You Should Know”

Watch Out Big Pharma: PATH, WHO Show that Nonprofits Can Develop New Meningitis Vaccine

Only a few giant corporations on the planet—companies like Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi-Aventis—are thought to have the money, the know-how, and the infrastructure to develop new vaccines that can make a really big impact on public health. So when a little nonprofit from Seattle called PATH is able to band together with some officials at … Continue reading “Watch Out Big Pharma: PATH, WHO Show that Nonprofits Can Develop New Meningitis Vaccine”

For Entrepreneurship Leaders at U-M, a Balance Between Teaching Innovation and Capitalizing On It

Timothy Faley, the managing director of the University of Michigan’s Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute or Entrepreneurial Studies, has a unique way of measuring his job performance. “It’s always turbulent at the wave front,” he says. “I know I’m doing my job when I feel the tension.” And indeed, according to Faley, the … Continue reading “For Entrepreneurship Leaders at U-M, a Balance Between Teaching Innovation and Capitalizing On It”

How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners

Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners has become more active in backing companies in the healthcare IT arena over the past several months, announcing two significant investments since September. Because this sector is so hungry for capital to fund new ideas, I thought it would make sense to chat with OpenView partner George Roberts about what it … Continue reading “How Health IT Firms Can Open VC Vault at OpenView Venture Partners”

Orexigen Beats the Odds, Wins OK from FDA Panel for Obesity Drug

Orexigen Therapeutics, the San Diego-based developer of obesity drugs, beat the odds today by winning a positive recommendation from an FDA advisory panel that said its lead drug deserves a spot on the U.S. market. The FDA’s expert panel on obesity drugs voted 13-7 in favor of allowing Orexigen’s combination of bupropion/naltrexone (Contrave) for sale … Continue reading “Orexigen Beats the Odds, Wins OK from FDA Panel for Obesity Drug”

Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My

Sometimes Google gives the appearance of being a loose confederation rather than a single company, as if its product units are all vying to make news at the same time. That’s definitely the case this week. Monday saw three big developments at the Googleplex in Mountain View. First came the launch of the Google eBookstore, … Continue reading “Google’s News: E-Books and Android and Chrome, Oh My”

FamilyMint, Fusion Coolant Systems, Shepherd Intelligent Systems Awarded Michigan Microloans

Three Michigan companies have received a combined total of $145,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor Spark business incubator, bringing the total amount invested through the fund to more than $1.8 million since it was launched in July 2009. Microloans available through the fund range from $10,000 to $50,000 and … Continue reading “FamilyMint, Fusion Coolant Systems, Shepherd Intelligent Systems Awarded Michigan Microloans”

Zendesk Snags $19M for Web-based Customer Support That Users Can Grok, and Startups Can Afford

Three-year-old Zendesk has achieved quite a lot on just $6.5 million in venture funding. More than 5,000 companies are using Zendesk’s Web-based customer support software, 50,000 users have downloaded its iPhone app, and it’s got 70 employees—almost too many for its Townsend Street digs in SoMa. So it’s interesting to contemplate what Zendesk might do … Continue reading “Zendesk Snags $19M for Web-based Customer Support That Users Can Grok, and Startups Can Afford”

EvoNexus Evolves: CommNexus Absorbs Incubator, Accepts San Diego’s Independa as Latest Resident Startup

San Diego’s CommNexus wireless industry group has reorganized EvoNexus, the free technology incubator it created last year, and has folded its operations into the non-profit group’s programs, according to CommNexus CEO Rory Moore. Moore also confirmed that Cathy Pucher, who was hired as executive director when EvoNexus was founded, recently departed the incubator to head … Continue reading “EvoNexus Evolves: CommNexus Absorbs Incubator, Accepts San Diego’s Independa as Latest Resident Startup”

Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator

Many Xconomy readers have spent their careers in the innovation field. How important is our work? We all have friends who are doctors, teachers, firemen, journalists… people who make the world better somehow. How about us? Does our work stack up as meaningful? If you are an innovator, what follows is a primer on why … Continue reading “Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator”

Seattle Genetics, Millennium’s Encore: Souped-Up Antibody Looks Better in 2nd Trial

Seattle Genetics generated buzz at a medical meeting over the weekend with its new souped-up antibody drug for Hodgkin’s disease, and today it is coming out with an encore that tops the original performance. The biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) and its partner, Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, are presenting results today from a … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Millennium’s Encore: Souped-Up Antibody Looks Better in 2nd Trial”

Onyx Unveils Results for Myeloma Drug, Raising Stakes in Rivalry with Millennium

Onyx Pharmaceuticals is betting that it can keep growing on the strength of a new cancer drug that’s supposed to compete with a blockbuster from Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. Today, Onyx is presenting key data to gird for the market battle. Onyx, the Emeryville, CA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONXX]]), is reporting today … Continue reading “Onyx Unveils Results for Myeloma Drug, Raising Stakes in Rivalry with Millennium”

Wings, the Facebook Dating App, Pulls an Icarus; Relaunches as DateBuzz.com

It turns out there’s at least one thing that Facebook isn’t good at: helping people find dates. Back in July I took a close look at Wings, a new Facebook dating app created by a Palo Alto, CA startup called Triangulate. At the time Sunil Nagaraj, Triangulate’s co-founder and CEO, called Wings the first example … Continue reading “Wings, the Facebook Dating App, Pulls an Icarus; Relaunches as DateBuzz.com”

Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid

Relume Technologies might become one of the great growth stories in the state of Michigan’s tech sector next year. The Oxford, MI-based maker of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products and networked lighting control systems is aiming for significant increases in revenue and employment over the next year, president and chief technology officer Peter Hochstein says. … Continue reading “Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid”

NanoString Scoops Up Breast Cancer Technology, Pushes Ahead in Diagnostics

NanoString Technologies has been talking for months about diving into the molecular diagnostic business. Now it is going full-steam ahead with a plan to use its genetic analysis instrument to help physicians better understand the severity of certain kinds of breast cancer. The Seattle-based company is announcing today that it has obtained an exclusive worldwide … Continue reading “NanoString Scoops Up Breast Cancer Technology, Pushes Ahead in Diagnostics”

Moritz on Stage, A Long Look at Blinkx, Gadgets for the Holidays, and other Bay Area BizTech News

The big event dominating Xconomy San Francisco’s calendar last week was our on-stage conversation with Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz, which was enlightening and well-attended, filling San Francisco’s KickLabs to capacity. I’m working on bringing you video highlights from the talk, which ranged from Moritz’s tricks for identifying great entrepreneurs to the funding options for … Continue reading “Moritz on Stage, A Long Look at Blinkx, Gadgets for the Holidays, and other Bay Area BizTech News”

Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr

In the Wild West of group-buying and daily-deals sites, there’s about to be a major showdown. Investors have been talking about consolidation in this sector for a while now—and it looks like that’s where things are headed. But not without a few curveballs first. Last week, Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) was widely reported to be pursuing … Continue reading “Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr”

Seattle’s HemaQuest Sets New Headquarters in San Diego

After hiring former Favrille CEO John Longenecker a few weeks ago, HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals said Friday it is relocating its headquarters to San Diego. The three-year-old startup, which is developing drugs to treat hemoglobin-associated diseases, plans to maintain an office in Seattle, but the center of gravity is now here. In its statement, HemaQuest also says … Continue reading “Seattle’s HemaQuest Sets New Headquarters in San Diego”

EnerNOC Buys Global Energy Partners, Gains West Coast Access

Boston-based EnerNOC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENOC]]), a provider of support services and programs for electrical utilities, said today that it has made its biggest acquisition to date, with the purchase of Global Energy Partners of Walnut Creek, CA. The addition of the West Coast company, which has 55 employees and provides energy and environmental engineering and services … Continue reading “EnerNOC Buys Global Energy Partners, Gains West Coast Access”

JMI Equity Raises $875M for Seventh Fund, Sempra Completes Solar PV Plant, Awarepoint Raises $9M, & More San Diego BizTech News

It was a week for raising money, and software specialist JMI Equity led the way. The private equity firm had plenty of company, though, and we’ve got a rundown here. —JMI Equity, the software investment firm based in San Diego and Baltimore, said last week it has closed its seventh fund after raising $875 million. … Continue reading “JMI Equity Raises $875M for Seventh Fund, Sempra Completes Solar PV Plant, Awarepoint Raises $9M, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Laser Displays, Mobile Payments, Video Collaboration, Innovation Furniture, & More Demos Set for Wednesday’s 5X5 Forum

We’re really pleased to have a slew of disruption-minded companies from around the Xconomy network lined up for our 5X5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas conference this Wednesday afternoon in downtown Boston. But that’s just the main event—there’s a lot more going on after the speakers strut their stuff. For the first time, Xconomy … Continue reading “Laser Displays, Mobile Payments, Video Collaboration, Innovation Furniture, & More Demos Set for Wednesday’s 5X5 Forum”

Plex Plumps Up With $500K to Target New Customers in Food, Healthcare, Defense Industries

Plex Systems was started in 1995 to help those in the automotive space track every single detail of the manufacturing process, and has since grown to attract more than 500 companies as customers. But now the company has beefed up with some extra private equity funding and money from its management to target new industries. … Continue reading “Plex Plumps Up With $500K to Target New Customers in Food, Healthcare, Defense Industries”

How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence

[Update: 1:15 pm Eastern] Lots of people in biotech think they are doing innovative things, even when they are really doing something pretty conservative, like testing a proven drug for some new use, or crafting some new way to deliver a therapy with more efficiency or convenience. But how, especially in today’s sluggish economy, do … Continue reading “How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence”

Taulia Collects $3.2 Million to Ease Payment Delays for Suppliers

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another massive inefficiency in the economy waiting to be fixed by Internet entrepreneurs, along comes Taulia. This San Francisco startup has figured out an easy way for suppliers of goods and services to get paid faster, and for the buyers of their goods and services—at least, those … Continue reading “Taulia Collects $3.2 Million to Ease Payment Delays for Suppliers”

Alnylam CEO John Maraganore On Corporate Near-Termism, and Restoring Faith in RNAi

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, one of the bright lights on the Boston biotech scene, has suddenly found itself getting almost zero value for its technology on Wall Street. It’s a shocking thing to say about the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), considered to be a leader in RNA interference technology. This, after all, is a hot field … Continue reading “Alnylam CEO John Maraganore On Corporate Near-Termism, and Restoring Faith in RNAi”

Calistoga Rolls Out More Evidence For Blood Cancer Drug, Sizes Up Pivotal Trial

Calistoga Pharmaceuticals has been stirring up buzz at medical meetings for more than a year about how its experimental treatment is shrinking tumors for patients with certain blood cancers that resist other therapies. And today the Seattle-based company is showing still more evidence that strengthens the medical case for its drug, as the tumor shrinkage … Continue reading “Calistoga Rolls Out More Evidence For Blood Cancer Drug, Sizes Up Pivotal Trial”

Seattle Genetics, Millennium Report Groundbreaking Results With Drug for Hodgkin’s

Seattle Genetics is reporting today on a batch of clinical trial results that represent a watershed moment for the company, its technology for creating “empowered antibodies” against cancer, and which could provide a new source of hope for patients with Hodgkin’s disease. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) and its partner, Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Millennium Report Groundbreaking Results With Drug for Hodgkin’s”

Widevine Bought by Google as Streaming Video Heats Up

You heard it here first—the rumor, I mean. Now it’s confirmed. Seattle-based Widevine Technologies is being acquired by Google in a deal of undisclosed size. The Mountain View, CA-based search giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) said today in a blog post that “Widevine has made on demand services more efficient and secure for media companies, and ultimately … Continue reading “Widevine Bought by Google as Streaming Video Heats Up”

Bill Allowing 25% Tax Credits For Angel Investors Heads For Michigan Governor’s Signature

Michigan’s angel, venture capital and entrepreneur communities are hailing this week’s passage by the state Legislature of tax breaks for angel investors. The bill, passed by both houses and expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, gives angel investors a 25 percent tax credit over two years, with a maximum of $250,000 … Continue reading “Bill Allowing 25% Tax Credits For Angel Investors Heads For Michigan Governor’s Signature”

Get Radical, Practically—And Before Almost Everybody Else, With Special Ticket Offer for Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum

How do successful innovators define new industries and transform existing ones? How do successful companies maintain their dominance when conditions get tougher? The key, argues Fast Company co-founder William C. Taylor, is change. Of course, mastering change is no small feat. “The work of deep-seated, sustainable change remains the hardest work there is,” writes Taylor. … Continue reading “Get Radical, Practically—And Before Almost Everybody Else, With Special Ticket Offer for Xconomy’s 5X5 Forum”

San Diego’s Fight Against Diabesity: Can Investors Make Money, and Can Startups Still Thrive?

San Diego might be the world’s leading center for “diabesity” R&D, and since this represents two of the most common public health threats today (diabetes and obesity), logic would say this ought to be a great thing for the local biotech cluster. Yet anyone who follows healthcare headlines knows that times have never been tougher … Continue reading “San Diego’s Fight Against Diabesity: Can Investors Make Money, and Can Startups Still Thrive?”

Punchbowl Throws a Punch, Checking In Is Out, TechStars Boston Changes Guard—Some Tech Tidbits

Another busy week in Boston-area tech news. Here are a few items I didn’t have a chance to properly digest yet: —Startup wars: Punchbowl founder and CEO Matt Douglas stirred the pot a little with a blog post calling out SCVNGR founder Seth Priebatsch for what Douglas considers his self-promotional bravado and unhealthy work-life balance, … Continue reading “Punchbowl Throws a Punch, Checking In Is Out, TechStars Boston Changes Guard—Some Tech Tidbits”

San Diego’s Cleantech Cluster Looks to Canada & Other International Partners for Collaboration

In June, 2007, a study commissioned by the City of San Diego and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. found 148 cleantech companies in San Diego County. The study encouraged San Diego business leaders in establishing Cleantech San Diego as a way to help stimulate the emerging cluster (and to encourage adoption of renewable … Continue reading “San Diego’s Cleantech Cluster Looks to Canada & Other International Partners for Collaboration”

Pearl Therapeutics Beats $3B Lung Drug, Anacor’s Flat IPO, Medtronic Buys Ardian for $800M, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News

Thanksgiving got in the way of last week’s biotech roundup, so this week I’m reaching a little further back in the archive for stories you may have missed. —Redwood City, CA-based Pearl Therapeutics raised $69 million in venture capital last month, and now we can see why. The company showed, in a small clinical trial, … Continue reading “Pearl Therapeutics Beats $3B Lung Drug, Anacor’s Flat IPO, Medtronic Buys Ardian for $800M, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”

SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck

Beverly, MA-based SmartCells has kept a relatively low profile since it was founded seven years ago, quietly working on a potential blockbuster drug for diabetes with technology from MIT. But yesterday the drug giant Merck (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MRK]]) made headlines with its plans to buy the biotech startup for upfront and potential milestone payments of more than … Continue reading “SmartCells CEO Reflects on Strategy Leading to $500M Exit with Merck”

Protect Patent Settlements for Washington’s Biotech Future

In America’s health care system, patients benefit from the balance between availability of innovative, life-saving medicines and access to lower-cost generic medicines; in fact, generic medicines account for 74 percent of prescriptions written in the U.S. This balance is based on a variety of factors. Unfortunately, one of those factors is currently under attack in … Continue reading “Protect Patent Settlements for Washington’s Biotech Future”

Aveo Gets Money from OSI, Merck Buys SmartCells, Glaxo Cancels Resveratrol Drug Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

This week we took an in-depth look at several New England area biotechs, and saw some interesting developments from bigger drugmakers. —I checked in with Holden, MA-based Hygeia Therapeutics, a startup developing topically delivered synthetic hormone treatments, using technology licensed from Yale University. The biotech has gathered pre-clinical data on a synthetic estrogen product for … Continue reading “Aveo Gets Money from OSI, Merck Buys SmartCells, Glaxo Cancels Resveratrol Drug Trial, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Terrafugia, Aurora Flight Sciences, Metis Design Take Wing in $65M DARPA Program to Design Flying Humvee

OK, a flying Humvee doesn’t sound like a very green vehicle—but the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency isn’t interested in green. DARPA is interested in improving the safety and lethality of U.S. troops in dangerous environments. And it is willing to pay handsomely for it—to the tune of a five-year, $65 million research program … Continue reading “Terrafugia, Aurora Flight Sciences, Metis Design Take Wing in $65M DARPA Program to Design Flying Humvee”

Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M

Beverly, MA-based biotech startup SmartCells has found a big corporate buyer. Merck & Co. (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]), the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant, said today it has agreed to buy the developer of diabetes treatments in a deal that could be worth more than $500 million to the startup’s shareholders. Merck, which announced the deal this morning, … Continue reading “Merck Buyout of SmartCells Could Exceed $500M”

Receptos Hires New CEO, Former Facet Leader, as Rastetter Moves Upstairs

Receptos, the San Diego-based startup with an eye toward capturing super high-res images of an important class of new drug targets, has found itself a new CEO from the Bay Area who happened to sell his last company to Abbott Laboratories for $722 million. Faheem Hasnain, the former chief executive of Redwood City, CA-based Facet … Continue reading “Receptos Hires New CEO, Former Facet Leader, as Rastetter Moves Upstairs”

Millennium, Banking on Velcade and More, Gears Up for Eagerly Anticipated Blood Cancer Meeting

Each spring, everybody and their brother in biotech goes to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting to check out the hot new stuff in cancer drug development. But for Cambridge, MA-based Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, the bigger medical meeting is coming up this weekend, where a whole string of clinical trials … Continue reading “Millennium, Banking on Velcade and More, Gears Up for Eagerly Anticipated Blood Cancer Meeting”

The Essay Exchange Aims to Democratize Pricey College Admissions Advice

Application fees and standardized test prep courses aren’t the only big expenses when it comes to getting into college. For the tens of thousands of students who hire admissions counselors and coaches every year, the process of crafting the perfect essay to get into a top name school can also carry a hefty price tag, … Continue reading “The Essay Exchange Aims to Democratize Pricey College Admissions Advice”

Accelerator’s East Coast Foray, Gates Foundation Bets on RSV Vaccine, UW Sues GE, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Two of the key players in Seattle life sciences formed interesting new connections to the Eastern time zone this week. —Accelerator, the venture-backed biotech startup nurturer in Seattle, made its first new investment in a company with East Coast roots. The company, Acylin Therapeutics, is built on the vision of a Boston biotech entrepreneur, and … Continue reading “Accelerator’s East Coast Foray, Gates Foundation Bets on RSV Vaccine, UW Sues GE, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs

The proverbial 800-pound gorilla has spoken. Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research, the Cambridge, MA-based R&D unit of Swiss drug giant Novartis, has asserted itself in a lawsuit concerning rights to potentially game-changing drugs for lung cancer discovered at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Novartis filed a counterclaim on November 19 in U.S. District Court in … Continue reading “Novartis Takes Aim at Bay-Area Biotech with Dana-Farber Roots in Legal Battle Over Potential Lung Cancer Drugs”

Optimer Seeks Fast Review of Drug for Intestinal Infection, Histogen Raises $10M, TSRI Shares its “Click” Chemistry in Deal with Massachusetts Biotech, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

The Thanksgiving holiday helped to keep activity in San Diego’s life science companies at minimum levels over the past week. Still, what we picked up was interesting reading. Judge for yourself. —San Diego’s Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) filed a new drug application with the FDA for fidaxomicin, the drug it developed to treat patients with … Continue reading “Optimer Seeks Fast Review of Drug for Intestinal Infection, Histogen Raises $10M, TSRI Shares its “Click” Chemistry in Deal with Massachusetts Biotech, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

GM Ventures Aims to Ensure Parent’s Future By Investing in the Best Automotive Startups: Q&A With President Jon Lauckner

In early July, General Motors announced the creation of its own venture capital arm, General Motors Ventures. The $100 million fund was set up, GM said, to identify and help develop and bring to market innovative automotive technologies. To date, the fund has made just two investments, but more are on the way (read on). … Continue reading “GM Ventures Aims to Ensure Parent’s Future By Investing in the Best Automotive Startups: Q&A With President Jon Lauckner”

Awarepoint Raises $9M, Names New CEO to Crack Hospital Market for Real-Time Tracking

This is “Day 3” on the job for Jay Deady, who was named as the new president and CEO today at San Diego-based Awarepoint, which uses wireless mesh networking and RFID technology to track just about anything that moves inside a hospital, clinic, or medical center. I figured that’s plenty of time for the new … Continue reading “Awarepoint Raises $9M, Names New CEO to Crack Hospital Market for Real-Time Tracking”