It didn’t take Ardian long to cash in once it showed the world what it really has come up with for the treatment of high blood pressure. Medical device giant Medtronic (NYSE: [[ticker:MDT]]) said it has agreed to pay $800 million upfront, plus commercial milestone payments through 2015, to acquire Mountain View, CA-based Ardian. Medtronic … Continue reading “Medtronic Buys Ardian for $800M Upfront, Grabs Novel Treatment for High Blood Pressure”
Category: National
Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket
There’s a new way to share and discuss your favorite Xconomy articles with your friends on a variety of social-media channels: Marginize. If you’re reading this article on the Xconomy website, you’ll see the new Marginize tab on the far right edge of your browser window. Click on this tab and the Marginize bar will … Continue reading “Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket”
Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Hepatitis C Drug; Chomps at the Bit For Fast Review
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has spent 15 years working to reinvent the way hepatitis C infection is treated, and now the fruits of that labor are in the hands of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cambridge, MA-based Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]), which has West Coast operations in San Diego, is announcing today that it has filed its … Continue reading “Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Hepatitis C Drug; Chomps at the Bit For Fast Review”
Why Travel Search Firm Kayak Wants to Go Public Now—Some More Analysis
Last week, the online travel world watched with considerable interest as Kayak, the Norwalk, CT-based travel “meta search” company, filed for a $50 million initial public offering. There has been a lot of debate about how much Kayak is actually trying to raise, how much the company is worth, and why it wants to go … Continue reading “Why Travel Search Firm Kayak Wants to Go Public Now—Some More Analysis”
Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security
“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” 1963 quote from Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. I moderated a panel last week for Xconomy that was focused on consumer-oriented healthcare information technology. The panel included 2 hospital chief information officers (one current, one … Continue reading “Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security”
Akrivis Sets Out to Improve Diagnostics and Therapies with Northeastern U. Tech
Cambridge, MA-based Akrivis Technologies is named after a Greek word that means precision and accuracy. It’s too early to say whether it can fulfill that promise, but if it does, it could provide highly sensitive diagnostics for serious health conditions, targeted drug delivery for cancer, and even a platform on which to integrate drugs and … Continue reading “Akrivis Sets Out to Improve Diagnostics and Therapies with Northeastern U. Tech”
Path Debuts, Stipple and PayNearMe Tank Up, Facebook Sends a Message, & More Bay-Area BizTech News
There was way too much news from the Bay-area infotech industry last week for one correspondent to keep up with, so I focused in on just a few key developments, with some help from my colleagues around the Xconomy network. —Path, a San Francisco company co-founded by ex-Facebooker Dave Morin, launched a new photo sharing … Continue reading “Path Debuts, Stipple and PayNearMe Tank Up, Facebook Sends a Message, & More Bay-Area BizTech News”
Gearing Up for 5×5 on Dec. 8 (Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas): Here’s the Agenda
Activity in the Boston-area innovation community seems to be picking up steam as we head into the holiday season. We’re getting excited as we gear up for our next Xconomy Forum in Boston on Dec. 8, which is called “5×5: Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas.” This is a chance to see, up close and … Continue reading “Gearing Up for 5×5 on Dec. 8 (Five Cities, Five Big Tech Ideas): Here’s the Agenda”
Attachmate Buys Novell for $2.2B—the End of an Era
Novell, the Waltham, MA-based networking and workload management software firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NOVL]]), said today it has agreed to be acquired by Seattle-based Attachmate for $2.2 billion in cash. The deal represents a purchase price of $6.10 per share, a 9 percent increase over Novell’s closing stock price on Nov. 19. Novell also said it is … Continue reading “Attachmate Buys Novell for $2.2B—the End of an Era”
Warner, Shah, Landry Among Top 10 Boston Angel Investors, According to ChubbyBrain
Which angel investors in Boston have the biggest wings? Check out this blog post by ChubbyBrain, a New York-based provider of Web-based information tools for entrepreneurs, which rounds up some of the individuals who have done the most deal-making in the Boston area. The post lists 10 individual Boston-area investors who tech entrepreneurs looking for … Continue reading “Warner, Shah, Landry Among Top 10 Boston Angel Investors, According to ChubbyBrain”
Peregrine Semiconductor Files for IPO
Peregrine Semiconductor, the San Diego wireless chip designer that has worked for years to build a business around its sapphire semiconductor technology, has filed for an initial public offering, according to registration filing submitted late Friday. The company hopes to raise as much as $100 million. The fabless chip designer, founded in 1990 by Mark … Continue reading “Peregrine Semiconductor Files for IPO”
StumbleUpon Revs Forward After Exiting eBay; Rivals Facebook As Social Discovery Engine
For a company that’s all about helping people wander the Web and make serendipitous discoveries, San Francisco-based StumbleUpon has been on a remarkably straight path since 2002. That’s not to say the venture-backed company hasn’t gone through big changes. It has: from tiny Firefox add-on maker in Calgary, Alberta, to angel-funded SoMa startup, to eBay … Continue reading “StumbleUpon Revs Forward After Exiting eBay; Rivals Facebook As Social Discovery Engine”
Ortiva Raises $8M, VMIX Establishes European Beachead, Three Finalists Selected for Venture Group’s $20K Pitchfest, & More San Diego BizTech News
We had a lot of health IT news over the past week in San Diego. Get your latest update now. —The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship heard testimony last week on the heavier regulatory burden that small businesses bear. In a statement, Tim Tardibono, Connect’s director of public policy in Washington, DC, called … Continue reading “Ortiva Raises $8M, VMIX Establishes European Beachead, Three Finalists Selected for Venture Group’s $20K Pitchfest, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Harmonix, Put on the Block by Viacom, Looks for Better Owner—But Who Might That Be?
OK, it sounds like the press has this “Harmonix for sale” thing mostly wrong. At least in terms of what it means for the Cambridge, MA-based company, and the future of its business. Earlier this month, New York-based Viacom (NYSE: [[ticker:VIA]]) announced it has put Harmonix up for sale after losing money on the business … Continue reading “Harmonix, Put on the Block by Viacom, Looks for Better Owner—But Who Might That Be?”
The Fight Against Diabesity: How Will San Diego Adapt in the Era of Tough FDA Scrutiny?
Two out of three Americans are now said to be overweight or obese, and about 25 million people have chronic Type 2 diabetes that’s often caused by unhealthy diets and a lack of exercise. Taken together, these two related conditions are sometimes called “diabesity,” a rising public health scourge. Anyone who develops drugs to safely … Continue reading “The Fight Against Diabesity: How Will San Diego Adapt in the Era of Tough FDA Scrutiny?”
Light Sciences Oncology CEO Exits for New Job; Company Still Waiting for Pivotal Results
The CEO of Light Sciences Oncology, the Bellevue, WA-based company developing a first-of-its-kind drug/device combo therapy for cancer, has left to take a new job running another biotech firm, Xconomy has learned. Llew Keltner’s name has been taken down from Light Sciences Oncology’s website, and Keltner personally confirmed the move in a phone call Friday … Continue reading “Light Sciences Oncology CEO Exits for New Job; Company Still Waiting for Pivotal Results”
GloStream Seeks to Make Software Easy for Doctors to Use, Built on What They Already Know—Microsoft Office
Troy, MI-based gloStream calls itself the Microsoft Office of medical practice software. Yet in addition to emulating the business strategy behind Microsoft’s dominant desktop applications franchise, gloStream has actually built its software for doctors’ offices on the Redmond, WA-based software giant’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MSFT]]) technology. There are thousands of companies that embed Microsoft technology into their software—and … Continue reading “GloStream Seeks to Make Software Easy for Doctors to Use, Built on What They Already Know—Microsoft Office”
From Honolulu to Back Bay: eHana Moving Behavioral Health Agencies from Paper to Pixel Records
Boston is a great place for bumping into people who are pushing the envelope in healthcare. In fact, the city’s leadership in health IT factored into Jacob Buckley-Fortin’s decision to expand his software firm eHana from its original home of Honolulu, HI, to Boston in 2006. Now Buckley-Fortin, the co-founder and CEO of eHana, is … Continue reading “From Honolulu to Back Bay: eHana Moving Behavioral Health Agencies from Paper to Pixel Records”
Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup
[Updated, see below] Shawn Broderick, managing director of the TechStars Boston startup incubator program since it came to the Hub in early 2009, is stepping down. Broderick announced the move publicly in a blog post Friday evening. The news comes in the middle of the TechStars Annual Summit in New York—where founders of 50 of … Continue reading “Shawn Broderick Departing TechStars Boston for Social Games Startup”
Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
How do men and women small business owners approach innovation differently? That’s one of the questions the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is seeking to answer through a six-country study that’s going on as we speak—as one of the organizers of the study, I’m looking for entrepreneurs in the U.S., both male and … Continue reading “Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation”
Hipmunk Strikes a Deal with ITA, Vudu Hits the PlayStation3, Android Creeps Up on iOS: A Friday News Roundup
It’s been such an action-packed week in the technology world that I ran out of time to tell you about a few interesting local news items. —Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software and Hipmunk, the Y Combinator-backed startup based in San Francisco and founded by Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman and computer-book author Adam Goldstein, announced that they … Continue reading “Hipmunk Strikes a Deal with ITA, Vudu Hits the PlayStation3, Android Creeps Up on iOS: A Friday News Roundup”
Boston Scientific Acquires Sadra for $193M Upfront, Gets Device To Fix Heart Valves
Boston Scientific just made a move into one of the fields of cardiology with growth potential by acquiring Los Gatos, CA-based Sadra Medical. The Natick, MA-based device giant (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) already owns 14 percent of Sadra, and today said it is paying $193 million upfront to acquire the rest of the company, and may shell … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Acquires Sadra for $193M Upfront, Gets Device To Fix Heart Valves”
Roche Cutting Hundreds of Jobs, Exelixis Shares Soar, Sutro Pockets $36.5M, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News
Quite a few folks at Genentech won’t have so much to be thankful for at this year’s Thanksgiving, as a wave of job cuts swept through South San Francisco. —Roche, the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical giant that took full control of South San Francisco-based Genentech in March 2009, announced a sweeping series of 4,800 job cuts and … Continue reading “Roche Cutting Hundreds of Jobs, Exelixis Shares Soar, Sutro Pockets $36.5M, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”
Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes
Hi, my name is Wade, and it’s been 20 months since I paid for premium cable TV. As longtime Xconomy readers know, I canceled all but my basic cable channels in March 2009. Back then, it was a fairly radical thing to do, but nowadays I run into people all the time who’ve realized that … Continue reading “Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes”
Lilly Funds Cerulean, Genzyme Sells Diagnostics Unit, Roche Ends RNAi Program, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
We saw some in-depth profiles of New England-area biotechs’ drug development strategies, as well as breaking news on financings and partnership deals. —While Bay Area biotech startup Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals, Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Novartis continue their legal wrangling over a potential lung cancer drug, Waltham, MA-based Avila Therapeutics is working on its own treatment for … Continue reading “Lilly Funds Cerulean, Genzyme Sells Diagnostics Unit, Roche Ends RNAi Program, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Nearly Entire Staff Laid Off at Eons, Says Founder Jeff Taylor
[Updated with additional information, Nov. 18, 2010]–-Boston baby boomer and social networking site Eons, which has raised $32 million in two rounds of financing led by two venture capital giants—General Catalyst Partners and Sequoia Capital—yesterday laid off nearly its entire remaining staff, founder Jeff Taylor said tonight. Taylor, who previously founded Monster.com, revealed the layoff … Continue reading “Nearly Entire Staff Laid Off at Eons, Says Founder Jeff Taylor”
Dendreon’s Commercial Point Man Exits In Year One of Provenge Launch
[Update: 4:15 pm Pacific] One of the key people at Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) who was hired to make its new prostate cancer drug a success is out of a job after less than a year. Seattle-based Dendreon said today in a regulatory filing that Varun Nanda has left the company effective immediately. Nanda, Dendreon’s senior … Continue reading “Dendreon’s Commercial Point Man Exits In Year One of Provenge Launch”
Ballmer Will Say Adios, IPOs Will Return, Amazon Will Crack $200: Predictions for 2011 From WTIA Panel
Microsoft, desperate to become a real player in mobile, will do something bold like acquire Finnish wireless giant Nokia. CEO Steve Ballmer will ride off into the sunset. Amazon’s stock could soar to over $200 a share. As the great Yogi Berra once said, it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. Yet, with … Continue reading “Ballmer Will Say Adios, IPOs Will Return, Amazon Will Crack $200: Predictions for 2011 From WTIA Panel”
Are You Ready for a Pre-Turkey Day Pizza Bash Tomorrow? C’mon Down to Xconomy HQ
Just a reminder for all you entrepreneurs, hackers, gene-splicers, and devotees of innovation, tomorrow is Xconomy’s second annual pre-Thanksgiving pizza party. We got some great special guests in Reed Sturtevant and Katie Rae of Project 11, an innovative early-stage venture startup; some great attendees already RSVP’d, and some great pizza courtesy of our friends and … Continue reading “Are You Ready for a Pre-Turkey Day Pizza Bash Tomorrow? C’mon Down to Xconomy HQ”
Skyhook Says A Preliminary Injunction Against Google Could Help Level The Playing Field in the Mobile Location-Finding Space
[Updated 11/18/10] After lawyers from Google and Skyhook Wireless convened in court yesterday, a Massachusetts’ Suffolk County Superior Court judge is deliberating whether to prevent the Mountain View, CA-based Internet giant from issuing compatibility standards for its Android mobile phone platform that could largely keep Boston-based startup Skyhook out of the location-finding space. The move … Continue reading “Skyhook Says A Preliminary Injunction Against Google Could Help Level The Playing Field in the Mobile Location-Finding Space”
Stipple Gets $2 Million to Help Web Publishers Bring Images Alive
A San Francisco startup called Stipple has raised $2 million from big-name investors to help make images on the Web more interactive. Specifically, the company wants to help publishers who puts lots of photos online to turn them into gateways to various kinds of interactions, including online purchases. When you think about it, images on … Continue reading “Stipple Gets $2 Million to Help Web Publishers Bring Images Alive”
Genzyme to Let Diagnostics Unit Loose for $265M
Genzyme’s sales of non-core businesses continues. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) said this morning that it has agreed to sell its diagnostic products business to Japan’s Sekisui Chemical for $265 million in cash. The deal takes Genzyme, the world’s largest provider of drugs for rare genetic diseases, a step further in sharpening its focus … Continue reading “Genzyme to Let Diagnostics Unit Loose for $265M”
Dendreon Survives Medicare Panel, Arch’s Ouch, RNAi Shock Wave Hits Tekmira, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Seattle’s hot biotech company of the moment survived an unusual public hearing this week that could have put a serious crimp in its ability to sell its drug. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) dodged a bullet at a public hearing this week held by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The government-run health insurance plan … Continue reading “Dendreon Survives Medicare Panel, Arch’s Ouch, RNAi Shock Wave Hits Tekmira, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
EMC Shells Out $2.25B for Isilon, Cerulean Secures $24M, Kayak Files for IPO, & More Boston-Area Deals News
This week saw deals inked in all corners of New England’s innovation ecosystem, but the biggie was in IT. —Regulatory filings indicate that Kala Pharmaceuticals raised $3 million in an equity and debt financing. The Waltham, MA-based startup, which raised $2 million in December 2009, counts MIT inventor Bob Langer and representatives of Lux Capital, … Continue reading “EMC Shells Out $2.25B for Isilon, Cerulean Secures $24M, Kayak Files for IPO, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
U-M Investment Group TAMID Introduces Students to Entrepreneurship, Israeli Startups
[Corrected, 4:40pm. See below] Last month, Jon Medved, the founder of Jerusalem-based Israel Seed Partners, a multi-million dollar venture capital fund, came to the University of Michigan to give a lecture on high-tech development. But Medved wasn’t there to talk about Silicon Valley or another U.S. startup hub. Instead he was meeting with a group … Continue reading “U-M Investment Group TAMID Introduces Students to Entrepreneurship, Israeli Startups”
Paul Allen Donates $9M for Edgy Neuroscience, Biotech Projects at MIT, Stanford, UW
Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, has been investing in biotech companies and basic neuroscience for many years, and now he’s set up a new program to put more money to work for scientists pushing the boundaries in those fields. The Seattle-based Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is announcing today it is bankrolling seven … Continue reading “Paul Allen Donates $9M for Edgy Neuroscience, Biotech Projects at MIT, Stanford, UW”
Dendreon Passes Medicare Panel’s Questions About Provenge Effectiveness
Dendreon followers can breathe a sigh of relief. A panel of physicians and researchers who advise the federal Medicare agency expressed an intermediate amount of confidence that the Seattle biotech company’s immune-booster for prostate cancer extends lives. The vote, at a public hearing today held by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a … Continue reading “Dendreon Passes Medicare Panel’s Questions About Provenge Effectiveness”
The Real Choices Facing Startups: Talking with Michael Moritz On Stage November 30 in San Francisco
Time for a reality check. Is it really easier to start a tech company these days? That’s certainly the conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley—but Michael Moritz begs to differ. I’ll be chatting with the legendary Sequoia Capital partner at San Francisco’s Kicklabs on November 30 (register here), and the top item on the agenda will … Continue reading “The Real Choices Facing Startups: Talking with Michael Moritz On Stage November 30 in San Francisco”
Roche Cuts to Hit Hundreds of Genentech Workers; Scientific Staff is Spared
Roche made big news in the pharmaceutical business today when it said it is cutting 4,800 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan. And, no surprise, hundreds of those job cuts are coming from its biggest U.S. asset, South San Francisco-based Genentech. About 350 to 450 people in Genentech’s manufacturing group in South San … Continue reading “Roche Cuts to Hit Hundreds of Genentech Workers; Scientific Staff is Spared”
Roche Dumps RNAi, Sends Shock Waves Through Alnylam, Tekmira
The world’s biggest spender on pharmaceutical R&D, Switzerland-based Roche, made news today with a sweeping series of cutbacks, and the ripple effect is extending to leading biotech companies in New England and the Pacific Northwest—including Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Vancouver, BC-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals. Roche said today it is terminating its efforts to discover and … Continue reading “Roche Dumps RNAi, Sends Shock Waves Through Alnylam, Tekmira”
Kayak Files for $50M IPO, Reports Growing Revenues, Profitability
Well, this is an interesting move. Kayak, the online travel search company based in Norwalk, CT, has filed for an initial public offering underwritten by Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank Securities, Piper Jaffray, Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, and Pacific Crest Securities. The proposed maximum aggregate offering price is $50 million, a surprisingly small number for a company … Continue reading “Kayak Files for $50M IPO, Reports Growing Revenues, Profitability”
Sutro Biopharma Grabs $36.5M in Venture Deal to Make “Biobetters”
The buzzphrase “biobetter” is starting to catch on, and South San Francisco-based Sutro Biopharma is the latest to cash in on the trend, as one of the companies hoping to develop drugs with nifty new properties that were never seriously considered before. Sutro is announcing today it has raised $36.5 million in a Series C … Continue reading “Sutro Biopharma Grabs $36.5M in Venture Deal to Make “Biobetters””
Ardian Corrals Out-of-Control High Blood Pressure With First-of-its-Kind Device
There are plenty of cheap and effective drugs out there for lowering high blood pressure. But Ardian, a small device company in Mountain View, CA, is presenting some intriguing clinical trial results today that suggest it might have developed something that works when all else fails. Ardian’s treatment was tested in a study of 106 … Continue reading “Ardian Corrals Out-of-Control High Blood Pressure With First-of-its-Kind Device”
Springpad Overhauls Web App, Aims to Be Your Personal Assistant and Mobile Life Manager
Today is a pretty important day for Jeff Janer and his startup. Charlestown, MA-based Spring Partners is releasing a new version of Springpad, its online notebook service for organizing all the information in your life. (And who doesn’t need that?) What’s more, it could be the make-or-break moment for the startup as it strives to … Continue reading “Springpad Overhauls Web App, Aims to Be Your Personal Assistant and Mobile Life Manager”
Sangart Looks to Fund More Human Trials of its Oxygen-Carrying Blood Adjunct
San Diego’s Sangart, whose $50 million fundraising round in 2009 ranked among the top 10 venture deals of the year in San Diego raised an additional $15 million last month in anticipation of additional clinical trials of its MP4OX, a blood adjunct and oxygen-carrying compound. When I got a chance to get an update from … Continue reading “Sangart Looks to Fund More Human Trials of its Oxygen-Carrying Blood Adjunct”
Dave Morin Says Path Photo App is About “Making the World a Happier Place”
On Sunday, San Francisco startup Path launched its photo-sharing app for the iPhone, and by Tuesday night it had already climbed to the number 5 spot in the Lifestyle section of the iTunes App Store. iPhone users seem to appreciate the new app, which is designed to let users share candid photos and a few … Continue reading “Dave Morin Says Path Photo App is About “Making the World a Happier Place””
New “Disruptive” Cloud Security Company Coming from Arbor Networks Co-Founder Dug Song
When I traveled to Michigan last month, my conversation with entrepreneur Dug Song left me with the impression that’s he very passionate about several things: startups, cyber security, and Ann Arbor. I met with Song at Tech Brewery, the Dogpatch Labs-esque startup incubator space he founded in an old brewery building right in the University … Continue reading “New “Disruptive” Cloud Security Company Coming from Arbor Networks Co-Founder Dug Song”
Bay State Startup Investing Rises to $199M in October; Industrial and Energy Sectors Help Plump Up the Total
The harvest came in during October, at least in terms of startup deals in Massachusetts. Bay State tech and life sciences companies brought in $199.1 million across 30 equity-based deals, an increase of more than one-third over the September total of $146.8 million, according to data from private company intelligence platform CB Insights. It was … Continue reading “Bay State Startup Investing Rises to $199M in October; Industrial and Energy Sectors Help Plump Up the Total”
Intel Capital Reveals 18 New Investments Totaling $77 Million
Most of the time, we find out about companies that have collected venture investments one at a time, via announcements or regulatory filings from the companies themselves. Today Santa Clara, CA-based Intel Capital shook things up a bit, unveiling a big bundle of investments all at once. The venture wing of the giant chipmaker said … Continue reading “Intel Capital Reveals 18 New Investments Totaling $77 Million”
Intel Capital Leads Venture Funding in Ortiva Wireless, 17 Others
San Diego’s Ortiva Wireless said today it has raised $8 million in a Series C round led by Intel Capital, which was joined by existing investors Comcast Interactive Capital, Artiman Ventures, and Mission Ventures of San Diego. Ortiva, which has developed technology to optimize video on wireless networks, says it plans to use the funds … Continue reading “Intel Capital Leads Venture Funding in Ortiva Wireless, 17 Others”