The big new cholesterol-lowering drug from Genzyme and Isis Pharmaceuticals, which both companies are counting on as a future profit driver, passed its first major clinical trial, but investors didn’t like what they saw when full details were released this morning at a major medical meeting. Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) fell 16 percent … Continue reading “Isis, Genzyme Cholesterol Drug Passes Test, But Investors Get Nervous About Liver Safety”
Category: National
Kleiner Perkins’ Ellen Pao on Opportunities in Greentech Investing
I had an opportunity to sit down recently (along with several other journalists) for an informal chat with Ellen Pao, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and a member of the famed Menlo Park, CA, venture firm’s GreenTech investment team. Pao was in town to be the keynote speaker at the inaugural Cleantech … Continue reading “Kleiner Perkins’ Ellen Pao on Opportunities in Greentech Investing”
Kindle and Sharing and Mobile, Oh My! 5 More Ways to Use Xconomy
Here at Xconomy we may not be on the absolute bleeding edge of media technology—usually we’re too busy writing about the latest stuff to adopt it right away ourselves—but when there’s a cool new way to get our content out, we try to take advantage of it as soon as we can. In that spirit, … Continue reading “Kindle and Sharing and Mobile, Oh My! 5 More Ways to Use Xconomy”
TechStars Boston Gets a Jump on Summer, Switches to Spring; Applications Open Now
[Updated 9:05 a.m., 11/16/09, see below] David Cohen, the co-founder of Boulder, CO-based venture incubator program TechStars, sent Xconomy a note this morning to say that the Boston version of TechStars is coming back to town a bit earlier than expected. The 2010 session of TechStars Boston will take place in the spring, rather than … Continue reading “TechStars Boston Gets a Jump on Summer, Switches to Spring; Applications Open Now”
Top Three Takeaways from Mobile Northwest’s Investor Panel
I sat in on a good venture capital panel yesterday at Mobile Northwest 2009 in Seattle. No huge arguments or chair throwing to speak of (we’ll see what we can stir up at the next few Xconomy Forums). But some solid and useful observations from Geoff Entress of Voyager Capital, and also a prominent Seattle-based … Continue reading “Top Three Takeaways from Mobile Northwest’s Investor Panel”
Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, Redfin Rakes In $10M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Just when I thought venture deals, especially for software and tech companies, had headed south for the winter (or longer), the Northwest erupted with a slew of financings in the past week. —But first, some serious biotech. Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners led a $30 million Series B round for Fate Therapeutics, a San Diego-based … Continue reading “Bing Partners with Wolfram Alpha, OVP Leads $30M Fate Deal, Redfin Rakes In $10M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Steve Bratt, CEO of New World Wide Web Foundation, Details Plans To Make the Web More Usable in the Developing World
Only 25 percent of adults around the world have access to a computer that they can use to reach the Web. But 75 percent have access to a mobile phone. So the simplest way to open up the wealth of information on the Web to more people would be to make it usable via voice … Continue reading “Steve Bratt, CEO of New World Wide Web Foundation, Details Plans To Make the Web More Usable in the Developing World”
MyPunchbowl.com Acquires Group Travel Site I’m In, Transforms It Into Party Vendor Directory
Framingham, MA-based Punchbowl Software, the company behind party planning site MyPunchbowl.com, said today that it has acquired the assets of I’m In, a group vacation website formerly owned by Waltham, MA-based GroupGo. Punchbowl’s founder and CEO Matt Douglas says the local search tools created by I’m In have enabled MyPunchbowl to launch a new local … Continue reading “MyPunchbowl.com Acquires Group Travel Site I’m In, Transforms It Into Party Vendor Directory”
Paul Allen Diagnosed with Cancer
[Updated 11/16/09 6pm. See below] Microsoft co-founder and renowned technologist Paul Allen has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, as of early this month, according to an e-mail message sent from Allen’s sister, Jody Allen Patton, to employees of Seattle-based Vulcan and its affiliates this afternoon. The message was sent to Xconomy … Continue reading “Paul Allen Diagnosed with Cancer”
Trubion CEO Peter Thompson Steps Down, Arch’s Gillis To Step Up Temporarily
[Updated: 5:55 pm Pacific, 11/16/09] Trubion Pharmaceuticals, the Seattle-based company developing new drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer, said today that its founding CEO, Peter Thompson, has resigned and director Steve Gillis of Arch Venture Partners will step in to fill the void as executive chairman. Trubion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]) said today that Thompson is leaving … Continue reading “Trubion CEO Peter Thompson Steps Down, Arch’s Gillis To Step Up Temporarily”
Rift Reported Between Founders and Board at Futuristic Carmaker Aptera
Paul Wilbur, a Detroit auto industry veteran who was named CEO of Carlsbad, CA-based Aptera 14 months ago, gave no indication of internal turmoil at the futuristic car’s headquarters when he appeared last week at an event sponsored by Cleantech San Diego. But as Darryl Siry reports today on Wired’s Autotopia blog, a prolonged power … Continue reading “Rift Reported Between Founders and Board at Futuristic Carmaker Aptera”
Global Analytics Raises $10M Amid Possible Deal
San Diego’s Global Analytics Holdings says it has raised $10 million of a targeted $14 million round that consists of equity investments, options, and rights to securities, according to a recent regulatory filing. The company provides consulting services for business customers and specializes in developing software for statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and neural networks. The … Continue reading “Global Analytics Raises $10M Amid Possible Deal”
Last Day to Bid on Lord of the Rings Online Collector’s Edition! Auction Benefiits Science Club for Girls, Technology Underwriting Greater Good
It’s day 6 of our 7-day auction to raise funds for two of our favorite causes, Science Club for Girls and Technology Underwriting Greater Good. So hurry to eBay, because as of this writing you’ve only got about 20 hours left to bid on the amazing Lord of the Rings Online Collector’s Edition boxed set, … Continue reading “Last Day to Bid on Lord of the Rings Online Collector’s Edition! Auction Benefiits Science Club for Girls, Technology Underwriting Greater Good”
What Wireless Carriers Want from Startups, and Other Insights from VC Tom Huseby at Mobile Northwest
Tom Huseby says he’s finally able to go home and not worry about seeing his family’s savings stuffed under his mattress. “The panic is over,” he says. “All of a sudden, things are getting a lot better. It doesn’t feel much better now, but it is.” Huseby, a noted Seattle-based venture capitalist with SeaPoint Ventures, … Continue reading “What Wireless Carriers Want from Startups, and Other Insights from VC Tom Huseby at Mobile Northwest”
FDA Shoots Down Genzyme’s Latest Bid for Pompe Drug Approval
Even more bad news from Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]). Following the news on Friday about new contamination found in treatments made at the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm’s Allston, MA, plant, the company says today the FDA informed it that the agency won’t approve its application to market Pompe disease drug alglucosidase alfa (Lumizyme) made in large-scale batches … Continue reading “FDA Shoots Down Genzyme’s Latest Bid for Pompe Drug Approval”
Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google
It turns out that Don Dodge—famous among entrepreneurs for putting a personal face on Microsoft’s operations in New England, until his unceremonious termination earlier this month—was only in job limbo for about about an hour and a half. Dodge sends Xconomy word this morning that he has been hired by Microsoft archrival Google. Vic Gundotra, … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google”
A Day of Straight Talk on Cloud Computing, Coming December 10
Where is “the cloud”? It’s everywhere and nowhere; it’s the power of algorithms distributed across entire networks but concentrated down to the screen of your wireless laptop; it’s the sum of all the world’s on-demand computing jobs, churning away in big data centers in secure, undisclosed locations, flinging their inputs and outputs across the electronic … Continue reading “A Day of Straight Talk on Cloud Computing, Coming December 10”
Qualcomm Takes on Network Bottlenecks, Google Buys Gizmo5, a Cluster of Analytics Startups Emerges, & More San Diego BizTech News
San Diego serial entrepreneur Michael Robertson is going to have to find something else to do now that Gizmo5, the VoIP (voice-over-Internet-protocol) company he founded in 2003, has become part of a certain search giant to the north. We have that news and more. —Google confirmed that it’s buying San Diego-based Gizmo5, a six-year-old company … Continue reading “Qualcomm Takes on Network Bottlenecks, Google Buys Gizmo5, a Cluster of Analytics Startups Emerges, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Inside iRobot: A Search for Medical Droids
Robots have already found limited work in healthcare by assisting surgeons with operations and physical therapists with rehabilitating patients, among other jobs. So why can’t robots keep an eye on seniors and give them their medications? Bedford, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IRBT]]) made headlines last month with the announcement of its recently created healthcare division, which is … Continue reading “Inside iRobot: A Search for Medical Droids”
Fate Therapeutics Bags $30M Venture Deal, Led by OVP, to Develop “Industrialized” Stem Cells
Fate Therapeutics, the San Diego-based company on a quest to develop techniques that make stem cell research practical for the pharmaceutical industry, has raised $30 million in a Series B round of venture financing. Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners led the deal, which included the three venture firms that co-founded the company two years ago—Arch … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Bags $30M Venture Deal, Led by OVP, to Develop “Industrialized” Stem Cells”
ZoomAtlas—Helping You Reconnect With Friends from The Old Neighborhood
Say you’d like to look up an old friend from high school. You have no idea what happened to him after college, and you can’t find him on Facebook. But you do remember the address of his house down the street from your childhood home. What if there was a Web-based map where you could … Continue reading “ZoomAtlas—Helping You Reconnect With Friends from The Old Neighborhood”
Brightcove Debuts “Express” Video Hosting
To make it easier for small Web publishers to host videos on their sites, Cambridge, MA-based Brightcove will announce today that it is rolling out an “Express Edition” service starting at $99 per month. The company’s previous lowest-end offering cost several hundred dollars per month. At the new $99 monthly level—which doesn’t require a monthly … Continue reading “Brightcove Debuts “Express” Video Hosting”
Avnera Raises $8M Equity Round to Advance Wireless Audio Chip Technology
A consumer tech company has scored one of the bigger equity financing rounds in the Portland area this fall. Beaverton, OR-based Avnera, a fabless semiconductor company that makes chips for wireless audio applications, has raised about $8 million in equity financing out of a total offering of $10 million, according to a regulatory filing with … Continue reading “Avnera Raises $8M Equity Round to Advance Wireless Audio Chip Technology”
Genzyme Shares Tank After FDA Discovers Bits of Steel, Rubber in Five Different Drugs
[Update: 6:22 pm Eastern, 11/13/09] Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse for Genzyme, it did. The FDA reported today that it has found tiny bits of garbage—steel, rubber, and fiber—in vials of five of the major drugs produced by the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company. Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) shares fell $3.89, or about 7 … Continue reading “Genzyme Shares Tank After FDA Discovers Bits of Steel, Rubber in Five Different Drugs”
Energy Networking Groups Merge
The Renewable Energy Business Network (REBN), a networking group for cleantech professionals with 10,000 members across 17 local chapters and a strong presence in the Boston area, has merged with the Clean Economy Network Foundation (CENF), a young cleantech policy research and education organization based in Washington, DC. The news came today in an e-mail … Continue reading “Energy Networking Groups Merge”
Seattle’s Bill McCoy, E-Books and Digital Distribution Expert, Leaving Adobe
We’ve all been wondering how the Adobe layoffs, reported earlier this week, may affect the Seattle area—especially given the slew of other recent cutbacks in the local tech industry. Adobe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADBE]]), which is headquartered in San Jose, CA, has a strong presence in Seattle. As of recently, it employed some 500 people, focused on … Continue reading “Seattle’s Bill McCoy, E-Books and Digital Distribution Expert, Leaving Adobe”
Enroute Closes Series A, Looks for More as It Expands and Aims for Profitability
Early-stage tech financings are still chugging along, it seems. On the heels of yesterday’s news of a $5.25 million financing of Seattle stealth startup Doxo, I checked in with Keith McCall of Bellevue, WA-based Enroute Systems, a maker of parcel-shipping management software, to hear the latest on his company’s recent financing. McCall, the company’s founder … Continue reading “Enroute Closes Series A, Looks for More as It Expands and Aims for Profitability”
San Diego Serves as a Hotbed for Analytics Tech Cluster—at Least Up to a Point
When Tom Clancy introduced a panel discussion yesterday at a forum on analytics software, the founder of San Diego’s Tao Venture Partners said the forum was “founded four years ago by people who had an interest in seeing San Diego get established as a leading cluster in the analytics space.” The forum, which is sponsored … Continue reading “San Diego Serves as a Hotbed for Analytics Tech Cluster—at Least Up to a Point”
Zoll Medical Pumps Out iPhone App for CPR Training
Here’s an iPhone application that could actually help people save lives. Zoll Medical, a maker of cardiac defibrillators and other products for the critical care market, says this morning that it has released a CPR training app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This isn’t the first iPhone app of this sort that I’ve seen—but … Continue reading “Zoll Medical Pumps Out iPhone App for CPR Training”
Xconomy Videos: Sirtris’ Westphal and Millennium’s Dunsire Talk Cures for Ills of Big Pharma
There’s new a dynamic at work in Big Pharma’s acquisitions of biotech companies in Boston and elsewhere. Drug companies don’t only want to buy biotech firms to enhance their R&D pipelines, they want to bring the innovators behind the biotechs into the fold—and often give them prominent roles in the parent company. (This is a … Continue reading “Xconomy Videos: Sirtris’ Westphal and Millennium’s Dunsire Talk Cures for Ills of Big Pharma”
Powerhouse Dynamics Raising $2 Million for Home Energy Monitoring, Report Says
When utility customers can see exactly how much energy they’re consuming, and how, they can be far smarter about using it. That’s the argument made by Powerhouse Dynamics, a Newton, MA, startup developing energy-management software that lets users observe and control the flow of power through their homes. To fund the effort, the company is … Continue reading “Powerhouse Dynamics Raising $2 Million for Home Energy Monitoring, Report Says”
Ironwood Nabs $75M in Deal With Japanese Firm, Gloucester Drug Gets FDA Approval, Alnylam Branches Into Biomanufacturing Tech, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Several of New England’s life sciences firms had good news to report this week. —Ryan gave a run-down of the key insights to emerge from our Xconomy Forum on pharma innovation. Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal, for example, offered insight into one of the biggest biological mysteries around the Xconomy office: how Luke manages to eat … Continue reading “Ironwood Nabs $75M in Deal With Japanese Firm, Gloucester Drug Gets FDA Approval, Alnylam Branches Into Biomanufacturing Tech, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Redfin Raises $10M More to Improve Customer Service, Expand, and Invest in R&D
Well, this does nothing to change the downward trend of early-stage software financings, but it’s good news nonetheless. Seattle-based Redfin, the online real estate broker and information discovery service, has announced a $10 million Series D funding, led by new investor Greylock Partners, the Silicon Valley venture firm formerly based in the Boston area. Existing … Continue reading “Redfin Raises $10M More to Improve Customer Service, Expand, and Invest in R&D”
Cyntellect Raises $15.5M as it Expands Biotech Instrument Business
San Diego-based Cyntellect , which makes work stations used by biotechs for cell analysis, purification, and processing, has raised $15.5 million so far in a secondary round that aims to raise a total of $18.6 million, according to a recent regulatory filing. Cyntellect says its instruments are used in life sciences research, biopharmaceutical production, stem … Continue reading “Cyntellect Raises $15.5M as it Expands Biotech Instrument Business”
Massachusetts Startup Funding Slowed Way Down in October—But Early Stage Deals Gained
It wasn’t just the leaves that began to fall in the Bay State in October: last month also saw a big falloff in venture deal-making. After a (relatively) spectacular September in which $228 million was pumped into 25 Massachusetts funding deals, investors only managed to shell out $169 million in 19 deals in October. It … Continue reading “Massachusetts Startup Funding Slowed Way Down in October—But Early Stage Deals Gained”
Clean Energy Council, Ignite Prizes Honor Boston-Area Energy Innovators
It must be Clean Energy Week in Boston, judging from all of the trophies, plaques, and award checks being handed out to the region’s energy and cleantech innovation leaders. We wanted to tell you about the winners in two of this week’s biggest events: the MIT Enterprise Forum’s Ignite Clean Energy Prize business plan competition … Continue reading “Clean Energy Council, Ignite Prizes Honor Boston-Area Energy Innovators”
Alnylam Eyes RNAi for Manufacturing Drugs
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of RNA-interference drugs, said today that it sees a new business opportunity in using its gene-silencing technology to increase the output of biomanufacturing processes. The company, which has already successfully licensed its RNAi technology for drugs, is looking to make additional money from its science by licensing it for … Continue reading “Alnylam Eyes RNAi for Manufacturing Drugs”
Negotiating a Better Series A Deal
[Updated 11/18/09, see below] This post is about how to get a better deal from VCs investing in your first round of financing. It is also about how to make the deal into a win-win. The idea for the post came from an exchange with @bakespace about some of the resources for entrepreneurs on FastIgnite. … Continue reading “Negotiating a Better Series A Deal”
Cautious Perspectives on Recovery in the IPO, M&A, and Credit Markets
The second half of 2009 provided a good measure of optimism, easing some of the pain investors felt toward the end of 2008 and in early 2009. The stock market has been volatile but up significantly overall. There are signs of increased lending activity. Mergers and acquisitions have picked up. And there’s a pulse in … Continue reading “Cautious Perspectives on Recovery in the IPO, M&A, and Credit Markets”
Dossia Off to Slow Start with Personal Electronic Health Records
Dossia is nearly three years from launching to provide electronic personal health records for major U.S. employers. And though the vision to provide employees of self-insured companies with a secure and portable electronic record of their health information is still alive, so far one company is offering the records to its workers. The Cambridge, MA-based … Continue reading “Dossia Off to Slow Start with Personal Electronic Health Records”
Trius Therapeutics Reveals Plans for IPO, SpectraScience Raises $4.3M, Sequenom Tightens its Belt, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
Some San Diego life sciences companies reported a burst of new financing, while embattled Sequenom told investors it’s trying to conserve its available cash. Here’s our rundown of the latest highlights: —San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics, a venture-backed biotech developing a new antibiotic for treating acute and life-threatening bacterial infections, disclosed plans to raise as much … Continue reading “Trius Therapeutics Reveals Plans for IPO, SpectraScience Raises $4.3M, Sequenom Tightens its Belt, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Alder’s Breakout $1B Deal, Kineta Teams With UW on Vaccines, Verathon Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was the week that a little biotech company in Bothell that few of the locals have ever heard of, burst onto the national stage. —Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals had its breakout moment this week when it pulled in $85 million in upfront cash, and stands to gain more than $1 billion over time from … Continue reading “Alder’s Breakout $1B Deal, Kineta Teams With UW on Vaccines, Verathon Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Isis Spinoff Altair Therapeutics Closes $17M Venture Round For Asthma Drug
[Corrected: 7:26 am Pacific, 11/12/09] San Diego-based Altair Therapeutics, a company developing inhalable drugs to block inflammatory proteins involved in asthma and other respiratory diseases, has closed on the second part of a Series A venture financing, meaning it has raised a total of $17 million this year. [An earlier version said the company has … Continue reading “Isis Spinoff Altair Therapeutics Closes $17M Venture Round For Asthma Drug”
Boston’s Faneuil Hall Is a Finalist for Google Street View Visit—Vote Now, Then Meet Trike Builder Dan Ratner
Being journalists, we here at Xconomy try to refrain from bald political statements or endorsements. We’d never ask you to “vote early and often” for any candidate for office. But this week we can cheerfully recommend that you subvert the democratic process by going to www.google.com/trike and voting as many times as you can for … Continue reading “Boston’s Faneuil Hall Is a Finalist for Google Street View Visit—Vote Now, Then Meet Trike Builder Dan Ratner”
3Com Founder Bob Metcalfe Weighs in on News HP Has Purchased His Old Firm for $2.7 Billion
It was a newsroom holiday today at Xconomy, but Hewlett-Packard didn’t get the memo that we were off: the California company founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard announced today that it would acquire 3Com for $2.7 billion. You can read all about the acquisition deal at a host of news outlets, including the New … Continue reading “3Com Founder Bob Metcalfe Weighs in on News HP Has Purchased His Old Firm for $2.7 Billion”
Future of Search Event Nov. 30 to Draw Top Startups, VCs, and Execs to UW
Online search and information discovery are being transformed before our eyes. It’s no longer just Google, or Google and Bing, or even Google, Bing, and Twitter—there are big problems in technology and business to solve across all areas of social media search, real-time news and information, mobile search, user interfaces, search marketing, vertical search (travel, … Continue reading “Future of Search Event Nov. 30 to Draw Top Startups, VCs, and Execs to UW”
Aileron’s New Class of Drugs Shown to Get Inside Cells to Block Prime Cancer Target
Cambridge, MA-based Aileron Therapeutics has bet the company on the idea that it has discovered a whole new class of drugs that, like RNA interference, can hit targets in the body that are beyond the reach of conventional chemical compounds and biotech therapies. Today, scientists are reporting the drugs can achieve this goal and block … Continue reading “Aileron’s New Class of Drugs Shown to Get Inside Cells to Block Prime Cancer Target”
Qualcomm’s Lauer Outlines Efforts to Ease Network Bottlenecks at Wireless Conference
[Corrected 11/11/09, 3:15 pm. See below] Qualcomm chief operating officer, Len Lauer, says the San Diego wireless chipmaking giant is working across a broad front of technology development to accommodate a surge in wireless data traffic. “The mobile Internet has arrived,” Lauer says in the opening keynote talk yesterday at the 2009 3G CDMA Americas … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Lauer Outlines Efforts to Ease Network Bottlenecks at Wireless Conference”
Pulmatrix Pulls in $30.2M, GenArts Gobbles Up Wondertouch, BioVex Bags $30M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Several of New England’s tech and life sciences firms got juicy deals the past week and a half. —Boston’s RunMyErrand, an online clearinghouse where busy people can find helpers for odd jobs, raised $1 million in a Series A venture financing round. The cash, from California investors Baseline Ventures and Maples Investments, will help the … Continue reading “Pulmatrix Pulls in $30.2M, GenArts Gobbles Up Wondertouch, BioVex Bags $30M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Alder and New Partner, Bristol, to Give Amgen and Abbott a Run for Their Money
Alder Biopharmaceuticals keeps such a low profile that even after five years in business, few people in Seattle biotech know who they are. That changed yesterday as the private Bothell, WA-based company burst onto the local, and national, biotech scene by striking a deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb that could be worth more than $1 billion … Continue reading “Alder and New Partner, Bristol, to Give Amgen and Abbott a Run for Their Money”