So that’s what all those late-night phone calls were about. In the weeks leading up to the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal announced last Wednesday, executives from both companies would gather (virtually) at 9:30 pm PT every night, including weekends, for a conference call to discuss the latest developments. Dinners, baseball games, and camping trips were interrupted. … Continue reading “Microsoft to Pay Yahoo $150M, Hire 550—and Watch the Firms’ Combined Market Share”
Category: National
A123Systems Wins $249M Piece of DOE Grants
A123Systems, the Watertown, MA-based developer of advanced lithium-ion battery systems, appears to be figuring hugely into President Obama’s plans to nurture U.S. development and manufacturing of electric-powered vehicles and cutting edge batteries. The company announced today that it has won a $249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and plans to use the … Continue reading “A123Systems Wins $249M Piece of DOE Grants”
After Weathering First-Year Challenges, KidZui Launches a ‘YouTube for Kids’
KidZui, a San Diego Internet startup for children, says it is launching ZuiTube—a kind of YouTube with a user-interface designed for kids and a library of almost 60,000 videos pre-approved by an editorial team of parents and teachers. The online video destination is free, but the essential challenge for ZuiTube, like KidZui itself, is differentiating … Continue reading “After Weathering First-Year Challenges, KidZui Launches a ‘YouTube for Kids’”
Bill Aulet Takes Reins of MIT Entrepreneurship Center from Ken Morse
Bill Aulet, an Xconomist and one of the most energetic advocates for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Boston area, has been appointed acting director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, according to an announcement made internally yesterday by MIT Sloan School of Management Dean David Schmittlein. Aulet takes the reins from fellow Xconomist Ken Morse, the … Continue reading “Bill Aulet Takes Reins of MIT Entrepreneurship Center from Ken Morse”
Solar Startup LivinGreen Looks to Power Even Rainy Cities
Rarely in Seattle is the power of the sun as remarked upon as in the past week, as temperatures soared into the triple digits. That’s some serious heat, especially for an area proverbial for its rainy, gray skies. Perhaps this makes it a good time to reflect on the fact that Seattle, despite what would … Continue reading “Solar Startup LivinGreen Looks to Power Even Rainy Cities”
State of New England Venture Quiz: Answers and Commentary
Yesterday, I put out a five-question quiz about the state of venture capital in New England. The questions were culled from data gathered or analyzed by Michael Greeley, chairman of the NEVCA and a general partner with Flybridge Capital Partners, and from the first quarter Venture Insights report by Ernst & Young. Today, we have … Continue reading “State of New England Venture Quiz: Answers and Commentary”
Rib-X Antibiotic Passes Clinical Trial, Hopes to Snag Partner
Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, the New Haven, CT-based developer of novel antibiotics, is announcing today that one of its experimental treatments passed a mid-stage clinical trial for patients with a common form of pneumonia. It’s looking to deal with a Big Pharma company with the money and resources to take the drug through the next steps needed … Continue reading “Rib-X Antibiotic Passes Clinical Trial, Hopes to Snag Partner”
Verdiem Reaches More Than a Million Desktops, Doubles Customers for Energy-Saving Software
When we last checked in with Verdiem back in June, the Seattle energy-IT firm was reporting encouraging results from its product trials in Seattle, Chicago, and Honolulu. Today, Verdiem is announcing that its personal computer power-management software has reached a new milestone, having been installed on more than one million desktops. What’s more, the company … Continue reading “Verdiem Reaches More Than a Million Desktops, Doubles Customers for Energy-Saving Software”
Isis, Genzyme Use Antisense to Go Where Many Drugs Fail—The Brain
Doctors can’t do much for patients with a rare, aggressive form of Lou Gehrig’s disease, even though researchers are confident they have pinpointed its genetic cause. But now with help from a clever device that’s supposed to deliver RNA-silencing drugs where they couldn’t go before, Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals is hopeful it may have found … Continue reading “Isis, Genzyme Use Antisense to Go Where Many Drugs Fail—The Brain”
OncoGenex, Toiling in Dendreon’s Shadow, Scopes Out Partners For Prostate Cancer Drug
Name the Seattle biotech company with a drug shown to help men live longer with prostate cancer, which recently raised cash, is negotiating with potential partners, and has seen its stock boom from as low as $2 to $30 a share yesterday. Hint: It’s not Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), the developer of the first-of-a-kind treatment for … Continue reading “OncoGenex, Toiling in Dendreon’s Shadow, Scopes Out Partners For Prostate Cancer Drug”
Genzyme Faces Lawsuit and Competition, Vertex Gathers More Cash for Telprevir, Cardiorobotics Corrals $11.6M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Lots to report this week, and lots of it has to do with Genzyme’s manufacturing trials and tribulations. —An investor from Florida filed suit against Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]), charging that the Cambridge, MA-based biotech behemoth didn’t quickly enough disclose problems at two of its manufacturing plants. —The FDA informed Genzyme that it would re-inspect one of … Continue reading “Genzyme Faces Lawsuit and Competition, Vertex Gathers More Cash for Telprevir, Cardiorobotics Corrals $11.6M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Living in a Material World: The New Information Technology
[This post originally appeared on OVP Venture Partners’ blog—Eds.] Many observers, myself included, consider the 1990s the decade of the computer scientist. Work in digital bits and bytes not only generated significant wealth, it raised the standard of living for hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, as we close out the first … Continue reading “Living in a Material World: The New Information Technology”
Cray Shares Rise on Unexpected Profit from New Supercomputing Contracts
Seattle-based supercomputing company Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]) surprised analysts this morning by turning a modest profit in the second quarter, and was rewarded with a 12 percent bump in its stock price today. Cray said today its revenues for the quarter ($62.7 million) increased by 34 percent compared with the same period last year ($46.7 million). … Continue reading “Cray Shares Rise on Unexpected Profit from New Supercomputing Contracts”
Wanted at TorreyPines Therapeutics: Shareholders Who Vote
TorreyPines Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TPTX]]) has found a new solution to its cash woes: a merger with Novato, CA-based Raptor Pharmaceuticals. To pull off the deal, however, TorreyPines must overcome an old problem: getting its shareholders to vote. Few biotechs come to an end as embarrassingly as San Diego’s TorreyPines Therapeutics. When its board of directors … Continue reading “Wanted at TorreyPines Therapeutics: Shareholders Who Vote”
Inside the Microsoft-Yahoo Deal, Covance Buys Merck’s Rosetta Lab, Delve Teams Up with Akamai, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
Last week’s heat wave did nothing to slow the deal announcements in the Northwest. We saw plenty of action in software, Internet, and biotech. —The big news was the Internet search deal finally announced between Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]), who have been hammering out the details for months. As Eric and I … Continue reading “Inside the Microsoft-Yahoo Deal, Covance Buys Merck’s Rosetta Lab, Delve Teams Up with Akamai, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
In Bold Move Toward Free Online Fantasy Gaming, Turbine Prepares to Throw Open the Gates to Dungeons & Dragons
Few major media markets are as lopsided as the online swords-and-sorcery game genre. World of Warcraft, owned by the Activision Blizzard division of Vivendi SA, has a population of 12 million players, each paying at least $12.99 per month to go on group quests for virtual treasure and glory. Westwood, MA-based Turbine, the maker of … Continue reading “In Bold Move Toward Free Online Fantasy Gaming, Turbine Prepares to Throw Open the Gates to Dungeons & Dragons”
PATH Scientists Discover Cheap, Easy Way to Protect Vaccines from Hot and Cold
Scientists at PATH, the Seattle-based nonprofit that works to improve health in poor countries, have found a cheap and simple way to tackle one of the vexing challenges of global health: how to keep vaccines from going bad when they get either too hot or too cold. PATH scientists, with help from collaborators at U.K-based … Continue reading “PATH Scientists Discover Cheap, Easy Way to Protect Vaccines from Hot and Cold”
Sweet Deal With Firmenich Gives Senomyx Clear Path Forward
San Diego’s Senomyx (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNMX]]) has a clearer road ahead in its development of flavor-enhancing ingredients, after the company said yesterday it will pocket a $10-million upfront payment as part of an expanded collaboration with Switzerland’s Firmenich. Senomyx, which is reporting its second-quarter earnings this morning, says its deal with the world’s largest private company … Continue reading “Sweet Deal With Firmenich Gives Senomyx Clear Path Forward”
Quiz: The State of New England Venture
There’s a lot of talk these days—well, always, really—about the state of venture capital in New England. A lot of it centers on comparisons with Silicon Valley VCs, and most of it isn’t good. Some common complaints or accusations: —New England venture capitalists don’t take risks. —They don’t invest in early stage ventures. —They are … Continue reading “Quiz: The State of New England Venture”
You Talkin’ To Me? Seattle Tech Scene Takes on All Comers
Beneath the friendly, laid-back veneer, the Seattle tech community is a rough-and-tumble lot ready to throw down at a moment’s notice. That’s what you might surmise after the past week, anyway. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. (Though the heat wave might have had something to do with it.) Here’s a quick update … Continue reading “You Talkin’ To Me? Seattle Tech Scene Takes on All Comers”
Shire’s Gaucher Drug Passes Key Trial, Putting More Heat on Genzyme During Shortage
Shire, the U.K.-based specialty pharmaceutical company, had some good news this morning for patients with Gaucher’s disease that might not be nearly as good for its competitor, Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]). Shire said today that its experimental treatment for Gaucher’s, a rare genetic disorder, passed a key clinical trial in 25 patients. This is … Continue reading “Shire’s Gaucher Drug Passes Key Trial, Putting More Heat on Genzyme During Shortage”
Top 10 Lessons in Starting Companies and Commercializing Technologies, from UW Panel
A group of about 40 Taiwanese businessmen and scientists, who were in the U.S. to learn about how best to commercialize technologies from the lab, were treated last Thursday to a University of Washington panel of three veterans of the process, who shared their experiences and the lessons they’ve learned. The panel consisted of serial … Continue reading “Top 10 Lessons in Starting Companies and Commercializing Technologies, from UW Panel”
BrainCells Inc., Defying Convention, Suggests Novel Drug Combination Can Treat Depression
Drugs for treating depression have been around for years now, mostly working in similar ways by blocking certain receptors in the brain. So when San Diego-based BrainCells Inc. proposed a clinical trial with a new way of combining a generic anti-anxiety drug with a common dietary supplement that affects people’s sleeping rhythms, this didn’t exactly … Continue reading “BrainCells Inc., Defying Convention, Suggests Novel Drug Combination Can Treat Depression”
The Inside Story of SAIC and Network Solutions (a Tale in Two Parts), Rayspan Raises Capital, & Other San Diego BizTech News
It was a light week for technology stories in San Diego last week, as I took time away from Xconomy for a family road trip through the Pacific Northwest. The traffic along Interstate 5 was mild, however, in comparison to the record Internet traffic on Xconomy’s San Diego website for our two-part story about SAIC, Network … Continue reading “The Inside Story of SAIC and Network Solutions (a Tale in Two Parts), Rayspan Raises Capital, & Other San Diego BizTech News”
Buddhists May Help Biotechies Solve Big Mental Health Woes, Says Merck Vet Ben Shapiro
One of the big opportunities in biotech over the coming decades may come from neuroscientists who team up with Buddhists. That might sound odd at first, but it’s no joke. This is one of the big ideas on the radar of Bennett Shapiro, the former executive vice president of worldwide basic research at Merck, who … Continue reading “Buddhists May Help Biotechies Solve Big Mental Health Woes, Says Merck Vet Ben Shapiro”
OurStage Act Gaining Partnership Audience Amid Economic Downturn
Chelmsford, MA-based OurStage, which runs monthly contests where bands upload their music and videos to its website to compete for cash and other prizes, is among a number of Web startups in the Boston area that cater to music fans and bands. But the company has also managed to attract a paying corporate audience—providing a … Continue reading “OurStage Act Gaining Partnership Audience Amid Economic Downturn”
Indigo Soul, Lions Ambition Take Top Prizes in Seattle Tech Band Battle; Thanks to WTIA and All Our Sponsors
The rock and roll moment of the night came when James Dixon broke a bass string during the first song from his hard-driving metal band Juda’s Wake. Let me tell you, it’s not that easy to break a bass string unless you really shred it. It’s also not easy to describe Juda’s Wake beyond killer … Continue reading “Indigo Soul, Lions Ambition Take Top Prizes in Seattle Tech Band Battle; Thanks to WTIA and All Our Sponsors”
Netezza Pursues Broader Customer Base with Cheaper Data Storage Technology
The reality in the IT world, as one executive at Marlborough, MA-based Netezza (NYSE: [[ticker:NZ]]) puts it, is that “the cost of adding more data to disks is getting closer to zero every day.” That’s not great news if your traditional business is selling high-performing servers at $60,000 per terabyte. So to keep growing, Netezza … Continue reading “Netezza Pursues Broader Customer Base with Cheaper Data Storage Technology”
Seattle’s Lifestyle Keeps Us Trailing the Bay Area, Says UW Startup Maven Janis Machala
Ed Lazowska, the University of Washington computer science professor, stirred the pot a couple months ago when he said Seattle is a “minor league” innovation town, far behind the big league of the San Francisco Bay Area, so people in the Northwest should quit being smug and start doing something to change that. This week, … Continue reading “Seattle’s Lifestyle Keeps Us Trailing the Bay Area, Says UW Startup Maven Janis Machala”
Shareaholic Becomes the Link-Sharing Tool of Choice—And Builds a Vast Database on Social Media Behavior
Blogging is about active sharing. I’ve known this on an intellectual level for years, but working for Xconomy has made the idea very real to me. My stories reach far more readers if I take a few extra minutes every day to share the items with my e-mail contacts and Twitter followers, and to submit … Continue reading “Shareaholic Becomes the Link-Sharing Tool of Choice—And Builds a Vast Database on Social Media Behavior”
Vertex Scores $105M For Asian Telaprevir Rights, Avila Avails Itself of $30M, IBM Picks Up Ounce Labs, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Is it just me, or is the roundup of New England technology and life sciences deals news getting a little longer each week? —Matrix Partners of Waltham, MA, reportedly raised $600 million for two new funds. A $450 million main fund is to be invested in software, mobile, consumer Internet, communications, and systems startups, and … Continue reading “Vertex Scores $105M For Asian Telaprevir Rights, Avila Avails Itself of $30M, IBM Picks Up Ounce Labs, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
See You Tonight at Battle of the Tech Bands
We’re all still running around covering the fine art of innovation this afternoon, but soon we’ll be heading over to the Pyramid Alehouse next to Safeco Field (see map here), where the stage is being put together for tonight’s big event, as we speak. Xconomy and the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) are partners on … Continue reading “See You Tonight at Battle of the Tech Bands”
Amnis Nails Down Capital to Meet Rising Demand for Scientific Instruments
Seattle-based Amnis, the maker of a scientific instrument that provides detailed images on large numbers of cells, has raised the first $839,000 out of a venture round that’s expected to top out at $1.5 million within a couple of weeks, according to CEO David Basiji. Amnis secured the first batch of funds from its existing … Continue reading “Amnis Nails Down Capital to Meet Rising Demand for Scientific Instruments”
MBTA Data Helps Google Users Get Around Boston
At a press conference in the bustling lobby of Boston’s South Station this morning, Google and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (known to locals as the “T”) announced that they’ve collaborated to make route and schedule information for all T trains and buses available inside Google Maps. It’s all information that’s already online at the … Continue reading “MBTA Data Helps Google Users Get Around Boston”
Vertex Grabs $105M in Amended Telaprevir Deal with Mitsubishi
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) is making its second move this month to raise non-dilutive cash from its previous agreements to commercialize its experimental hepatitis C drug telaprevir. The Cambridge, MA-based firm said this morning that it will receive an upfront sum of $105 million from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in an amended deal between the two companies … Continue reading “Vertex Grabs $105M in Amended Telaprevir Deal with Mitsubishi”
Cray’s Comeback: CEO Peter Ungaro on Clouds, Exaflops, and the Future of Supercomputing
Where I grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s and early 80s, Cray was synonymous with supercomputing. Back then, a supercomputer was a top-flight machine that could perform a few hundred million floating point operations per second (“flops”). That was good enough to help scientists do intensive calculations in areas like weather forecasting, climate … Continue reading “Cray’s Comeback: CEO Peter Ungaro on Clouds, Exaflops, and the Future of Supercomputing”
AVI Biopharma Bolts from Portland to Seattle to Tap Biotech Talent
AVI Biopharma, the developer of RNA-based drugs, is moving its headquarters and part of its scientific operations north a couple hundred miles from Portland, OR, to Bothell, WA, in an effort to mine the Seattle area’s bigger biotech talent pool. The company, which has about 85 total employees, plans to keep its biodefense research and … Continue reading “AVI Biopharma Bolts from Portland to Seattle to Tap Biotech Talent”
MSM Protein Technologies Scores Antibody-Drug Discovery Partnerships
MSM Protein Technologies, a spinoff of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is announcing today it has secured partnerships with Germany-based Merck KGaA, and Switzerland-based Debiopharm Group, a drug development firm. The team at Medford, MA-based MSM will work to create antibody drugs that zero in on complex targets on cells known as G-protein coupled receptors and other … Continue reading “MSM Protein Technologies Scores Antibody-Drug Discovery Partnerships”
The Untold Story of SAIC, Network Solutions, and the Rise of the Web—Part 2
The beginning of the Internet gold rush is often dated with some precision—the date of Netscape Communications’ IPO, on Aug. 9, 1995—even though a broad array of Internet-related technologies had been under development for years before that. A case in point is Network Solutions Inc., a small Herndon, VA, computer networking company that was acquired … Continue reading “The Untold Story of SAIC, Network Solutions, and the Rise of the Web—Part 2”
$50M for Helicon, Cytori Bulks Up, Avanir Awaits Trial Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
Several of San Diego’s biotech and life sciences companies raised money this past week, while others await the result of studies to see if the money they’ve already invested will pay off. —Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYTX]]), which is developing a device that can isolate and process regenerative cells from a patient’s fat tissue, has been … Continue reading “$50M for Helicon, Cytori Bulks Up, Avanir Awaits Trial Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Dendreon’s Former Boss Predicts Takeover, Covance Buys Merck Lab, How NanoString Got $30M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was another busy week on the Seattle biotech scene, with some takeover speculation surrounding the latest success story (Dendreon), a big pharmaceutical industry player moving to town (Covance), and a behind-the-scenes tale of how NanoString Technologies scored one of the bigger venture investments of the year. —Christopher Henney, the former CEO of Dendreon (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Dendreon’s Former Boss Predicts Takeover, Covance Buys Merck Lab, How NanoString Got $30M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Making Carbon Credits Count: World Energy Upgrades Green Exchange Marketplace
If you worry about contributing to global warming–and who doesn’t?—there’s more than one way to go green. You can take actions to reduce your carbon footprint,which, for a big company, might mean doing things like building a LEED-certified office building or buying hybrid vehicles for your corporate fleet. Or you can buy carbon offsets, also … Continue reading “Making Carbon Credits Count: World Energy Upgrades Green Exchange Marketplace”
Covance CEO Says It Will Be “A Shame” If He Can’t Double or Triple Rosetta Lab Growth
The world’s largest company that provides contract research services to drugmakers is coming to Seattle, and its CEO has some ambitious plans to grow here (and maybe do a few Cascade hikes while he’s out here too). That was the upshot from my follow-up conversation with Covance CEO Joe Herring, shortly after the Princeton, NJ-based … Continue reading “Covance CEO Says It Will Be “A Shame” If He Can’t Double or Triple Rosetta Lab Growth”
Covance Buys Key Piece of Merck’s Rosetta Operation in Seattle
Covance, the giant drug development services company based in Princeton, NJ, said today it has agreed to acquire a Seattle laboratory run by Merck’s Rosetta operation that performs genomic analysis tests for biologists around the world. Merck has been gradually winding down its Rosetta operations in Seattle since last October, when it said it would … Continue reading “Covance Buys Key Piece of Merck’s Rosetta Operation in Seattle”
Inside the Microsoft-Yahoo Deal, and the Future of the Search Competition with Google
Microsoft and Yahoo officially announced this morning that they had reached a search engine and advertising agreement. Amid intense speculation, and after more than a year of disagreements over minor and not-so-minor details, the two companies have signed a ten-year agreement that puts Redmond, WA-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) in control of both companies’ search engine … Continue reading “Inside the Microsoft-Yahoo Deal, and the Future of the Search Competition with Google”
Joule Debuts Biofuel Technology, Genzyme Cleans House, Avila Banks $30M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
New England’s life sciences companies gave us a number of cool new technologies and interesting deals to talk about this week. —Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) finished cleaning up its Allston, MA-based plant after a viral contamination which caused 6-to-8 week supply shortages of two of its best-selling drugs. —–Archemix, also of Cambridge, forged an … Continue reading “Joule Debuts Biofuel Technology, Genzyme Cleans House, Avila Banks $30M, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Patrick Administration Questions the Case for Changing Noncompetes; Community Reacts
[Updated with extensive comments—see pages 2 and 3] In a message posted yesterday on his “Mass Innovation” blog, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory Bialecki says the case for outlawing noncompete clauses in employment contracts in the state is not yet “sufficiently proven” for Governor Deval Patrick’s administration to throw its weight behind … Continue reading “Patrick Administration Questions the Case for Changing Noncompetes; Community Reacts”
Mathcad Inventor Reveals New Startup’s True Ambition—Numbers That Mean More and Don’t Make Mistakes
Engineering may be a numbers-driven profession, but it’s the context surrounding the numbers that makes all the difference. NASA learned that the hard way in September 1999. Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory programmed thrusters on the Mars Climate Orbiter, which was designed to take up a permanent orbit around the Red Planet, to expect … Continue reading “Mathcad Inventor Reveals New Startup’s True Ambition—Numbers That Mean More and Don’t Make Mistakes”
The Untold Story of SAIC, Network Solutions, and the Rise of the Web—Part 1
Even when the Internet boom was happening—even during the incandescent gold rush years of the late 1990s—Network Solutions was not exactly a household corporate name. Not compared to the first wave of companies like America Online or Netscape Communications, whose Aug. 9, 1995, IPO seems to be the demarcation line between everything that existed before … Continue reading “The Untold Story of SAIC, Network Solutions, and the Rise of the Web—Part 1”
Clarus Leans on Customer Reviews at the Broad Institute to Bet on NanoString
[Corrected July 29, 10 a.m. See below.] Warren Buffett says he became one of the world’s most successful investors partly because he only invests in businesses he understands. But where do you find investors if your niche is in something called direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression? Last month, Seattle-based NanoString Technologies, the developer of … Continue reading “Clarus Leans on Customer Reviews at the Broad Institute to Bet on NanoString”