Antigenics, the developer of a personalized treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight tumors, is asking European regulators for permission to sell its vitespen (Oncophage) treatment for kidney cancer. It’s a big step for the New York-based company—which has 90 of its 98 employees in Lexington, MA—on its quest to be the world’s first … Continue reading “Antigenics Asks European Regulators to Approve Oncophage for Kidney Cancer”
Category: National
Trius Therapeutics Wins $28M Contract From NIH For Bioterror Antibiotics
Trius Therapeutics is on a roll. The San Diego-based biotech company has received a five-year $28 million contract from the National Institutes of Health to develop novel antibiotics against some of the nastiest possible bioterrorism bugs on the planet. Trius will work in a collaboration with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (folks that know … Continue reading “Trius Therapeutics Wins $28M Contract From NIH For Bioterror Antibiotics”
Vertex, Ariad, and Infinity Reach Clinical Milestones; FDA Grants Dying Cancer Patient Access to Tysabri; Genzyme Exec Takes Pervasive Helm; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
There was a lot of activity related to biotech-pharma partnerships this week. That, and the rest of the Boston-area life sciences news, below. —Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences, a diagnostics startup build around research done at Children’s Hospital Boston, raised $21.75 million in Series B financing. New investor New Enterprise Associates led the deal, and Kaiser … Continue reading “Vertex, Ariad, and Infinity Reach Clinical Milestones; FDA Grants Dying Cancer Patient Access to Tysabri; Genzyme Exec Takes Pervasive Helm; & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Last Day to Take the Financial Crisis Survey
Two weeks ago, the Washington Technology Industry Association launched a survey to get feedback from the tech community about the current financial crisis and its impact on businesses. Xconomy is the WTIA’s exclusive media partner for the survey, and we plan to report its findings next week. The survey is scheduled to close by the … Continue reading “Last Day to Take the Financial Crisis Survey”
Amylin Gets $125M from Eli Lilly To Make Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug
Amylin Pharmaceuticals said today it has scored a $125 million cash payment from Eli Lilly to manufacture a once-weekly injectable version of exenatide for diabetes. The San Diego-based biotech company will also get a $165 million line of credit from Lilly, which it can draw upon starting in the fourth quarter of 2009 through the … Continue reading “Amylin Gets $125M from Eli Lilly To Make Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug”
Tech Advice for the Next U.S. President: Seattle and Boston Leaders Weigh In
Whether it’s John McCain or Barack Obama, what should the new American president do to promote technological innovation and global competitiveness? Computerworld asked a collection of tech luminaries from around the country for their advice, and published their thoughts today. Here are contributions from three info-tech experts in Xconomy cities. Rick Rashid, senior vice president … Continue reading “Tech Advice for the Next U.S. President: Seattle and Boston Leaders Weigh In”
Tech Coast Angels Funds Startup Developing Ultra-Low Power Wireless Video
San Diego-based MicroPower Appliance has received an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Tech Coast Angels to help support its development of a battery-powered, Wi-Fi video camera. According to Mike Elconin, the San Diego network president of Tech Coast Angels, ultra-low powered, wireless video cameras have a number of potential applications, with Internet-based video … Continue reading “Tech Coast Angels Funds Startup Developing Ultra-Low Power Wireless Video”
Symbian OS Gets Skyhook Location System
Back in January, Boston’s Skyhook Wireless scored a huge win by getting its Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS)—which helps cellphones and laptops determine their locations by listening for nearby wireless hotspots—into the Apple iPhone. And every few weeks since then I’ve gotten another note from Skyhook, saying that WPS or its hybrid GPS/Wi-Fi/cellular-based cousin, XPS, has … Continue reading “Symbian OS Gets Skyhook Location System”
Akamai Buys Acerno, Adds Targeted Advertising Capability
Akamai, the Cambridge, MA-based operator of Internet content distribution networks, today released news that it will acquire Acerno, a New York- and San Francisco-based targeted-advertising company, for $95 million in cash. The move gets Akamai (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]) into the increasingly popular game of “behavioral targeting,” or serving specific ads to online shoppers based on their … Continue reading “Akamai Buys Acerno, Adds Targeted Advertising Capability”
CheapFlights Founders Launch Retro Deals Site CheapToday
At a time of dwindling portfolios, mass layoffs, impending recession, and general financial queasiness, Web entrepreneurs should to go back to basics, focusing on services that help customers save money, say startup gurus like Paul Graham. That’s exactly what CheapToday did last week, launching a website and an e-mail newsletter that highlight the best deals … Continue reading “CheapFlights Founders Launch Retro Deals Site CheapToday”
Pervasis, Maker of Product to Heal Blood Vessels, Hires Genzyme Exec as First CEO
Pervasis Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based cell therapy company, has hired a veteran businessman from Genzyme as its first CEO. Frederic Chereau, a former vice president and general manager of the cardiovascular business unit of Genzyme, takes over a company that aims to create a cell-based product that will help stop excessive inflammation and promote healing. … Continue reading “Pervasis, Maker of Product to Heal Blood Vessels, Hires Genzyme Exec as First CEO”
Accium Biosciences, Pioneer of Particle Accelerator for Drug Development, Finds Niche
Particle accelerators are used as tools of archaeology that tell you the approximate age of King Tut. But Seattle-based Accium Biosciences has hit upon a way to use these tools to improve everyday prescription drug development. I discovered this enormous cylinder—which weighs a whopping 15 tons—on a tour last week of Swedish Medical Center’s new … Continue reading “Accium Biosciences, Pioneer of Particle Accelerator for Drug Development, Finds Niche”
Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, Hybritech Veteran, Sees Promise in San Diego Biotech
One thing I learned on my recent trip to San Diego, is that the local biotech companies usually can’t just drive a couple miles down the road to meet a venture capitalist because they’re clustered to the north in Silicon Valley. So I tracked down Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, a prominent VC who actually does … Continue reading “Sofinnova Ventures’ David Kabakoff, Hybritech Veteran, Sees Promise in San Diego Biotech”
GreenFuel Fired Up for Big Plant in Spain—Announces Next Phase of $92 Million Plan
GreenFuel Technologies, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of algae bioreactor systems that convert carbon dioxide emissions into clean-burning biofuels, announced today that it had launched the second phase of a major project with Spanish renewable energy firm Aurantia to build a large-scale algae farming plant adjacent to a CO2-spewing cement plant near Jerez, Spain. In making … Continue reading “GreenFuel Fired Up for Big Plant in Spain—Announces Next Phase of $92 Million Plan”
Imperium Infused with $18M, Winshuttle Wins Over the French, the Top 10 Q3 Venture Deals, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
With baseball’s Fall Classic about to begin (hats off to the Tampa Bay Rays), deals in the Northwest have continued to pick up. No blockbusters in the past week, but there was decent action in tech mergers and acquisitions, as well as funding of biotech and energy companies. —Bob reported on the top 10 venture … Continue reading “Imperium Infused with $18M, Winshuttle Wins Over the French, the Top 10 Q3 Venture Deals, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Social Networks, Swedish Phone Throwing, & More at Mobile Northwest
“One banker says to the other—wait, what other banker?” says Tom Huseby. The Seattle venture capitalist and wireless guru slipped in a joke about the thinning ranks of financiers during his keynote talk at today’s second annual Mobile Northwest Conference. I had a chance to stop by and see this morning’s session at the convention … Continue reading “Social Networks, Swedish Phone Throwing, & More at Mobile Northwest”
Adventrx Cuts One-Fourth of Staff, CEO Resigns
San Diego-based Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: [[ticker:ANX]]) announced today that it had cut its workforce by nine people, and that its CEO and President, Evan Levine, had resigned effective October 17. The cuts represent 27 percent of Adventrx’s staff, and the company says that it is restructuring so as to direct all resources toward its two … Continue reading “Adventrx Cuts One-Fourth of Staff, CEO Resigns”
Cypress Fibromyalgia Drug Stalled by FDA
Cypress Bioscience will have to wait a while longer before it can start marketing its first drug. The San Diego company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]) and its partner, New York-based Forest Laboratories, said today the FDA wasn’t able to make a final decision by its Oct. 18 deadline on whether to clear milnacipran—already approved outside of the … Continue reading “Cypress Fibromyalgia Drug Stalled by FDA”
Novomer, Maker of Plastic from CO2, Moves HQ to Boston
Last November I told you about Novomer, an Ithaca, NY-based startup using proprietary zinc- and cobalt-based catalysts to make plastic from carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Today the company, which is funded by Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures, announced that it’s moving to Boston and gaining a new CEO, former Surface Logix CEO Jim Mahoney. Novomer’s … Continue reading “Novomer, Maker of Plastic from CO2, Moves HQ to Boston”
San Diego’s Top 10 Third-Quarter Venture Deals
In case the word hasn’t quite gotten around, things are not pretty on the San Diego investment scene. As Greg wrote on Saturday, venture capital outlays in the third quarter fell to just $178.4 million, a 52 percent nosedive from the previous quarter and the most dismal quarterly showing for the region since Q1 of … Continue reading “San Diego’s Top 10 Third-Quarter Venture Deals”
Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Drug Improves Breathing for 28 Days
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has some good news this morning on its experimental drug for cystic fibrosis. The treatment, taken an oral pill, helped patients breathe better for 28 days, at both a high and low dose, than did a placebo. The drug didn’t appear to cause any serious side effects. The findings for VX-770 were from … Continue reading “Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Drug Improves Breathing for 28 Days”
Archemix Looks to Hitch Eli Lilly to Aptamer Express in New Deal
Archemix has added to its growing list of pharmaceutical collaborators one of the biggest names in the business, inking a licensing and options deal with Indianapolis-based drug giant Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]). The agreement gives licenses to unspecified Lilly technology to Archemix, and it provides options to Lilly to evaluate Archemix’s signature aptamer therapeutics and to … Continue reading “Archemix Looks to Hitch Eli Lilly to Aptamer Express in New Deal”
New England’s Top Third-Quarter Venture Deals—the List
In contrast to the big drops in Xconomy’s sister regions of the Pacific Northwest and Southern California, venture deals in New England seemed to hold up pretty well in the third quarter. All told, as Greg reported Saturday, the region’s venture capitalists ponied up some $834 million for 117 deals during the period. That was … Continue reading “New England’s Top Third-Quarter Venture Deals—the List”
WRF Capital, With Clock Ticking on Expiring Patents, Aims to Build Sustained Venture Fund
Ron Howell’s job forces him to think a lot about the year 2014. Howell, the CEO of the Washington Research Foundation, has no other choice, because that’s the year when the patents run out on an invention that has been his organization’s primary source of cash since the 1980s. It’s a big reason why he’s … Continue reading “WRF Capital, With Clock Ticking on Expiring Patents, Aims to Build Sustained Venture Fund”
Trius Therapeutics, Developer of Antibiotic Against MRSA, Taking On Pfizer’s Zyvox
Whenever headline writers get whipped up about another wave of MRSA or other drug-resistant bacteria sweeping the land, a venture capitalist somewhere starts thinking about creating new antibiotics to stop it. Jeff Stein was in that position a couple years ago at Sofinnova Ventures, and he found an experimental drug he liked so much that … Continue reading “Trius Therapeutics, Developer of Antibiotic Against MRSA, Taking On Pfizer’s Zyvox”
Synta Snags $25M From GSK, GT Solar and Evergreen Solar Sell More Solar Stuff, Predictive Biosciences Foresees $22M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Last week had a little bit of everything for Boston-area deals watchers. —Lexington, MA-based cancer drug developer Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) got a $25 million payday from partner GlaxoSmithKline. The payment was tied to reaching milestones in the development of a drug called elesclomol, which is in late-stage testing as a treatment for metastatic melanoma. … Continue reading “Synta Snags $25M From GSK, GT Solar and Evergreen Solar Sell More Solar Stuff, Predictive Biosciences Foresees $22M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Top 10 Q3 Venture Deals in the Northwest
The third quarter saw a pretty significant decline in Northwest venture deals, as Greg reported on Saturday. But still some big ones were landed—starting with one of the biggest in the nation: Big Fish Games. The Seattle maker of casual and online games (a 2002 spinoff from RealNetworks) took in a whopping $83.3 million, more … Continue reading “Top 10 Q3 Venture Deals in the Northwest”
The Lights Are Still On (Think Energy and Biotech Investments), but the Party’s Over for Many U.S. Venture Deals
The venture-capital numbers for the U.S. are out for the third quarter of 2008, and they don’t quite reflect the turmoil in the broader financial markets—at least not yet. Total venture investment in U.S. companies in Q3 amounted to $7.1 billion in 907 deals, which is down 7 percent from the second quarter of this … Continue reading “The Lights Are Still On (Think Energy and Biotech Investments), but the Party’s Over for Many U.S. Venture Deals”
Real-Estate Startups Reeling as Zillow Lays Off a Quarter of Its Staff
Bad news comes in threes. (Or let’s hope it’s only in threes.) After this week’s layoffs at Seattle-based Redfin and Portland, OR-based Jive Software, Seattle real estate firm Zillow today announced it has cut 25 percent of its staff. Last month, Zillow’s CFO Spencer Rascoff said the company had 150 employees. That would mean the … Continue reading “Real-Estate Startups Reeling as Zillow Lays Off a Quarter of Its Staff”
Big Solar Contracts for Evergreen, GT Solar
In separate announcements yesterday, New England solar equipment suppliers Evergreen Solar and GT Solar said they’d won big contracts from companies in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Marlborough, MA-based Evergreen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ESLR]]), which manufactures silicon solar panels using a proprietary “string ribbon” process, said that it had signed one contract with North American solar … Continue reading “Big Solar Contracts for Evergreen, GT Solar”
Downturn is Perfect Time for Startups, Paul Graham Says
Paul Graham may be the founder of famed Mountain View, CA- and Cambridge, MA-based startup academy Y Combinator, but he’s almost as well known for his monthly essays about the technology business. His latest edition, out today, argues that it’s no harder to get a technology startup off the ground during bad economic times than … Continue reading “Downturn is Perfect Time for Startups, Paul Graham Says”
New York Times Rates McCain, Obama on Innovation
The New York Times published an extensive look today at the presidential candidates’ platforms and records on high-tech innovation in the United States, with a focus on what the two men would do as president to protect and restore the country’s competitive edge. It’s interesting reading. Despite their parties’ conflicting ideologies, Senators McCain and Obama … Continue reading “New York Times Rates McCain, Obama on Innovation”
Funding Round Two for T2 and Its Pint-Sized Diagnostic Devices
T2 Biosystems, a Cambridge, MA-based startup founded by a cadre local life sciences legends, today announced it has closed a $10.8 million Series B financing round. Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Partners Healthcare, and In-Q-Tel provided the new cash; the first three also participated in T2’s initial $5.5 million financing in 2006. … Continue reading “Funding Round Two for T2 and Its Pint-Sized Diagnostic Devices”
Drew Senyei, the VC behind the Movie on Hungary’s Class of ’56
The long journey that Drew Senyei began in 1956 presently ends in San Diego, where he is well-known as the managing director of Enterprise Partners Venture Capital. As a physician and erstwhile biomedical researcher, Senyei holds more than 20 patents and specializes as a venture investor in emerging life sciences companies. (He also is an Xconomist.) … Continue reading “Drew Senyei, the VC behind the Movie on Hungary’s Class of ’56”
Allozyne Advances Toward Clinic, Sonosite Boots CFO, Leroy Hood’s Common Thread With Tupac, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
It was a volatile week in the stock market, and as usual, in Seattle biotechnology. We got insights into an expansion of a biotech drug factory, the advance of a potentially important new drug for multiple sclerosis, and a warning that cuts are coming at Arch Venture Partners’ portfolio companies. Here are some of the … Continue reading “Allozyne Advances Toward Clinic, Sonosite Boots CFO, Leroy Hood’s Common Thread With Tupac, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Santarus Takes on Marketing Goliaths With Faster-Acting Heartburn Drug
If you own a television, you’ve probably heard of the purple pill. It’s a marketing hit for chronic heartburn, sold under the name Nexium, brought to you by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Calling this a tough market to crack would be an understatement, but the folks at San Diego-based Santarus are willing to play the role … Continue reading “Santarus Takes on Marketing Goliaths With Faster-Acting Heartburn Drug”
Is Brown the New Green? Why Boston’s Ugly, Expensive Macallen Condos Shouldn’t Be a Model For Green Buildings
Along West 4th Street in Boston, just past I-93 and the MBTA train yard, there’s a big brown apartment building with an odd sloping roof. I live about a mile away, and I’ve gone past this building several times on walks and bike rides without thinking much about it, except that it’s unattractive in an … Continue reading “Is Brown the New Green? Why Boston’s Ugly, Expensive Macallen Condos Shouldn’t Be a Model For Green Buildings”
Imperium Collects $18M To Pay Down Debts
Imperium Renewables, the Seattle-based biodiesel maker, raised more than $18 million last month from investors to pay down some of its debts, according to this report by The Seattle Times that cites a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Greg reported a couple weeks ago that Imperium’s existing investors provided a cash infusion to … Continue reading “Imperium Collects $18M To Pay Down Debts”
Dying Cancer Patient Gets Tysabri After Biogen Idec’s Earlier Denial
Frederick Baron, the prominent attorney dying of bone marrow cancer, has gotten his wish for a dose of Tysabri after all. The FDA and the Mayo Clinic found a legal basis to give him the drug in an emergency situation, according to a post on Dembot by his son, Andrew. “We have every expectation of … Continue reading “Dying Cancer Patient Gets Tysabri After Biogen Idec’s Earlier Denial”
Cell Therapeutics, Still Fighting, Gets Zevalin Data Published In Cancer Journal
Cell Therapeutics isn’t going down without a fight. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today that data from a clinical trial of Zevalin, its drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, along with an editorial by a leading lymphoma doc who urged his peers to “encourage wider appreciation and … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics, Still Fighting, Gets Zevalin Data Published In Cancer Journal”
Huntington Capital and Other Venture Lenders Thriving, Despite Credit Crunch
Unlike a lot of bankers these days, Tim Bubnack of San Diego’s Huntington Capital is pretty upbeat about his business. “It’s an exciting time for us,” Bubnack said between meetings yesterday. “While the credit markets are seizing up, we’re providing growth capital that allows companies to continue to expand, grow their businesses, and in some … Continue reading “Huntington Capital and Other Venture Lenders Thriving, Despite Credit Crunch”
Predictive Biosciences Closes $21.75 Million Round to Help Detect Cancer From Urine
No sooner did Rebecca note the recent dearth of life sciences venture financings than we got word of a sizable one: Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences, which has a small office in San Diego and is out to help build a new era of personalized medicine, announced today that is has secured $21.75 million in Series … Continue reading “Predictive Biosciences Closes $21.75 Million Round to Help Detect Cancer From Urine”
Founder’s Co-op Gets Warm Reception, Wants Startups That Will Survive Cold Recession
Andy Sack’s favorite coffee drink is a 12-ounce, single-shot, non-fat latte. But if you’re meeting with him to pitch your latest technology startup idea, be advised that he’s probably on his second or third cup already. These days, his schedule is filled with meetings and networking—most of it pretty informal. “I’ll have coffee with anyone,” … Continue reading “Founder’s Co-op Gets Warm Reception, Wants Startups That Will Survive Cold Recession”
Biogen Idec Makes Controversial Tysabri Decision, Boston Scientific Explains Stock Sales, Charles River Heads to China, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
There was not one venture financing among Boston-area life sciences firms that I could find this week, but plenty of news nonetheless. —Luke took a look at Provasculon, the second company to be taken under Biogen Idec’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) wing at its Cambridge, MA-based incubator. Formed around research from Boston’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Provasculon … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Makes Controversial Tysabri Decision, Boston Scientific Explains Stock Sales, Charles River Heads to China, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Allozyne, Developer of Multiple Sclerosis Drug in Fewer Shots, Poised to Enter Clinical Trials
Allozyne will find out soon whether it has a disruptive technology for treating multiple sclerosis. The fledgling Seattle biotech company plans to start its first clinical trial within the next six months, which will give it an early glimpse into whether it can do something that giant companies have been unable to do. It plans … Continue reading “Allozyne, Developer of Multiple Sclerosis Drug in Fewer Shots, Poised to Enter Clinical Trials”
First Inhalable TB Vaccine Being Prepped for Clinical Trials By Harvard, MEND Scientists
David Edwards, a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard University, thinks he may have a better vaccine against tuberculosis in the works. He’s negotiating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other international nonprofits to pump enough cash into a clinical trial to get an early glimpse into whether he’s really onto something. Edwards, through … Continue reading “First Inhalable TB Vaccine Being Prepped for Clinical Trials By Harvard, MEND Scientists”
Isis Pharmaceuticals’ Second Drug Aims to Block Marker of Heart Disease, Inflammation
Isis Pharmaceuticals CEO Stanley Crooke gets asked a lot about mipomersen, a drug his company is developing to treat dangerously high cholesterol in the blood. It is Isis’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) lead drug candidate and generated a huge partnership with Genzyme worth $325 million in cash upfront, with a lot more to come if this drug … Continue reading “Isis Pharmaceuticals’ Second Drug Aims to Block Marker of Heart Disease, Inflammation”
Sonosite Ousts CFO, Brings Back Former Finance Chief Mike Schuh
Sonosite has ousted its chief financial officer, just a couple weeks before it is due to report third quarter earnings. The Bothell, WA-based maker of hand-carried ultrasound machines said that Bernard Pitz, 47, has left “at the request of the company” and is being replaced by his predecessor, Michael Schuh. Sonosite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]) didn’t give … Continue reading “Sonosite Ousts CFO, Brings Back Former Finance Chief Mike Schuh”
Eventful Celebrates $10M Financing Event; Aims to “Cement” Lead in Online Events Services
Eventful is celebrating its own financing event as it closes a $10 million Series C round, the company announced today. San Diego-based Eventful, a four-year-old firm that enables users to promote and track local events online, says the capital infusion came from new investor and Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica (NYSE:[[ticker:TEF]]) and previous venture backers Draper … Continue reading “Eventful Celebrates $10M Financing Event; Aims to “Cement” Lead in Online Events Services”
San Diego’s Startup Pace Strong Despite Economic Chills
A survey of technology startups in San Diego County shows 76 new companies were launched here during the second quarter of 2008, suggesting entrepreneurs kept busy despite broader economic declines locally and nationwide. The study released by Connect, a local non-profit that supports innovative technology and life science businesses, found that San Diego County ranked … Continue reading “San Diego’s Startup Pace Strong Despite Economic Chills”