Evidently, a lot of companies have trouble innovating—or there wouldn’t be so many startups offering “enterprise crowdsourcing” and “innovation management” tools to help them. Several of these startups are right here in New England and have been featured in Xconomy. For example, there’s Innocentive, which helps companies stage international competitions to solve discrete problems like … Continue reading “Imaginatik’s Technology Helps Companies Keep Their Crowdsourcing Initiatives Inside the Box”
Category: National
Clarisonic Skin Cleanser Cracks $40M in Sales on Kudos From Oprah and YouTube Beauty Queen
The same people who invented Sonicare toothbrushes have another emerging hit on their hands. This time, David Giuliani and his team of scientists and engineers in Bellevue, WA, who make the Clarisonic device have created a sonic-wave powered brush that’s designed to give people a cleaner, healthier-looking face. They’re marketing a $195 luxury consumer product … Continue reading “Clarisonic Skin Cleanser Cracks $40M in Sales on Kudos From Oprah and YouTube Beauty Queen”
Arena Eagerly Awaits Answer to $1 Billion Question: Does It Have a Big-Time Obesity Drug?
San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals has spent a dozen years, and raised almost $1 billion from investors and partners, to create a new drug that helps millions of people lose weight. This month, the company will find out whether the time and money was well spent. Arena (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) plans to unveil results of a 4,008-patient … Continue reading “Arena Eagerly Awaits Answer to $1 Billion Question: Does It Have a Big-Time Obesity Drug?”
Sepracor Snatched up for $2.6B, EMC Acquires FastScale and Kazeon, Biogen Makes Bid For Facet, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The pace of New England tech and life sciences deal making was swift over the last week and a half—and there was noticeable bump in M&A transactions. —Boston-based RockPort Capital Partners participated in a $47 million financing round for Norwegian electric vehicle maker Think. —iWalk of Cambridge, MA, picked up an undisclosed amount of new … Continue reading “Sepracor Snatched up for $2.6B, EMC Acquires FastScale and Kazeon, Biogen Makes Bid For Facet, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
It’s Time to Start Networking for Real
While Scott Kirsner and my fellow Xconomist Tim Rowe both recently have commented on the benefits of mixing and mingling in Kendall Square, we have a more basic problem that won’t be solved by just rubbing shoulders. Chalk it up to Yankee stoicism; our long, dark winter; or our independent sectors of software, communications, medical … Continue reading “It’s Time to Start Networking for Real”
Kai-Fu Lee, Founder of Microsoft’s China Research Lab, Quits Google to Head $115M Startup Incubator in China
Kai-Fu Lee, the charismatic former Microsoft VP and founding director of the company’s research lab in Beijing who reported last week that he was quitting as head of Google’s China arm, has announced that he has raised $115 million to create a new incubator for high-tech startups in China. The new organization, Innovation Works, will … Continue reading “Kai-Fu Lee, Founder of Microsoft’s China Research Lab, Quits Google to Head $115M Startup Incubator in China”
A Slice of the Seattle Blogosphere: OVP, IPOs, and Small Businesses
Heading into the holiday weekend, I wanted to highlight a few interesting recent blog posts from around town. They cut across the topics of venture capital, IPOs, and small business owners. —OVP Venture Partners, based in Kirkland, WA, has a new blog as of this summer. In a recent post, managing director Gerry Langeler talks … Continue reading “A Slice of the Seattle Blogosphere: OVP, IPOs, and Small Businesses”
Biogen Idec Makes Hostile $350M Takeover Bid for Facet Biotech
Biogen Idec isn’t sitting around waiting to get acquired—it wants to be the acquirer. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said today it is making an unsolicited bid worth more than $350 million to acquire Redwood City, CA-based Facet Biotech, its partner in developing a new antibody drug for multiple sclerosis. Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) is … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Makes Hostile $350M Takeover Bid for Facet Biotech”
Elan Breached Tysabri Partnership With Biogen Idec, Federal Judge Says
Irish drugmaker Elan breached its multiple sclerosis drug partnership with Biogen Idec when it tried to cut a separate deal to collaborate with Johnson & Johnson, according to a federal judge. Elan, which made the announcement last night, said it respects the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. … Continue reading “Elan Breached Tysabri Partnership With Biogen Idec, Federal Judge Says”
San Diego Inventor’s Drug Discovery is Nothing to Laugh (or Cry) About
[Corrected 9/4/09, 12:25 am. See below.] Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVNR]]) announcement last month that its drug DMQ reduced involuntary fits of laughter and crying in neurological patients came as welcome news to San Diego scientist Richard A. Smith. It was Smith who made the serendipitous discovery more than a decade ago that DMQ—a combination of … Continue reading “San Diego Inventor’s Drug Discovery is Nothing to Laugh (or Cry) About”
Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings: Part One
I love September. There’s a back-to-school crispness in the air that always gets me jazzed to learn something new, even though I’ve been out of school for 15 years. Maybe you feel it too. And with a long holiday weekend coming up, perhaps you’ve got a few hours free to experiment with a new tool … Continue reading “Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings: Part One”
Daktari Diagnostics Closes $2.8M Series A Round to Combat Global HIV Crisis
In remote villages in Africa, clinics are struggling to deliver timely blood tests to help doctors determine the best way to treat HIV patients. But Bill Rodriguez, a Harvard-trained physician, through his new startup Daktari Diagnostics, is working on a handheld device that could someday perform blood tests for HIV patients virtually anywhere within a … Continue reading “Daktari Diagnostics Closes $2.8M Series A Round to Combat Global HIV Crisis”
Massachusetts Business Czar Greg Bialecki’s Innovation Agenda: The Xconomy Interview, Part Two
Gregory Bialecki is Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, and leads an ungainly collection of agencies charged with everything from promoting affordable housing in Massachusetts to attracting international business investment to the state. Here at Xconomy, we cross paths with Bialecki quite a bit, since he’s also responsible for many of … Continue reading “Massachusetts Business Czar Greg Bialecki’s Innovation Agenda: The Xconomy Interview, Part Two”
Gaming Away the Holiday: The Top 10 Sessions at PAX
The Labor Day holiday weekend is finally upon us. If you’re a video gamer or a game developer, this means only one thing: Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is happening in Seattle. PAX has become the biggest trade show in North America for computer and video games. It draws tens of thousands of people for a … Continue reading “Gaming Away the Holiday: The Top 10 Sessions at PAX”
San Diego’s SAIC Emerging as Key Player in Nation’s Cyber-Security Battle
In financial results issued late yesterday, San Diego defense contractor SAIC attributed its increased second-quarter revenue and earnings to “recent wins in defense logistics, information technology, and cyber-security,” among other things. That last part about cyber security may be an understatement, based on a conversation I had last night with Alan Paller. As a founder … Continue reading “San Diego’s SAIC Emerging as Key Player in Nation’s Cyber-Security Battle”
Forget Typing: VoiceBox Technologies Raises Cash to Search for Info by Voice Alone
[Updated 9/3/09, 3:00 pm. See below.] Bellevue, WA-based VoiceBox Technologies, a developer of speech recognition systems for use in cars and mobile applications, has raised about $13 million from corporate investors in Asia over the past year. The investors include AutoNavi, Inventec, MiTAC, and the Morningside investment fund. [An earlier version of this story cited … Continue reading “Forget Typing: VoiceBox Technologies Raises Cash to Search for Info by Voice Alone”
Finding HIV’s Weak Spot, Scientists at Seattle’s Theraclone and San Diego’s Scripps See Opening for New Vaccine
Scientists have been trying for years to solve the mystery of why a few rare individuals get infected with HIV, yet somehow retain immune defenses so they never get sick. Today, researchers at a small Seattle biotech company, Theraclone Sciences, and collaborators at San Diego’s Scripps Research Institute say they have found a new vulnerability … Continue reading “Finding HIV’s Weak Spot, Scientists at Seattle’s Theraclone and San Diego’s Scripps See Opening for New Vaccine”
Drugmaker Sepracor Accepts $2.6B Buyout Offer from Japan’s Dainippon
In what could become Massachusetts’ largest life science deal of the year, Marlborough, MA-based drugmaker Sepracor (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SEPR]]) has agreed to be acquired by the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for a whopping $2.6 billion, the companies reported early this morning. The deal would put another Massachusetts-based life sciences company in the hands of a … Continue reading “Drugmaker Sepracor Accepts $2.6B Buyout Offer from Japan’s Dainippon”
Massachusetts Business Czar Greg Bialecki’s Innovation Agenda: The Xconomy Interview, Part One
From his corner office on the 21st floor of the MacCormack State Office Building on Beacon Hill, Gregory Bialecki has what is probably the best view of any state official in Massachusetts. To the south, the floor-to-ceiling windows peer over Boston Common, Downtown Crossing, the South End, and South Boston; to the east, they look … Continue reading “Massachusetts Business Czar Greg Bialecki’s Innovation Agenda: The Xconomy Interview, Part One”
Acadia Takes a Fall, CareFusion Spins Off, Life Technologies Takes $450M in Cash, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
CareFusion, a medical technology company, got its official start earlier this week and is already one of the largest companies in San Diego, with 15,000 employees and $3.7 billion in annual revenue. Find out how that happened and read up on other local biotech news. —Shares of San Diego’s Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]), which had … Continue reading “Acadia Takes a Fall, CareFusion Spins Off, Life Technologies Takes $450M in Cash, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Bicoastal Brain Scramble? Company Cultures Boiled Down to One Word, Part 2—Boston vs. Seattle
This is a special, bi-coastal edition of the X Factor (it doesn’t usually run in Seattle). For my column on Tuesday, I surveyed seven Boston-area startup CEOs and asked them to characterize their company cultures in one word. Truth be told, I canvassed nine CEOs, but only seven got back to me before my deadline. … Continue reading “Bicoastal Brain Scramble? Company Cultures Boiled Down to One Word, Part 2—Boston vs. Seattle”
Trubion Scores $20M, Archus Shuts Down, AVI Biopharma’s Hope for Muscular Dystrophy, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
One of the Seattle biotechs that’s been flying low on the radar this year popped back up on the scene with news of an important partnership. —Seattle-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals had its best day of the year last Friday, when it said it secured a partnership with Redwood City, CA-based Facet Biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FACT]]) to co-develop … Continue reading “Trubion Scores $20M, Archus Shuts Down, AVI Biopharma’s Hope for Muscular Dystrophy, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Archus Orthopedics, Spine Device Maker that Raised $60M, Shuts Down Amid Cash Crunch
Archus Orthopedics, the Redmond, WA-based developer of implants to help people retain flexibility after back surgery, is shutting down its operations and dissolving after it was unable to raise enough capital to bring the product all the way to the U.S. market, Xconomy has learned. Archus filed paperwork with the Delaware Secretary of State to … Continue reading “Archus Orthopedics, Spine Device Maker that Raised $60M, Shuts Down Amid Cash Crunch”
Up and To the Right: Learning from the Healthcare IT Market in India
The Obama administration has allocated $19 billion in incentives for hospitals and practices that make meaningful use of electronic medical records systems, and everyone is biting their nails, waiting to find out the meaning of “meaningful.” But sitting 8,000 miles away from Washington, DC, I’m spending my summer internship focused on healthcare IT that’s measured … Continue reading “Up and To the Right: Learning from the Healthcare IT Market in India”
Harvard Spinout Outcome Sciences Digs Up Precious Medical Data that Obama Wants
How safe and useful are the drugs that we use? Physician Richard Gliklich, CEO of Outcome Sciences, was researching the real-world clinical outcomes of approved drugs and devices in the 1990s before there was much of market for that kind of information. Now the FDA and more than 2,000 other healthcare organizations around the world … Continue reading “Harvard Spinout Outcome Sciences Digs Up Precious Medical Data that Obama Wants”
Intel Capital’s Jeff Schrock on Trends in Video, Connected Consumers, and E-Commerce
What’s it like in the world of corporate venture capital these days? For Jeff Schrock, it’s pretty stable and good. Probably more stable than at many boutique venture firms, which are under increased pressure to raise funds and get quick returns. Schrock is a Seattle-based tech investor with Intel Capital. In a previous life, he … Continue reading “Intel Capital’s Jeff Schrock on Trends in Video, Connected Consumers, and E-Commerce”
Gloucester Wins Recommendation from FDA Panel for Lymphoma Drug
Gloucester Pharmaceuticals likely made its venture capitalists some fast money today. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company—which scored $29 million in venture capital last week—won an unambiguous vote of confidence today from an FDA advisory panel for its drug for a rare form of lymphoma. Gloucester’s drug for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, romidepsin, was recommended by the … Continue reading “Gloucester Wins Recommendation from FDA Panel for Lymphoma Drug”
Calling All Startups: nPost Rolls Out Metrics Program to Analyze Tech Industry Trends
Wondering how your startup stacks up with others in your sector? Or how consumer Internet companies, say, compare with mobile startups? Seattle-based nPost, a media and resource site for tech entrepreneurs, is preparing to launch a quarterly report on startups—that are based not just in Seattle, but everywhere—to help answer such questions. The program, called … Continue reading “Calling All Startups: nPost Rolls Out Metrics Program to Analyze Tech Industry Trends”
As Startup Considers IPO, Mission Ventures’ Leo Spiegel Sees End to San Diego’s VC Lockdown
Leo Spiegel says he’s sensing a change in San Diego’s listless venture capital sector. Spiegel quickly adds that he doesn’t have the data to back it up. It’s just a feeling he has, a sailor’s instinct for a freshening breeze in the horse latitudes. Yet as a managing partner at San Diego’s Mission Ventures, Spiegel’s … Continue reading “As Startup Considers IPO, Mission Ventures’ Leo Spiegel Sees End to San Diego’s VC Lockdown”
Pickett to Relinquish Biogen Idec Board Seat, New Financing for iWalk, Genocea Goes After Vaccine Market, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
New England’s life sciences startups gave us a lot to write about last week. —Luke talked with Genocea Biosciences CEO Staph Bakali about his Cambridge, MA-based startup’s strategy for developing new vaccines. The approach, based on research at Harvard Medical School, helped Genocea garner $23 million in venture capital earlier this year and has drawn … Continue reading “Pickett to Relinquish Biogen Idec Board Seat, New Financing for iWalk, Genocea Goes After Vaccine Market, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Dimdim Takes on the Webinar Big Boys
Though it may be one of the most grating neologisms of the Internet era, the “webinar” has grown into an important, often profitable, way for group leaders to reach employees and/or followers and for companies to reach existing and potential customers. The leading providers of webinar hosting technology are the WebEx division of Cisco Systems … Continue reading “Dimdim Takes on the Webinar Big Boys”
Gloucester Gears Up for FDA Panel Vote on Lymphoma Drug
[See update at 3:35 pm Eastern with FDA panel vote in favor.] You can bet that the people who just put $29 million into Gloucester Pharmaceuticals a few days ago will be watching very closely today for signs they got their money’s worth. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company will try to make its case today … Continue reading “Gloucester Gears Up for FDA Panel Vote on Lymphoma Drug”
The Rosetta Diaspora: Genetics Talent Stays Close to Home After Merck Shuts Down in Seattle
Merck was the only Big Pharma company with a toehold in Seattle a year ago, so when it decided to shut down its Rosetta Inpharmatics research center last October as part of global cost-cutting, some local biotechies moaned about how this was another sign of the apocalypse for a once-thriving life sciences scene. But after … Continue reading “The Rosetta Diaspora: Genetics Talent Stays Close to Home After Merck Shuts Down in Seattle”
Orexigen Aims to Redefine Obesity, as Amgen Vet Revamps Company to Compete
San Diego’s Orexigen Therapeutics looked like just another biotech on the verge of collapse at the beginning of the year. Its CEO was diagnosed with a terminal case of leukemia and soon died. Three other senior executives had just quit. The company halted development of two experimental drugs to conserve cash. Orexigen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) sought … Continue reading “Orexigen Aims to Redefine Obesity, as Amgen Vet Revamps Company to Compete”
40 Years After Sparking the Internet, BBN’s Long Search for a Home Ends…At Home
If you had to pick a birthday for the Internet, September 2, 1969—40 years ago today—would be a good candidate. That’s the day a team of researchers at UCLA sent the first computer-to-computer transmissions using the Interface Message Processor (IMP), the grand-daddy of all packet-switching routers and the foundation of the military-university Arpanet, which paved … Continue reading “40 Years After Sparking the Internet, BBN’s Long Search for a Home Ends…At Home”
Led by Ex-Microsofties, Raveable Makes Sense of User Reviews, Gives Hotel Ratings at a Glance
Raveable is a year-old Seattle-area startup that launched its hotel review summarization website in May. If there were a Raveable entry for Raveable itself, here’s what it might say: Ranked 116 out of 340 tech startup websites in Seattle. The good: Team is ambitious and knowledgeable; large market; useful technology; fun interface; customer focused; strong … Continue reading “Led by Ex-Microsofties, Raveable Makes Sense of User Reviews, Gives Hotel Ratings at a Glance”
Genzyme’s Woes Piling Up as FDA Panel Says Data on Leukemia Drug are Lacking
The bad news just keeps flowing for Genzyme. Today, an FDA advisory panel recommended against approving the company’s application to start marketing a leukemia drug to patients over 60, saying the Cambridge, MA-based biotech giant hadn’t produced enough evidence that the drug is safe and effective for those patients. The agency isn’t required to follow … Continue reading “Genzyme’s Woes Piling Up as FDA Panel Says Data on Leukemia Drug are Lacking”
Acadia Pharma Shares Crash After Lead Parkinson’s Drug Fails in Trial
San Diego-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals stock price collapsed today on news that its drug for psychosis related to Parkinson’s disease failed in a late-stage clinical trial. It’s a big setback for the small firm because it has no products on the market, and the Parkinson’s drug was the candidate furthest along in its development pipeline. The … Continue reading “Acadia Pharma Shares Crash After Lead Parkinson’s Drug Fails in Trial”
Healthcare Venture Funding Goes to Medsphere, Aubrey, and Animal Cell Therapies—A Brief Roundup
If new venture rounds are any indication, the life sciences sector is showing renewed signs of life, with several startups raising capital in the San Diego region, according to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Industry watchers are expecting healthcare IT, in particular, to heat up as the federal government’s carrot-and-stick approach … Continue reading “Healthcare Venture Funding Goes to Medsphere, Aubrey, and Animal Cell Therapies—A Brief Roundup”
Omeros Gets Ready for IPO, Cray Buys SiCortex Assets, ClearEdge Raises Cash, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a fairly quiet week for deals in the Northwest, with just a trickle of activity in software, computing, cleantech, and life sciences. But there was a hint that the IPO window may be about to open. —Seattle-based Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]), the supercomputing company, acquired some assets from SiCortex, a Maynard, MA-based computing firm … Continue reading “Omeros Gets Ready for IPO, Cray Buys SiCortex Assets, ClearEdge Raises Cash, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
7 Boston Startup CEOs Boil Their Company Culture Down to One Word
First, let me get this out up front—I’m ripping off the idea for this column from my colleague Greg Huang, editor of Xconomy Seattle. Thanks Greg! Second, I spend a lot of time talking with venture capitalists about the startup business, and with entrepreneurs about venture capitalists AND the startup business. But those can be … Continue reading “7 Boston Startup CEOs Boil Their Company Culture Down to One Word”
AVI Offers Glimmer of Hope for Muscular Dystrophy, Says UW Neuroscientist Jeff Chamberlain
Jeff Chamberlain first heard about muscular dystrophy as a kid watching the annual Jerry Lewis telethon on Labor Day weekend. That TV program has been raising awareness for 43 years about this genetic disorder that breaks down muscles, eventually crippling and killing young boys and men, usually by their 20s. The disease really captured Chamberlain’s … Continue reading “AVI Offers Glimmer of Hope for Muscular Dystrophy, Says UW Neuroscientist Jeff Chamberlain”
Frame Media Reinvents Itself as Thinking Screen, Goes After Larger “Connected Screen” Market
Wireless digital photo frames, considered one of the hot new categories in consumer electronics back in 2006 and 2007, haven’t taken off as quickly as expected. People love digital frames, but they’ve tended to buy them as gifts pre-loaded with photos they uploaded to the Web, meaning many frames still don’t come with their own … Continue reading “Frame Media Reinvents Itself as Thinking Screen, Goes After Larger “Connected Screen” Market”
San Diego’s Palkion Chases Amgen’s Big Market, Joins Race to Develop Oral Anemia Drug
Amgen’s big break came in the 1980s when it learned how to stimulate the body to make more oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Nobody has topped this achievement for the treatment of anemia in the past 20 years. But now San Diego’s Palkion has joined a list of competitors that hope to capture some billions of … Continue reading “San Diego’s Palkion Chases Amgen’s Big Market, Joins Race to Develop Oral Anemia Drug”
New Constellation Pharma CEO Gives Expected Timeline for Epigenetics Firm’s Cancer Drug Research
For all of the publicity it’s gotten lately, Constellation Pharmaceuticals has managed to keep a remarkably tight lid on the specifics of its research. So I was enthused when the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s new CEO, Mark Goldsmith, gave me some insights into where the firm stands in advancing potential drugs in the emerging field of … Continue reading “New Constellation Pharma CEO Gives Expected Timeline for Epigenetics Firm’s Cancer Drug Research”
Report: Oxford Bioscience Partner Leaves After Securities Trading Breach
[Updated 8/31/09 6:10 p.m., see below] Jeffrey Barnes, a former general partner with Boston-based Oxford Bioscience Partners, has resigned from the firm, PE Hub‘s Dan Primack first reported today. According to the report, Barnes was asked to leave after the firm discovered that he had engaged in personal trading of securities in Oxford Bioscience portfolio … Continue reading “Report: Oxford Bioscience Partner Leaves After Securities Trading Breach”
Startup Weekend’s Award Winners: Search Kick and Learn That Name
[Updated 8/31/09 11:15 am. See below.] Startup Weekend brought together about 180 people from 15 teams to compete for 54 hours at Microsoft’s Redmond campus, and in the end, two official winners emerged last night. A mobile software application called Learn That Name, for the iPhone and Palm Pre, won the audience favorite vote, while … Continue reading “Startup Weekend’s Award Winners: Search Kick and Learn That Name”
San Diego’s Medical Technology Startups Get Reborn in CareFusion Spinoff
San Diego has long been known as an incubator for new technology companies. But as the hometown for established Fortune 500 companies, San Diego is barely on the map. You can count San Diego’s Fortune 500 companies on three fingers: Qualcomm (at No. 244), Sempra Energy (No. 252), and SAIC (No. 266). This is because … Continue reading “San Diego’s Medical Technology Startups Get Reborn in CareFusion Spinoff”
The Greater Boston Mobile Cluster Quiz: Answers and A Bit of Commentary
Maybe it was the new mobile friendly version of Xconomy (at m.xconomy.com) that we launched a few weeks ago. Or maybe it was just the fact that I’ve been on the road a lot lately. But in any case, last Thursday I had mobile on my mind and so rummaged around data from Mobile Monday … Continue reading “The Greater Boston Mobile Cluster Quiz: Answers and A Bit of Commentary”
Microsoft’s Summer of Love: A Roundup of the Company’s Hottest Deals and Other News
It’s been quite a summer here in Seattle, with record droughts and a heat wave that left us all panting in line for an iced coffee. But despite a cool economic climate, Microsoft managed to stay as hot as the temperature outside its Redmond, WA, headquarters, with a series of big deals and other announcements … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Summer of Love: A Roundup of the Company’s Hottest Deals and Other News”