Category: National

Collapse of Innovative Spinal Technologies was Years In the Making, Sources Say; CEO Responds

[Updated, see below.–WR] Our stories last week about the shutdown of Innovative Spinal Technologies, a Mansfield, MA, company that raised $75 million in private funding to market devices for stabilizing injured spines, prompted a number of IST’s former employees and business associates to contact Xconomy to help flesh out the details of the company’s demise … Continue reading “Collapse of Innovative Spinal Technologies was Years In the Making, Sources Say; CEO Responds”

Mixpo Raises $4M from Madrona Venture Group, Other Investors

Seattle video-advertising startup Mixpo has raised $4 million in a Series B round of venture funding, as first reported by VentureBeat. The round is being led by existing investor Madrona Venture Group, based in Seattle, and also includes Yaletown Venture Partners and Growthworks Capital. Venture capitalist Matt McIlwain leads Madrona’s involvement with Mixpo. Mixpo was … Continue reading “Mixpo Raises $4M from Madrona Venture Group, Other Investors”

After the Bubble Burst, Mike Krenn Built a Venture Pipeline

While Mike Krenn is a person of dignity and influence, I still have vivid memories of him almost nine years ago, dressed like a demented Riddler from an episode of Batman. Not the dark and moody Batman in favor nowadays. I mean the ludicrous, campy Batman of weekday television, circa 1966. The date was March … Continue reading “After the Bubble Burst, Mike Krenn Built a Venture Pipeline”

Lenovo Buys Switchbox, Ekos Raises $12.5M, nLight Lands $10.7M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was a very busy week for deals in the Northwest—a lot of action in biotech, software, and devices, including a flurry of deals in the Portland area. —Luke reported that Portland, OR-based MolecularMD, a maker of molecular diagnostics for cancer, raised $3 million in new venture funding, led by Ballast Point Venture Partners. MolecularMD … Continue reading “Lenovo Buys Switchbox, Ekos Raises $12.5M, nLight Lands $10.7M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Life Goes On at OVP: It’s a Good Time to Develop Products, and to Bet on Cleantech

OVP is one of the few venture funds that invests in a wide variety of innovations that span from IT to life sciences to cleantech. So Greg and I zipped across the lake yesterday for a wide-ranging conversation with the team at Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners during their Monday portfolio meeting. They’ve surely seen … Continue reading “Life Goes On at OVP: It’s a Good Time to Develop Products, and to Bet on Cleantech”

Energy R&D Network Proposal Has Seattle, Boston Leaders Eyeing Possibilities

One intriguing idea getting shuttled around President Obama’s inner circle could end up pouring significant cash into the innovation hubs of Seattle and Boston. This idea, hatched at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., calls for building a national network of two dozen or more centers of excellence in cleantech R&D, with annual budgets of … Continue reading “Energy R&D Network Proposal Has Seattle, Boston Leaders Eyeing Possibilities”

Hollis-Eden Lays Off One-Third in “Aggressive” Cost-Cutting

San Diego’s Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HEPH]]) said today it’s laying off 20 employees—a third of its workforce—as part of an aggressive cost-cutting plan to preserve capital until 2011. The San Diego layoff tracker has been updated here. Hollis-Eden specializes in developing small molecule compounds based on adrenal steroid hormones and that are intended to restore … Continue reading “Hollis-Eden Lays Off One-Third in “Aggressive” Cost-Cutting”

Merck Nabs Harvard Scientist To Replace Rosetta Founder as Oncology Research Head

Merck is consolidating its cancer research in Boston, and now it has landed an academic research star from Harvard to run the place. The pharmaceutical giant said it has hired D. Gary Gilliland, a renowned Harvard cancer researcher, to be its new senior vice president of Merck Research Labs in charge of its oncology franchise. … Continue reading “Merck Nabs Harvard Scientist To Replace Rosetta Founder as Oncology Research Head”

THQ Closes San Diego Office to Focus Wireless Game Development on Smartphones

Video game maker THQ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:THQI]]) confirmed today the company is closing down its wireless game development unit in San Diego and laying off 31 employees. (Check San Diego’s updated layoff tracker here.) The cutback is part of a broader consolidation of wireless game development that includes shutdowns of similar operations in the United Kingdom … Continue reading “THQ Closes San Diego Office to Focus Wireless Game Development on Smartphones”

Two Paths, One Goal: Motricity, Winshuttle Report Record Software Sales

What recession? Two privately-held software startups on the Eastside announced today they are raking in the dough, boosted by record sales. Besides that common thread, though, they could scarcely be more different. One company (Motricity) is in mobile content delivery, the other (Winshuttle) in business-management software. The first is heavily funded by VCs, the latter … Continue reading “Two Paths, One Goal: Motricity, Winshuttle Report Record Software Sales”

Boston VCs Pour Cash into Cash4Gold’s Superbowl Spot

If you were watching the Superbowl yesterday, you may have seen the tongue-in-cheek ad in which down-on-their luck celebrities Ed McMahon and MC Hammer hawked Cash4Gold, a Pompano Beach, FL-based metal refinery that sends customers checks for mailing in their unwanted gold, silver, or platinum jewelry. An e-mail about the ad circulated this weekend by … Continue reading “Boston VCs Pour Cash into Cash4Gold’s Superbowl Spot”

Plot Thickens at Amylin: Eastbourne Capital Enters Power Play With Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn isn’t the only one who sees an opportunity to shake things up at San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Today, Eastbourne Capital Management announced it, too, plans to nominate a slate of five new directors for election to the company’s 12-member board at the upcoming annual meeting. Eastbourne, which says it owns 12.5 percent of … Continue reading “Plot Thickens at Amylin: Eastbourne Capital Enters Power Play With Carl Icahn”

Greening the Internet in a Carbon-Constrained World

This year marks a turning point in the debate on global climate change. The focus of the discussion is rapidly moving from a scientific analysis of how human activity effects climate change to a political process on how best to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. California is leading this shift with its 2006 Assembly Bill 32 (AB32) … Continue reading “Greening the Internet in a Carbon-Constrained World”

New England VCs Well Down Midas List—Oxford’s Fambrough Leads Pack

Mike Moritz, John Doerr. John Doerr, Mike Moritz. It seems like those two Silicon Valley names perennially head Forbes’ Midas List of top VCs, often taking turns in the No. 1 spot. This year (like last year, though) it’s Doerr, of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in the first position, with Moritz of Sequoia Capital … Continue reading “New England VCs Well Down Midas List—Oxford’s Fambrough Leads Pack”

Pathway Medical Tool Shows Early Signs of Emerging as “Real Winner”

It’s still early in the ballgame for Pathway Medical Technologies, but the Kirkland, WA-based medical device maker says demand for its first marketed product—a tool for cleaning out clogged leg arteries—is climbing, and it appears to be on its way to becoming a hit. Pathway is a private company, so chairman Tom Clement doesn’t have … Continue reading “Pathway Medical Tool Shows Early Signs of Emerging as “Real Winner””

Qualcomm’s MediaFLO Depends on DTV Switchover, Carl Icahn Raises Stakes for Amylin, Slacker Gets $5M, & More San Diego BizTech News

With patents counted, investments disclosed, and financial results reported, San Diego wireless giant Qualcomm seemed to dominate the Xconomy news last week. There were plenty of other developments, though, in life sciences, robotics, and other sectors of the innovation economy. Read on! —By necessity, a few interesting nuggets got left out when we compiled our … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s MediaFLO Depends on DTV Switchover, Carl Icahn Raises Stakes for Amylin, Slacker Gets $5M, & More San Diego BizTech News”

UW Startups Have the Tech Part Down, Need Management Talent, Says Janis Machala

It’s been three months since Janis Machala took the helm of LaunchPad, the University of Washington’s support service for UW spinoffs. Her charge: to grow the service into a world-class entrepreneurial assistance program, and to promote the creation of new startups based on university research. I recently dropped in on Machala, a former tech executive … Continue reading “UW Startups Have the Tech Part Down, Need Management Talent, Says Janis Machala”

Stopping Migraines Before They Hurt: NeurAxon Pursues New Pain Drug

Nobody has yet come up with a drug that can stop the pain from migraine headaches before it starts. By this time next year, the people at Waltham, MA-based NeurAxon will know if they have created the first drug that works for the roughly one-third of patients who get a serious inkling before migraines kick … Continue reading “Stopping Migraines Before They Hurt: NeurAxon Pursues New Pain Drug”

SG Biofuels, Emerging From Stealth, Aims to Make Biodiesel From Hardy Shrub

Another San Diego biofuel company is coming out of stealth mode today. SG Biofuels specializes in developing Jatropha, a hardy shrub found throughout Latin America that produces oval-shaped seeds that can be used to produce biodiesel and other petroleum feedstocks. SG plans to make its public debut this afternoon in a presentation at the 2009 … Continue reading “SG Biofuels, Emerging From Stealth, Aims to Make Biodiesel From Hardy Shrub”

Selling in a Downturn to a Single Bidder–at Maximum Value

Faced with a slowing economy, corporate buyers will increasingly turn to unsolicited acquisition offers to fulfill strategic objectives. Armed with cash and eying attractive buying opportunities, forward-looking corporations are now pinpointing potential acquisition targets that fill specific corporate needs and will help restart growth. For many prospective sellers now may surprisingly be an advisable time … Continue reading “Selling in a Downturn to a Single Bidder–at Maximum Value”

PayScale Raises $2M for Salary and Compensation Site

Xconomy has learned that Seattle-based PayScale has raised $2 million in a Series C round of venture funding. The investors in this round were not disclosed. A company spokesman confirmed the deal. PayScale was founded in 2000 by Joe Giordano, and in the past has been backed by Fluke Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Trinity … Continue reading “PayScale Raises $2M for Salary and Compensation Site”

Governor Patrick Tours Cambridge Innovation Center

Companies headquartered at the Cambridge Innovation Center, a rental office facility where scores of Boston-area entrepreneurs have gotten their ideas off the ground, played host to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick this afternoon. Patrick and other officials—including Massachusetts Life Sciences Center president Susan Windham-Bannister and Greg Bialicki, Patrick’s choice to replace outgoing Secretary of Housing and … Continue reading “Governor Patrick Tours Cambridge Innovation Center”

VC Group Plots Familiar Strategy For Industry Recovery

The venture capital model might not be completely broken, but the chairman of the National Venture Capital Association says it needs to be fixed. With only six venture-backed IPOs in 2008—the worst showing since 1976—NVCA chairman Dixon Doll says the venture industry needs to help restart stalled capital markets. Doll says the Virginia-based NVCA is … Continue reading “VC Group Plots Familiar Strategy For Industry Recovery”

Ekos, Maker of Ultrasound Clot Dissolver, Raises $12.5 Million for Commercial Push

Ekos has been working for more than a decade on a miniature ultrasound probe that slithers inside leg veins, and gently amplifies the effect of drugs that dissolve blood clots. The long slog of research and development is done, the manufacturing is set up, and now Xconomy has learned the Bothell, WA-based company has raised … Continue reading “Ekos, Maker of Ultrasound Clot Dissolver, Raises $12.5 Million for Commercial Push”

WonderGlen Comedy Portal Designed to Plumb Internet’s Unreality, Says Karlin

I outed Ben Karlin. Not that way: he’s straight, at least judging from his mom’s foreword to Things I’ve Learned from Women Who’ve Dumped Me, the 2008 essay collection Karlin edited. I mean I outed him as the creator of WonderGlen, a painfully funny comedy website that appeared out of nowhere last October. Purporting to … Continue reading “WonderGlen Comedy Portal Designed to Plumb Internet’s Unreality, Says Karlin”

Dicerna Aims to Gain Foothold in RNAi World With More Potent, Longer-Lasting Gene Silencers

Most of the headlines in the RNA interference world go to Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]). While that company says it has amassed enough intellectual property—and cash—to dominate this emerging field of gene-silencing technologies for years, they aren’t the only game in town. One intriguing upstart of the RNAi field is a privately held … Continue reading “Dicerna Aims to Gain Foothold in RNAi World With More Potent, Longer-Lasting Gene Silencers”

UW Starts Program to Train Faculty in the Art of Startups

The University of Washington’s TechTransfer department has launched a new program over the last four months that brings local entrepreneurs into the university to help academic researchers in the early stages of starting a company. This program, which is part of UW’s startup-support service, LaunchPad, matches volunteer entrepreneurs with faculty and other researchers interested in … Continue reading “UW Starts Program to Train Faculty in the Art of Startups”

Exact Teams With Genzyme, Shrugs off Sequenom; Virtual Computer Reels in $15M; Beacon Power Inks National Grid Agreement; & More Boston-Area Deal News

Plenty of deals to discuss from all areas of technology and life sciences this week—including a couple of M&A switcheroos. —Diagnostics maker Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:[[ticker:EXAS]]) of Marlborough, MA, sold its assets related to prenatal and reproductive health to Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) for $24.5 million. In response, San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SQNM]]) ended its attempted takeover … Continue reading “Exact Teams With Genzyme, Shrugs off Sequenom; Virtual Computer Reels in $15M; Beacon Power Inks National Grid Agreement; & More Boston-Area Deal News”

Venture Funding For Audiophiles: $5 Million Round Picks Up Slacker

Slacker, the San Diego startup that provides customized music streaming, is apparently no slouch when it comes to raising venture funding. The firm raised $5 million in bridge financing this week, based on a regulatory filing picked up by Dow Jones VentureWire and VentureDeal. Founded in 2004 and headed by former MusicMatch CEO Dennis Mudd, … Continue reading “Venture Funding For Audiophiles: $5 Million Round Picks Up Slacker”

Cardiac Dimensions Wins European Clearance to Sell Device for Heart Failure

Cardiac Dimensions did what it said it was going to do. The Kirkland, WA-based medical device company, which we profiled earlier this week, has won permission from European regulators to start selling its first product, a minimally-invasive implanted device to tighten up leaky heart valves. The company has gotten its clearance in Europe through what … Continue reading “Cardiac Dimensions Wins European Clearance to Sell Device for Heart Failure”

UW Tech Transfer Snaps Up RealNetworks Lawyer, Microsoft Licensing Guru

Linden Rhoads, the high-tech entrepreneur hired last summer to help the University of Washington spin out more innovations into the business world, is bringing in new blood from the corporate world into key staff roles at her office. The UW has recruited Todd Alberstone of RealNetworks, and Ed Cummings of Microsoft to join the TechTransfer … Continue reading “UW Tech Transfer Snaps Up RealNetworks Lawyer, Microsoft Licensing Guru”

Carl Icahn Makes Move on Amylin Pharmaceuticals

Carl Icahn has sized up one of San Diego’s biggest biotech companies, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, in the crosshairs. The famed billionaire investor said today he has bought up an 8 percent stake in the company, and that he intends to nominate a slate of five new directors to Amylin’s 12-member board. Icahn made the announcement today … Continue reading “Carl Icahn Makes Move on Amylin Pharmaceuticals”

Atlas Venture Closes New Fund with $283M, Does the Staffing Shuffle

Boston- and London-based Atlas Venture announced today that it has closed its eighth fund with $283 million committed by existing limited partners Kisco Management, The Kresge Foundation, Paul Capital, and others, and new limited partners such as Franklin Park, Industriens Pensionsforsikring A/S, and Meketa Investment Group. The fund’s first investment was in Waltham, MA-based CloudSwitch, … Continue reading “Atlas Venture Closes New Fund with $283M, Does the Staffing Shuffle”

Carbonite CEO Apologizes for Planted Amazon Reviews, But Bristles at Critics

Boston-based Carbonite, whose online backup service is the main competitor for Decho’s Mozy, has gotten some good publicity over the last few months for its tongue-in-cheek promotions on Jimmy Kimmel Live and other TV and radio programs. But the company is taking a public relations hit this week over a recently uncovered case of reviews … Continue reading “Carbonite CEO Apologizes for Planted Amazon Reviews, But Bristles at Critics”

Metcalfe Misses Xconomy Band Battle—Climbs Kilimanjaro Instead

A few weeks ago, after sending out a notice reminding folks of our then-upcoming Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands on January 22, I got an e-mail back from Bob Metcalfe of Polaris Venture Partners. It read: “Thanks for inviting me…but darn, on January 22, I will be returning from Africa, having just climbed (I … Continue reading “Metcalfe Misses Xconomy Band Battle—Climbs Kilimanjaro Instead”

General Atomics’ Blue Brothers Get Inducted-And That’s a Good Thing

San Diego defense contractor SAIC has been described as “the largest company nobody’s ever heard of,” but it’s been hard to make that stick since the company’s IPO in 2006. No matter. Another San Diego government contractor qualifies as heir apparent for the title. The only issue is that nobody outside of the company knows … Continue reading “General Atomics’ Blue Brothers Get Inducted-And That’s a Good Thing”

From Starbucks to Startups: Rob Grady’s Take on What Coffee and Web 2.0 Have in Common

Coffee is so last year. Just ask Rob Grady, the former Starbucks executive who joined Seattle-based social publishing startup Wetpaint as senior vice president of marketing earlier this month. OK, Grady still enjoys a triple tall Americano or a double tall nonfat caramel macchiato from time to time—his new favorite Starbucks is in the Wells … Continue reading “From Starbucks to Startups: Rob Grady’s Take on What Coffee and Web 2.0 Have in Common”

Seattle Genetics Raises Dough, Trubion Feels Fallout of Pfizer Deal, Novo Sets Up Shop, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

The great fear in biotech, one Boston-based executive told me a couple weeks ago, is that the markets have turned so dark that fundamentals no longer matter. The idea is that a company could show its drug really works, but the stock still won’t fly. At least one company in our neck of the woods, … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Raises Dough, Trubion Feels Fallout of Pfizer Deal, Novo Sets Up Shop, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Sequenom Blood Test for Down’s Syndrome Clears Higher Hurdle, Company Plots Aggressive Moves Toward Market

Sequenom CEO Harry Stylli vowed to me last fall that he is on a mission to build the “Google of Molecular Diagnostics” in San Diego. Now he has a new batch of clinical trial results in hand that has done nothing to diminish his audacious goal. The San Diego-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) said last night … Continue reading “Sequenom Blood Test for Down’s Syndrome Clears Higher Hurdle, Company Plots Aggressive Moves Toward Market”

OLPC 2.0: After Layoffs, One Laptop Foundation Reboots With New Focus and Big Plans

For those inspired by Nicholas Negroponte’s vision of bringing affordable computing to every child on the planet, it was a sad day early this month when the One Laptop Per Child Foundation he founded announced it was laying off half its staff and undertaking a significant reorganization. Negroponte himself isn’t crying, though—he is working on … Continue reading “OLPC 2.0: After Layoffs, One Laptop Foundation Reboots With New Focus and Big Plans”

Qualcomm Dodges Bullet in Dispute Over Digital TV Conversion—For Now

Top executives at San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) must’ve breathed a sigh of relief today, when the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a bill that would have delayed a planned switch to digital TV on Feb. 17. The House vote against the delay followed a bill the Senate passed unanimously on Monday, which called for postponing … Continue reading “Qualcomm Dodges Bullet in Dispute Over Digital TV Conversion—For Now”

Microsoft, Sharp, UW Led Washington in 2008 Patents Issued—Here Are the Top 25

[Updated Jan. 28, with information on Intellectual Ventures’ patents (see below)] If its volume of new patents is any indication, Microsoft is going to be just fine. The Redmond, WA, software firm blew away the rest of Washington state in terms of the number of patents it was granted last year. That’s according to IFI … Continue reading “Microsoft, Sharp, UW Led Washington in 2008 Patents Issued—Here Are the Top 25”

Exact Sciences Takes $24.5M Genzyme Deal, Sequenom to Drop Buyout Offer

Exact Sciences, a diagnostics firm that had been running low on cash, has sold its assets related to prenatal and reproductive health to big biotech Genzyme for $24.5 million—prompting Sequenom to end its pursuit to buy Exact in an all-stock deal valued at $41 million, according to statements from Exact and Sequenom. Saying it could … Continue reading “Exact Sciences Takes $24.5M Genzyme Deal, Sequenom to Drop Buyout Offer”

WordStream Launches Low-Cost Search Engine Marketing Tool, Raises $4 Million

Yesterday Bruce wrote about Covario, a San Diego-based search engine marketing (SEM) company whose clients pay $100,000 to $200,000 a year for help making sure that sponsored links to their websites appear in the right places on Google and other search engines. Here in Boston, an SEM company is launching today at the opposite end … Continue reading “WordStream Launches Low-Cost Search Engine Marketing Tool, Raises $4 Million”

Navy to Test Northrop Grumman’s Robotic Helicopter

It has taken roughly 10 years, but a robotic helicopter created in San Diego by Northrop Grumman (NYSE: [[ticker:NOC]]) is finally nearing a critical test phase for the U.S. Navy. The unmanned aircraft, known as the Fire Scout, looks unremarkable, except for the fact that it has no windows. It is based on a small civilian … Continue reading “Navy to Test Northrop Grumman’s Robotic Helicopter”

Web Startup fixR Picks Boston as Ground Zero for Contractor Marketplace

(Updated: Additional information has been added to this story. Please see the editor’s note below.) Call it eBay for contractors—and at least initially for plumbers and carpenters and electricians in the Boston area. FixR, a Spain-based Web startup, has chosen the Hub for the first launch of its online marketplace where contractors bid on jobs … Continue reading “Web Startup fixR Picks Boston as Ground Zero for Contractor Marketplace”

ZymoGenetics Takes Back Full Rights to Cancer Drug Candidate

ZymoGenetics has gotten back full commercial rights to its lead cancer drug in development. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) is announcing today it is buying back the commercial rights from Denmark-based Novo Nordisk to the IL-21 cancer drug candidate in territories outside North America, which could free up ZymoGenetics to sign a global partnership … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Takes Back Full Rights to Cancer Drug Candidate”

Zafgen’s Big Idea: Fight Fat by Cutting Off Its Blood Supply

Public health leaders increasingly fret about the epidemic in fatness that has left two-thirds of adults in this country overweight or obese. They urge people to drop the Big Macs and hit the treadmill. But there are some exciting ideas emerging within the biotech and pharmaceutical arenas about what might be done when all that … Continue reading “Zafgen’s Big Idea: Fight Fat by Cutting Off Its Blood Supply”