Category: National

Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb” From Roche, ImmunoGen Shows Tumor Shrinkage in Big Test

The “smart bomb” drug for breast cancer from Roche and Waltham, MA-based ImmunoGen looks to have passed an important test. Full data aren’t being released yet, but ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) today disclosed an interesting tidbit in a regulatory filing on its new version of trastuzumab (marketed as Herceptin) that combines an antibody with a toxin … Continue reading “Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb” From Roche, ImmunoGen Shows Tumor Shrinkage in Big Test”

Change Comes to the Arctic: A Photographic Journey

The Copenhagen climate conference is in full swing, and if you wonder why it matters, we’ve got evidence of a changing world to share with you. On the following pages is a series of arresting photographs and captions contributed by Alun Anderson, an Xconomy board member and former editor-in-chief and publishing director at New Scientist. … Continue reading “Change Comes to the Arctic: A Photographic Journey”

Nobel Laureate from Caltech, RNAi Leader To Headline Xconomy San Diego Event on Monday

Which San Diego biotech companies have the potential to rewrite the history of medicine? Who are the brightest young scientific entrepreneurs at San Diego’s research centers? What does this place have going for it that other biotech hubs around the world don’t? Yes, you can say I’m a little excited. These are some of the … Continue reading “Nobel Laureate from Caltech, RNAi Leader To Headline Xconomy San Diego Event on Monday”

Biogen Idec’s Dream: Antibodies That Kill Two Birds With One Stone

Some of the most successful biotech drugs ever created are designed to hit just one specific target on diseased cells, while sparing all sorts of markers found on healthy cells. But if Biogen Idec scientist Tony Manning and his colleagues are right, antibodies that specifically hit two targets could someday be better than one. Cambridge, … Continue reading “Biogen Idec’s Dream: Antibodies That Kill Two Birds With One Stone”

A Graceful Exit for Gloucester, Pink Slips at Sermo, A Half a Billion Bucks for Vertex, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

New England’s life sciences firms and their investors seemed to be exchanging some early holiday gifts this week. —Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) completed the latest in a string of large financing and licensing deals. In this one, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of drugs for hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis sold a total of $500.5 million worth … Continue reading “A Graceful Exit for Gloucester, Pink Slips at Sermo, A Half a Billion Bucks for Vertex, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Blackbox Republic, No Longer Just Sex Positive, Opens Alternative Social Site

I wish I could say this is just about sex, but it isn’t. Nevertheless, a lot has changed since we last heard from Blackbox Republic, the Portland, OR-based niche social network that is trying to be a more private and intimate alternative to Facebook and Match.com, for helping manage your personal life. The paid site … Continue reading “Blackbox Republic, No Longer Just Sex Positive, Opens Alternative Social Site”

Dendreon Seeks to Raise More Than $400 Million to Support Prostate Cancer Drug Launch

Dendreon is on the prowl for another big round of financing. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said today that it is seeking to sell 15 million new shares of stock to investors in an offering that’s being underwritten by JP Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank. The company didn’t release any terms of the financing, … Continue reading “Dendreon Seeks to Raise More Than $400 Million to Support Prostate Cancer Drug Launch”

Sermo Cutting 30 Workers, Source Says

Sermo, the company that created the country’s largest online community of doctors, informed about 30 workers this morning that they will be laid off, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source says that the company employed 60 to 80 people prior to the cutbacks. We reported that layoffs were coming in our … Continue reading “Sermo Cutting 30 Workers, Source Says”

With Extra Dose of Cash, Zogenix Raises VC Round to $71M for Launch of Migraine Treatment

San Diego-based Zogenix got a $20 million vote of confidence for the anticipated launch next month of its needle-free, drug-and-device delivery system for migraine and cluster headaches. Zogenix, which announced in September that it had closed on a $51 million Series B round of venture funding, says it extended the round to accommodate an additional … Continue reading “With Extra Dose of Cash, Zogenix Raises VC Round to $71M for Launch of Migraine Treatment”

Epizyme Tacks On Extra $8M Financing For Drugs that Turn Genes On or Off

Epizyme has found a new benefactor. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, which develops drugs that dial genes on or off using “epigenetic” techniques, has raised another $8 million in its Series B venture financing from New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Tacking on that extra cash means Epizyme has now raised a total of $40 million in … Continue reading “Epizyme Tacks On Extra $8M Financing For Drugs that Turn Genes On or Off”

Meetcha: A New Dating Site for the 40-Plus Set, from Monster/Eons Founder Jeff Taylor

[Updated 12/8/09 2:30 p.m. with comments from Taylor, see below] Jeff Taylor, the founder of Monster Worldwide and the founder/CEO of the boomer-focused online community Eons, is up to something new. Xconomy has learned that Taylor is about to launch a dating site, Meetcha.com, designed for people 40 and over. In an e-mail obtained by … Continue reading “Meetcha: A New Dating Site for the 40-Plus Set, from Monster/Eons Founder Jeff Taylor”

Hydro-Photon Finds $2M for Light-Based Water Purification Biz

Hydro-Photon, the Maine-based maker of handheld devices that use ultraviolet light to purify water, has raised just shy of $2 million in equity, according to an SEC filing. This will put more capital behind the firm’s product, called the “SteriPEN,” which looks like the hunting knife version of a lightsaber. But this handheld device is … Continue reading “Hydro-Photon Finds $2M for Light-Based Water Purification Biz”

San Diego’s ParAccel, Which Sprang From Netezza, Prepares for Next Database War

I discerned a couple of recurring themes when I sat down with ParAccel CEO David Ehrlich to discuss the venture-backed startup that specializes in database management systems technology. One is that ParAccel’s industry seems prone to what Ehrlich calls “database wars,” which might be best exemplified by the intense competition that broke out in the … Continue reading “San Diego’s ParAccel, Which Sprang From Netezza, Prepares for Next Database War”

Calistoga Builds More Momentum for Cancer Drug, Eyes Pivotal Trial Next Year

Seattle-based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals has gathered more evidence that it may have a real drug for blood cancers, which is shrinking tumors in patients without killing too many other healthy cells in the blood. The drug, CAL-101, didn’t work for everybody, but it did cause tumors to shrink at least by half for 60 percent of … Continue reading “Calistoga Builds More Momentum for Cancer Drug, Eyes Pivotal Trial Next Year”

Mersana Therapeutics Advancing Anti-Tumor Treatment with Novel Drug-Delivery Technology

Mersana Therapeutics is picking up momentum, thanks to the positive data its first anti-cancer drug is generating in a Phase I clinical trial. The study is providing evidence that the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s drug delivery technology works in humans. The startup’s “Fleximer” technology—which uses sugar-derived polymers to deliver treatments into cells—has the potential to rescue … Continue reading “Mersana Therapeutics Advancing Anti-Tumor Treatment with Novel Drug-Delivery Technology”

Arzeda Gets Federal Grant to Make Renewable Enzyme for Tires, Sidesteps VC Funding Model

Arzeda is finding out what it wants to be when it grows up. The Seattle-based startup, which designs custom-made enzymes on computers, has pocketed a grant from the National Science Foundation to see if it can create an enzyme that can turn plant biomass into one of the key ingredients in synthetic rubber tires. The … Continue reading “Arzeda Gets Federal Grant to Make Renewable Enzyme for Tires, Sidesteps VC Funding Model”

ZymoGenetics Sells Inflammatory Drug to Old Parent, Novo Nordisk, for $24M Upfront

Seattle-based ZymoGenetics has struck a deal with its former parent from Denmark, Novo Nordisk, that will give Novo a jumpstart on its quest to become a bigger player in autoimmune diseases. Novo said it agreed to pay $24 million in upfront cash, and milestone payments worth as much as $157.5 million over time to ZymoGenetics … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Sells Inflammatory Drug to Old Parent, Novo Nordisk, for $24M Upfront”

The Arrogant Venture Capitalist: A View from the Trenches

The VC-entrepreneur relationship debate has always been heated and has been intensifying of late. Beyond “sour grapes” and “frustration bred by failure,” I wanted to dig deeper, so I used my blog to ping the community and share the feedback. Over sixty entrepreneurs responded and provided the foundation for this writeup. Poor First Impressions Richard … Continue reading “The Arrogant Venture Capitalist: A View from the Trenches”

Massachusetts IT Collaborative’s Report Is Data-Rich, Policy-Poor: A News Analysis

Here in Massachusetts, we’re very good at collecting data. This is the state that gave birth to the spreadsheet, after all. But when it comes to launching coordinated action to solve the problems confronting one of the state’s biggest industries, we’re a bit slower. Back in February, the administration of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick pulled … Continue reading “Massachusetts IT Collaborative’s Report Is Data-Rich, Policy-Poor: A News Analysis”

Seattle Genetics, Genentech Lymphoma Drug Passes Early Test with “Naked” Antibody

Seattle Genetics gets attention for its “empowered” antibody that targets tumor cells with a potent toxin, but today it presented some impressive data from a more typical “naked” antibody that doesn’t carry an extra lethal toxin. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today that half of the 30 patients with diffuse large B-cell … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics, Genentech Lymphoma Drug Passes Early Test with “Naked” Antibody”

Tools Company Nexus Biosystems Acquires Aurora Biotechnologies

Nexus Biosystems, a life sciences tools company located 20 miles north of San Diego in Poway, says it’s acquiring another tools company in the area, Aurora Biotechnologies. The price wasn’t disclosed. Both privately held companies develop technologies for the storage and management of biological samples used to study genetic traits and human disease, among other … Continue reading “Tools Company Nexus Biosystems Acquires Aurora Biotechnologies”

Amazon Highlights: Jeff Bezos Interview, an E-Commerce Competitor, and Nook Reviews

With the holiday shopping season here, it’s a good time to recap how Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) is doing in the marketplace. No, not with a frothy piece about the company’s best sales quarter yet or its latest flashy Kindle update. In case you missed it, there have been a number of informative media stories in … Continue reading “Amazon Highlights: Jeff Bezos Interview, an E-Commerce Competitor, and Nook Reviews”

Sermo Changes Strategy to Gain More Pharma Business, CEO Declines to Discuss Layoff Talk

Sermo, provider of the nation’s largest online community of doctors, has had a tough year in getting financial services firms to pay for access to its physician network and has decided to shift its strategy more toward serving drug and medical devices manufacturers, CEO Daniel Palestrant tells Xconomy. The change comes amid talk of layoffs … Continue reading “Sermo Changes Strategy to Gain More Pharma Business, CEO Declines to Discuss Layoff Talk”

Fallbrook CEO Says Latest Funding Reflects Near-Term Cleantech Prospects

Fallbrook Technologies CEO Bill Klehm was in South Korea two weeks ago, when the San Diego cleantech startup disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had raised an additional $4 million from investors. I wanted to get more information about the deal, since it has only been a year since the developer of a new … Continue reading “Fallbrook CEO Says Latest Funding Reflects Near-Term Cleantech Prospects”

Somaxon Shares Tumble as Insomnia Drug Rejected by FDA

San Diego’s Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOMX]]) took one on the chin this morning. The company said the FDA, for the second time this year, has rejected its application to market a new insomnia medicine. Shares of the company lost about two-thirds of their value on the news. The second letter from the FDA says that … Continue reading “Somaxon Shares Tumble as Insomnia Drug Rejected by FDA”

Celgene Agrees to Acquire Gloucester Pharma for $340M Cash Upfront, $300M Later

Investors in Gloucester Pharmaceuticals have just made a bundle. The privately held biotech company in Cambridge, MA has agreed to be acquired by Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) for $340 million in cash, plus $300 million in future milestone payments. Celgene expects the deal to be completed before the end of March, and to see … Continue reading “Celgene Agrees to Acquire Gloucester Pharma for $340M Cash Upfront, $300M Later”

Sapphire Energy Gets $104.5M to Build Biofuels Refinery, Larry Smarr Says Sensors Vital to Energy Conservation, MP3.com’s Founder Says Online Strategy Has Changed, & More San Diego BizTech News

Cyber Monday’s online shopping trends provided much of the electronic grist for our Xconomy news mill last week. Get your news here while it’s hot. —The Department of Energy awarded San Diego’s Sapphire Energy a $50 million grant and the Department of Agriculture provided the company with $54.5 million in federal loan guarantees for construction … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy Gets $104.5M to Build Biofuels Refinery, Larry Smarr Says Sensors Vital to Energy Conservation, MP3.com’s Founder Says Online Strategy Has Changed, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Hollywood Sees Corruption in Pharma, and Suddenly Scientists are the Bad Guys

A recent article in the journal Science described a significant gene-therapy based advance in the treatment of two boys with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare and lethal genetic disease. This was wonderful news for those who have affected family members. This devastating affliction was the focal point of the beautifully crafted movie “Lorenzo’s Oil.” The film … Continue reading “Hollywood Sees Corruption in Pharma, and Suddenly Scientists are the Bad Guys”

Appature Raises $3.5M, Led by Ignition and Madrona, to Expand Healthcare Customer Base

Well, it’s about time we confirmed this deal. Seattle-based Appature is announcing today a Series A equity financing round, worth $3.5 million, co-led by Ignition Partners and Madrona Venture Group. It’s an all-Seattle investor group, as seed-stage fund Founder’s Co-op also participated in the financing. Appature, which has generated some buzz in recent months, makes … Continue reading “Appature Raises $3.5M, Led by Ignition and Madrona, to Expand Healthcare Customer Base”

Supercharged Herceptin Nears Pivot Point, as ImmunoGen, Roche Await Data on Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb”

ImmunoGen has been in business for 28 years without developing a single FDA approved drug. This week, after all those lean years, the Waltham, MA-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]) and its partner, Roche, are getting ready to show the world they have something big for patients with breast cancer. The company is striving to develop the … Continue reading “Supercharged Herceptin Nears Pivot Point, as ImmunoGen, Roche Await Data on Breast Cancer “Smart Bomb””

Boston-Power CEO Sees “Immense” Pressure to Curb Carbon Emissions at Copenhagen Summit

Quite a few clean energy companies around Boston have a stake in the outcome of the international climate change talks that start this week in Copenhagen, Denmark. If nations set more aggressive goals for greenhouse-gas emissions cuts, after all, they’ll have a greater need for technologies to reduce their carbon emissions. But only one local … Continue reading “Boston-Power CEO Sees “Immense” Pressure to Curb Carbon Emissions at Copenhagen Summit”

First Dogpatch Labs Exit: Google Buys Former Y Combinator Company AppJet

Back in May, when I profiled the original Dogpatch Labs, launched by Polaris Venture Partners in San Francisco, I snapped the accompanying picture of a mannequin wearing an AppJet t-shirt. AppJet was a Y Combinator company a few summers back that had moved into the Dogpatch space on Pier 38. Now, it turns out, the … Continue reading “First Dogpatch Labs Exit: Google Buys Former Y Combinator Company AppJet”

Federal Biofuel Awards Made for Green Refinery Projects in 15 States, Including Pilot Plants for Sapphire Energy, BioEnergy Intl.

Sapphire Energy, the San Diego-based algae biofuels startup that got much of its venture funding out of Seattle, and BioEnergy International of Quincy, MA, are among 19 biofuel refinery projects that were designated today to get as much as $564 million in federal funding. Sapphire spokesman Tim Zenk says the company got a $50 million … Continue reading “Federal Biofuel Awards Made for Green Refinery Projects in 15 States, Including Pilot Plants for Sapphire Energy, BioEnergy Intl.”

Hutch Wins $55M Federal Contract, Plans to Hire 60 People

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center just brought home some big federal bucks. The Seattle-based nonprofit research center said today it has been awarded a multi-year, $55.4 million contract from the National Cancer Institute to be the only site of its kind that operates a cancer information service for the public. This contract will nearly … Continue reading “Hutch Wins $55M Federal Contract, Plans to Hire 60 People”

Next Week’s Cloud Computing “Unpanel” Gives the Pulpit to the People

For Xconomy’s Cloud3 Forum on the nuts and bolts of cloud computing on December 10, we’re pulling in experts from major, global cloud players like Akamai, EMC, Iron Mountain, and Microsoft, as well as up-and-coming local companies like Allurent, Cloudswitch, Litl, Sonian, and Pixily. But no matter how great the speakers, we know that listening … Continue reading “Next Week’s Cloud Computing “Unpanel” Gives the Pulpit to the People”

NormOxys Emerges from Stealth with New Class of Oxygen Drugs for Cancer, Heart Failure

Everyone needs oxygen, and major health problems can pop up when certain tissues get too little or too much. Now a small biotech company based in Wellesley, MA, co-founded by a Nobel Laureate, says it has discovered a new class of drugs that delivers targeted oxygen to tissues that are starving for it, without going … Continue reading “NormOxys Emerges from Stealth with New Class of Oxygen Drugs for Cancer, Heart Failure”

Cleantech Sense and Sensibility: UCSD and Internet Guru Larry Smarr Push for Wide Adoption of Sensors to Save Energy, Cut Greenhouse Gases

If Jane Austen had been an avant-garde technology writer instead of a 19th Century English novelist, she might have imagined a character like Larry Smarr: a brainy and bespectacled man of 61 years who tends the roses and fuchias of his La Jolla garden on weekends while designing the infrastructure of the Internet the rest … Continue reading “Cleantech Sense and Sensibility: UCSD and Internet Guru Larry Smarr Push for Wide Adoption of Sensors to Save Energy, Cut Greenhouse Gases”

Seattle Layoff Update: Adobe, Microsoft, Real, ZymoGenetics, and Others Cut Staff

‘Tis the season for layoffs, we’re sorry to say. In the past month, we’ve seen some major staff cuts from the big tech and life sciences companies, as well as startups, around Seattle (see our updated Northwest layoff tracker here). The carnage has really picked up in the past week. Here’s a rundown of notable … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Adobe, Microsoft, Real, ZymoGenetics, and Others Cut Staff”

Stylefeeder Dissects Shopping Trends By Zip Code; Victoria’s Secret is Hot in Seattle, Hurley Beachwear is Tumbling in San Diego, Marc Jacobs is de Rigueur in Boston

Cambridge, MA-based Stylefeeder is bending more brainpower toward the study of online shopping behavior than virtually any other startup I know. The personalized product recommendation company has seven full-time employees, and five of them actually write code. Recently, they’ve been coding up some cool algorithms that show site visitors a customized set of products depending … Continue reading “Stylefeeder Dissects Shopping Trends By Zip Code; Victoria’s Secret is Hot in Seattle, Hurley Beachwear is Tumbling in San Diego, Marc Jacobs is de Rigueur in Boston”

$443 million for Vertex, $25.5M for Forma, $8M for Contour Semiconductor, & More Boston-Area Deals News

The dollar amounts ranged from the modest (FitnessKeeper) to the mammoth (Vertex) for New England tech and life sciences deals this week. —Boston’s FitnessKeeper, maker of the RunKeeper iPhone application, raised $400,000 from Cambridge, MA-based LaunchCapital and a group of individual investors. Wade chatted with FitnessKeeper founder and CEO Jason Jacobs about his plans for … Continue reading “$443 million for Vertex, $25.5M for Forma, $8M for Contour Semiconductor, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Biogen Fattens Offer to Buy Facet Biotech

Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec reports today that it’s upping its bid to buy Facet Biotech by 21 percent, after the smaller firm’s board rejected Biogen’s earlier buyout offer in October. Biogen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said it would pay $17.50 per share in cash for Redwood City, CA-based Facet, valuing the company at about $438.7 million, and increasing … Continue reading “Biogen Fattens Offer to Buy Facet Biotech”

ZymoGenetics Axes 52 Jobs, Quits Discovery of Immunology Drugs, to Conserve Cash

Bad news today for employees of ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]). The Seattle-based biotech company said today in a regulatory filing it is cutting 52 jobs, or about 15 percent of its workforce, and scrapping its group that seeks to discover immunology drugs, so that it can put its resources into its marketed drug for surgical bleeding … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Axes 52 Jobs, Quits Discovery of Immunology Drugs, to Conserve Cash”

Five Parting Thoughts on Google, Bing, and the Future of Search

Remember when Google was the good guy, with the motto “Don’t be evil”? When did it officially become Public Enemy No. 1? OK, I’m exaggerating a little, but at Monday night’s Xconomy Forum on the Future of Search and Information Discovery at the UW, it sure seemed like people were piling on. It was Brian … Continue reading “Five Parting Thoughts on Google, Bing, and the Future of Search”

Quitting Smoking is Good Business, Good Health, as Free & Clear Wins VC Deal of the Year

There haven’t been many home run venture investments in the Northwest this year, but one of the year’s biggest hits flew below most people’s radar—including mine. It basically made a lot of money by helping people quit smoking. Seattle-based Free & Clear, the developer of a proprietary smoking cessation program, was picked last night as … Continue reading “Quitting Smoking is Good Business, Good Health, as Free & Clear Wins VC Deal of the Year”

Alkermes Bets $10M on Long-Lasting Drug Technology from Startup Neighbor, Acceleron

Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes said today it is betting $10 million on a crosstown startup that it hopes has found a way to make the world’s best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug more convenient for patients. Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) has agreed to pay $2 million upfront for a license from Cambridge, MA-based Acceleron Pharma, make an $8 million … Continue reading “Alkermes Bets $10M on Long-Lasting Drug Technology from Startup Neighbor, Acceleron”

Aura, MicroCHIPS, Boston-Power, & Other Hot Local Startups Join the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers

A handful of startups from the Boston area are joining an exclusive club today. The World Economic Forum—the Swiss nonprofit that has previously honored such companies as Cambridge, MA-based biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNY]]), PayPal, and Google (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GOOG]])—has named six local companies to its prestigious annual list of Technology Pioneers, the organization announced this morning. The … Continue reading “Aura, MicroCHIPS, Boston-Power, & Other Hot Local Startups Join the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers”

Scripps’ Young Tech Transfer Boss Seeks to Cut Deals With Industry, Not Just Push Paper

There’s an ambitious young director of technology transfer on the job at The Scripps Research Institute, and if he gets his way, people will soon think differently about how the San Diego research center relates with the business world. “Historically, people have perceived that Scripps is more or less a subsidiary of a Big Pharma … Continue reading “Scripps’ Young Tech Transfer Boss Seeks to Cut Deals With Industry, Not Just Push Paper”