Fairhaven Capital Partners announced today that it has closed its second investing fund—and its first since TD Capital spun out the firm in June 2007. Known for their earlier investments in companies with successful exits, including Third Screen Media, Softricity, and EqualLogic, the seven partners at Cambridge, MA-based Fairhaven say they’ll use the $250 million … Continue reading “Fairhaven Capital Raises $250 Million for Early-Stage Technologies and Theme-Driven Investing Philosophy”
Category: National
Biosphere Medical Gains Momentum With Fibroid Treatment After Years of Wait-and-See
More than a half-million women every year get a treatment for uterine fibroids, or benign tumors in the uterus. Most of the time they get the same thing they would have gotten in the 1970s—a hysterectomy to remove the whole uterus, or a myomectomy to surgically remove the fibroid growth. Biosphere Medical, a Rockland, MA-based … Continue reading “Biosphere Medical Gains Momentum With Fibroid Treatment After Years of Wait-and-See”
Amazon Gets Into Games, Getty Grabs Jupiterimages, ZymoGenetics Settles a Suit, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
The leaves have changed, the World Series is winding down (hang in there, Tampa Bay), and the deals continue to flow in the Northwest. Digital media, software, and biotech were well represented in the last week. —Seattle-based HyperQuality, which makes software to improve call centers and customer experience, secured $7.6 million of a $12.1 million … Continue reading “Amazon Gets Into Games, Getty Grabs Jupiterimages, ZymoGenetics Settles a Suit, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Matchmine Flames Out Suddenly
[10:00 a.m. 10/28/08: Update and clarification included below.] In an entry cross-posted on the company blog and his personal blog this afternoon, Mike Troiano, CEO of Needham, MA-based recommendation technology startup Matchmine, said the company is shutting down, effective immediately. The failure of the company, which raised $10 million in venture financing just last year, … Continue reading “Matchmine Flames Out Suddenly”
Rep. Jay Inslee’s Fire Lights Up Renewable Energy Conference
U.S. Representative Jay Inslee walked into a room today full of VCs and portfolio managers who have seen a bloodbath in their cleantech portfolios. But he delivered a message that certainly got the crowd to take its anxious eyes off their Blackberries, to think a few months ahead to a new opportunity. “The cavalry is … Continue reading “Rep. Jay Inslee’s Fire Lights Up Renewable Energy Conference”
Microsoft Launches Cloud Computing Product, Goes Head-to-Head with Amazon
It looks like Microsoft is getting with the program. The cloud computing program, that is. Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect, has just announced “Windows Azure,” a cloud-based Web service that is hosted on Microsoft servers and lets developers build and run software applications via the Internet. Ozzie spoke about the new product in his … Continue reading “Microsoft Launches Cloud Computing Product, Goes Head-to-Head with Amazon”
Venture Returns Beat the Markets Through Q2—But Got Nowhere to Go But Down
The National Venture Capital Association usually prefers to track VC performance over a decade-long period, or possibly a five-year span. That’s because measuring performance over a one-year period, say, usually isn’t as useful since investment returns gyrate all over the place in the short term, according to Emily Mendell, the NVCA’s vice president for strategic … Continue reading “Venture Returns Beat the Markets Through Q2—But Got Nowhere to Go But Down”
Ikaria Drug Fails in Big Trial of Babies With Lung Disease
Ikaria has some disappointing news out today on its lead drug development candidate. The Clinton, NJ-based biotech company, which has research and development operations in Seattle, said over the weekend that its inhaled form of nitric oxide didn’t work for premature infants with bronchopulmonary disease. Results from a Phase III study of 800 premature infants … Continue reading “Ikaria Drug Fails in Big Trial of Babies With Lung Disease”
San Diego’s Clean Energy Companies—the Map
San Diego has become a hotspot for clean technology, with barrels of resources directed toward solar, wind, biotech, and other “enertech” sectors. In fact, so strong is the emphasis on energy technology and clean energy that when the non-profit coalition Cleantech San Diego launched last year, the group took off like a rocket (an environmentally … Continue reading “San Diego’s Clean Energy Companies—the Map”
Trubion Shares Leap, Drop, Leap Again After Encouraging Clinical Trial News
(Update: This story has been updated to include Monday’s closing share price, and a description of preliminary Phase II re-treatment results.) Trubion Pharmaceuticals shares shot up 43 percent this morning, saw all the gains vanish within an hour, then finished the day up 12 percent after reporting encouraging news from a clinical trial of its … Continue reading “Trubion Shares Leap, Drop, Leap Again After Encouraging Clinical Trial News”
ZymoGenetics Drug Trial Halted Because of Infection Risk
ZymoGenetics has some bad news out this morning on its atacicept drug candidate. The Seattle biotech company said its partner, Germany-based Merck KGaA, halted a final-stage clinical trial of the drug for 200 patients with lupus of the kidneys because it posed a high risk of severe infections. ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) made the disclosure this … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Drug Trial Halted Because of Infection Risk”
At Employee Fair, EMC Calls for Innovation from the Bottom Up
How does a giant company like EMC build an image as an innovator when it employs only a handful of full-time researchers, has a reputation for acquiring rather than inventing new technologies, and sells some of the unsexiest boxes in the IT back room—file servers, disk arrays, and other backup systems that, if they’re working … Continue reading “At Employee Fair, EMC Calls for Innovation from the Bottom Up”
MarketOutsider Tells Investors Who’s Up, Who’s Down in the Media
When I first met Bryce Baril in June, he was a winning contestant in Seattle LivePitch, an event in which local entrepreneurs pitch their startups in two minutes. For the past four months, Baril has been holed up with his company, MarketOutsider, quietly working away on a software prototype—a “robotic financial analyst” that could potentially … Continue reading “MarketOutsider Tells Investors Who’s Up, Who’s Down in the Media”
Isis Spinoff Ibis Biosciences, Looking at DNA of Infectious Bugs, Aims to Identify What They Are, Faster
When people walk into the hospital with nasty flu-like symptoms, and doctors don’t know where the bug came from, the custom is to take a fluid sample and grow it in a lab dish for a day or two to get enough material to find out what it is. Then microbiologists use tools to try … Continue reading “Isis Spinoff Ibis Biosciences, Looking at DNA of Infectious Bugs, Aims to Identify What They Are, Faster”
S3 Aspires To Get Biologists Thinking Outside the Styrofoam Box
Anytime a biologist needs a shipment of something that must be kept cold, like a blood sample or biotech drug, it comes in a polystyrene (Styrofoam) box. Usually from the East Coast. Usually two or three days after the order was placed. This all strikes Mickey Blake as pretty wasteful and inefficient. So she’s starting … Continue reading “S3 Aspires To Get Biologists Thinking Outside the Styrofoam Box”
Akamai Acquires Acerno, Archemix Adds Eli Lilly to Partner List, Sermo Signs Up Bloomberg Subscribers, & More Boston-Area Deals News
The deals news from Boston-area firms last week was dominated by the life sciences companies. —Archemix of Cambridge, MA, inked a deal giving drug giant Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]) options to apply its “aptamer”-based drug technology to up to two disease targets. The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, follows similar ones that Archemix … Continue reading “Akamai Acquires Acerno, Archemix Adds Eli Lilly to Partner List, Sermo Signs Up Bloomberg Subscribers, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Spiration Wins FDA Approval With Device for Lung Disease
Nine years after its founding, Spiration has gotten its first product cleared by the FDA for sale in the U.S. The Redmond, WA-based medical device maker said U.S. regulators approved its device for patients who suffer from prolonged air leaks after surgery to remove a diseased part of their lungs. This is the first time … Continue reading “Spiration Wins FDA Approval With Device for Lung Disease”
Welcome to Seattle, Al Gore—Can UW Startups Get Some VC Love?
Back in August, Luke sat down with the University of Washington’s incoming Vice Provost for Technology Transfer, Linden Rhoads. The serial tech entrepreneur talked about taking charge of the university’s tech transfer office, and how one of her top priorities was to meet with venture capitalists in the Northwest and in the San Francisco Bay … Continue reading “Welcome to Seattle, Al Gore—Can UW Startups Get Some VC Love?”
MTLC Awards Give Nods to Cleantech, Gaming, and Inkless Printing
The Mass Technology Leadership Council gave nods to cleantech and gaming investors, inkless printing technology, and Web innovators with its 2008 Mass Technology Leadership Awards, according to the industry group. Over the last year or so, Xconomy has written stories that capture many of these award-winning accomplishments. Here’s a complete list of this year’s winners … Continue reading “MTLC Awards Give Nods to Cleantech, Gaming, and Inkless Printing”
The Encyclopedia of Life: Can You Build A Wikipedia for Biology Without the Weirdos, Windbags, and Whoppers?
After 16 months in business, Xconomy has published about 3,400 pages of articles. At this pace, we’ll get to 1.8 million pages in about 700 years. But the Encyclopedia of Life—a new scientific and educational website that will have one page for every species on the planet—intends to hit that number in just 10 years. … Continue reading “The Encyclopedia of Life: Can You Build A Wikipedia for Biology Without the Weirdos, Windbags, and Whoppers?”
Seattle Needs to Stick to its Vision for Global Health, Recession or Not, Says Sen. Murray
Sen. Patty Murray is one of seven kids. While growing up, her dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was hard for him to support a family, so Murray’s mother went on food stamps for a time. But no matter how rough times got, the family had a goal that all seven kids would graduate … Continue reading “Seattle Needs to Stick to its Vision for Global Health, Recession or Not, Says Sen. Murray”
Boston Scientific Gets FDA OK for Carotid Artery Stent, Insurance Reimbursements on the Device Still Limited
Natick, MA-based medical devices giant Boston Scientific has garnered market approval for a carotid artery stent, the company announced yesterday afternoon. The stent is a coiled metal tube intended to prop open the carotid artery in the neck that keeps blood flowing from the heart to the brain. When plaques cause the arteries to narrow, … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Gets FDA OK for Carotid Artery Stent, Insurance Reimbursements on the Device Still Limited”
Merck Shutdown of Rosetta is Seattle’s Loss, Boston’s Gain As Company Tries to Lure Key Researchers East
Merck is saying goodbye to Seattle, and it’s really trying to entice its people to say hello to Beantown. Following up on Wednesday’s announcement that the Pharma giant is shutting down its Rosetta Inpharmatics research facility here in Seattle, yesterday I got the scoop on what’s happening from Douglas Bassett, Merck’s executive director of molecular … Continue reading “Merck Shutdown of Rosetta is Seattle’s Loss, Boston’s Gain As Company Tries to Lure Key Researchers East”
Investors Talk Biofuels Winners, Latecomers to the Party, and $100 Billion Dollar Companies at Algae Biomass Summit
Algae-based biofuels are the topic du jour. And why not—the prospect of using pond scum to power 21st-century transportation and replace crude oil is pretty appealing. So one of the highlights from the Algae Biomass Summit in Seattle yesterday, besides the keynote by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, was a panel of prominent VCs discussing the … Continue reading “Investors Talk Biofuels Winners, Latecomers to the Party, and $100 Billion Dollar Companies at Algae Biomass Summit”
Alnylam–Isis Venture Regulus, Leader in MicroRNA Drugs, Aspires to Create New Paradigm of Treatments
Within the first five minutes of sitting down for an interview with Kleanthis Xanthopoulos, I could see this guy likes to think big. The idea behind his company, Regulus Therapeutics, is to show that a young technology called microRNA has the same sort of potential that gene-splicing techniques represented in the 1970s and targeted antibody … Continue reading “Alnylam–Isis Venture Regulus, Leader in MicroRNA Drugs, Aspires to Create New Paradigm of Treatments”
Vinod Khosla Speaks at Seattle’s Algae Biomass Summit
This afternoon, I’ve been attending the second annual Algae Biomass Summit at the Bell Harbor Conference Center down by the waterfront in Seattle. This year’s conference has drawn 600 participants—who knew the algae community was this big already? Here at Xconomy, we’ve covered some algae biofuel startups with local connections, including AXI out of the … Continue reading “Vinod Khosla Speaks at Seattle’s Algae Biomass Summit”
NitroMed Sells Off Its Only Product, a Controversial Heart Pill for African Americans
Nine months after slashing its staff and discontinuing marketing of its only marketed product—a heart-failure drug approved specifically for African Americans—Lexington, MA-based NitroMed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTMD]]) is selling all the assets related to the pill. Under the terms of the agreement, JHP Pharmaceuticals, a privately held specialty healthcare company in Parsippany, NJ, will pay $24.5 million … Continue reading “NitroMed Sells Off Its Only Product, a Controversial Heart Pill for African Americans”
Bloomberg Subscribers Get Access to Sermo Physician Forum
It seems that Sermo, the exclusive online community for physicians, is finding new ways to monetize its population of members almost as quickly as that population is growing. Last year, the password-protected site, where some 90,000 practicing physicians consult with one another on medical cases and other issues via a system of comments and polls, … Continue reading “Bloomberg Subscribers Get Access to Sermo Physician Forum”
Getty Images Buys Jupitermedia’s Online Photo Biz for $96M
It’s one of the biggest acquisitions of the year in the Northwest. Getty Images, the Seattle-based creator and distributor of online photos and video, is buying New York-based Jupitermedia’s online images business. The acquisition of Jupiterimages is worth $96 million in cash, and will help Jupitermedia pay off its bank debt, according to a statement … Continue reading “Getty Images Buys Jupitermedia’s Online Photo Biz for $96M”
Drug Developer Phenomix Nixes $86.25M IPO
San Diego-based biotech firm Phenomix has withdrawn its plans to raise $86.25 million in an initial public offering—more evidence that even mature biotechs ready for late-stage clinical trials are having trouble raising money from public investors. For Phenomix, $34 million of the IPO proceeds would have funded the firm’s late-stage studies of its lead drug … Continue reading “Drug Developer Phenomix Nixes $86.25M IPO”
Gilead Signs Lease to Grow in Seattle, Despite Aztreonam Delay
Gilead Sciences is going ahead with growth plans in Seattle. The Foster City, CA-based biotech company, which bought Seattle-based Corus Pharma two years ago, has signed a long-term lease on 106,000 square feet at 199 E. Blaine St., according to The Seattle Times. The building, being leased by Alexandria Real Estate Equities in South Lake … Continue reading “Gilead Signs Lease to Grow in Seattle, Despite Aztreonam Delay”
Sirtris’ Red Wine Chemical to Take Back Seat to “Potent” Diabetes Drugs
Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm Sirtris has garnered national and international attention for its work to use its formulation of resveratrol, a natural chemical found in red wine, to treat diseases of aging such as Type 2 diabetes and cancer. Now the company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:[[ticker:GSK]]), plans to increase its … Continue reading “Sirtris’ Red Wine Chemical to Take Back Seat to “Potent” Diabetes Drugs”
Ze-gen Fires Back in Patent Dispute; Calls Quantum Catalytics’ Infringement Allegations “Fraudulent”
Boston-based Ze-gen has struck back at Quantum Catalytics. Ze-gen, in documents filed yesterday in federal District Court in Boston, says the patent infringement claims Quantum filed against it in August are “transparently fraudulent” and “so oblique as to be unfathomable.” Many of the patents at stake in the lawsuit have expired, Ze-gen pointed out in … Continue reading “Ze-gen Fires Back in Patent Dispute; Calls Quantum Catalytics’ Infringement Allegations “Fraudulent””
Merck Bails on Seattle, Gates Foundation Backs Far-Out Ideas, Zymo Drug Shows Promise & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Seattle biotech took an uppercut on the chin this week, as Merck bailed out on the region seven years after it established the first Big Pharma beachhead in the Northwest. Since pharma companies like this play critical roles in providing stability to biotech scene, there’s no other way to slice this than to call it … Continue reading “Merck Bails on Seattle, Gates Foundation Backs Far-Out Ideas, Zymo Drug Shows Promise & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Biotech Luminaries Huddle at Boston R&D Conference, Mood “Surprisingly Optimistic”
A who’s who of the Boston-area life sciences scene (including MIT Institute Professors Robert Langer and Philip Sharp) turned out at Harvard Medical School yesterday for the first Boston Biotech R&D Conference. It was a good place to be for anyone aiming to network with biotech-focused venture capitalists, fund managers, executives, academic luminaries, and industry … Continue reading “Biotech Luminaries Huddle at Boston R&D Conference, Mood “Surprisingly Optimistic””
Optimer, Developer of Drug For “C. Diff” Bacteria, Awaits Pivotal Results
Optimer Pharmaceuticals will find out soon whether it has come up with the first new drug for a dangerous bacteria known as “C. difficile” in more than two decades. The San Diego-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) is eagerly awaiting results from a 660-patient clinical trial of its experimental drug, OPT-80. By the end of this year, … Continue reading “Optimer, Developer of Drug For “C. Diff” Bacteria, Awaits Pivotal Results”
Why Wetpaint Went from Wikis to Social Publishing—the Next Step in Social Networks
Back in the summertime, we did a short piece about Wetpaint, the Seattle-based Web startup that had just surpassed its 1-millionth-consumer-wiki milestone. Wetpaint is one of the more heralded tech startups in the Northwest, backed to the tune of $40 million in venture capital—including, most recently, a $25 million round led by DAG Ventures in … Continue reading “Why Wetpaint Went from Wikis to Social Publishing—the Next Step in Social Networks”
Vulcan’s Healey “Disappointed” in Merck Shutdown, But Says Other Tenants May Fill Void
Vulcan’s Ada Healey got a rude awakening this morning with news on the wires that Merck, one of her company’s main tenants in South Lake Union, is shutting down its Seattle research center to cut costs. Regardless, she says Paul Allen’s real estate portfolio isn’t going to take a serious hit in the neighborhood, and … Continue reading “Vulcan’s Healey “Disappointed” in Merck Shutdown, But Says Other Tenants May Fill Void”
Merck Closing Seattle’s Rosetta Research Center, Cutting 300 Jobs
Merck is leaving Seattle, and cutting 300 local jobs. The Whitehouse Station, NJ-based drug giant said today in its third-quarter earnings report that it is shutting down its Rosetta Inpharmatics research site in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood as part of a global cost-cutting plan to eliminate 7,200 jobs and save as much as $4.2 … Continue reading “Merck Closing Seattle’s Rosetta Research Center, Cutting 300 Jobs”
Helen Greiner Speaks: Next Up After iRobot is Service, Kite-Boarding, and Gearing Up for a New Adventure…in Robotics
Helen Greiner just called me. She didn’t go into any particulars of how or why she came to step down as iRobot’s chairman today, but she did sound upbeat about the next phase of her life—and told me some history about she got hooked on robotics at age 11 and wasn’t about to leave the … Continue reading “Helen Greiner Speaks: Next Up After iRobot is Service, Kite-Boarding, and Gearing Up for a New Adventure…in Robotics”
Puget Sound Business Journal Launches TechFlash Site with Cook, Bishop
Where are John and Todd? A month after Luke reported that venerable Seattle tech reporters John Cook and Todd Bishop left the Seattle P-I for new roles at the Puget Sound Business Journal, they have officially surfaced today at a new website, called TechFlash. Billed as “Seattle’s technology news source,” TechFlash will offer breaking news … Continue reading “Puget Sound Business Journal Launches TechFlash Site with Cook, Bishop”
IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Resigns as Chair of Board
Updated Oct. 22, 5 pm with comment from company: IRobot co-founder Helen Greiner, who has been instrumental in guiding the company since its inception in 1990 and who has served as a leading voice on robotics innovation worldwide, has resigned as chairman of the company’s board and will be replaced by her fellow co-founder and … Continue reading “IRobot Co-Founder Greiner Resigns as Chair of Board”
Neuroptix Raises $18.5M For Alzheimer’s Diagnostic Test
Neuroptix has raised $18.5 million in a Series B round of venture capital, to push development of a non-invasive eye test that it thinks may be able to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease at its earliest stages. Inventages led the investment round in the Acton, MA-based company, and Rockport Venture Partners acted as the company’s financial advisor. … Continue reading “Neuroptix Raises $18.5M For Alzheimer’s Diagnostic Test”
Amazon Buys Reflexive Entertainment, Looks to Distribute Casual Games
It looks like Amazon is getting more serious about gaming. As we reported in July, the Seattle Internet retail giant backs Atomic Moguls, a Seattle-based social-network gaming firm. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is also an investor in Palo Alto, CA-based Social Gaming Network. But now, earlier this week, Reflexive Entertainment, a developer and … Continue reading “Amazon Buys Reflexive Entertainment, Looks to Distribute Casual Games”
SpaceDev Agrees to $38M Acquisition by Nevada Firm
Less than two weeks after the death of its founder, Jim Benson, San Diego-based SpaceDev (OTCBB: [[ticker:SPDV]]) has announced that it’s inked a deal to be acquired by a privately held Nevada firm, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), for $38 million in cash. SpaceDev blasted into the headlines in 2004, when its hybrid rocket engine technology … Continue reading “SpaceDev Agrees to $38M Acquisition by Nevada Firm”
Metaplace Secures $6.7 Million for Virtual Worlds
Metaplace, the open-access virtual world that allows users to build and share their own animated communities, said today that it has collected $6.7 million in new financing, raising the startup’s funding total to $9.4 million. The funding hails from four investors: existing backers Charles River Ventures and Crescendo Ventures, as well as new financiers Ben … Continue reading “Metaplace Secures $6.7 Million for Virtual Worlds”
New EveryZing Video Player Helps Publishers Cash In on Viral Video Distribution
Google’s YouTube makes it incredibly easy to share cool videos with your friends or embed them in your blog or website. The site’s friendliness toward viral distribution is probably why almost every video on the Internet ends up on YouTube sooner or later. But if big companies that publish a lot of Web video leave … Continue reading “New EveryZing Video Player Helps Publishers Cash In on Viral Video Distribution”
Building New Life Science Companies: The Bob Langer–Terry McGuire Show on Video
One highlight of Xconomy’s September 23 forum, “How to Build a Life Sciences Company,” was my closing chat with MIT Institute Professor and Xconomist Robert Langer and Polaris Venture Partners managing partner Terry McGuire, who have teamed on a long list of local biotech startups. Now, courtesy of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, which … Continue reading “Building New Life Science Companies: The Bob Langer–Terry McGuire Show on Video”
Gates Foundation Invests in 104 “Untried, Unproven” Ideas for Global Health
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is doling out smaller chunks of cash to spur bigger thinking. The world’s largest private foundation is announcing today it is awarding 104 grants to scientists—at $100,000 apiece—to support off-the-wall ideas that have potential to shake up the conventional wisdom in global health. The Seattle-based foundation hopes to pump … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Invests in 104 “Untried, Unproven” Ideas for Global Health”
ZymoGenetics’ Kidney Cancer Drug, Taken with Nexavar, Shrinks Tumors in Relapsed Patients
ZymoGenetics has some minor good news coming out today. The Seattle biotech company said that a study showed its genetically-engineered protein drug, IL-21, was able to help shrink and stabilize kidney tumors in combination with another targeted drug, even in patients whose disease relapsed after prior therapy. The preliminary results show that three of 18 … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics’ Kidney Cancer Drug, Taken with Nexavar, Shrinks Tumors in Relapsed Patients”