Elixir Pharmaceuticals says it has the clinical data to support an application for approval of its combination drug for Type 2 diabetes—expected, as earlier announced, to be submitted to the FDA next year—based on positive results from a late-stage clinical trial and previous studies, according to a company statement. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm reports … Continue reading “Elixir Reports Positive Results in Late-Stage Clinical Trial for Diabetes Drug”
Category: National
Local Seattle News Site, Crosscut, May Switch to Nonprofit Model To Pay the Bills
One of Seattle’s best-known technology investors, Tom Alberg of Madrona Venture Group, had a conversation a couple years ago with David Brewster, the founding editor of Seattle Weekly, about how the Internet was transforming journalism. “Tom said, ‘Local news is a big opportunity, and online media is a big opportunity. Let’s brainstorm some ideas,’” Brewster … Continue reading “Local Seattle News Site, Crosscut, May Switch to Nonprofit Model To Pay the Bills”
Slydial Users Pass 1 Million Messages; We Test New Slydial iPhone App, Which Isn’t Always So Sly
Back in July I wrote two somewhat skeptical stories about Slydial, the free service that lets you leave voicemail messages for cell-phone users without causing their phones to ring. My problem wasn’t with the technology itself, but with the misanthropic way that MobileSphere, the Boston company that created Slydial, was marketing it. They were promoting … Continue reading “Slydial Users Pass 1 Million Messages; We Test New Slydial iPhone App, Which Isn’t Always So Sly”
Trade Group Looks for a Pause, Not a Downturn, in Digital Wireless Sector
As the CDG North America Regional Conference convenes in San Diego today, Perry LaForge, the trade association’s chief executive, says he has a lot to feel good about. LaForge says he started working on behalf of CDMA, or code-division multiple access, after getting a preview of the wireless technology in 1988, when San Diego’s Qualcomm … Continue reading “Trade Group Looks for a Pause, Not a Downturn, in Digital Wireless Sector”
Young Innovators Network Aims to Boost Leading-Edge Ideas at “‘The Hutch”‘
Get ’em while they’re young. It’s true of the folks who market breakfast cereals, and also in the world of philanthropy. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has a reputation as a world-class research center, and it has no trouble enticing A-list Seattle businesspeople to join its board and open their checkbooks. Usually these people … Continue reading “Young Innovators Network Aims to Boost Leading-Edge Ideas at “‘The Hutch”‘”
Going Global: Ken Myer of WTIA Talks China Trip, Mobile Market, and Achievement Awards
Last month, Xconomy reported on a visit to China by five Seattle-area tech companies as part of a mobile-telecom mission organized by the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). The goal of the trip was to open up business opportunities for the companies by setting up meetings with potential partners, investors, and customers. On Friday, I … Continue reading “Going Global: Ken Myer of WTIA Talks China Trip, Mobile Market, and Achievement Awards”
WBBA Hires Chris Rivera As President, Replacing Retiring Jack Faris
Chris Rivera, a longtime biotech industry executive with experience in sales and marketing, has been hired as the new president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, the state’s trade group for the life sciences industry. He will officially replace Jack Faris, who is retiring, on Jan. 1. “I feel a great sense of responsibility … Continue reading “WBBA Hires Chris Rivera As President, Replacing Retiring Jack Faris”
NitroMed and Archemix to Merge
Last month, when Lexington, MA-based biotech company NitroMed announced it was selling off all the assets related to its only drug product, CEO Kenneth M. Bate said the company would concentrate on “combining, through one or more strategic transactions, with companies that have significant unrealized value or growth potential.” Apparently it didn’t take long for … Continue reading “NitroMed and Archemix to Merge”
Federal Judge Says Qualcomm in Contempt—Again
A federal judge in Santa Ana ruled yesterday that San Diego’s Qualcomm is in contempt of an order he issued in December to prevent Qualcomm from infringing on two patents held by rival Broadcom of Irvine, CA. The ruling is the latest salvo in a continuing legal battle that involves at least four lawsuits between … Continue reading “Federal Judge Says Qualcomm in Contempt—Again”
SunEthanol Converts Name to Qteros, Raises $25M to Convert Non-Food Plant Materials and Waste into Ethanol
It doesn’t get much more homegrown than this one: SunEthanol—a Hadley, MA-based developer of a process to produce ethanol using a microbe discovered here in the Bay State—has changed its name to Qteros and raised $25 million in a Series B round of financing. (Mass High Tech broke the story this morning.) Qteros is one … Continue reading “SunEthanol Converts Name to Qteros, Raises $25M to Convert Non-Food Plant Materials and Waste into Ethanol”
Electricity Economy Expert Jesse Berst Weighs In on EnerG2 Startup
I pinged energy expert Jesse Berst, the managing director of Redmond, WA-based GlobalSmartEnergy, to get his take on EnerG2, the venture-backed energy-storage startup we profiled earlier today. EnerG2 has developed a nanotech approach to building better batteries and “ultracapacitors” for storing electricity. Berst, an Xconomist, replied with some insights into the startup’s prospects for becoming … Continue reading “Electricity Economy Expert Jesse Berst Weighs In on EnerG2 Startup”
Targanta-Cubist Rivalry Brews on FDA Review of Targanta Drug
Targanta Therapeutics’ stock has made gains since the FDA yesterday posted a favorable review of Targanta antibiotic oritavancin to treat certain skin infections—the latest development in the intrastate rivalry between the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm (NASDAQ:[[ticker:TARG]]) and Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CBST]]), headquartered in Lexington, MA. As Luke reported last month, an FDA advisory committee is scheduled … Continue reading “Targanta-Cubist Rivalry Brews on FDA Review of Targanta Drug”
Amazon Takes on Akamai with CloudFront Delivery Network
Does Amazon’s CloudFront announcement today mean a cold front is on the way for Cambridge, MA-based Akamai? Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) said a couple of months ago that it was working on a way to let users of its Amazon Web Services infrastructure speed delivery of Web graphics, software downloads, audio and video files, and other … Continue reading “Amazon Takes on Akamai with CloudFront Delivery Network”
DivX Shares Fall After Warning Over Split in Ad Deal With Yahoo
Shares of San Diego digital video provider DivX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DIVX]]) fell more than 17 percent in early trading, hitting $4.53 a share shortly before noon ET, after DivX said its financial results would be hurt following Yahoo’s decision to breach a two-year advertising deal. In a regulatory filing last night, DivX said it had filed a lawsuit … Continue reading “DivX Shares Fall After Warning Over Split in Ad Deal With Yahoo”
Accelerator Accepts $4.5M, EMC Merges Mozy and Pi, EnerG2 Tells All, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was another slow week in the Northwest for deals. Still, there was a trickle of activity in energy, biotech, and software. —Seattle-based EnerG2 and its lead investor, Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners, told Xconomy the full story of the energy-storage startup’s $8.5 million Series A financing. Turns out EnerG2 needed to refocus on a … Continue reading “Accelerator Accepts $4.5M, EMC Merges Mozy and Pi, EnerG2 Tells All, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Zacharon Raises $5.7 Million from VCs, Government, Hires CEO
Zacharon Pharmaceuticals has gotten a shot of cash to develop a new class of drugs. The San Diego company said it has raised $3.5 million in a Series A venture round provided by Avalon Ventures, along with $2.2 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The company also named Jay Lichter of … Continue reading “Zacharon Raises $5.7 Million from VCs, Government, Hires CEO”
Royalty Share Expands With Web Services for Music Industry
Life seemed so much simpler in 1914, when Tin Pan Alley’s songwriters and music publishers founded the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, to protect its members’ musical copyrights. Today, the music organization still collects licensing fees from users of music created by its members, and distributes money back to them as royalties. Of … Continue reading “Royalty Share Expands With Web Services for Music Industry”
Vaccine Impresario, Todd Patrick, At it Again With Immunization Against Strep Throat
Todd Patrick is one of those rare people in the pharmaceutical business who can say he built a successful career as a vaccines entrepreneur. He was the president of ID Biomedical, a Vancouver, BC-based vaccine company with operations in Bothell, WA, for 12 years before it was sold to the world’s second-largest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline, for … Continue reading “Vaccine Impresario, Todd Patrick, At it Again With Immunization Against Strep Throat”
The Scoop on Pandora for the iPhone and Other Platforms: Tim Westergren Speaks at Boston’s Apple Store
At least two of us here at Xconomy—Rebecca and myself—are huge fans of Pandora, the Oakland, CA-based streaming music company. My enthusiasm has only grown since July, when Pandora released an iPhone application that, I think many users would agree, is the single most useful and enjoyable third-party app available for the device. (It’s currently … Continue reading “The Scoop on Pandora for the iPhone and Other Platforms: Tim Westergren Speaks at Boston’s Apple Store”
Biotech Survival Index: Cash Woes Creeping Up on San Diego Life Sciences Companies
These are grim times for many industries, and the life sciences are no exception. Most of these enterprises depend on the ability to raise fresh investment capital on a regular basis, so when investors turn cautious, things can get ugly fast. To get a sense of just how big of a bruising San Diego biotechs … Continue reading “Biotech Survival Index: Cash Woes Creeping Up on San Diego Life Sciences Companies”
EnerG2, Backed by OVP and Firelake, Wants to Own Energy Storage in the Electricity Economy
Two weeks ago, Xconomy broke the news of the Seattle startup EnerG2’s $8.5 million first-round venture deal with Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and Palo Alto, CA-based Firelake Capital Management. Today, the energy storage and advanced materials company is officially announcing its approach and giving the story behind its financing. I had a chance to … Continue reading “EnerG2, Backed by OVP and Firelake, Wants to Own Energy Storage in the Electricity Economy”
Brightcove Bonds with Conde Nast, BSX Backs Brain-Implant Firm, $8 Million Shared With PeerApp, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The theme for the week was definitely video, with four different deals cut around different aspects of the technology (five, if you count all the video-playing gizmos that cycle through Second Rotation’s reselling system). Those, and the rest of the week’s Boston-area tech and life sciences deals news, below. —Second Rotation circled $6 million in … Continue reading “Brightcove Bonds with Conde Nast, BSX Backs Brain-Implant Firm, $8 Million Shared With PeerApp, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
How to Start a Company: Advice from Seattle Entrepreneur T.A. McCann
On Friday, there was a really good talk by the noted tech entrepreneur and investor T.A. McCann at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network breakfast in Bellevue, WA. The topic was how to get a startup off the ground: he called it “0-25 mph.” What with the economy these days, advice from someone like McCann seems more … Continue reading “How to Start a Company: Advice from Seattle Entrepreneur T.A. McCann”
Innovating New Winners in Established Markets
I’m attracted to the market opportunity within large, established markets. These markets already have huge spend, they have established dominant players with an inertia resistant to major change, most of the innovative talent and money is off in new market spaces, and innovation within these spaces tends to be evolutionary in nature and follow predictable … Continue reading “Innovating New Winners in Established Markets”
DigitalArbor, Backed by Flybridge, Offshores Digital Marketing
When you’re listing countries rich in Web development and software engineering talent, you might think of places like Estonia, Russia, Poland, and Romania. Now you can add Costa Rica to the list. That’s the location of the “offshoring” facility where a new Massachusetts-based digital advertising, marketing, and communications firm called digitalArbor will turn for low-cost … Continue reading “DigitalArbor, Backed by Flybridge, Offshores Digital Marketing”
MIT Sloan School Student One of Three Finalists in “Crazy Green Idea” Contest to Create Energy X Prize
Updated (see below): A student group at MIT’s Sloan School of Management has been named one of three national finalists in a contest seeking YouTube video proposals for the creation of a new X Prize in Energy and the Environment, the X Prize Foundation announced today. Jonathan Dreher’s 2-minute proposal, “Energy X PRIZE: Reduce Home … Continue reading “MIT Sloan School Student One of Three Finalists in “Crazy Green Idea” Contest to Create Energy X Prize”
Cymer Lays Off 8 Percent of its Global Workforce
San Diego’s Cymer (CYMI), widely viewed as a bellwether for the chipmaking industry, says it will reduce its worldwide workforce by 85 employees, or about 8 percent. Cymer makes sophisticated ultraviolet lasers that serve as the light source in a photolithographic process used by nearly every semiconductor manufacturer to make advanced microcircuits. The company’s technology … Continue reading “Cymer Lays Off 8 Percent of its Global Workforce”
How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists
Death. Taxes. Advice. You can always count on the first two, as the saying goes. But advice—usually unsolicited—can be added to the “inevitables” list whenever things go sour. As in today’s economy. Said advice will be all over the map, too—everything from “cut your losses and head for the hills” to “double up and buy … Continue reading “How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists”
Ascent Therapeutics Climbs Out of Stealth Mode with “Pepducins”
Ascent Therapeutics wants to be known as “The Pepducin Company.” The Cambridge, MA, biotech startup, which plans to publicly unveil its science and new executive team today, says it’s the first and only developer of pepducins—a new class of drugs aimed at modulating a family of cell surface receptors that are already lucrative therapeutic targets … Continue reading “Ascent Therapeutics Climbs Out of Stealth Mode with “Pepducins””
Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address
In case you weren’t one of the 657,000 people who have watched it as of this writing, Barack Obama posted his first post-election YouTube address on Saturday, signaling a new stage in the evolution of presidential communications. The President elect, who plans to give weekly video addresses in parallel to the traditional weekly radio messages, … Continue reading “Obama Envisions $150 Billion for “Green Energy Economy” in YouTube Address”
The Security Network: Helping Small Defense Companies Innovate and Work Together
Michael Jones has an unusual perspective on the defense industry for a guy who oversees a non-profit industry group for San Diego’s defense and homeland security companies. While the defense industry abounds with examples of advanced technologies, “big defense companies are not doing innovation,” says Jones, chairman and CEO of The Security Network. “They’ll even … Continue reading “The Security Network: Helping Small Defense Companies Innovate and Work Together”
Seattle’s Pharma Godfather, Ben Shapiro, Sees Potential Here To Transform Medicine Despite Setbacks
Not many people in the world have played a leading role in delivering 23 new drugs and vaccines to the U.S. market. Bennett Shapiro is the only person living in Seattle who can say it. Shapiro, 69, spent the first chapter of his career as a biochemist at the National Institutes of Health, followed by … Continue reading “Seattle’s Pharma Godfather, Ben Shapiro, Sees Potential Here To Transform Medicine Despite Setbacks”
EMC Forms New Company, Decho, to Help Customers Take Control of Personal Data Online
EMC, the software and data-storage giant based in Hopkinton, MA, is announcing today it has formed a new company called Decho. The new organization is composed of two formerly separate EMC businesses—American Fork, UT-based Mozy and Seattle-based Pi. The merged operation will focus on cloud computing services having to do with managing people’s digital information, … Continue reading “EMC Forms New Company, Decho, to Help Customers Take Control of Personal Data Online”
Supercomputing Along the Columbia River: PNNL’s Chinook Operators Crunching Digits on How to be More Green
The most powerful computer in Washington state goes by the name of Chinook, and stands along the banks of the Columbia River. It is being used for thorny computing tasks like modeling ways to more efficiently store hydrogen for fuel cells, and how to safely sequester carbon dioxide residue underground. This morning, I heard an … Continue reading “Supercomputing Along the Columbia River: PNNL’s Chinook Operators Crunching Digits on How to be More Green”
Layoffs at Mascoma, Javelin
Another day, another bundle of layoffs. Boston-based biofuels startup Mascoma is laying off between five and 10 employees, according to a report today in the Boston Globe. That’s about 10 percent of the company’s staff, which numbers around 100.* Mascoma, which is building demonstration fermentation plants to convert sugars from high-cellulose material such as wood … Continue reading “Layoffs at Mascoma, Javelin”
Where Innovators Meet Up: The Greater Seattle Coffee Cluster
Map and list updated Dec. 19: Want to know where your favorite VC gets his or her morning latte? How about where tech and life sciences entrepreneurs gather to network and discuss ideas? If you’re looking to rub shoulders with the technological elite—or if you’re just looking for a quiet cafe to have a meeting … Continue reading “Where Innovators Meet Up: The Greater Seattle Coffee Cluster”
Oil Wildcatter Comes Clean on Green Technology Investments
Jay Potter has been in the financial services business for more than 20 years, mostly as the president and principal of Nexcore Capital, a San Diego securities dealer and investment banking firm. For much of that time, though, Potter was a wildcatter. He’d raise capital from investors on behalf of companies like Sterling Energy Resources … Continue reading “Oil Wildcatter Comes Clean on Green Technology Investments”
Know What Your Tech and Life Sciences Executive Peers Are Paid? Compensation Study Tells All—Plus New Insights on Clean-Tech CEO Pay
It’s too early to know the full impact of the economic meltdown on executive compensation at private technology and life sciences companies. Alas, 2008—or at least the first three fiscal quarters of it—could be viewed next year as the end of the good old days of executive compensation. Still, for those of you who want … Continue reading “Know What Your Tech and Life Sciences Executive Peers Are Paid? Compensation Study Tells All—Plus New Insights on Clean-Tech CEO Pay”
Last Call on Registration and First Call on Presentations for Xconomy Forum on Energy Innovation
With the Xconomy Forum on Energy Innovation fast approaching (the event will be held on December 2 at the British Consulate in Cambridge), I want to give a quick update on what’s shaping up to be an exciting—and sold out (see below)—evening. I also want to put out the call to anyone who might want … Continue reading “Last Call on Registration and First Call on Presentations for Xconomy Forum on Energy Innovation”
Comfortably Un-Numb: Novalar Pitches Drug To Reverse Dental Anesthesia
Getting a shot of anesthesia at the dentist’s office is not most people’s idea of fun. Once that’s over, the cavity gets filled, or gums get power-cleaned, then patients usually have the dubious pleasure of waiting five or six hours with a numb mouth that’s not much good for talking or drinking. If you aren’t … Continue reading “Comfortably Un-Numb: Novalar Pitches Drug To Reverse Dental Anesthesia”
Accelerator Scores New Investment From PPD, Adds Clinical Trial Expertise
Accelerator has lured another high-profile investor into the fold. The Seattle-based biotech startup incubator has collected about $4.5 million from PPD, the global contract research organization that runs clinical trials and animal tests for pharmaceutical companies. PPD’s founder and CEO, Fred Eshelman, will join the Accelerator board of directors as part of the deal. The … Continue reading “Accelerator Scores New Investment From PPD, Adds Clinical Trial Expertise”
Stewart Parker Leaves Targeted, Biotech Cash Gets Tight, Dendreon Thinks Beyond Provenge & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
It was one of those cold, rainy November weeks in Seattle, and the headlines were pretty grim in local biotech. —Targeted Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) will never be the same. That was the big news this week, when H. Stewart Parker, the founder, CEO, and ballast during some very rocky years, resigned from the ailing Seattle … Continue reading “Stewart Parker Leaves Targeted, Biotech Cash Gets Tight, Dendreon Thinks Beyond Provenge & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Attention, Startups: Move to New England. Your Gay Employees Will Thank You.
If you’re trying to decide where to build your new tech startup, California obviously has a lot of attractions. You’ll be close to the heart of the venture capital community. Non-compete agreements, which are said to slow innovation in states like Massachusetts, are illegal in the Golden State. The weather is beautiful year-round. And let’s … Continue reading “Attention, Startups: Move to New England. Your Gay Employees Will Thank You.”
Microsoft’s Life Sciences Game Plan: Use IT to Usher in the World of Predictive, Personalized Medicine
Nobody ever accused Bruce Montgomery of being a mealy-mouthed, politically-correct businessman. On Microsoft’s own turf, he offered some free advice last night about what to do with an extremely messed-up healthcare IT industry. “If Microsoft really wants to own the world, create a standardized electronic medical records system and give it away for free the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Life Sciences Game Plan: Use IT to Usher in the World of Predictive, Personalized Medicine”
The Xconomy Layoff Litany
It’s a reality of life in the risky high-tech world: even in good times, many startups go extinct. But when the economic environment turns harsh, as it certainly has this autumn, natural selection starts to speed up—with smaller, less established ventures as the first casualties. Even the companies fit enough to survive tough times find … Continue reading “The Xconomy Layoff Litany”
Sapphire Energy, Backed by Bill Gates, Tries to Tone Down the Hype as it Makes Gasoline From Algae
Sapphire Energy has not provided many details about its technology since CEO Jason Pyle stepped into the limelight six months ago to announce the San Diego startup has developed a revolutionary process for turning pond scum into high-octane gasoline. “I have no intention of being secretive,” Pyle told me at the inaugural networking meeting of … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy, Backed by Bill Gates, Tries to Tone Down the Hype as it Makes Gasoline From Algae”
Oral Pill May Make Tough-to-Deliver RNAi Drugs Go Down Easy, RXi Says
Everywhere he goes in biotechnology circles, RXi Pharmaceuticals’ CEO Tod Woolf hears the same criticism of RNA interference drugs. What can be done to overcome the challenge with drug delivery? The answer is, nobody knows until it’s been proven with an effective drug. But Worcester, MA-based RXi (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RXII]]) says it has obtained the exclusive … Continue reading “Oral Pill May Make Tough-to-Deliver RNAi Drugs Go Down Easy, RXi Says”
Smartsheet Aims to Become the Google of Outsourced Team Management
Collaborative work management—it’s not the sexiest topic, but it’s a big business. Seattle-area entrepreneur Brent Frei estimates that his newest startup, Smartsheet, is the “301st company in the space.” The basic idea is to make software that companies can use to manage team-based projects and keep track of things like workflow, file storage, discussion threads, … Continue reading “Smartsheet Aims to Become the Google of Outsourced Team Management”
Biotech Survival Index: Cash Running Low at Seattle Life Sciences Companies
Two questions matter most to the financial survival of a biotech company: How much cash does it have in the bank, and how fast is it burning through it? That’s especially true in dark economic days, so I checked on just how well-prepared Seattle’s public biotech companies are to weather this particular storm. The findings … Continue reading “Biotech Survival Index: Cash Running Low at Seattle Life Sciences Companies”
Shire Settles TKT Suit, Roche and Ensemble Together Again, BSX Backs Neuromodulation Startup, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Will “stapled peptides” be the next RNAi? This and other highlights from the last week in Boston-area life sciences news below. —Former shareholders of Cambridge, MA-based Transkaryotic Therapies (TKT) reached a $567.5 million settlement with Irish drug maker Shire (LSE:[[ticker:SHP]]). The shareholders had originally objected to Shire’s 2005 takeover of TKT because they thought the … Continue reading “Shire Settles TKT Suit, Roche and Ensemble Together Again, BSX Backs Neuromodulation Startup, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”