Since the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago, San Diego has morphed from a Navy town into a capital of innovation that is renowned for its wireless industry, burgeoning biomedical community, and research institutions set like a city on a hill. Yet it seems like there has always been a dearth of homegrown venture capital … Continue reading “San Diego Seeks to Remedy Scarcity of Homegrown Venture Capital”
Category: National
Dimdim Upgrades Its Alternative Web Conferencing System
In last week’s interview with Dimdim CEO DD Ganguly and chief marketing officer Steve Chazin, I hinted that the 5.0 version of the Methuen, MA, company’s Web-based conferencing software was nearing release. Well, today it’s out. Organizations tired of paying high prices to use systems like Cisco’s WebEx, Citrix’s GoToMeeting, and Microsoft’s Live Meeting may … Continue reading “Dimdim Upgrades Its Alternative Web Conferencing System”
A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 3)
~5pm, April 1—Outside the Library of Congress (it’s raining lightly, and hordes of students are milling about). A full day of running around Capitol Hill began yesterday with the New England Clean Energy Council masses arriving at the Capitol Building just as it was having a security alert—again, April Fool’s or not? Turned out to … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 3)”
HydroSense, With Plan to Conserve Water, Wins UW Environmental Business Competition
University of Washington president Mark Emmert told a group of local business leaders last fall that two issues, above all others, can rally the intellectual energy of the institution’s students and faculty—environmental sustainability and global health. Yesterday, some of those students and researchers showed off their best business ideas for the environment and competed for … Continue reading “HydroSense, With Plan to Conserve Water, Wins UW Environmental Business Competition”
UW’s Protein Guru, David Baker, Eyes Alternative Biofuels, Vaccines in New 3-D Structures
David Baker’s parents were both scientists at the University of Washington, and growing up, he figured that was the last thing he’d ever want to be. Yet after a couple of intriguing detours, his life path has led him right back to the UW campus. It’s there that he has carved out his own path … Continue reading “UW’s Protein Guru, David Baker, Eyes Alternative Biofuels, Vaccines in New 3-D Structures”
Genzyme Enters Seattle Hub, Oncothyreon Bets on Cancer Drugs, Pathway Nabs $40M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
The local biotech scene was busy again this week at Xconomy, with breaking news about one of the world’s biggest biotech companies (Genzyme) coming to town, a local medical device leader attracting $40 million in venture capital (Pathway Medical Technologies), and an exclusive feature about how one publicly traded company in Seattle (Oncothyreon) has switched … Continue reading “Genzyme Enters Seattle Hub, Oncothyreon Bets on Cancer Drugs, Pathway Nabs $40M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
New E-Mail Management Software from EMC Helps Companies Cope with Litigation
It’s a rare event for EMC, the Hopkinton, MA-based storage and information management giant that has been on an acquisition spree over the last few years, to launch a new product line in-house. But that’s what’s happening this week as EMC rolls out “SourceOne,” a new family of software products designed to help companies prepare … Continue reading “New E-Mail Management Software from EMC Helps Companies Cope with Litigation”
Anything But Ordinary: Bonanzle Aims To Be the Social Site for Buying and Selling Niche Items
First off, please don’t call it an eBay competitor. Sure, it’s in the online marketplace space, but it’s going after a specialized segment with a different approach. The startup is called Bonanzle, it’s based in Kirkland, WA, and it has one of the most promising trajectories of any young company in the Northwest. Bottom line: … Continue reading “Anything But Ordinary: Bonanzle Aims To Be the Social Site for Buying and Selling Niche Items”
A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 2)
Spring has sprung in DC—the Cherry Blossoms are out, and the buses full of students are everywhere. First stop for the day was Congressman Barney Frank’s office to discuss an initiative to develop a clean energy accelerator park in New Bedford, MA. More on this later, but a few immediate takeaways: —The prep work for … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 2)”
Veoh Restructuring Includes Layoffs
[Editors Note: See update below] Veoh, the San Diego-based Internet video and TV program provider, is reportedly undergoing a “major restructuring” that includes significant cuts in its workforce and a change in strategy, according to VentureBeat. Another web site, NewTeevee, says the layoffs include some Veoh executives, and the number could be “more than 40 … Continue reading “Veoh Restructuring Includes Layoffs”
Big Drop in 1Q M&A Deals for VC-Backed Companies, IPO Drought Continues
We know there’s been a serious decline in exits for venture capitalists and their portfolio companies for the past year or more. Now two separate studies—one from Dow Jones VentureSource and the other done by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Thomson Reuters—show just how abysmal M&A and IPO activities were in the first … Continue reading “Big Drop in 1Q M&A Deals for VC-Backed Companies, IPO Drought Continues”
A Visit to the Capitol Markets
As I sit here in seat 8B on the 6:40am Delta Shuttle to DC, I am hoping the extraordinarily bumpy ride is not a harbinger of the prospects we face over the next two days as a large group of clean tech industry leaders converge on Washington as part of the DC Fly In organized … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets”
Tizra Makes Stimulus Bill Searchable
Until now, the only way to read the 400-plus-page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (otherwise known as the Stimulus Bill) has been to download a 13-megabyte PDF version or scroll through messy, unpaginated HTML versions. But now Tizra, the Providence, RI online publishing company we profiled in February, has used its platform to … Continue reading “Tizra Makes Stimulus Bill Searchable”
Google’s Cloud Computing Platform Aims to Fuel Growth of Web Applications, Users, Revenues
[Updated April 5 with a correction: Google’s Mike Repass is based in San Francisco, not Seattle] On Monday evening, I stopped by a talk on “Google’s world view of cloud computing,” organized by the Washington Technology Industry Association as part of its series of events on this emerging IT trend. The first event we covered, … Continue reading “Google’s Cloud Computing Platform Aims to Fuel Growth of Web Applications, Users, Revenues”
The Climate for Early-Stage Life Sciences Startups—And 12 Companies Seeking Weather-Proof Investors
Life goes on, even in the face of great tragedy. Startup life also goes on, even in the face of great economic decline. That was one message that came through loud and clear yesterday at the Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference, an annual event (this was the fifth) put on by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer … Continue reading “The Climate for Early-Stage Life Sciences Startups—And 12 Companies Seeking Weather-Proof Investors”
The Ups and Downs of Bitboys, Now Known As Qualcomm Finland
San Diego’s mobile-chip giant Qualcomm (NYSE: [[ticker:QCOM]]) said it wanted to enhance its capabilities in the mobile-graphics space when it acquired Advanced Micro Devices’s (NYSE: [[ticker:AMD]]) hand-held chip division in January. As part of the AMD deal, Qualcomm also acquired Bitboys, a small company in Finland that specializes in making mobile phone graphics look good … Continue reading “The Ups and Downs of Bitboys, Now Known As Qualcomm Finland”
Riding a Cancer Diagnostics Wave, Genoptix Sees Boom Continuing in 2009
There are about 11,000 physicians in the U.S. whose job is to diagnose and treat people thought to have cancers of the blood. These specialty physicians need to sort through a dizzying number of lab tests to identify subtle differences in types and stages of leukemias, lymphomas, and myelomas. Get it exactly right, and it … Continue reading “Riding a Cancer Diagnostics Wave, Genoptix Sees Boom Continuing in 2009”
Genzyme Shrinks Gene Therapy Effort, Expands Oncology; BioVex Raises $40M For Cancer-Fighting Viruses; Biogen Looks to Future of MS Franchise; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
If you ever wanted to get the big picture on some of New England’s biggest biotechs, this was certainly a good week to do so. —Just six months after securing its $20 million first round of financing, Cambridge, MA-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals struck a deal putting a late-stage drug candidate into its pipeline. Alnara licensed the … Continue reading “Genzyme Shrinks Gene Therapy Effort, Expands Oncology; BioVex Raises $40M For Cancer-Fighting Viruses; Biogen Looks to Future of MS Franchise; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Ignition’s Brad Silverberg Says No Company Split, Just Different Funds
Xconomy reported yesterday that Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners has split into separate management organizations with the formation of downtown Seattle-based Ignition Capital, which is focused on growth-stage and private equity investments. Reached by e-mail, Ignition Partners co-founder Brad Silverberg says that Ignition is still one firm, with three complementary funds. That’s despite the fact that … Continue reading “Ignition’s Brad Silverberg Says No Company Split, Just Different Funds”
Sweden’s Innovation Bridge Sets Up “Soft Landing” in San Diego
A Swedish networking organization that promotes innovation and university startup companies said today it is establishing a beachhead in San Diego to serve as a “soft landing” for Swedish technology companies looking for U.S. partners. It is the first move overseas for Sweden’s Innovationsbro, or “Innovation Bridge,” which is affiliated with Linköping University and is … Continue reading “Sweden’s Innovation Bridge Sets Up “Soft Landing” in San Diego”
Genzyme Acquires Three Cancer Drugs From Bayer, Enters Seattle Biotech Hub
[[Updated: 4:50 pm Eastern time]] Genzyme, the world’s largest maker of drugs for rare genetic diseases, is making a big move into broader diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis to continue fuelling its growth. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said today it is acquiring three drugs from Germany-based Bayer AG, including one that gives Genzyme … Continue reading “Genzyme Acquires Three Cancer Drugs From Bayer, Enters Seattle Biotech Hub”
Healthcare Leaders Lay Groundwork for Wave of Innovation in Medical Information Technologies
While San Diego learned yesterday it is the new home of the nation’s first wireless health care research institute, a vision of the sweeping changes that such technologies pose was taking form in a UC San Diego conference room. The high-level meeting was organized by federal health officials in an effort to help guide the … Continue reading “Healthcare Leaders Lay Groundwork for Wave of Innovation in Medical Information Technologies”
Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be”
It’s official: Google has launched a venture investing wing called Google Ventures, and Rich Miner, who is based at the company’s Cambridge, MA, office and is the former leader of its Android mobile operating system project, is one of the managing partners. A sharp-eyed reporter for Reuters broke the news about Miner’s new job on … Continue reading “Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be””
The Xconomy Mobile Innovation Showcase
On April 7, Xconomy will hold its first-ever Forum on the Future of Mobile Innovation in New England, an afternoon-long event designed to highlight the technologies and ideas that will lead the local mobile industry through—and past—the economic downturn. CEOs, engineers, analysts, and investors from more than 15 local companies and venture firms will be … Continue reading “The Xconomy Mobile Innovation Showcase”
Goodbye Cancer Vaccines, Hello Cancer Drugs: Oncothyreon Reinvents Itself
Cancer vaccines still have the power to captivate the public imagination, but Bob Kirkman isn’t betting his company on them anymore. The CEO of Seattle-based Oncothyreon has reinvented this little biotech firm in a way that puts a pair of experimental cancer drugs, not vaccines, on the corporate front burner. Kirkman learned from hard knocks … Continue reading “Goodbye Cancer Vaccines, Hello Cancer Drugs: Oncothyreon Reinvents Itself”
Pathway Raises $40M, Bsquare Brings Flash to Android, Vioguard Hits Up Angels, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was another relatively slow week for deals in the Northwest—with a very notable exception being the largest venture capital deal of the year to date (see below). —Xconomy broke the news of the Northwest’s biggest venture deal of 2009 so far: Kirkland, WA-based Pathway Medical Technologies’ $40 million financing led by Amsterdam-based Forbion Capital … Continue reading “Pathway Raises $40M, Bsquare Brings Flash to Android, Vioguard Hits Up Angels, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Genzyme Gene Therapy Fails To Help People with Leg Disease Walk Longer
Score another one in the loss column for gene therapy. Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme said yesterday at a medical meeting that its gene therapy for people with peripheral artery disease failed in a clinical trial to help them regain some mobility. The trial—one of the largest in the field of gene therapy—enrolled 289 patients who were … Continue reading “Genzyme Gene Therapy Fails To Help People with Leg Disease Walk Longer”
Greed Is Good, and Other Takeaways from Xconomy’s Cleantech Forum
Last Thursday, we hosted a fantastic event on energy innovation at K&L Gates in downtown Seattle. The panel discussion—moderated by Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital and featuring Mark Aggar of Microsoft, Jesse Berst of Global Smart Energy, Jeremy Jaech of Verdiem, and Linden Rhoads of UW Tech Transfer—did not disappoint in its edgy treatment of … Continue reading “Greed Is Good, and Other Takeaways from Xconomy’s Cleantech Forum”
Avaak Technology Lets Users Create Their Own Personal Video Networks
When San Diego-based Avaak made its debut earlier this month at the spring DEMO conference in Palm Desert, CA, chief executive Gioia Messinger offered a grand description of the company’s personal video technology.”It’s like your own personal Google Street View, except it’s live, expandable, sharable, and easy—very, very easy,” Messinger told the Demo audience. The … Continue reading “Avaak Technology Lets Users Create Their Own Personal Video Networks”
West Wireless Health Institute Established With $45M Donation
A family foundation established by telemarketing entrepreneurs Gary and Mary West today committed $45 million to help establish one of the world’s first medical research organizations to use wireless healthcare technologies. The San Diego-based West Wireless Health Institute also is supported by Scripps Health as a founding health care affiliate and Qualcomm as a founding … Continue reading “West Wireless Health Institute Established With $45M Donation”
Akamai Edges Into the Cloud, Surveys State of the Internet
Akamai Technologies, the Web content and applications delivery company based in Cambridge, MA, today revealed more details of it partnership with OpSource, a Santa Clara, CA, provider of computing infrastructure for Software-as-a-Service companies. It’s a deal that could help Akamai (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AKAM]]) move closer to the center of the cloud-computing trend, by helping to ensure that … Continue reading “Akamai Edges Into the Cloud, Surveys State of the Internet”
Ignition Capital Splits from Ignition Partners, Focuses on Private Equity
Xconomy has learned that three venture partners from Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners have formed a separate management company called Ignition Capital, and are working from new offices in downtown Seattle on private equity and late-stage investments. Jon Anderson, Rich Tong, and John Zagula are managing directors of Ignition Capital, whose fund is “focused on profitable … Continue reading “Ignition Capital Splits from Ignition Partners, Focuses on Private Equity”
Arena Obesity Drug Helps Patients Lose Weight, Without Heart Damage
[[Updated last paragraph: 9:38 am EDT]] Arena Pharmaceuticals has some good news this morning, although it will take some time to sort out how good. The San Diego-based biotech company said its experimental drug for obesity was able to reach its goals for helping people lose weight, without the side effect of damaging heart valves … Continue reading “Arena Obesity Drug Helps Patients Lose Weight, Without Heart Damage”
The Obama Bounce & San Diego’s Cleantech Innovators, Zeebo Steps Onto A Global Stage, Hollis-Eden Axes Its Namesake Founder, & More SD BizTech News
It was a busy week for San Diego’s innovation economy, with reports on new products, new deals, and some insights into how startup companies can survive virtually. So read on! —Zeebo, a new San Diego-based company, launched its game console, entering a multi-billion dollar industry dominated by the Wii, Xbox, and Playstation. Backed by Qualcomm, … Continue reading “The Obama Bounce & San Diego’s Cleantech Innovators, Zeebo Steps Onto A Global Stage, Hollis-Eden Axes Its Namesake Founder, & More SD BizTech News”
BioVex Raises $40M for Cancer-Fighting Virus
BioVex, a cancer drug developer based in Woburn, MA, reported some impressive clinical trial results that we covered last June. Now the company has raised $40 million in venture capital to see if it’s good enough to bring this drug candidate to the marketplace. The investment round was led by Amsterdam-based Forbion Capital Partners, which … Continue reading “BioVex Raises $40M for Cancer-Fighting Virus”
In Advance of New Massachusetts Privacy Law, Liquid Machines Offers Enterprise-Class Security Software to Mom-and-Pop Businesses
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) has taken pity on recession-dazed business owners in the state, putting off the deadline for meeting new data encryption regulations from January 1, 2009, to May 1, 2009, and then postponing enforcement again until January 1, 2010. Sooner or later, though, all Massachusetts … Continue reading “In Advance of New Massachusetts Privacy Law, Liquid Machines Offers Enterprise-Class Security Software to Mom-and-Pop Businesses”
Indel Therapeutics Aims High With New Class of Antibiotics to Fight Hospital Infections
Most biotech stories in 2009 are about companies hunkering down or otherwise playing it safe with incremental advances, not people just getting started with an audacious dream. Malcolm Kendall has one of those dreams. He’s starting a company that aims to identify new targets on cells that haven’t been proven before, and create antibiotics to … Continue reading “Indel Therapeutics Aims High With New Class of Antibiotics to Fight Hospital Infections”
TargAnox Launches with $5.1M Series A Round, Targeting Oxidative Stress to Treat Diseases
In this ugly economy, it takes a special recipe of compelling science and willing investors to launch a new biotech startup. Newly hatched biotech TargAnox, which is focused on developing drugs to curb a sometimes disease-related biochemical condition called oxidative stress, has stirred that recipe together in recent months and closed a $5.1 million Series … Continue reading “TargAnox Launches with $5.1M Series A Round, Targeting Oxidative Stress to Treat Diseases”
Ex-Microsoft Innovators: Raikes, Ranta, Howard, and Ferroni on the Startup Trail
We’re hearing about an increasing number of startups founded or backed by ex-Microsoft employees from many different backgrounds and levels of experience. The uptick seems to be a relatively recent trend, and it could be a good sign in otherwise tough times. Here’s a recap from the past couple of weeks. —Jeff Raikes, the former … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoft Innovators: Raikes, Ranta, Howard, and Ferroni on the Startup Trail”
Venture Investors See A Few Opportunities Too Big To Ignore
A panel discussion about what’s happening on Wall Street sponsored yesterday morning by the San Diego Venture Group made it clear that venture investors are looking for pockets of light among the remains of last year’s market collapse. The general tenor of the conversation was that capital remains scarce and it’s going to take a … Continue reading “Venture Investors See A Few Opportunities Too Big To Ignore”
Flybridge Backs FirstBest, Six Startups Blast off With LaunchCapital’s Help, Visible Measures Gains a $10M View, & More Boston-Area Deals News
We’ve got lots of venture financings to report this week. New England’s software firms are particularly well represented. —Medical test maker Claros Diagnostics of Woburn, MA, reportedly completed a $4 million second round of financing. Oxford Bioscience Partners, Bioventures Investors, Accelerated Technologies Partners, and Commons Capital have all previously backed the startup. —Flybridge Capital Partners … Continue reading “Flybridge Backs FirstBest, Six Startups Blast off With LaunchCapital’s Help, Visible Measures Gains a $10M View, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Tweets from the Edge: The Ins and Outs (and Ups and Downs) of Twitter
If you already know all about Twitter—if you spent mid-March in Austin tweeting away with your pals at South by Southwest, if you can explain the differences between Twhirl and Twitterrific and Tweetdeck, and if you’ve already mastered thinking in 140-character fragments—this week’s column is not for you. It’s for all the other people, the … Continue reading “Tweets from the Edge: The Ins and Outs (and Ups and Downs) of Twitter”
Biogen Idec, Extending Life of its Top-Selling Drug, Eyes Longer-Lasting Shot for MS
Biogen Idec is the world’s biggest maker of drugs for multiple sclerosis, and it wants to keep things that way. But every drug that’s born eventually dies, and the last remaining patents on Biogen’s biggest-selling drug, interferon-beta1a (Avonex), run out in 2011 and 2013. To protect this $2.2 billion-a-year MS franchise—which generates more than half … Continue reading “Biogen Idec, Extending Life of its Top-Selling Drug, Eyes Longer-Lasting Shot for MS”
Calypso Gets Florida Medicare Unit to Pay for “GPS for the Body” for Prostate Cancer
Calypso Medical Technologies has an expensive new technology for targeting radiation beams to cancerous prostate glands, so it shouldn’t be any surprise when insurers balk before they pay up. But Calypso got some good news this week as it persuaded an important customer, the regional Medicare unit that serves a lot of elderly men with … Continue reading “Calypso Gets Florida Medicare Unit to Pay for “GPS for the Body” for Prostate Cancer”
Dimdim: A Clear Future for Multimedia Web Conferencing for the Masses
One sign that Xconomy is in the right business is that there are many more companies building innovative products in our home cities than we have time to cover. Unfortunately, though, our decisions about which companies to cover sometimes come down to little more than intuitive guesses. Back in December 2007, I interviewed the founders … Continue reading “Dimdim: A Clear Future for Multimedia Web Conferencing for the Masses”
Salk Forms Stem Cell Partnership With Sanofi-Aventis
The Salk Institute says it has formed a new stem cell research partnership with Sanofi-Aventis, the international pharmaceutical giant based in Paris. Financial terms of the five-year alliance were not disclosed, and some details of the deal remain to be worked out, Salk spokesman Mauricio Minotta told me this afternoon. The Sanofi-Aventis regenerative medicine program … Continue reading “Salk Forms Stem Cell Partnership With Sanofi-Aventis”
Pathway Medical Raises $40M for Device to Clear Out Blocked Leg Arteries
Pathway Medical Technologies, the Kirkland, WA-based maker of a device that clears out blockages in clogged leg arteries, has raised $40 million in new venture capital, Xconomy has learned. The investing group was led by Amsterdam-based Forbion Capital Partners, and joined by HLM Venture Partners, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Latterell Capital Management, Cooperative AAC, and Giza … Continue reading “Pathway Medical Raises $40M for Device to Clear Out Blocked Leg Arteries”
Xconomy Forum Tonight: The Rise of Cleantech in the Northwest
We’re putting on a cleantech show tonight at K&L Gates in downtown Seattle, starting at 6 pm. The event is sold out, but we may still have a few standing-room tickets available if you contact me. Our panel, moderated by Michael Butler of Cascadia Capital, is made up of Mark Aggar from Microsoft, Jesse Berst … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Tonight: The Rise of Cleantech in the Northwest”
LaunchCapital Announces Investments in Six Startups
Massachusetts venture investors have long taken heat for the perception, at least, that they shy away from very early-stage (read, risky but potentially game-changing) investments—and many folks have pointed to a relative dearth of venture firms that specialize in seed-stage plays. In recent months, though, there seems to be a definite uptick in interest in … Continue reading “LaunchCapital Announces Investments in Six Startups”
Biotech CEOs Discuss the Virtues of Going Virtual
San Diego serial entrepreneur John Dobak got the best quip off right out of the starting gate yesterday when Biocom, the local life sciences trade association, held a panel discussion on the “virtual company” as a new model business model for startups. Dobak, a featured speaker who was late for the breakfast meeting, told the … Continue reading “Biotech CEOs Discuss the Virtues of Going Virtual”