A panel of leaders in the field will discuss the promise, the practice and the challenges of genomic sequencing and what is being called precision medicine. Speakers will include Ken Offit, chief of clinical genetic services at Sloan-Kettering, Wendy Chung, director of the clinical genetics program at Columbia University, and Nancy Kelley, head of the … Continue reading “Precision Genomic Medicine: How Close Are We?”
Category: New York
Celsion Liver Cancer Trial Fails to Meet Goals, Stock Plunges
In a major setback, Celsion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLSN]]), based in Lawrenceville, NJ, reported today that its lead drug candidate failed in a Phase III clinical trial for treatment of primary liver cancer. CEO Michael Tardugno told an investor conference call this morning that the result “was not even close” to meeting the trial’s goals. Investor reaction was … Continue reading “Celsion Liver Cancer Trial Fails to Meet Goals, Stock Plunges”
Foresite Capital Closes $100M Fund for Late-Stage Biotechs
Biotech venture capital isn’t what it used to be, but there’s still money to invest in healthcare. Now one biotech investment firm just starting out has found $100 million to plow into “late-stage” companies. Foresite Capital Management, a San Francisco- and New York-based firm founded by Jim Tananbaum in 2011, said today it has officially … Continue reading “Foresite Capital Closes $100M Fund for Late-Stage Biotechs”
Companion Diagnostics for Cancer Drugs Advancing Personalized Medicine
The medical world took little notice earlier this month when Qiagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QGEN]]), a German maker of diagnostics equipment, asked the Food & Drug Administration to approve its test for a certain gene mutation associated with lung cancer. The mutation, involving the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) found on the surface of cells, plays an … Continue reading “Companion Diagnostics for Cancer Drugs Advancing Personalized Medicine”
AHAlife.com Garners $3,649,079 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0e10d10-6841-45ea-8f2b-489ac4e6ca80&Preview=1 Date 1/31/2013 Company Name AHAlife.com Mailing Address 45 Bond Street 4th Floor New York, NY 10012 Company Description Some things are just meant to go together. AHAlife is the online discovery destination where you can learn about – and purchase – the best unique products from around the world, collectively curated … Continue reading “AHAlife.com Garners $3,649,079 New Funding”
Rovio Entertainment’s Ville Heijari Talks Marketing for Mobile Games
Even with its addictive gameplay and wacky characters, turning “Angry Birds” into a popular franchise required sizable doses of marketing savvy. And for Finland’s Rovio Entertainment, that meant merchandise—everything from stuffed animals to toothbrushes, some 25,000 products strong. Ville Heijari, senior vice president of brand marketing for Rovio, dropped by the A List Summit in … Continue reading “Rovio Entertainment’s Ville Heijari Talks Marketing for Mobile Games”
The Post-Kickstarter Conundrum: Delivering Companies DOA?
Picture this: two guys in a garage coding The Next Big Thing. It’s an iconic and familiar image. Now imagine their ubiquitous computer keyboards being overtaken by a colony of 3-D foam models or CAD drawings. Now your mind’s eye sees these same guys (or gals) hacking away at something entirely different. This shift in … Continue reading “The Post-Kickstarter Conundrum: Delivering Companies DOA?”
Tech M&A: Report Finds Most Startups Didn’t Raise Outside Cash
Investors have been in a rush to finance early stage companies in the past few years, leading to angst among startup founders confronting a tougher time making it to the next stage of investment. But for companies that get successfully acquired, it turns out that outside financing isn’t a necessity. In fact, it’s a rarity. … Continue reading “Tech M&A: Report Finds Most Startups Didn’t Raise Outside Cash”
FanDuel Garners $11,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d346b30-051a-4713-8f04-c5aff22e52ba&Preview=1 Date 1/30/2013 Company Name FanDuel Mailing Address 41 E 11th St. 10th Floor New York, NY 10003 Company Description FanDuel.com lets you play and win at fantasy sports in a day instead of waiting the whole season. Players can draft a new team at any time, and pitch it head-to-head against … Continue reading “FanDuel Garners $11,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
Ultra Light Startups Investor Feedback Forum
Ultra Light Startups brings together technology entrepreneurs in monthly events that feature pitching, networking and interactive, moderated panel discussions with leading industry experts. Topics covered at the event include design, technology, marketing, and finance. For more information and registration details click here.
Marketing Tech Developer Unified Acquires Y Combinator-Alum PageLever
Enterprise marketing technology provider Unified in New York said in a statement Monday it acquired San Francisco-based PageLever, a developer of an analytics platform for Facebook Pages, for undisclosed terms. PageLever is a graduate of the summer 2011 Y Combinator startup incubator program. Unified, which also has offices in San Francisco and Chicago, was founded … Continue reading “Marketing Tech Developer Unified Acquires Y Combinator-Alum PageLever”
Testing the Bay Lights: Stunning Photos and Video
Few artists have ever had a bigger canvas at their disposal than Leo Villareal. The New York-based “light sculptor” is famous for designing huge, computer-driven LED art installations that cover entire walls of museums and other facilities around the country. But the Bay Lights, an array of individually programmed LEDs stretching across the entire Western … Continue reading “Testing the Bay Lights: Stunning Photos and Video”
Defense Secretary Gates: Underfund Basic Research at America’s Peril
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates distills a critical challenge to America’s continued prosperity and global leadership: Deliver to his generation all promised entitlements, or invest in research and education—the foundations of the country’s success. “I think it’s fair to say America’s economic pre-eminence—and I would argue our national security, and national influence as well—is largely … Continue reading “Defense Secretary Gates: Underfund Basic Research at America’s Peril”
Michael Yang Opens Up about the Startups that Excite Comcast Ventures
Media conglomerate Comcast Corp. is known for its cable system and TV networks. Meanwhile, venture fund Comcast Ventures has been backing innovation across country since 1999, with offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, and Philadelphia. Michael Yang, managing director of the Silicon Valley office, spoke with Xconomy about the types of investments Comcast … Continue reading “Michael Yang Opens Up about the Startups that Excite Comcast Ventures”
Stemline Therapeutics Lands $33,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2eba4bd8-cf8c-4dc1-8246-70998512967f&Preview=1 Date 1/29/2013 Company Name Stemline Therapeutics Mailing Address 1675 York Ave New York, NY 10128 Company Description Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STML) is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing oncology compounds directed to cancer stem cell targets. Stemline’s lead compound, SL-401, targets the interleukin-3 receptor present on multiple hematological cancers including … Continue reading “Stemline Therapeutics Lands $33,000,000 New Round”
Life Sciences and Healthcare Venture Summit
Presented by youngStartup Ventures, this meeting brings together venture capitalists, angel investors, technology transfer professionals, senior executives of early stage and emerging companies, university researchers, incubators, and service providers. For more information and to register, click here.
Keryx Finally Succeeds With a Clinical Trial, for Kidney Disease Drug
It looks like a Hail Mary pass came through for Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KERX]]). In the past few years, both of New York-based Keryx’s top drug candidates failed key clinical trials, leaving the company to bet all its fortunes on its one remaining drug, meant for kidney dialysis patients. Today Keryx reported that the drug, … Continue reading “Keryx Finally Succeeds With a Clinical Trial, for Kidney Disease Drug”
Designing Qualcomm’s Corporate Entrepreneurship Program
I ran into Ricardo Dos Santos and his amazing Qualcomm Venture Fest a few years ago and was astonished with its breath and depth. From that day on, when I got asked about which corporate innovation program had the best process for idea selection, I started my list with Qualcomm. This is Ricardo’s “post mortem” … Continue reading “Designing Qualcomm’s Corporate Entrepreneurship Program”
Ten Companies in Three Days: The MIT Sloan Tech Trek
[Editor’s note: The Technology Club at MIT’s Sloan School of Management organizes an annual student trip to Silicon Valley to tour top technology companies. Xconomy traditionally invites one Sloan student each year to blog about the experience.] I’ve always been interested in technology, but after working on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, I decided to make … Continue reading “Ten Companies in Three Days: The MIT Sloan Tech Trek”
Crowdfunding Is Coming to Biotech, so Get Ready for a Wild Ride
Most biotech pros will shrug, or chuckle, if you ask whether crowdfunding will transform life sciences financing in the U.S. This, after all, is an industry where you often need to raise at least $50 million or $100 million to even have a chance at developing a new drug or medical device. Scraping together a … Continue reading “Crowdfunding Is Coming to Biotech, so Get Ready for a Wild Ride”
KnowRe Lands $1,400,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=23aeb8f7-2ca0-498c-b192-2bba3d85a0bc&Preview=1 Date 1/26/2013 Company Name KnowRe Mailing Address 175 Varick St 3rd Floor New York, NY 10014 Company Description KnowRe is an educational technology company developing an innovative online adaptive learning service for mathematics. KnowRe assesses an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, personalizes a curriculum for each student’s focus areas and engages students … Continue reading “KnowRe Lands $1,400,000 New Financing Round”
OLO Garners $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9019abb9-ce53-42ce-8fbe-9164c55ab904&Preview=1 Date 1/26/2013 Company Name OLO Mailing Address 19 Fulton Street New York, NY 10038 Company Description OLO empowers restaurants to accept orders and payments from everywhere, so that customers can Skip the Line. OLO provides online and mobile ordering and payment capabilities for top brands like Cold Stone Creamery and Five … Continue reading “OLO Garners $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
Introverts and the Internet
If you live in San Francisco, it’s hard to justify traveling anywhere else, since you already have a bed in the postcard-perfect place that 16 million other people go out of their way visit every year. Still, sometimes you just need to get the hell out of Dodge. That’s why I drove up to Napa … Continue reading “Introverts and the Internet”
Rodale Taps Bobby Chowdhury’s Technical Drive for New CTO Job
Health and fitness magazine publisher Rodale Inc. has hired Bobby Chowdhury as its first dedicated chief technology officer looking to draw upon his technical skills and experience for its forthcoming e-commerce platform. Chowdhury, previously with Condé Nast, will split his time between New York and the Rodale headquarters in Emmaus, PA. Rodale publishes such titles as … Continue reading “Rodale Taps Bobby Chowdhury’s Technical Drive for New CTO Job”
Crowdfunding Helps Bring Xconomy to Colorado; Now Writers Needed
If you’ve spent much time in the Colorado back country, you probably remember feeling a profound sense of elation that comes after hours of relentless upward hiking, when you finally reach the summit and a panorama of the Rocky Mountains opens around you. We’re feeling a little like that now, after learning a crowdfunding initiative … Continue reading “Crowdfunding Helps Bring Xconomy to Colorado; Now Writers Needed”
True Office Wins $3M Series A Round with Games for Compliance Training
New York’s True Office, which makes cloud-based games for compliance and regulatory training, said in a statement Thursday it landed $3 million in a Series A round that includes participation from Contour Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, and the Partnership for New York City Fund. True Office develops games—available through mobile devices and Web browsers—that other … Continue reading “True Office Wins $3M Series A Round with Games for Compliance Training”
NY Tech Meetup
Nine to ten emerging technology companies will take the stage to show the world what they can do at this always sold-out event. The meetup will also be simulcast at New Work City, 412 Broadway between Canal and Walker St. Information and registration can be found for both the meeting and simulcast here.
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Ariad, Pfizer, Cubist, More
It was good news all around this week in life sciences on the East Coast, with a strong earnings report for one company, a positive decision on a drug for two others, and a White Knight emerging for a third. And at Cambridge’s Broad Institute, information technology and biology came together in a way. —ARIAD … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Ariad, Pfizer, Cubist, More”
The Muse Receives $1,200,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba54c259-ad68-429f-92fe-e403cc40fd81&Preview=1 Date 1/25/2013 Company Name The Muse Mailing Address Undisclosed Brooklyn, NY 11201 Company Description The Muse is a rapidly growing community of inspired professionals who believe that kicking ass and taking names is all part of the job. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, work for a Fortune 500 company, or dream about … Continue reading “The Muse Receives $1,200,000 Seed Funding”
Etransmedia Technology Secures New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d3e5d039-e8bf-4916-bb05-e71667213064&Preview=1 Date 1/25/2013 Company Name Etransmedia Technology Mailing Address 385 Jordan Road Troy, NY 12180 Company Description Etransmedia delivers EHR & PM, Connectivity solutions, and RCM services to health systems nationwide, serving 12,000+ providers and 40,000+ users. The EtransConnect ACO product suite includes an integration solution, patient identity tools, discrete clinical data … Continue reading “Etransmedia Technology Secures New Financing”
The Surreal, Ironic Story Behind California’s Retroactive Tax on Investors
A major tax incentive designed to encourage investors to back startups and other small businesses in California has just evaporated. If you sold stock in a so-called “qualifying small business” (QSB) in 2012, you won’t be able to exclude or defer any of your gains when you fill out your state income tax return this … Continue reading “The Surreal, Ironic Story Behind California’s Retroactive Tax on Investors”
AppNexus Receives $75,000,000 Series D Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7c975212-74ec-404c-8cf6-12d0bc7d5455&Preview=1 Date 1/24/2013 Company Name AppNexus Mailing Address 28 West 23rd Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description The AppNexus cloud was engineered to provide all the building blocks of a robust, cost-efficient, and instantly scalable enterprise infrastructure. Innovative yet dependable, the AppNexus infrastructure brings you cloud computing without limitations. … Continue reading “AppNexus Receives $75,000,000 Series D Round”
Progenics Pharmaceuticals Buys Molecular Insight in Stock Swap
Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PGNX]]) of Tarrytown, NY, said on Tuesday that it has acquired financially troubled Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals for 4,566,210 shares of its stock. Molecular Insight, based in Cambridge, MA, was founded in 1997 and filed for Chapter 11 in December 2010. In a Wednesday morning webcast, Progenics CEO Mark Baker said Molecular was acquired … Continue reading “Progenics Pharmaceuticals Buys Molecular Insight in Stock Swap”
Celgene Drug Keeps Pancreatic Patients Alive an Extra Two Months in Trial
Paclitaxel protein-bound (Abraxane) looks to be the cancer drug that keeps on giving to Celgene (NYSE: [[ticker:CELG]]). The Summit, NJ-based company reported late in the day on Tuesday that a pivotal clinical trial of the drug combined with chemotherapy kept patients with advanced pancreatic cancer alive some two months longer than those on chemotherapy alone. … Continue reading “Celgene Drug Keeps Pancreatic Patients Alive an Extra Two Months in Trial”
BioNJ 20th Annual Meeting, Awards Program and Networking Event
The BioNJ 20th Annual Meeting will feature a fireside chat on Biotech in New Jersey…The Next 20 Years, bringing together experts from the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, finance, and academia. The Sol J. Barer Award for Vision, Innovation and Leadership recipient will be Francois Nader, CEO of NPS Pharmaceuticals. For more information and registration details click … Continue reading “BioNJ 20th Annual Meeting, Awards Program and Networking Event”
The Million Dollar Club
I had two conversations last week, each of which reinforces a simple phenomenon that I have constantly emphasized over the last five years in my writings. On Wednesday, I had lunch with Brian Jacobs, General Partner at Emergence Capital. We were discussing our respective startup portfolios, and Brian mentioned that his firm’s preferred stage for … Continue reading “The Million Dollar Club”
Adore Me Lands $8,494,142 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=918cc9c6-2524-4b61-b8b5-66fc76fb8314&Preview=1 Date 1/23/2013 Company Name Adore Me Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10022 Company Description Adore Me is a NEW way to shop for lingerie! Website http://www.adoreme.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,494,142 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Adore Me Lands $8,494,142 New Funding”
12th Annual ePharma Summit
Panelists and attendees from the pharmaceutical and health IT industries will share strategies, tactics and insights into the convergence of brands, health care providers, and consumers. More information and registration details can be found here.
U.S.-Based Atari Wants a Reboot, Separation from Cash-Starved Parent
Hoping to start a new legacy, the U.S. branch of venerable video game maker Atari filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday in New York with plans to restructure as a separate entity from its French parent company, Atari S.A. The domestic divisions of Atari, which has offices in Los Angeles and New York, … Continue reading “U.S.-Based Atari Wants a Reboot, Separation from Cash-Starved Parent”
Astia Forms New Angel Group to Invest in Women-Led Tech Companies
Startups led by women have found a new source of cash. It’s Astia Angel, a network of individual investors affiliated with Astia, the San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes women-led enterprises in infotech, cleantech, and the life sciences. Astia announced the formation of the network today. Alongside the creation of a separate Astia Fund to provide … Continue reading “Astia Forms New Angel Group to Invest in Women-Led Tech Companies”
Modern Guild Lands $500,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0afdbe73-39c6-4721-9158-03b51acd4265&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2013 Company Name Modern Guild Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10001 Company Description An online career mentoring program offering different level of career prep courses taught by real world practitioners and trained career coaches in 1-on-1 settings. Website http://www.modernguild.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Seed … Continue reading “Modern Guild Lands $500,000 Seed Round”
Boston’s Got Big Mo in Biotech, But SF is Pushing Back
San Francisco is used to being No. 1 in lots of things. It’s there in technology, and in biotechnology. Every magazine that ever ranked ‘Best Places to Live’ is practically required to put it near the top. Even Bay Area sports teams are riding high, as the Giants won the World Series, the 49ers are … Continue reading “Boston’s Got Big Mo in Biotech, But SF is Pushing Back”
BinOptics Garners $4,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aab0d968-2d71-4c6e-9137-9ab90deae9c5&Preview=1 Date 1/20/2013 Company Name BinOptics Mailing Address 9 Brown Road Ithaca, NY 14850 Company Description BinOptics Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures monolithically integrated optoelectronic components based on indium phosphide and other semiconductor materials. Website http://www.binoptics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “BinOptics Garners $4,000,000 New Financing”
Lumiode, Born from Columbia Technology Ventures, Shines at CES Eureka Park
It is getting harder to stand out—in a good way—among startups that exhibit at International CES, thanks to the growth of Eureka Park. Lumiode, a New York-based developer of technology to make electronic displays much brighter and more energy efficient, traveled to last week’s conference in Las Vegas as part of Columbia Technology Ventures. Though … Continue reading “Lumiode, Born from Columbia Technology Ventures, Shines at CES Eureka Park”
Facebook Used to Be Fun—Graph Search Makes It Useful
I spend a lot of time on Facebook. Probably more than the average user, who spends around 400 minutes on the site per month, or about 13 minutes per day, according to data from comScore. It isn’t exactly wasted time—I’m usually gathering or spreading news and keeping up with my friends by browsing their news … Continue reading “Facebook Used to Be Fun—Graph Search Makes It Useful”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Aveo, Mayo Clinic, GI Dynamics, More
Cambridge, MA-based companies had their share of stock offering announcements this week. Plus, Cambridge gained another company, a key clinical trial started for an unusual anti-obesity device, and New Yorkers discussed how to put their life sciences industry on the map. —AVEO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVEO]]) said on Thursday it plans to raise $50 million by selling … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Aveo, Mayo Clinic, GI Dynamics, More”
2012 VC Funding Strong in Software, Soft Elsewhere: The Top 10 Deals
Venture capital investments receded nationwide in 2012, with double-digit decreases in funding for new cleantech and life sciences companies weighing upon the $26.5 billion that was invested in 3,698 companies nationwide. It marked a 10 percent slide from the $29.5 billion that VCs invested in 2011, with the deal count declining 6 percent (from 3,937), … Continue reading “2012 VC Funding Strong in Software, Soft Elsewhere: The Top 10 Deals”
Chia Obtains New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=883be59a-8ecf-4c9c-9951-4a14762204d3&Preview=1 Date 1/18/2013 Company Name Chia Mailing Address 270 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012 Company Description The company makes a variety of nutritional products from chia. Website http://www.thechiaco.com.au Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor VO2 Partners … Continue reading “Chia Obtains New Funding Round”
Tinypass Garners $1,250,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b4085458-ff16-4caa-b1da-e13df6c585c4&Preview=1 Date 1/18/2013 Company Name Tinypass Mailing Address 105 Hudson St New York, NY 10013 Company Description Tinypass is a team of refugees from advertising, design, and banking. We came together because we believe that in this new digital world there should be more than one bookstore, more than one music store, … Continue reading “Tinypass Garners $1,250,000 Seed Financing Round”
Can NYC Create an Infrastructure for Medical Device Startups?
[Updated 1/22/13, 9:00 am. See below.] Xconomy New York has been chronicling New York City’s efforts to develop a welcoming environment for life sciences startups since we started, and we always come back to the same problems—the high cost of real estate, a small VC community, and the lack of a vibrant startup infrastructure such … Continue reading “Can NYC Create an Infrastructure for Medical Device Startups?”