When I heard Nathan Kaiser of nPost had signed up to be a cook at Seattle Startup Weekend, I couldn’t help but think of Under Siege, the 1992 action film in which Steven Seagal plays an ex-Navy SEAL who’s minding his own business in the galley of a battleship when the bad guys arrive. OK, … Continue reading “Seattle Startup Weekend Yields 13 Websites, and Maybe a Multimillion Dollar Company”
Category: National
Mpex Pharma Lands $27.5M in Fourth Round
Mpex Pharmaceuticals has reeled in $27.5 million in the first closing of a Series D round of financing as the firm advances its inhaled antibiotic for chronic respiratory ailments through clinical trials, according to the company. The San Diego-based drug developer says that its fourth round of financing was led by Investor Growth Capital and … Continue reading “Mpex Pharma Lands $27.5M in Fourth Round”
Service-now Finds Hard Economic Times Are Good for Business
A private software company that arose following the implosion of San Diego’s scandal-ridden Peregrine Systems says its business is booming despite the recession, because its innovative model for offering Software as a Service can help customers shave their IT costs. Service-now.com was founded in 2003 to meet the same business needs served by Peregrine, which was once … Continue reading “Service-now Finds Hard Economic Times Are Good for Business”
Teva Takes Aim at Cubist Pharma’s Key Antibiotic Business
Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CBST]]) plans to mount a lawsuit against Teva Parenteral Medicines after Teva made known that it plans to seek U.S. approval of a generic version of Cubist’s top-selling antibiotic daptomycin (Cubicin), Cubist announced this morning. Lexington, MA-based Cubist says that Teva informed the company in a letter that it planned to gain approval … Continue reading “Teva Takes Aim at Cubist Pharma’s Key Antibiotic Business”
Snowblind Sold to Warner Bros., Seattle Genetics’ Stock Story, Mo’ Madrona for Mixpo, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was another busy week for deals in the Northwest, with a steady drumbeat of fundings, acquisitions, and partnerships in software, biotech, mobile, and energy. —Puget Energy, the Bellevue, WA-based public utility company, completed its $7.4 billion purchase by a syndicate of private investment firms, and was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange. The … Continue reading “Snowblind Sold to Warner Bros., Seattle Genetics’ Stock Story, Mo’ Madrona for Mixpo, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
As Unemployment Rises, “Service Networking” Startups Find Niche Matching Workers With Odd Jobs
When a good idea is ready to be born, it can surface in several minds at once. That appears to be what’s happening right now around Boston, as four local Web-based startups launch online marketplaces that match people willing to do small jobs with people who need jobs done. In each case, the founders point … Continue reading “As Unemployment Rises, “Service Networking” Startups Find Niche Matching Workers With Odd Jobs”
Q&A With Linden Rhoads: UW’s TechTransfer Leader Brings VC Revolution to Campus (Part 1)
Six months have flown by since Linden Rhoads joined the University of Washington as its first high-tech entrepreneur in charge of technology transfer. This is a critical job for Seattle’s innovation community at the nexus of university research, venture capital, and the high-tech and life sciences business. From the minute she arrived on campus back … Continue reading “Q&A With Linden Rhoads: UW’s TechTransfer Leader Brings VC Revolution to Campus (Part 1)”
Anadys Keeps Surging, as Hepatitis C Drug Data Trickles In
The more data dribbles out of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, the more investors apparently like what they see. The San Diego-based biotech company said today that one of its experimental drugs for hepatitis C was effective at killing the virus in three more patients who took a low dose in a clinical trial, providing a bit of … Continue reading “Anadys Keeps Surging, as Hepatitis C Drug Data Trickles In”
PerkinElmer Sacrifices Short-Term Profit to Preserve R&D, Buy Technologies on the Cheap
Not many CEOs of publicly traded companies tell Wall Street that they are willing to sacrifice profits for the next few quarters to preserve the long-term health of their R&D operations. So I was eager to hear Rob Friel, CEO of Waltham, MA-based PerkinElmer, explain why he thinks this strategy makes sense for his company, … Continue reading “PerkinElmer Sacrifices Short-Term Profit to Preserve R&D, Buy Technologies on the Cheap”
Valu Valu, Led by Ex-Microsofties, Wants to Find You the Right Price for Anything
Among the current crop of ex-Microsofties building software startups, Emmanuel Marot is unique. Not just because he hails from Niort, a town in western France, by way of Paris (or for his impeccable fashion sense), but because he is trying to do something fundamentally new with Internet commerce. It’s called scientific pricing, and it works … Continue reading “Valu Valu, Led by Ex-Microsofties, Wants to Find You the Right Price for Anything”
Amazon Launches Kindle 2
At a press conference this morning in New York City, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos officially unveiled the Kindle 2, the second version of the Seattle-based e-retailer’s popular e-book reading device. Like its predecessor, the Kindle 2 features an electronic-paper screen devised by Cambridge, MA-based E Ink. But Bezos detailed a number of new features, including … Continue reading “Amazon Launches Kindle 2”
GI Dynamics Gains $15 Million to Help Patients Lose Weight
GI Dynamics has tapped previous investors to add $15 million to its third round of venture capital, giving the Lexington, MA-based firm more cash to develop its intestinal liner for the treatment of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The company confirmed news of the financing, which was reported this morning by PE Hub. The new … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Gains $15 Million to Help Patients Lose Weight”
Atlanta TV Group is Backchannelmedia’s First Paying Customer
Boston’s Backchannelmedia, whose “clickable TV” system embeds links in broadcast TV signals that consumers can activate with their remote controls to receive information about a program or a product via e-mail, said today that Gray Television (NYSE: [[ticker:GTN]]) of Atlanta will roll out the Backchannelmedia system to its 36 local broadcast stations. That brings the … Continue reading “Atlanta TV Group is Backchannelmedia’s First Paying Customer”
IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Launches Stealth Robotics Company, The Droid Works
Massachusetts’ growing robotics cluster just got bigger. For the second time in less than six months, an iRobot co-founder has launched a robotics startup. Helen Greiner told me in an e-mail yesterday that she has formed a stealth company called The Droid Works. “Our first project is in the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] space, and … Continue reading “IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Launches Stealth Robotics Company, The Droid Works”
Washington State Should Flex Software Muscle to Grab Lead in Cleantech, Says Michael Butler
How will President Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package affect the energy and cleantech industry in the Northwest? We’ve been hearing a lot of rumblings on this front lately. To help sort it all out, I spoke with Michael Butler, chairman and CEO of the Seattle investment bank Cascadia Capital, which is heavily involved with energy … Continue reading “Washington State Should Flex Software Muscle to Grab Lead in Cleantech, Says Michael Butler”
The Greater Boston Diabetes Cluster
More than one of our readers has noted recently that the Boston area is home to a mighty cluster of companies dedicated to providing new treatments and devices for diabetics. So, after a bit of investigation, we’ve compiled a list of local firms that represent some of the most promising advances in diabetes care. Of … Continue reading “The Greater Boston Diabetes Cluster”
Two Simple Ways to Revitalize Seattle Biotech
Seattle’s biotech community used to be among the top-ranked in the nation. But as some 2,500 layoffs have piled up in the local biotech sector since 2002, Seattle has tumbled in the rankings. We need to face up to this fact first, before we can think seriously about how to get back on our feet … Continue reading “Two Simple Ways to Revitalize Seattle Biotech”
Behind the Prize at the X Prize: A New Model For Venture Capital
At a time when many people are saying the traditional venture capital model is broken, an influential Internet pioneer has developed a fundamentally different concept for investing in innovation. San Diego resident Lee Stein explained his concept to me in a long conversation last week. He already has given shape to his idea in the … Continue reading “Behind the Prize at the X Prize: A New Model For Venture Capital”
Hey, Don’t Forget the Puget Sound Life Sciences Universe!
Techies, with their cool iPhone apps and Internet software, get all the attention. So a couple of Seattle biotechies squawked at me a couple weeks ago when the Washington Technology Industry Association unveiled an academic study that traced the origins of the “Puget Sound Tech Universe” over the past three decades. The WTIA study examined … Continue reading “Hey, Don’t Forget the Puget Sound Life Sciences Universe!”
SynergEyes Gets $13.3M, Carl Icahn Aims to Shake Up BiogenIdec Board, Layoffs Mount, & More San Diego BizTech News
San Diego’s biotech executives may be hearing billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s name more often than they care to. We begin our roundup today with Icahn, who has been increasing his stake in and demanding changes at San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]), also wants to shake up management at Biogen Idec, which is based in Cambridge, … Continue reading “SynergEyes Gets $13.3M, Carl Icahn Aims to Shake Up BiogenIdec Board, Layoffs Mount, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Clean Energy Council Expands Executive Retraining Program
Breaking into the cleantech business brings lots of unique challenges—and to equip more entrepreneurs to handle them, the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) launched a fellowship program last April aimed at retraining CEOs from the information technology, life sciences, and telecom worlds. A dozen former CEOs spent the summer of 2008 learning the energy-industry … Continue reading “Clean Energy Council Expands Executive Retraining Program”
Cohu Eliminates 60 Jobs
San Diego’s Cohu (NASDAQ: [[ticker:COHU]]), which makes test-handling equipment for semiconductor manufacturers, disclosed some “headcount reductions,” without being more specific, when it reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday. This afternoon, I tracked down Cohu chief financial officer Jeffrey Jones, who said the company laid off 60 employees, which consisted of roughly 40 workers in … Continue reading “Cohu Eliminates 60 Jobs”
Gaming Guru Alex St. John on Amazon, Business Models, and the Future of Casual Games
It’s always interesting when a huge player dives into an established market. Will they radically shift the dynamics and displace their competitors? Or will they be too slow to innovate, and sink to the bottom like a bloated whale? Earlier this week, when Amazon officially entered the downloadable casual games market (offering games for $9.99 … Continue reading “Gaming Guru Alex St. John on Amazon, Business Models, and the Future of Casual Games”
Hybrid Contact Lens-Maker SynergEyes Gets $13.3M in Venture Round
During a recent discussion on the outlook in San Diego for venture funding in biotech, Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff noted that one way VCs are coping with the downturn is by broadening the syndication of their deals. That’s apparent in the $13.3 million in Series C funding announced today by SynergEyes, a Carlsbad, CA, startup that’s … Continue reading “Hybrid Contact Lens-Maker SynergEyes Gets $13.3M in Venture Round”
FDA Approves First Drug Made From Bioengineered Goats
Who says the FDA isn’t open to new ideas? The U.S. drug agency has given the green-light to GTC Biotherapeutics, a small biotech company in Framingham, MA, to market the first drug in the U.S. ever derived from genetically modified animals. GTC Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GTCB]]) and partner Ovation Pharmaceuticals of Deerfield, IL, said today that … Continue reading “FDA Approves First Drug Made From Bioengineered Goats”
Carl Icahn Aims to Stick “For Sale” Sign on Biogen Idec Lawn Again
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is making another move to gain influence over Biogen Idec. Icahn told the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company he is nominating a slate of four new directors for election to the company board at this year’s annual meeting, and he wants to increase the size of the board from 12 to 13 … Continue reading “Carl Icahn Aims to Stick “For Sale” Sign on Biogen Idec Lawn Again”
Idenix Inks HIV-Drug Deal with GSK Worth up to $450M
Shares of Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDIX]]) jumped in pre-market trading this morning on the news that the Cambridge, MA-based developer of treatments for infectious diseases has inked a deal with pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline potentially worth some $450 million. GSK will pay Idenix $34 million upfront—half as cash and half via a purchase of its stock … Continue reading “Idenix Inks HIV-Drug Deal with GSK Worth up to $450M”
City’s Study of Solar Permit Fees Sets Off Cleantech Alarms
Earlier this week, I got an e-mail from an indignant solar panel installer who had heard the City of San Diego is planning to raise its fees for solar permits and inspections. “This is outrageous at a time when city, state and federal leaders are doing everything possible to increase the deployment of solar energy.” … Continue reading “City’s Study of Solar Permit Fees Sets Off Cleantech Alarms”
How I Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy, and Discovered the Bliss of an Empty Inbox
I’m not one of those people who thinks you can measure a person’s power, talent, or importance by the number of e-mails or phone calls they get every day. So it’s not a boast—indeed, it’s more like an embarrassed confession—when I say that by early January, my Gmail inbox had swelled to almost 15,000 messages. … Continue reading “How I Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy, and Discovered the Bliss of an Empty Inbox”
Sticking it to the VC Man: Johnny Stine Builds Biotech Startup on a Shoestring
The lone entrepreneur in a garage, driven to change the world, is one of the most powerful archetypical characters of American capitalism. It may still work today in isolated cases for iPhone apps or Internet software, but in biotech, it’s a laughable idea. This is an industry where it takes a decade of sustained work, … Continue reading “Sticking it to the VC Man: Johnny Stine Builds Biotech Startup on a Shoestring”
Biogen and Dyax Expand Relationship, Nuance Persists in Zi Pursuit, Draper Lab Locks In On $146M From the Navy, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The flow of deals from New England’s tech and life sciences companies was sluggish this week but not completely frozen. Acquisition news predominated. —Cambridge, MA-based Charles Stark Draper Laboratory won a $146 million contract from the U.S. Navy to work on guidance systems for the Trident II nuclear missile. —Burlington, MA-based speech technology giant Nuance … Continue reading “Biogen and Dyax Expand Relationship, Nuance Persists in Zi Pursuit, Draper Lab Locks In On $146M From the Navy, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Top 4 Rejected Startup Ideas from OVP Venture Partners
If you want to make venture capitalists laugh, ask them about the stupidest (or so-crazy-they-might-just-work) ideas they’ve been pitched lately. Earlier this week, Luke and I visited OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, and besides being a group of investors with very broad and deep expertise—everything from software and life sciences to materials and cleantech—they’ve … Continue reading “Top 4 Rejected Startup Ideas from OVP Venture Partners”
Vertex CEO Josh Boger Retiring In May; Matthew Emmens To Fill Role
(Update: The last three paragraphs were added after a conference call with reporters.) Vertex Pharmaceuticals founder, president and CEO Josh Boger, one of the best-known and more colorful executives in the biotech industry, is retiring on May 23. He will be replaced by Vertex director Matthew Emmens, the company said late this afternoon in a … Continue reading “Vertex CEO Josh Boger Retiring In May; Matthew Emmens To Fill Role”
1366’s Campaign to Make Better, Cheaper Solar Cells Gets Boost from Department of Energy
1366 Technologies, the Lexington, MA-based MIT spinoff working on ways to manufacture cheaper, more efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells, said today that the Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative has selected the company for a performance-based award worth up to $3 million. 1366 president and CEO Frank van Mierlo says the company will get the money … Continue reading “1366’s Campaign to Make Better, Cheaper Solar Cells Gets Boost from Department of Energy”
Sugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick”
Many people wouldn’t touch coffee or cereal without sugar. And the XO laptop would be useless without Sugar—the standard, Linux-based graphical interface for the little green laptop, nearly a million of which have been distributed to classrooms in developing countries by the Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation. While OLPC and Microsoft have been … Continue reading “Sugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick””
X Prize Foundation Awards $25K for Best “Crazy Green Idea” Video
What began in Boston last September as a contest to generate ideas for a new “Energy X Prize” has ended in El Segundo, CA, with two UC Irvine students winning the $25,000 award. The X Prize Foundation, which organized the competition, identified the winners today as second-year undergrads Kyle Good of Temecula, CA, and Bryan … Continue reading “X Prize Foundation Awards $25K for Best “Crazy Green Idea” Video”
Tech Workers Shouldn’t Dismiss Old-School Businesses, Says Onyx Co-Founder Brent Frei
Last week, Xconomy published a story about the large number (13 and counting) of former Onyx Software managers who have gone on to become CEOs of other companies. We were put on the trail by Brent Frei, the co-founder of Onyx who’s now executive chairman of Bellevue, WA-based Smartsheet. In talking further with Frei, some … Continue reading “Tech Workers Shouldn’t Dismiss Old-School Businesses, Says Onyx Co-Founder Brent Frei”
Seattle Genetics Defies Gravity With Biotech’s First Underwritten Stock Sale in Six Months
The recession will surely kill off some biotech companies that lack hard cash and the hard data that shows their experimental drugs can improve patients’ lives. But after I heard Seattle Genetics CEO Clay Siegall tell the story of how his company raised $55.8 million last week, I had to conclude it’s still possible to … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Defies Gravity With Biotech’s First Underwritten Stock Sale in Six Months”
Venrock’s Bryan Roberts: Shakeout Is Coming to VCs, Not Just Companies
As venture-backed tech and life sciences companies around the country are hunkering down to figure out how to survive the downturn, the same can be said for the venture backers themselves. That was one of the interesting observations I heard during a recent interview in San Francisco with Bryan Roberts, a partner who specializes in … Continue reading “Venrock’s Bryan Roberts: Shakeout Is Coming to VCs, Not Just Companies”
Pathway Medical Gets Traction, Ekos Raises $12.5M, ZymoGenetics Sales Boss Departs, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Medical devices captured more than its usual mindshare in the Seattle life sciences scene this week, with news of a substantial venture deal and a new product that appears to be catching on in the marketplace. —Pathway Medical Technologies, the Kirkland, WA-based developer of a high-speed drill that removes fatty buildups from leg arteries, revealed … Continue reading “Pathway Medical Gets Traction, Ekos Raises $12.5M, ZymoGenetics Sales Boss Departs, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
UW Startup, Soluxra, to Form Around Organic Solar Cell Technology
A new startup company is in the works at the University of Washington, based on inexpensive, portable solar cells that could go far beyond the standard rooftop model. Conventional solar cells are made from expensive silicon, but the UW group, led by materials science and engineering professor Alex Jen, has come up with a way … Continue reading “UW Startup, Soluxra, to Form Around Organic Solar Cell Technology”
FDA Committee Votes in Favor of Dyax Lead Drug for Rare Blood Disease
An FDA advisory committee recommended approval of Cambridge, MA-based Dyax‘s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:DYAX]]) lead drug candidate, ecallantide, to treat severe attacks of a rare blood disease known as hereditary angioedema (HAE), according to an FDA spokeswoman. The advisory committee members voted 6-5, with two abstentions, that there was enough data to support the approval of the Dyax … Continue reading “FDA Committee Votes in Favor of Dyax Lead Drug for Rare Blood Disease”
Solar Contractor Plans Mid-Atlantic Expansion With $14M Infusion
Privately held Borrego Solar Systems, which designs and installs solar power systems, said today it has received $14 million in venture funding to fuel its expansion into the Mid-Atlantic Region. The contractor based in El Cajon, CA, (about 15 miles East of San Diego) currently installs rooftop photovoltaic systems on commercial, residential and government buildings, … Continue reading “Solar Contractor Plans Mid-Atlantic Expansion With $14M Infusion”
Harvard Researcher to Helm Merck’s Cancer Research, Genzyme Acquires Certain Exact Sciences Assets, NeurAxon Out to Axe Migraines, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences
New England life sciences firms gave us a little breather on the fast-breaking news this past week, so we had some time to take a closer look at some of the most interesting new companies and projects in the field. —Luke interviewed Tom Hughes, the CEO of Zafgen, and learned more about the startup’s plans … Continue reading “Harvard Researcher to Helm Merck’s Cancer Research, Genzyme Acquires Certain Exact Sciences Assets, NeurAxon Out to Axe Migraines, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences”
InterSystems CEO Ragon Donates $100M to Create New AIDS Research Institute
Local software entrepreneur Phillip “Terry” Ragon and his wife Susan Ragon have granted $100 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to form a research institute focused on developing vaccines for AIDS and other infectious diseases. The institute, called the Phillip T. and Susan M. Ragon Institute, will include a team of engineers and scientists from MGH, … Continue reading “InterSystems CEO Ragon Donates $100M to Create New AIDS Research Institute”
Qualcomm’s Best-Laid Plans for Cell Phone TV Service
Updated Feb. 4 at 3:55 p.m. PST with the House of Representatives approving a four-month delay in DTV conversion. See below for more details. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Qualcomm’s MediaFlo subsidiary unveiled plans to nearly double its FLO TV service for cell phones, by expanding into 108 U.S. markets this year. The San … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Best-Laid Plans for Cell Phone TV Service”
PATH, Fueled by Bill Gates’ Fortune, Builds Global Health Hothouse in Seattle
Bill and Melinda Gates don’t give their money away to just anybody who comes along with an impressive resume and a good cause. So why has the world’s largest charitable foundation seen fit to give $1.3 billion of its fortune to a little-known Seattle-based nonprofit called PATH? PATH, which has raked in the second-largest amount … Continue reading “PATH, Fueled by Bill Gates’ Fortune, Builds Global Health Hothouse in Seattle”
AMAG Pharma Awaiting FDA Word on New Iron-Replacement Drug
AMAG Pharmaceuticals could be months away from a long-awaited green light from the FDA to begin sales of ferumoxytol (Feraheme), an iron-replacement treatment for people with kidney disease, and a potential cash cow for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AMAG]]). The promise of ferumoxytol has boosted the prospects of AMAG (formerly Advanced Magnetics), transforming the … Continue reading “AMAG Pharma Awaiting FDA Word on New Iron-Replacement Drug”
Phenomix Aims to Grab Piece of $10 Billion Diabetes Market
San Diego-based Phenomix isn’t one to shy away from a fight. This privately held biotech company with just 50 employees is forging ahead with a new drug for diabetes, one of the most competitive, and crowded marketplaces in the entire pharmaceutical industry. As long as the diabetes epidemic rages on like a “runaway train” in … Continue reading “Phenomix Aims to Grab Piece of $10 Billion Diabetes Market”
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Visits Microsoft to Build Ties With the Northwest
Yesterday morning in Redmond, WA, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts sat down with Ray Ozzie, the chief software architect of Microsoft. They talked about high-tech innovation in the Boston area, how Microsoft views its own global future, and how the company could work together with Massachusetts to help drive the local economy. “I was talking … Continue reading “Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Visits Microsoft to Build Ties With the Northwest”