With fall officially here, it’s time to ask some big questions about the coming year—and decade. What will be the most transformative technology areas for society and business? What should students and innovators be doing to prepare for five to 10 years from now? Who are the leaders and companies that will shape this future? … Continue reading “Human Augmentation, Throwable Robots & More at X·CON, Nov. 4-6”
Category: National
Gilead to Make Generic Hepatitis C Drugs and Cut Prices Up to 75%
Many large drug companies go to extraordinary lengths to fend off generic competition and extend the life of their patents, but Gilead today announced a highly unusual move in the opposite direction. In January 2019, the company will start selling “authorized” generic versions of two of its three hepatitis C (HCV) drugs, Epclusa and Harvoni, … Continue reading “Gilead to Make Generic Hepatitis C Drugs and Cut Prices Up to 75%”
Another Precision Step for Roche as Ignyta Drug Heads to Regulators
There was more news this morning in the advancement of precision cancer drugs, which target a tumor’s genetic signature. Roche plans to file for approval of entrectinib, a drug the Swiss firm acquired when it bought San Diego, CA-based Ignyta for $1.7 billion last year. Roche’s Genentech unit provided updated data pooled from three early … Continue reading “Another Precision Step for Roche as Ignyta Drug Heads to Regulators”
Amarin Soars as Fish Oil Pill Cuts Risk of Strokes in Long-Awaited Study
Can fish oil help prevent, or reduce the risk of heart disease? Several studies have failed to show that it can. But Amarin this morning is releasing data from a massive study showing that its prescription-grade fish oil pill, Vascepa, has done that—at least for some patients. Amarin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMRN]]), of Bedminster, NJ, and Dublin, … Continue reading “Amarin Soars as Fish Oil Pill Cuts Risk of Strokes in Long-Awaited Study”
How Groups Are Closing the Security Skills Gap, Boosting Diversity
Today, there is a massive shortage of cybersecurity talent across the globe. According to a 2015 study from Frost & Sullivan and the (ISC)² Foundation, there could be more than 1.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions globally by 2020. As cybersecurity attacks and data breaches, unfortunately, become a matter of not if but when, security talent … Continue reading “How Groups Are Closing the Security Skills Gap, Boosting Diversity”
Adobe-Marketo Deal Could Spur Marketing Tech Tie-Ups, New Strategies
Marketo almost didn’t get off the ground. It was 2006, and Jon Miller and his Marketo co-founders were struggling to raise money from investors for their marketing technology startup. Their pitch was to use software to help businesses automate much of the process of tracking and managing the online sales leads they were getting from … Continue reading “Adobe-Marketo Deal Could Spur Marketing Tech Tie-Ups, New Strategies”
Equillium Plans IPO to Fund Clinical Trials for Transplant Drug
Equillium, a biotech startup developing treatments for immune system disorders—including an immune response that affects some transplant recipients—is preparing for an IPO to finance tests of its lead drug. The company set a preliminary IPO target of $86 million, according to documents filed this week with securities regulators, and has applied to be listed on … Continue reading “Equillium Plans IPO to Fund Clinical Trials for Transplant Drug”
Packers, Microsoft Drop Accelerator Plans; TitleTownTech Still a Go
TitleTownTech, a soon-to-be-launched joint venture between the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and tech giant Microsoft, has hit the brakes on a startup accelerator the two organizations had previously said they planned to run together. Craig Dickman, whom the Packers named managing director of TitleTownTech earlier this week, says the goal of the joint venture—spurring digital-age … Continue reading “Packers, Microsoft Drop Accelerator Plans; TitleTownTech Still a Go”
Sigstr Snags $4M Funding Round as Marketing Tech Sector Gets Hotter
Sigstr, the Indianapolis-based marketing tech startup, announced this week that it has raised $4 million in new venture funding. The round was led by Edison Partners, with participation from past investors, including Hyde Park Venture Partners, HubSpot Ventures, High Alpha Capital, Battery Ventures, and 4G Ventures. Bryan Wade, Sigstr’s CEO, says the company plans to … Continue reading “Sigstr Snags $4M Funding Round as Marketing Tech Sector Gets Hotter”
Y-mAbs Upsizes IPO, Gets $96M to Test Two Pediatric Cancer Drugs
Cancer drug developer Y-mAbs Therapeutics is the latest biotech company to go public, raising $96 million in its IPO. New York-based Y-mAbs priced its offering of 6 million shares at $16 each, which was the high end of its projected range. The company had planned to sell 5.3 million shares priced at $14 to $16 … Continue reading “Y-mAbs Upsizes IPO, Gets $96M to Test Two Pediatric Cancer Drugs”
In Adobe’s $4.75B Acquisition of Marketo, a Signal for Marketing Tech
Tech giant Adobe announced Thursday it is buying marketing-software firm Marketo for $4.75 billion. The move may have a ripple effect on the realm of enterprise sales and marketing. Marketo, based in San Mateo, CA, was founded in 2006 and built its business on marketing automation—using software to track and manage potential customers’ interactions with … Continue reading “In Adobe’s $4.75B Acquisition of Marketo, a Signal for Marketing Tech”
Europe Advisory Panel Rejects Sarepta’s Duchenne Drug Once Again
Sarepta Therapeutics won one of the most controversial drug approvals in recent memory, when the FDA in September 2016 approved the Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug eteplirsen (Exondys 51) off a slim set of data. The Cambridge, MA, company isn’t having the same luck in Europe. Sarepta (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) said today that the Committee for Medicinal … Continue reading “Europe Advisory Panel Rejects Sarepta’s Duchenne Drug Once Again”
Microbiome Startup uBiome Expands into Drug Research with $83M
Biotech company uBiome started as a “citizen science” project that collected and studied microbiome samples in order to learn how the trillions of bacteria living in and on people’s bodies affect human health. Six years and 250,000 samples later, uBiome is now moving beyond simply helping people understand their microbiomes. The San Francisco company has … Continue reading “Microbiome Startup uBiome Expands into Drug Research with $83M”
San Antonio Makes Pact to Commercialize Military, Academic Research
San Antonio — Life science groups, city officials, and research institutes in San Antonio are organizing an effort to commercialize more scientific developments coming out of the city’s military organizations. The goal of the project is to develop an alliance between researchers at San Antonio’s numerous military medical units, the two University of Texas institutions in … Continue reading “San Antonio Makes Pact to Commercialize Military, Academic Research”
Bio Roundup: Little Rhody, More for Migraine, Opioid Bills & More
The U.S. Senate had a rare moment of agreement, overwhelmingly passing a package of opioid-related bills. Up the East Coast, life-science players in Rhode Island are working to bring different local factions together and boost the state’s economy. Across the country, a similar effort is underway in Los Angeles. There were also plenty of headlines … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Little Rhody, More for Migraine, Opioid Bills & More”
Convoy Reloads With $185M For Its Freight Shipment Marketplace
Convoy, an online marketplace that connects shippers with freight truck fleets and independent drivers, announced today it raised $185 million in a Series C fundraising round led by CapitalG, the growth equity investment fund of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. With its new funding, Seattle-based Convoy plans to continue expanding its network of customers and truckers … Continue reading “Convoy Reloads With $185M For Its Freight Shipment Marketplace”
MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge to Honor Winners at Detroit Event
Technology has been transforming the way we work for decades, and MIT believes figuring out how to leverage it to rethink jobs and community prosperity is a grand technological challenge of our time. To respond to what the university calls an “economic and moral imperative,” it created the Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC), which lands in … Continue reading “MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge to Honor Winners at Detroit Event”
Elanco IPO Raises $1.5B as the Animal Health Biz Spins Off from Lilly
Elanco is now a standalone company after raising $1.5 billion in its stock market debut. Greenfield, IN-based Elanco (NYSE: [[ticker:ELAN]]) sold 62.9 million shares at $24 apiece, which topped the $20 to $23 range it had initially targeted. Investors showed their appetite for the animal health company, driving its stock price up more than 39 … Continue reading “Elanco IPO Raises $1.5B as the Animal Health Biz Spins Off from Lilly”
Rapid7 Launches Security Automation Tools to Take On IBM, FireEye
[Updated 9/20/18, 1:04 pm. See below.] Cybersecurity software firm Rapid7 is rolling out new and updated products geared toward helping customers automate more of their security processes and tie together the patchwork of defense mechanisms many of them have purchased from various vendors. The announcement fits into two big trends in security of the past … Continue reading “Rapid7 Launches Security Automation Tools to Take On IBM, FireEye”
Packers, Cool Products, Cellectar & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Catch up on news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —The NFL’s Green Bay Packers said Craig Dickman has been named managing director of TitleTownTech, a joint venture between the team and Microsoft that’s aimed at spurring digital-age economic activity in northeastern Wisconsin. Dickman is the founder and former CEO of Breakthrough Fuel, … Continue reading “Packers, Cool Products, Cellectar & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
Mi Padrino Builds Event-Planning Hub for Latino Communities in U.S.
Kim Gamez, CEO and co-founder of the Ann Arbor, MI-based startup Mi Padrino, is a self-described “all-American Gringa” who grew up in farm country. She fell in love with Hispanic culture as she got to know her husband Hugo, a native of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. One of her favorite traditions was that of the … Continue reading “Mi Padrino Builds Event-Planning Hub for Latino Communities in U.S.”
Amicus Shells Out $100M For Celenex And Dives Into Gene Therapy
Fresh off finally winning an FDA nod for its first product, Amicus Therapeutics is getting in on the gene therapy renaissance. This morning, Cranbury, NJ-based Amicus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FOLD]]) agreed to pay $100 million up front to buy a privately held company, Celenex, spun out of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. The acquisition gives Amicus a … Continue reading “Amicus Shells Out $100M For Celenex And Dives Into Gene Therapy”
3 Life Science Startups Join San Diego’s Ad Astra Accelerator
Three San Diego life science startups have been selected to go through the Ad Astra Ventures accelerator program, a relatively new addition to the San Diego scene. Ad Astra, which means “to the stars” in Latin, was founded this year by three local entrepreneurs and investors interested in bolstering the efforts of women-led companies. Earlier … Continue reading “3 Life Science Startups Join San Diego’s Ad Astra Accelerator”
Real Estate Startup Bungalo Launches with $225M, Could Land $1B More
Austin—An Austin real estate investment company has launched a buyer-focused, online residential home search business called Bungalo Technologies. Amherst, a business that uses data and analytics to invest billions of dollars into public securities and residential and commercial real estate, is launching Bungalo with $225 million in funding upfront, and says it will invest another … Continue reading “Real Estate Startup Bungalo Launches with $225M, Could Land $1B More”
Jamf Buys Austin, TX-Based Enterprise Software Firm Orchard & Grove
Jamf, an enterprise IT company based in Minneapolis but with roots and employees in Eau Claire, WI, said Wednesday that it has acquired Orchard & Grove, an Austin, TX-based software developer. Jamf helps businesses set up and manage Apple (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AAPL]]) computers and mobile devices that employees use to do their jobs. Orchard & Grove … Continue reading “Jamf Buys Austin, TX-Based Enterprise Software Firm Orchard & Grove”
May Mobility Rolling Out Self-Driving Shuttles in Ohio’s Capital
May Mobility, the Detroit-based startup putting self-driving shuttles on urban streets, today announced it will soon begin operations in a new city: Columbus, OH. May has operated autonomous shuttles in downtown Detroit since June, providing transportation to employees of Bedrock, a private company. By contrast, May’s Ohio shuttles will be open to the public, says … Continue reading “May Mobility Rolling Out Self-Driving Shuttles in Ohio’s Capital”
In Boston’s Shadow, Rhode Island Fights for Life Science Jobs, Respect
[Updated 9/19/18, 3:40 p.m. See below.] Tiny Rhode Island and its capital city Providence have always punched above their weight, for better or for worse. Better: Little Rhody’s founder Roger Williams, fleeing religious persecution in 17th-century puritanical Massachusetts, was one of America’s first abolitionists and created the concept of the separation of church and state. … Continue reading “In Boston’s Shadow, Rhode Island Fights for Life Science Jobs, Respect”
Boston Tech Watch: Akili, Smartsheet, Tamr, Takeoff, Nanoramic & More
[Updated 9/19/18, 2:08 pm. See below.] It’s time to catch up on some recent Boston-area tech happenings: —Takeoff Technologies, a Waltham, MA-based developer of robotic systems for grocery order fulfillment, recently raised $24 million from investors, the company said in an e-mail to Xconomy. The Series B funding round was led by Forrestal Capital and brings … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Akili, Smartsheet, Tamr, Takeoff, Nanoramic & More”
NIH Using Vaccines from Madison Startup FluGen in New Clinical Trial
Researchers are testing a flu vaccine developed by FluGen, a Madison, WI-based startup, to determine whether it can protect recipients against strains of the virus that vary from the predominant flu strain predicted by health experts each year. Many people get a flu shot this time of year in hopes that it will help them … Continue reading “NIH Using Vaccines from Madison Startup FluGen in New Clinical Trial”
Biocom Opens New Bay Area Office, Forms Advisory Group
San Diego’s Biocom industry group announced Monday the latest development in its steady northward expansion. Biocom, which promotes and lobbies on behalf of life science companies, said it has opened a new office in the San Francisco Bay Area and formed an advisory board of local executives. The association, which represents more than 1,000 companies … Continue reading “Biocom Opens New Bay Area Office, Forms Advisory Group”
UiPath Snags $225M To Expand Robotic Workforce for Businesses
Top venture capital firms continue to pour money into software robotics companies that promise to automate monotonous business operations, like processing mortgage applications, that are often performed by humans. New York-based UiPath is the latest such company to score a haul, announcing Tuesday it raised $225 million in a Series C funding round co-led by … Continue reading “UiPath Snags $225M To Expand Robotic Workforce for Businesses”
San Antonio’s Filestack Buys SF-based Content Marketing Service Tint
San Antonio—Software-as-a-service business Filestack is acquiring one of its customers, Tint, which makes software that aggregates social media posts and other online content for large corporations and organizations to use in marketing. Tint is based in San Francisco, and has an application programming interface (API) that lets a brand or business display content, which has … Continue reading “San Antonio’s Filestack Buys SF-based Content Marketing Service Tint”
15 San Diego Companies Chosen for Defense Innovation Program
A federally funded pilot program will provide 15 local defense contractors with free consulting services and six monthly “boot camp” workshops as part of a regionwide effort to help such companies better prepare to navigate changes in federal defense funding. Technology developed in San Diego for defense purposes has helped to seed the region’s private … Continue reading “15 San Diego Companies Chosen for Defense Innovation Program”
NorthStar Names Merrick CEO, Appoints Hendricks as Board Chair
NorthStar Medical Technologies, which is seeking to become the first U.S. company in decades to domestically produce a widely used medical radioisotope, said it has appointed Stephen Merrick as CEO. Merrick joined Beloit, WI-based NorthStar in 2016 as the company’s chief operating officer and was later given the title of president, which he’ll continue to … Continue reading “NorthStar Names Merrick CEO, Appoints Hendricks as Board Chair”
Viking Liver Drug Shows Promise for NASH, Shares Soar on Study Data
[Updated, 2:45 pm ET, see below] There is another update today in the competitive race to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an increasingly common liver disease with no FDA-approved therapies. Viking Therapeutics released preliminary results from a Phase 2 study suggesting its experimental drug might impact some of the disease’s many dangerous effects on the liver. … Continue reading “Viking Liver Drug Shows Promise for NASH, Shares Soar on Study Data”
Indigo Adds $250M as It Expands Reach Into Agricultural Supply Chain
Indigo Ag started as a company focused on microbial agriculture—finding microorganisms to develop into seed coatings intended to boost crop yields. While microbiology remains a focus, CEO David Perry says the startup is positioning itself to take on additional aspects of the agriculture business. Boston-based Indigo is revealing one of the ways it aims to … Continue reading “Indigo Adds $250M as It Expands Reach Into Agricultural Supply Chain”
Google Leads Mabl’s $20M Series B as Software Testing Deals Heat Up
Dan Belcher and Izzy Azeri sold their last startup, Stackdriver, to Google. Now, Google’s venture capital arm has backed the entrepreneurial duo’s latest company, Mabl. Boston-based Mabl said Tuesday it has pulled in $20 million in a Series B funding round led by GV (formerly Google Ventures). CRV and Amplify Partners also contributed to the … Continue reading “Google Leads Mabl’s $20M Series B as Software Testing Deals Heat Up”
Alamo Angels Aims to Expand Investing Footprint as Dizon Takes Helm
San Antonio—[Corrected 9/19/18, 8:15 a.m. See below.] Cat Dizon recently met with the founders of a San Antonio startup focused on cancer research, a complicated area of healthcare that is more often than not a highly risky investment proposition. Dizon is experienced in the startup world: She is a partner at investment firm Active Capital … Continue reading “Alamo Angels Aims to Expand Investing Footprint as Dizon Takes Helm”
Emplify Bags $7.5M to Give Employers Better Staff Engagement Data
Emplify, the Fishers, IN-based startup focused on software to improve employee engagement, today announced that it has raised a $7.5 million Series A funding round. Since it was spun out of Bluebridge in 2016, co-founder and CEO Santiago Jaramillo says Emplify has experienced swift growth—customers include Harley-Davidson and Terminus—and now has 65 employees. “We’re bigger … Continue reading “Emplify Bags $7.5M to Give Employers Better Staff Engagement Data”
German Conglomerate Buys OnCourse Learning in Reported $500M Deal
Bertelsmann, a large media and publishing conglomerate headquartered in Germany, said Monday that it has acquired OnCourse Learning, a Brookfield, WI-based provider of online professional training programs. Bertelsmann said Monday in a news release that the amount it’s acquiring OnCouse for is in the “mid-nine-digit euro range,” meaning roughly halfway between €100 million and €1 … Continue reading “German Conglomerate Buys OnCourse Learning in Reported $500M Deal”
TX Roundup: TMC’s BioBridge to the UK, New Execs at Fannin & TechFW
Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news in Texas. —The Texas Medical Center has announced an expansion of its BioBridge program to the United Kingdom. BioBridge is designed to help TMC and UK-based companies collaborate on a number of medical issues, including advancement of genomics and artificial intelligence technologies for cancer research. The medical center … Continue reading “TX Roundup: TMC’s BioBridge to the UK, New Execs at Fannin & TechFW”
CRISPR, ViaCyte Team Up to Develop Stem Cell-Based Diabetes Therapy
ViaCyte’s attempts to develop a stem cell therapy for diabetes have been stymied by the immune system, which recognizes the implanted cells as foreign. Meanwhile, CRISPR Therapeutics has found success in gene-editing cells so that the cells avoid such immune responses. Now the two companies are combining their respective technologies to develop a stem cell-based … Continue reading “CRISPR, ViaCyte Team Up to Develop Stem Cell-Based Diabetes Therapy”
Autism Study Supports Stemina Diagnostic, Test to Ship by Year-End
Most children aren’t diagnosed with autism until they’re at least 4 years old, and that’s something many experts hope can change. As with many conditions, treating autism earlier in life is believed to boost a child’s cognitive and social skills in most cases. Yet there’s currently no medical test to diagnose autism spectrum disorder, often called ASD, … Continue reading “Autism Study Supports Stemina Diagnostic, Test to Ship by Year-End”
Belinsky Gifts $500K to WSU to Create Lab for Student Entrepreneurs
In August, Wayne State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Mike Ilitch School of Business, a $40 million, state-of-the-art facility in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. The business school announced another piece of good news this summer when alumnus Russ Belinsky donated $500,000 to establish the Belinsky Entrepreneurial Learning Library, which aims to kick-start student … Continue reading “Belinsky Gifts $500K to WSU to Create Lab for Student Entrepreneurs”
FDA Clears Mersana to Restart Cancer Drug Trial With New Safeguards
The FDA has cleared Mersana Therapeutics to resume enrolling patients in a study of an experimental cancer drug now that the Cambridge, MA, company is taking new precautions to protect patients from potential harm. The company says the FDA lifted a “partial clinical hold” on the Mersana (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRSN]]) drug XMT-1522, a move that had … Continue reading “FDA Clears Mersana to Restart Cancer Drug Trial With New Safeguards”
Zapata Teaming With IBM, Google to Push Quantum Tech Into Next Phase
Christopher Savoie says he was skeptical when former Harvard researcher Alán Aspuru-Guzik pitched Savoie last year on joining the quantum computing software venture he was planning to form. Quantum computing technology is at least a decade away from commercial feasibility, responded Savoie, a tech developer and attorney who previously founded startups in machine learning, pharmaceuticals, … Continue reading “Zapata Teaming With IBM, Google to Push Quantum Tech Into Next Phase”
Zapata Computing CEO on A.I., Automation & Breakthroughs in Quantum
Quantum computing is one of the most intriguing—and complex—areas of technology right now. For years, it seemed like the field wouldn’t deliver practical applications any time soon. But that thinking has changed, and efforts at big companies, startups, and university research labs seem to be picking up steam—with use cases in finance, artificial intelligence, and … Continue reading “Zapata Computing CEO on A.I., Automation & Breakthroughs in Quantum”
Teva Wins FDA Nod for Migraine Drug, Sets Price in Line with Amgen’s
A Teva Pharmaceutical migraine-prevention drug has won FDA approval, the second therapy in this new drug class to receive the regulatory nod this year. The Friday approval for the Teva (NYSE: [[ticker:TEVA]]) drug fremanezumab (Ajovy) came a little earlier than expected; the target date for the FDA decision was Sept. 16. The drug is part … Continue reading “Teva Wins FDA Nod for Migraine Drug, Sets Price in Line with Amgen’s”
Vision Assistance Startup Aira Inking Deals With UCSD, Retail Stores
Students and shoppers will soon be using technology developed by Aira, a San Diego startup that links vision-impaired people with “visual interpreters” via smartphone and smart glasses, to help them navigate their environments. In recent weeks Aira announced that its accessibility service would be available at no cost to those who need it while at … Continue reading “Vision Assistance Startup Aira Inking Deals With UCSD, Retail Stores”
Fidelity CEO Hints at Crypto Products as Sector Aims for Mainstream
Fidelity Investments is cooking up more blockchain and cryptocurrency-related products and services, with a goal of rolling some of them out in the next few months, CEO Abigail Johnson said Friday morning. Johnson made the comments during an event held at the financial services giant’s downtown Boston headquarters—one of a series of events that were … Continue reading “Fidelity CEO Hints at Crypto Products as Sector Aims for Mainstream”