Acucela, the Bothell, WA-based biotech company, is on a mission to develop the first effective treatment for the leading cause of blindness in elderly people. Today, it is presenting some preliminary data that shows its drug has passed an early safety test and is ready to advance to the next phase, in which it begins … Continue reading “Acucela Drug for Macular Degeneration Passes Early Safety Test”
Category: National
Dendreon Plans to Raise Cash for Manufacturing, Marketing
Dendreon is gearing up to raise more cash. The Seattle biotech company disclosed today in its quarterly report that it had $91.2 million in cash and investments on hand on March 31, an amount that “will not be sufficient” to pay all the bills over the next 12 months as it ramps up to market … Continue reading “Dendreon Plans to Raise Cash for Manufacturing, Marketing”
Lux Capital’s Larry Bock and Josh Wolfe Warm to Venture Deals Despite Nuclear Winter
Since it began raising its second venture fund several years ago, New York-based Lux Capital has only invested in one startup in the San Diego region—Carlsbad’s Luxtera, which specializes in developing technologies to eliminate the bottlenecks in fiber optic networks for computers. (Luxtera got $26.7 million in a later-stage venture round at the end of … Continue reading “Lux Capital’s Larry Bock and Josh Wolfe Warm to Venture Deals Despite Nuclear Winter”
A New Nexus for Nomadic Entrepreneurs at the Cambridge Innovation Center
As any freelancer or self-employed person will tell you, working alone can be isolating—but the alternative, hanging out at Starbucks all day, can drain your wallet and lead to overcaffeination. Fortunately, if you’re the type who needs a little company, collaboration, and commotion to get real work done, there are a few new places to … Continue reading “A New Nexus for Nomadic Entrepreneurs at the Cambridge Innovation Center”
CombinatoRx Cuts Deal for Cancer Drug Discovery with Novartis
CombinatoRx, the Cambridge, MA-based firm focused on the discovery and development of combination drugs, says it has inked a new alliance with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis to use its technology to find combo treatments for cancer. The deal provides CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRXX]]) with an upfront payment of $4 million and a bit of good news after … Continue reading “CombinatoRx Cuts Deal for Cancer Drug Discovery with Novartis”
Small Businesses Will Inherit the Earth
The economy is forcing companies of all sizes to do more with less. The big winners are increasingly the small businesses and specialized sole proprietors. On one hand, they provide the “just in time” component services no longer staffed at the downsized firms, and on the other, they are adept at operating with lean resources … Continue reading “Small Businesses Will Inherit the Earth”
How Foundry Group Got the Gist of T.A. McCann’s Startup: Anatomy of a Software Deal
Every deal has a back story you can learn from. In the case of Gist—the Seattle software startup that announced yesterday it raised $6.75 million in Series A funding from Foundry Group and Vulcan Capital—the key connection came about because of a timely combination of blogs and social networks. Which is fitting because Gist is … Continue reading “How Foundry Group Got the Gist of T.A. McCann’s Startup: Anatomy of a Software Deal”
Take a Deep Breath, Collect Cash: Zendesk Wins Venture Financing for Help-Desk Software
Almost by definition, anyone who gets to the point of submitting an online help request to a software or services company is frustrated, possibly even angry. Responding to a flood of help requests constructively takes calmness and strength—and that’s what Zendesk, a help desk management outsourcing company, tries to supply to its own customers, including … Continue reading “Take a Deep Breath, Collect Cash: Zendesk Wins Venture Financing for Help-Desk Software”
Dendreon Goes on Hiring Binge After Prostate Cancer Drug Boosts Survival
Dendreon partied at a medical meeting last week in Chicago after it showed that its immune-stimulating therapy could extend the lives of prostate cancer patients with minimal side effects. Now the biotech company is fast at work again, looking to hire 60 new people to make sure it performs all the work necessary to turn … Continue reading “Dendreon Goes on Hiring Binge After Prostate Cancer Drug Boosts Survival”
Illumina Sues Affymetrix for Patent Infringement of Genetic Analysis Technology
Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the San Diego-based developer of genetic analysis systems, said today it has filed a patent infringement suit in federal court in Madison, WI, against Affymetrix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFX]]), the Santa Clara, CA-based maker of semiconductor-based “GeneChip” technology. The suit asserts that a variety of array plate products and a related scanner sold by … Continue reading “Illumina Sues Affymetrix for Patent Infringement of Genetic Analysis Technology”
ZymoGenetics Drug Sales Still Slumping After Full Year on Market
ZymoGenetics is still struggling to generate sales from its lone commercial product. The Seattle biotech company said today it had $4.5 million in sales of recombinant thrombin (Recothrom) for surgical bleeding in the first quarter, which is down slightly from $4.7 million in the previous quarter. The trend can’t be encouraging, although ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Drug Sales Still Slumping After Full Year on Market”
Group Names IBM, Zeemote, Infinity, Wolfe Executives as Leading Women Entrepreneurs
A study last year by Cristian Dezsö, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s business school, found that the more women a company has as senior managers, the better it performs financially—and that the advantage comes from a “female management style” that emphasizes teamwork, collaboration, and innovation. To highlight women executives in Massachusetts who … Continue reading “Group Names IBM, Zeemote, Infinity, Wolfe Executives as Leading Women Entrepreneurs”
Powerit Pulls in $6M to Solidify Position in Energy Efficiency and Management
Seattle-based Powerit Solutions, a maker of energy management and energy efficiency technology for commercial and industrial facilities, announced today it has raised $6 million in new funding. The round was led by new investors Siemens Venture Capital and ArcelorMittal’s Clean Technology Fund, and included existing investors @Ventures and Expansion Capital Partners. Powerit (pronounced “Power I.T.”) … Continue reading “Powerit Pulls in $6M to Solidify Position in Energy Efficiency and Management”
Fresh Capital Flows to Arsenal, Azuki, Synageva, and Viximo
It’s pouring venture deals in Boston today. So rather than flood our dear readers with multiple posts, we’ve compiled the news on deals recently completed by Arsenal Medical, Azuki Systems, Synageva BioPharma, and Viximo into a single story. Given the unsavory climate for raising venture dollars, we’ll call these companies the “Fortunate Four.” Watertown, MA-based … Continue reading “Fresh Capital Flows to Arsenal, Azuki, Synageva, and Viximo”
Diabetes Drug Application May Be New Factor in Amylin Proxy Battle
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]), which is engaged in a proxy fight, has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for exenatide, its once weekly drug for type 2 diabetes. The San Diego biotech made the announcement today with Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]), its marketing partner, and Cambridge, MA-based drug developing … Continue reading “Diabetes Drug Application May Be New Factor in Amylin Proxy Battle”
Calistoga Raises $30M to Develop Drugs for Cancer, Inflammation
Seattle-based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals has raised $30 million in a second round of venture capital to support its growing pipeline of drugs for cancer and inflammatory diseases. The venture financing is the second-biggest of the year in the Seattle life sciences cluster, behind the $40 million raised in March by Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies. Calistoga … Continue reading “Calistoga Raises $30M to Develop Drugs for Cancer, Inflammation”
Gist Gets $6.75M From Vulcan, Foundry Group
Gist, a Seattle startup developing an online service intended to help people organize information from disparate sources on the Web in a single location, has raised $6.75 million in a Series A round of financing, according to a statement. Foundry Group, a Boulder, CO-based venture firm, led the new round of financing, which included contributions … Continue reading “Gist Gets $6.75M From Vulcan, Foundry Group”
Innovating Through the Downturn: The View from the Nantucket Conference
At the Nantucket Conference, an invitation-only gathering of New England-area CEOs, entrepreneurs, venture partners, and select others, first-time attendees get a single blue dot on their nametags. Alumni get another dot for every year they’ve attended, and veterans of five or more conferences get a gold starfish pin. About a third of the participants at … Continue reading “Innovating Through the Downturn: The View from the Nantucket Conference”
Reva Medical Regaining Ground in Development of Next-Generation Stent
In the race to develop a fully dissolvable cardiac stent, San Diego’s Reva Medical is clearly second. And to CEO Robert Shultz, that’s a good place to be, especially for a startup that had to restart development of its stent technology. The cost of establishing a big new market, Shultz says, is better left to … Continue reading “Reva Medical Regaining Ground in Development of Next-Generation Stent”
Urbanspoon Exits, Likewise Lands $10M, Zymo Licenses Drugs to Startup, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a pretty busy week for deals in the Northwest, with activity in consumer Internet, security software, gaming, and biotech. —The most talked-about deal in the Seattle startup community was Urbanspoon’s acquisition by New York-based IAC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IACI]]), which owns dozens of popular websites like Citysearch and Evite. Financial terms were not disclosed. Urbanspoon, … Continue reading “Urbanspoon Exits, Likewise Lands $10M, Zymo Licenses Drugs to Startup, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
An Ex-Cop Talks With Xconomy About Using X-Rays to Scan Cars
When I met Steven W. Smith last week, the founder of Spectrum San Diego made a casual comment that might help explain why he’s focused his company on developing advanced security imaging systems. Smith was explaining the technical advantages of Spectrum’s mainstay product—an ultra-high resolution video surveillance system—when he said: “Before I went to graduate … Continue reading “An Ex-Cop Talks With Xconomy About Using X-Rays to Scan Cars”
NABsys Secures $4M First Round to Develop Electronic DNA Sequencing
NABsys, a Providence, RI-based startup focused on advanced DNA sequencing technology, has raised $4 million in a Series A round of financing intended to help it develop a novel approach of using electronics to potentially sequence the human genome quicker and less expensively than available methods. The firm, which was expected to reveal the closing … Continue reading “NABsys Secures $4M First Round to Develop Electronic DNA Sequencing”
Biotech Business Model “Unsustainable” in Financial Crisis, E&Y Says
Biotechnology by its nature goes through booms and busts driven by hope and fear, but now the industry is really in deep trouble. That’s the big headline coming out of this year’s Ernst & Young annual biotech survey, Beyond Borders. Common sense would tell you that in a global economic meltdown, where mainstays like Citigroup … Continue reading “Biotech Business Model “Unsustainable” in Financial Crisis, E&Y Says”
Pathway Medical Cuts One-Fifth of Staff as Fundraising, Sales Projections Fall Short
Pathway Medical Technologies, the Kirkland, WA-based medical device maker, has cut about one-fifth of its staff because its latest round of venture financing fell short of expectations, Xconomy has learned. Today, Pathway eliminated 39 jobs, or about 19 percent of its workforce, leaving it with a staff of about 170, according to CEO Paul Buckman. … Continue reading “Pathway Medical Cuts One-Fifth of Staff as Fundraising, Sales Projections Fall Short”
ZymoGenetics Unloads Drug Candidates to Cut Costs, Spin Off New Company
One company’s cost burden can sometimes be a vital building block for another. That’s the impression I got today from Seattle-based ZymoGenetics, which said it is licensing away the rights to eight different drug candidates in early development to a new startup company called Seattle Life Sciences. Under the deal, ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) is handing … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Unloads Drug Candidates to Cut Costs, Spin Off New Company”
Amylin Cuts 200 Sales Reps, Looks for $45M in Savings Next Year
San Diego diabetes drugmaker Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]), under pressure to cut costs, said today it plans to lay off 200 sales representatives, or 11 percent of its total worldwide workforce. But it’s unclear if that will be enough to appease dissident shareholders Carl Icahn and Eastbourne Capital Management, which together own a 22 percent … Continue reading “Amylin Cuts 200 Sales Reps, Looks for $45M in Savings Next Year”
Arrowsmith Challenges Scientific Establishment With New Approach for Brain Cancer
Much has been written about personalizing cancer drugs by giving them to patients with a genetic profile that makes them likely to respond to treatment. But what if doctors could tailor cancer drugs a different way, confining standard chemotherapy to a precise organ or cancerous region, without sending the drugs flowing throughout the rest of … Continue reading “Arrowsmith Challenges Scientific Establishment With New Approach for Brain Cancer”
Second Group of Clean Energy Council Fellows Unveiled
As we reported in February, the New England Clean Energy Council extensively revised its executive retraining fellowship program in preparation for its second year. Most notably, the council decided to recruit twice as many people as last year. But it also said it would expand its focus beyond former CEOs to people from other levels … Continue reading “Second Group of Clean Energy Council Fellows Unveiled”
Acadia Shares Soar on Alliance With Biovail for Parkinson’s Psychosis Drug
Acadia Pharmaceuticals struck an important deal this morning to continue developing a Parkinson’s drug. The San Diego-based biotech company said it will get $30 million in upfront cash through an alliance with Biovail to develop a new drug for psychoses related to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Acadia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) stands to get as much as … Continue reading “Acadia Shares Soar on Alliance With Biovail for Parkinson’s Psychosis Drug”
A Big Convergence: Wireless Health Care, Information Technologies, and Serial Entrepreneur James Sweeney
San Diego’s James Sweeney is a big-time health-care innovator and entrepreneur. Although he’s relatively unknown to the general public, Sweeney has founded and created eight successful health-care companies—Caremark, CarePartners, CareGivers, Central Admixture Pharmacy Services, or CAPS, McGaw, Coram, Bridge Medical, and CardioNet. Sweeney founded his first company in 1979 as Home Health Care of America, … Continue reading “A Big Convergence: Wireless Health Care, Information Technologies, and Serial Entrepreneur James Sweeney”
Ironwood Gets $40M From European Partner for Constipation Drug
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has found a way to sustain its momentum, even in a downturn. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company is announcing today it has secured $40 million in upfront payments by finding a partner to develop and commercialize its top drug candidate in Europe. Ironwood said it is providing European development and commercial rights for … Continue reading “Ironwood Gets $40M From European Partner for Constipation Drug”
Qualcomm and Broadcom Sign Patent Peace Treaty, A Green Day for San Diego (as in Algae, Not Rock n’ Roll), Corporate Crisis Hits Sequenom, & Other San Diego BizTech News
What a week for news! Qualcomm and Broadcom agreed to drop their respective patent lawsuits—and sue for peace, while Prize Capital moved closer to creating a $10 million prize competition, and shares of San Diego’s Sequenom fell 70 percent on news of mishandled data. It’s all in our Xconomy roundup. —San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) … Continue reading “Qualcomm and Broadcom Sign Patent Peace Treaty, A Green Day for San Diego (as in Algae, Not Rock n’ Roll), Corporate Crisis Hits Sequenom, & Other San Diego BizTech News”
Microsoft’s Cloud Platform, Azure, Looks to Combine Best of Google, Amazon Web Services
The idea of computing “in the cloud” is certainly, well, in the air—to the point where I think people are starting to become allergic to it. It seems that “cloud computing” has become the new “nano.” Putting the term in front of whatever your business is doing doesn’t necessarily make it a good (or even … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Cloud Platform, Azure, Looks to Combine Best of Google, Amazon Web Services”
“Thank You For Supporting Capitalism” and Other Investor Tales of Two Cities
Two weeks ago, I was in Atlanta for the annual Angel Capital Association (ACA) conference and, this past week, here in Boston for the annual National Venture Capital Association conference. Depending on whom you asked at both conferences, it was the best of times or the worst of times, most likely depending on whether or … Continue reading ““Thank You For Supporting Capitalism” and Other Investor Tales of Two Cities”
Facebook Co-Founder Settles in at General Catalyst: Out to Learn and Help Young Entrepreneurs
This article is a prototype for a new, still-unnamed weekly column featuring conversations with local innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors. Picture the prospects for innovation if entrepreneurial college students brimming with energy and ideas—as they always are—learned to better vet and shape those ideas into concepts with real business potential, gaining the self-confidence and sense of … Continue reading “Facebook Co-Founder Settles in at General Catalyst: Out to Learn and Help Young Entrepreneurs”
Things I Learned at the National Venture Capital Association Meeting
I am at the annual meeting of the National Venture Capital Association being held in Boston lastthis week. The tone was remarkably upbeat—but only for those firms with either a new fund or who somehow avoided making a lot of overvalued investments during the last few years. There was a lot of rhetoric about how/when/whether … Continue reading “Things I Learned at the National Venture Capital Association Meeting”
ProQuo’s Founding CEO Takes a Sabbatical to Teach at Cornell
Steven Gal, who founded San Diego-based ProQuo to help consumers control their personal information and reduce their junk mail, bid a fond farewell in an e-mail blast this afternoon. “I can’t say I saw this economic nuclear winter coming last year when I decided to take a sabbatical from tech startups and return to teaching … Continue reading “ProQuo’s Founding CEO Takes a Sabbatical to Teach at Cornell”
Ray Ozzie on Cloud Strategy and Washington Vs. Massachusetts: Takeaways from Tech Alliance
In football, the expression is “three yards and a cloud of dust.” But at Microsoft, it’s apparently “three screens and a cloud.” That’s according to chief software architect Ray Ozzie, who took part in a keynote conversation with University of Washington computer scientist Ed Lazowska at today’s State of Technology Luncheon, hosted by the Technology … Continue reading “Ray Ozzie on Cloud Strategy and Washington Vs. Massachusetts: Takeaways from Tech Alliance”
Polaris’s McGuire Takes Helm at U.S. Venture Group, Plans to Fight Obama Effort to Hike Taxes on VC Firms
It’s probably fitting that I caught up with Boston venture veteran Terry McGuire this week while he was chatting in a corner of a busy conference room with his West Coast counterpart, Dixon Doll. McGuire, a co-founder and managing general partner of Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners, introduced Doll to me as the chairman of … Continue reading “Polaris’s McGuire Takes Helm at U.S. Venture Group, Plans to Fight Obama Effort to Hike Taxes on VC Firms”
How to Raise $50M in a Recession: Highlights from the Xconomy Life Sciences Forum
Some of biotech’s most innovative drugs emerged under the worst financial conditions. Two big breakthroughs in the 1990s, Enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis and Rituxan for lymphoma, came from small biotech companies that toiled for years, and survived brushes with extinction, before they made it. This history lesson came up in conversations I had with entrepreneurs … Continue reading “How to Raise $50M in a Recession: Highlights from the Xconomy Life Sciences Forum”
What the Urbanspoon Acquisition Means for Consumer Internet Startups
One of the year’s most talked-about deals so far was this week’s announcement that Seattle-based Urbanspoon, the online restaurant guide and iPhone application, has been bought by Internet giant IAC. Financial terms were not disclosed, but reactions I’ve heard from local entrepreneurs and investors have ranged anywhere from “this is great for Urbanspoon and the … Continue reading “What the Urbanspoon Acquisition Means for Consumer Internet Startups”
PhotoThera Raises $50M for Laser-Based Stroke Treatment
PhotoThera, a Carlsbad, CA, startup developing transcranial laser therapy for treating acute ischemic stroke, said it has closed a $50 million Series D round of financing led by Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm. The funding is intended to support a planned Phase 3 clinical study of the treatment, which is designed to be given … Continue reading “PhotoThera Raises $50M for Laser-Based Stroke Treatment”
Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella Sees a Way Through the Recession
San Diego’s Avalon Ventures is among a handful of homegrown VC firms that remains an active investor in early stage companies in the region, even though overall venture funding is anemic right now. But Avalon founder Kevin Kinsella sees a healthy resurgence of venture activities—and even some IPOs on the horizon. “The situation is what … Continue reading “Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella Sees a Way Through the Recession”
Acme Packet Packs Up Covergence, Thermo Buys Biolab, Q1 Was Kind to Mobile, & More Boston-Area Deals News
I’ve got several acquisitions to report this week, and some other interesting New England tech and life sciences deals as well. —Mobile Monday Boston released figures indicating that the first quarter of 2009 was the best in the last five quarters in terms of investment in Boston-area mobile technology companies. Eleven companies raised a total … Continue reading “Acme Packet Packs Up Covergence, Thermo Buys Biolab, Q1 Was Kind to Mobile, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Cascadia Capital Internet Report Touts Future of Social Media, Mobile, and Online Marketing
Seattle-based investment bank Cascadia Capital released a comprehensive report today on the state of the Internet and new media market and its future prospects. The analysis points to social media and mobile applications as areas in which companies are most likely to make money in the next couple of years. It also fleshes out the … Continue reading “Cascadia Capital Internet Report Touts Future of Social Media, Mobile, and Online Marketing”
Three Things Every Startup Should Do, As Inspired by UW Business Competition
I overheard some crucial advice for young startups while helping judge the UW Business Plan competition on Tuesday. As I worked the room, I compared notes on the various teams with some well-established entrepreneurs like Steve McCracken of CultureMob, Brent Lamphier of Athleon, Nathan Kaiser of nPost, and Marcelo Calbucci of Sampa and Seattle 2.0. … Continue reading “Three Things Every Startup Should Do, As Inspired by UW Business Competition”
Ethertronics Developing Active Antennas For Cornucopia of Next-Generation Wireless Services
Earlier this month, Xconomy reported that San Diego’s Ethertronics raised an additional $4 million in a secondary round of venture funding. Yesterday, I sat down with Sahil Bansal, Ethertronics’ director of strategic marketing, who explained how the company has emerged as a specialist in embedded antennas for cell phones and how it’s planning to use … Continue reading “Ethertronics Developing Active Antennas For Cornucopia of Next-Generation Wireless Services”
Dendreon Drug Prolongs Life, ZymoGenetics Cuts Staff, Microsoft Tackles Biotech & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week, Seattle biotech got some of the best news it has seen in years. One local biotech company, Dendreon, scored a major coup by generating results that show its immune-boosting drug for prostate cancer can prolong life with minimal side effects. But there was a lot more happening in the local lab scene than … Continue reading “Dendreon Drug Prolongs Life, ZymoGenetics Cuts Staff, Microsoft Tackles Biotech & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Oral RNAi Drug Stops Inflammation in Mice, RXi Says
The big challenge in the field of RNA interference drugs is with how to deliver them effectively through the body. Now scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are reporting today in Nature they have come up with an oral pill form of this gene-silencing approach, which passed an early test in mice. If … Continue reading “Oral RNAi Drug Stops Inflammation in Mice, RXi Says”
Currensee: A Support Network for Traders Risking their Personal Fortunes on the Foreign Exchange Market
If following the stock market’s swoon hasn’t been enough to sink your confidence in capitalism and the financial industry, you may want to try your hand at currency trading on the foreign exchange market. Enormous amounts of money slosh from border to border on the “forex” market, as it’s called—the equivalent of several trillion dollars … Continue reading “Currensee: A Support Network for Traders Risking their Personal Fortunes on the Foreign Exchange Market”