San Mateo, CA-based Itero Biopharmaceuticals, a small company seeking to make “biosimilar” treatments that provide an advantage over original biotech drugs, has found its first partner to help it develop a new product. The company has formed a collaboration with Morristown, NJ-based Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: [[ticker:WPI]]) to develop a new treatment for female infertility. Itero … Continue reading “Itero, Seeking a “Biosimilar” That’s Better, Strikes Deal With Watson for Female Infertility”
Category: National
Technology Alliance Showcases Four New Companies in Biotech and Cleantech, and Revisits One Past Presenter
The Technology Alliance put on its fifth “Innovation Showcase” at the Rainier Square Conference Center earlier this week in Seattle, where a handful of up and coming local technology and life sciences companies presented their projects to a select group of entrepreneurs, businesspeople, academics, and potential investors. This is only the second time the press … Continue reading “Technology Alliance Showcases Four New Companies in Biotech and Cleantech, and Revisits One Past Presenter”
Glaxo’s Tempero Pharma Advances on Hot Niche of Immunology
Hold onto your lab coats and safety goggles. Big drug companies and venture firms are engaging in a scientific land grab in the Boston area and beyond to gain rights to new discoveries about what are known as adaptive immune responses. They’re jockeying for the best technology and help from top brains at Harvard, MIT, … Continue reading “Glaxo’s Tempero Pharma Advances on Hot Niche of Immunology”
NanoBio, With Glaxo as Big Partner, Sees Market in Treating and (Maybe) Preventing Cold Sores
NanoBio has spent a decade of R&D working on nanotech formulations that might help drugs and vaccines be better absorbed, more effective, or more convenient. Now the Ann Arbor, MI-based company is plowing ahead with its first big application—for the treatment and possibly the prevention of cold sores. This story has been unfolding for some … Continue reading “NanoBio, With Glaxo as Big Partner, Sees Market in Treating and (Maybe) Preventing Cold Sores”
In Facebook Experiment, Microsoft Works to Deliver Shared Documents and Connect with Consumers Online
Quick, what’s the world’s most popular photo-sharing application? It’s not Photobucket or Flickr or Picasa. It’s Facebook, where users share billions of new photos every month. “The Facebook Photos application may or may not be the best, but it is the most popular, by an absurd factor,” notes Pat Kinsel. “More photos are uploaded to … Continue reading “In Facebook Experiment, Microsoft Works to Deliver Shared Documents and Connect with Consumers Online”
Allozyne Breaks Silence, Accelerator’s Mini-Golf Hijinks, Maveron’s Vision for Primary Care, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
One of the more interesting biotech startups in town re-emerged after more than a year of progress in stealth mode. —Allozyne CEO Meenu Chhabra gave her first in-depth interview in more than a year, and had a lot to say about her company’s progress in this Xconomy exclusive. Seattle-based Allozyne, a graduate of the Accelerator, … Continue reading “Allozyne Breaks Silence, Accelerator’s Mini-Golf Hijinks, Maveron’s Vision for Primary Care, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Location, Inc. Releases New Kind of Real Estate Reports, With Aims to Be the Carfax of Neighborhoods
Location, Inc., a provider of online real estate research tools, launched in 2002 with the intent to objectively measure which neighborhoods are the best fit for a particular customer, based on criteria such as school quality, crime rates, home appreciation values, and the prominence of upwardly mobile singles. The housing matchmaker service has been available … Continue reading “Location, Inc. Releases New Kind of Real Estate Reports, With Aims to Be the Carfax of Neighborhoods”
ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Open Greenhouse for Algae Biofuels Development
San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics and Texas-based ExxonMobil celebrated the first anniversary of their strategic alliance today with the official opening of a greenhouse for growing and testing algae that could someday replace crude oil in the production of diesel and other fuels. On this day last year, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend at least $600 … Continue reading “ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Open Greenhouse for Algae Biofuels Development”
Gamify This: Seattle Web Experts Give Pointers on Using Game Mechanics for Good and Evil
They are the holy triumvirate of the “gamification” movement here in Seattle. OK, I just made that up. But if you want to learn how to use video-game mechanics to enhance your business’s website, drive traffic and customers, and maybe boost your revenues, you could do worse than to talk to Scott Dodson, Neil Patel, … Continue reading “Gamify This: Seattle Web Experts Give Pointers on Using Game Mechanics for Good and Evil”
Crocodoc Raises Cash, Upgrades Web-based Document Review Service
Today, many documents are not only born digital, they’re also born social. Companies like Adobe, Microsoft, and Google provide online tools where documents of many different types can be collaboratively generated and edited. The problem is that online editing is still a fragmented affair: If you want to mark up an Adobe PDF document with … Continue reading “Crocodoc Raises Cash, Upgrades Web-based Document Review Service”
PacBio Nabs $109M to Make Cheaper, Faster Gene Sequencing Tools
The idea of sequencing entire human genomes for $1,000 or less, in a matter of minutes, has never been hotter, if the flow of venture capital to Pacific Biosciences is any indication. The Menlo Park, CA-based developer of super-fast gene sequencing machines has raised another $109 million in a Series F round of financing. The … Continue reading “PacBio Nabs $109M to Make Cheaper, Faster Gene Sequencing Tools”
Translational Science Grants Include Awards for San Diego, New England
A program to accelerate the transformation of biomedical discoveries into patient treatments has awarded $37.2 million to a consortium headed by UC San Diego Health Sciences and its Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI). A $20 million grant also was awarded for a similar consortium in New England, headed by the University of Massachusetts Center … Continue reading “Translational Science Grants Include Awards for San Diego, New England”
Livefyre Works to Bring Web Comment Sections Back to Life
[Corrected, see page 2] Publishing on the Web was always supposed to be a many-to-many affair, not a one-to-many lecture like so much of radio, TV, and newspaper content. But much of the burden of keeping the Web bidirectional falls on the familiar comment sections below most news articles and blog posts. And comments, in … Continue reading “Livefyre Works to Bring Web Comment Sections Back to Life”
The Name Game: Our Rebranding Poll Asks Readers to Weigh in On Recent Startup Name Changes
What’s in a name? Well, an awful lot, of course, and perhaps especially when it comes to companies and their brands. A good name evokes what the company does, and it is memorable—creating a virtuous cycle that reinforces the brand and leads to increased sales and other good things. I got thinking about this, specifically … Continue reading “The Name Game: Our Rebranding Poll Asks Readers to Weigh in On Recent Startup Name Changes”
As the World Converges on the Phone, Mobile Monday Michigan is Calling All Developers, Marketers
Linda Daichendt was a marketer for Wireless Toyz from the beginning of 2007 until the end of 2008. That’s when some serious downsizing happened at the Southfield, MI-based mobile phone chain retailer. Daichendt lost her job, but she did not lose her instincts as a mobile marketer. “So, I became extremely interested in this whole … Continue reading “As the World Converges on the Phone, Mobile Monday Michigan is Calling All Developers, Marketers”
Vivus Faces Turning Point in Obesity Drug Battle Tomorrow With Arena, Orexigen
[Updated: 3:06 pm Pacific] Vivus will be the biotech company everybody’s watching tomorrow. That’s when the Mountain View, CA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VVUS]]) will go before a panel of expert advisers to the FDA, who will recommend to regulators whether Vivus has created a new obesity drug that’s good enough to be sold on the U.S. … Continue reading “Vivus Faces Turning Point in Obesity Drug Battle Tomorrow With Arena, Orexigen”
Allozyne, After a Stealthy Year on a Slim Budget, Re-Emerges with MS Drug and Fat Pipeline
Seattle-based Allozyne has been operating in stealth mode for more than a year, prompting some biotechies to wonder if it had quietly run out of cash and closed its doors. Far from it. Allozyne, one of the startups that graduated from the Accelerator biotech startup incubator, has been making huge strides behind the scenes, based … Continue reading “Allozyne, After a Stealthy Year on a Slim Budget, Re-Emerges with MS Drug and Fat Pipeline”
XL Hybrids Ups Investment Round to $1.8M, Plans to Convert Commercial Vehicles to Hybrids
This is one of the stealthiest and most intriguing cleantech companies in New England. XL Hybrids, based in Somerville, MA, has just received $300,000 in investment from an undisclosed professional fund, which brings its total seed funding to just over $1.8 million. The company previously had raised a little more than $1.5 million in angel … Continue reading “XL Hybrids Ups Investment Round to $1.8M, Plans to Convert Commercial Vehicles to Hybrids”
Concert Pharma Riding Potential $1B Glaxo Deal, Looks Ahead to Human Data on HIV Drug
Concert Pharmaceuticals climbed the charts of the Boston area’s hottest biotechs last year when it revealed an incentive-laden deal with the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline potentially worth more than $1 billion. Roger Tung, the CEO of Concert, met with me last week at the biotech startup’s Lexington, MA, headquarters and talked about the work his firm … Continue reading “Concert Pharma Riding Potential $1B Glaxo Deal, Looks Ahead to Human Data on HIV Drug”
Peter Schultz Exits Top Job at Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation
Peter Schultz, the prominent chemist who founded one of San Diego’s top research centers more than a decade ago, is out as the director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), Xconomy has learned from multiple sources. Schultz’s departure was confirmed on his faculty biography on The Scripps Research Institute’s website, which … Continue reading “Peter Schultz Exits Top Job at Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation”
San Diego’s MindTouch Launches Next-Generation Version of Content Development Platform
To MindTouch CEO Aaron Fulkerson, websites are becoming the primary storefronts for most businesses and their chief way of interacting with their customers. And in this age of metatags and search engine optimization, Fulkerson says each page of website content viewed by customers represents a business opportunity—a chance to generate new customer leads, increase sales, … Continue reading “San Diego’s MindTouch Launches Next-Generation Version of Content Development Platform”
ThredUP Funded by New Micro VC Firm, Visterra Grabs $6M, Vivox Gets $2M From Peacock Equity, & More Boston-Area Deals News
It was another busy week with news of funding rounds for young startups, especially in the e-commerce and drug spaces. —Woburn, MA-based Bio2 Technologies sold $1.1 million of an equity offering that could total $2 million. The company is developing tissue-engineering scaffolds for applications in orthopedics, and has licensed its technology from Geo2 Technologies, another … Continue reading “ThredUP Funded by New Micro VC Firm, Visterra Grabs $6M, Vivox Gets $2M From Peacock Equity, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
EcoFab, Making Homes More Energy Efficient, Finds Its Place In McKinstry Cleantech Incubator
McKinstry, the Seattle-based construction, consulting, and energy-efficiency firm, has added a third company to its $5 million McKinstry Innovation Center, which opened at the company’s Georgetown headquarters back in May. The center, which many in the Seattle alternative energy scene hope will become a vibrant cleantech incubator in the Pacific Northwest, plans to serve as … Continue reading “EcoFab, Making Homes More Energy Efficient, Finds Its Place In McKinstry Cleantech Incubator”
San Diego Power Line Approval Opens Path to Renewable Energy Projects—But Opponents Vow to Keep Fighting
The U.S. Forest Service has approved San Diego Gas & Electric’s plan to build a high-voltage power line through a 19-mile stretch of the Cleveland National Forest, clearing the final hurdle the utility needed for construction to begin on a locally controversial project known as the Sunrise Powerlink. “The Forest Service’s decision to authorize the … Continue reading “San Diego Power Line Approval Opens Path to Renewable Energy Projects—But Opponents Vow to Keep Fighting”
Femta Pharmaceuticals Snags $2.2M for Potent Antibody Drugs
San Diego-based Femta Pharmaceuticals has pocketed some more venture capital to make targeted antibody drugs that pack more punch. The company has raised $2.2 million in equity and options financing out of a deal that could be worth $2.47 million, according to a regulatory filing. Latterell Venture Partners and Biotech Investment Group, a couple of … Continue reading “Femta Pharmaceuticals Snags $2.2M for Potent Antibody Drugs”
Metamark Genetics Raises $22M to Find Genetic Signs of Tumor Progression
Metamark Genetics has new funding to find which tumors are deadly and poised to spread out of control. The startup, which is commercializing technology discovered at Harvard Medical School, said today it has closed a $22 million Series B round of financing. Its lead investor in the round has agreed to chip in an additional … Continue reading “Metamark Genetics Raises $22M to Find Genetic Signs of Tumor Progression”
MSpot Challenges Netflix with New Movie-Streaming App for iPad
Up to now, there have been two main ways to watch full-length movies on your Apple iPad: buy or rent them from Apple itself through the iTunes store, or, if you have a subscription to Netflix’s DVD rental service, choose from the subset of movies available for instant viewing using the Netflix iPad app. Now … Continue reading “MSpot Challenges Netflix with New Movie-Streaming App for iPad”
General Electric, Venture Firms Unveil $200M Investment and Prize Program to Promote Smart Grid Technologies
At a glitz-filled press event in San Francisco’s financial district today, General Electric announced an “innovation challenge” designed to promote smarter, more efficient electric grid technologies. It pledged to invest $200 million in proposals from entrants in three areas—renewable energy, smart grid technologies, and “eco homes/eco buildings”—and said it would collaborate on the program with … Continue reading “General Electric, Venture Firms Unveil $200M Investment and Prize Program to Promote Smart Grid Technologies”
Voice Chat Firm Vivox Lands $2M from Peacock Equity
Vivox, the Natick, MA-based voice software startup, said today it has received a $2 million equity investment from Peacock Equity, a fund that is run jointly by GE Capital’s Media, Communications & Entertainment business and NBC Universal. The company says the money will be used to fuel its growth, expand into new markets, and enhance … Continue reading “Voice Chat Firm Vivox Lands $2M from Peacock Equity”
Zendesk Has a Twicket to Ride Twitter
Score another one for Twitter. Like Facebook and Google, the San Francisco-based microblogging service has ingrained itself into so many corners of the Internet that other companies are altering their strategies, and their vocabularies, to accommodate it. The latest example: Zendesk, the provider of Web-based customer support software, today introduced a new feature allowing companies … Continue reading “Zendesk Has a Twicket to Ride Twitter”
Michigan’s Ambiq Micro Gets Ready to Scatter Lots of Tiny, Low-Power Products…Everywhere
Scott Hanson is only 27 years old, but he has spent the past six of those years obsessively working on one project—developing low-power circuit technology that can stay on for years, even decades. That was his project when he started working on his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 2004. Today, all that work … Continue reading “Michigan’s Ambiq Micro Gets Ready to Scatter Lots of Tiny, Low-Power Products…Everywhere”
Microsoft Partners Up in Cloud-Computing Platform, Cobalt Gets Bought for $400M, Lockerz Reels in VC Funding, and Other Seattle-Area Deals News
There have been quite a few exciting deals for Seattle-area technology companies lately (maybe a sign that everybody in town is back from their summer vacations?). In the past week we’ve seen a digital marketing company for the auto industry get snatched up in a $400 million acquisition, several local startups bring in new funding, … Continue reading “Microsoft Partners Up in Cloud-Computing Platform, Cobalt Gets Bought for $400M, Lockerz Reels in VC Funding, and Other Seattle-Area Deals News”
Aprigo, Incubated by Cedar Fund, Leads Charge in Data Security and Storage for Google Docs
With more companies putting more of their data and services in the Internet cloud, someone has to help them manage all those bits in an efficient and controllable way. Now a Waltham, MA, startup called Aprigo is trying to position itself as the leader when it comes to important challenges in data security and storage. … Continue reading “Aprigo, Incubated by Cedar Fund, Leads Charge in Data Security and Storage for Google Docs”
How Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Turned Around the Ship it Got From Chiron
Matthew Stober had a dramatic story to tell when he came through San Diego to speak to pharma manufacturing executives at last month’s annual Vaccine Production Summit. As the global head of technical operations for Cambridge, MA-based Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Stober was closely involved in the corporate turnaround that enabled Novartis to ship more … Continue reading “How Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Turned Around the Ship it Got From Chiron”
A Newly Candid FDA on the Future Of Medical Device Regulation
We all know the Food and Drug Administration is one of the most important entities for those who develop drugs and medical devices, but for the public, and even many of the people in industry, it remains a notoriously mysterious organization. So I was very excited about the opportunity to have an in-depth phone conversation … Continue reading “A Newly Candid FDA on the Future Of Medical Device Regulation”
Ambrx CEO Steve Kaldor Departs
Ambrx, one of the richest venture-backed biotech startups in San Diego, is looking for a new CEO. Steve Kaldor stepped down from the company’s top job the last day of June and the company is beginning to search for a replacement, Xconomy has learned. Kaldor joined Ambrx in July 2007 after stints as the president … Continue reading “Ambrx CEO Steve Kaldor Departs”
Gates, Khosla Invest $23M in Detroit’s EcoMotors to Develop Efficient Engine
Bill Gates is betting $23 million that the internal combustion engine still has a few good years left in it. The Microsoft chairman, along with Menlo Park, CA-based Khosla Ventures, has invested in Troy, MI-based EcoMotors International. What they’re betting on is EcoMotors’ opposed-piston, opposed-cylinder (OPOC) technology for gas and diesel engines. EcoMotors says its … Continue reading “Gates, Khosla Invest $23M in Detroit’s EcoMotors to Develop Efficient Engine”
Where Do You Check In? The Northwest’s Location-Based Search and Social Networking Mini Cluster
The rising popularity of New York, NY-based Foursquare, which launched in March of 2009 and has quickly become the most popular location-based social networking mobile application in the world, has caused an explosion of development on geolocation applications worldwide. Some of the most well known here in the states include Gowalla, BrightKite, Loopt and Seattle-based … Continue reading “Where Do You Check In? The Northwest’s Location-Based Search and Social Networking Mini Cluster”
ESRI Releases Apple Map App, Reveals “19.20.21 Project” as Annual Conference Begins
At the U.S. Census Bureau, where the World POPClock is ticking, the total population of the world (as of July 10) is estimated at 6.85 billion. But what does that mean, really? Today, our understanding of what that means comes from the sort of knowledge that only information technology delivers. Now just about anyone with … Continue reading “ESRI Releases Apple Map App, Reveals “19.20.21 Project” as Annual Conference Begins”
Will Jelli’s Crowdsourcing Kill the Radio Stars (and Save the Stations)? Stay Tuned
As the Web enters its third decade, it’s getting harder to think of industries that haven’t been transformed in major ways by its ubiquitous, disintermediating, democratizing force. But we wrote about one of them last week—banking—and there’s another that’s just as ubiquitous as the Web itself: broadcast radio. “If Alexander Graham Bell came from the … Continue reading “Will Jelli’s Crowdsourcing Kill the Radio Stars (and Save the Stations)? Stay Tuned”
Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data
This is the story of a little tech startup that recently has relocated to Boston. The company started in late 2008 by focusing on a consumer problem: helping people back up their e-mail and social media data from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and so on. Now it has adjusted its strategy to sell the technology to … Continue reading “Backupify Moves to Boston, Shifts Focus to Help Businesses Manage Google Apps Data”
Qualcomm’s Flo TV to Debut Datacasting; Nissan Leaf EV Rollout Begins in San Diego, TipCity Launches “Flash Deal” Technology, & More San Diego BizTech News
Not all our biztech news last week was about debuts; We also have a denouement or two, and maybe even some news that’s somewhere between. So here’s our summary, from beginning to end: —San Diego-based Qualcomm’s Flo TV plans to “datacast” background information related to some sporting events later this month. Flo TV President Bill … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Flo TV to Debut Datacasting; Nissan Leaf EV Rollout Begins in San Diego, TipCity Launches “Flash Deal” Technology, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Accelerator, Taking a Break from Curing Cancer, Unwinds With Some Mini-Golf Hijinks
The people at Seattle-based Accelerator spend their days doing oh-so-serious stuff, like trying to redefine the state of the art in biotechnology. Yesterday it was time to goof off. I joined in the Accelerator mini-golf tournament at the Interbay Golf Center. It’s the fourth year of the outing for Accelerator, the venture-backed biotech startup incubator … Continue reading “Accelerator, Taking a Break from Curing Cancer, Unwinds With Some Mini-Golf Hijinks”
Gtrot, Looking to Create Social Travel Guides, Better Maps Friends’ Globetrotting Plans
While on his college spring break in Cancun in 2009, Zachary Smith ran into about a dozen other friends he didn’t know would be there. “The ability to coordinate that ahead of time would have really enriched my travel experience,” says Smith, who graduated from Harvard University last year. That experience provided the inspiration for … Continue reading “Gtrot, Looking to Create Social Travel Guides, Better Maps Friends’ Globetrotting Plans”
Maveron, VC Firm and Consumer Trendspotter, Sees Growth in Healthcare for People and Pets
Maveron, the venture firm co-founded by Starbucks mogul Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan, has carved out its niche in spotting consumer trends over the past dozen years. One of the big opportunities that Maveron sees emerging now is the transformation in how healthcare is delivered and paid for. Not just for people, but for pets, … Continue reading “Maveron, VC Firm and Consumer Trendspotter, Sees Growth in Healthcare for People and Pets”
Accuri Cytometers Raises $6M for Smaller, Cheaper Cell Analysis Instruments
[Updated: 11:40 am] Accuri Cytometers, the Ann Arbor, MI-based company with a vision of making high-powered cell analysis machines cheaper and more accessible to biology labs, has raised $6 million in new venture capital. The financing was disclosed Friday in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. [Updated with list of investors] Fidelity Biosciences, … Continue reading “Accuri Cytometers Raises $6M for Smaller, Cheaper Cell Analysis Instruments”
After the Meltdown: Synta Pharma CEO Trumpets New Top Cancer Drug
Synta Pharmaceuticals has been climbing back from one of the Boston area’s highest-profile clinical trial failures of 2009. And a big part of the Lexington, MA-based company’s recovery has been to learn from the failure and advance other drug candidates in its pipeline. After Synta (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SNTA]]) halted its pivotal trial of the drug elesclomol for … Continue reading “After the Meltdown: Synta Pharma CEO Trumpets New Top Cancer Drug”
ADP to Acquire The Cobalt Group for $400M
The Cobalt Group, a Seattle-based automotive digital marketing company, said today it has agreed to be acquired by Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADP]]) for approximately $400 million in cash. The deal is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close in the next four to six weeks, according to ADP. Roseland, NJ-based ADP said … Continue reading “ADP to Acquire The Cobalt Group for $400M”
Concur’s Raj Singh on the Emerging Mobile Scene and Where He Sees the Company Going in the Next Five Years (Part 2)
For Raj Singh, the co-founder, president, and chief operating officer of Redmond, WA-based Concur, a travel and expense reporting software developer, the recipe for success has involved jumping on trends as they are in the making. In 2002 and 2003, this meant getting on board the software-as-a-service-industry. Today it means staying relevant by embracing another … Continue reading “Concur’s Raj Singh on the Emerging Mobile Scene and Where He Sees the Company Going in the Next Five Years (Part 2)”
Sex, Power, and Money: Dave McClure Tells Web Startups to Tap Into Consumers’ ‘Reptilian Psyche’
Dave McClure is a dynamic guy. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak to a small audience of tech startup founders in Seattle earlier this week. His impassioned message to entrepreneurs was, first of all, to take risks and be ambitious, and second, to build something that people really, really care about. That sounds … Continue reading “Sex, Power, and Money: Dave McClure Tells Web Startups to Tap Into Consumers’ ‘Reptilian Psyche’”