Category: New York

What Most Biotechies Are Missing on Twitter: A Huge Networking Opportunity

Twitter is coming to biotech, it’s only a matter of time. And this is a truly wonderful thing. This thought occurred to me as I sat in my Seattle office, watching a video from a panel discussion of eight people in Boston—journalists, executives, venture capitalists, a PR person—who were talking about how biotechies can get … Continue reading “What Most Biotechies Are Missing on Twitter: A Huge Networking Opportunity”

10gen Lands $20,000,000 Series D Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7b8bd050-9f18-44b0-8275-825196ed3437&Preview=1 Date 9/12/2011 Company Name 10gen Mailing Address 134 5th Ave. Third Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description 10gen is a new platform-as-a-service technology designed to help developers quickly and easily build dynamic, scalable, mission critical web sites and applications. Website http://www.10gen.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “10gen Lands $20,000,000 Series D Financing Round”

The Tech World Deserves Better Than TechCrunch

Back in April 2009, community leaders in Boston were in a tizzy over the prospect of a shutdown at the Boston Globe, where unions were resisting salary and pension cuts proposed by the paper’s owner, the New York Times Co. I didn’t quite understand the leaders’ concerns. As a longtime admirer of the Globe, I … Continue reading “The Tech World Deserves Better Than TechCrunch”

BuyWithMe Buys Daily-Deals Site TownHog, Its Sixth Purchase of 2011

BuyWithMe, the New York- and Boston-based local deals startup, said today it has acquired TownHog, a San Francisco-based daily deals site owned by Dotblu. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. This is the sixth acquisition of the year for BuyWithMe, continuing a trend of consolidation in the local deals sector. Last month, CEO Jim Crowley … Continue reading “BuyWithMe Buys Daily-Deals Site TownHog, Its Sixth Purchase of 2011”

Take the Interview Takes In $775K for Job Screening Via Video

Score one for video-based recruiting and marketing. (Yes, there are a lot of startups in this sector, plus Skype and Google.) Cambridge, MA-based Take the Interview has closed $775,000 in seed funding this week from angel investors, as well as partners and limited partners of DreamIt Ventures, the startup incubator in New York City in … Continue reading “Take the Interview Takes In $775K for Job Screening Via Video”

American Innovators Lose Big in Newly Passed Patent Bill

American innovation lost big again as the U.S. Senate passed “patent reform” and caved to big business lobbyists at the expense of true innovators in small companies and universities. Bottom line: America has dominated innovation in the world for 100 years based on our patent system and protection of risk-takers. Innovation is the one thing … Continue reading “American Innovators Lose Big in Newly Passed Patent Bill”

Latest in Stroke-Prevention Saga: FDA Panel Backs Drug From J&J and Bayer

Yesterday I wrote about apixaban (Eliquis), a drug that Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) and Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) are developing to prevent strokes in patients with the heart-rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation. The folks at Bristol were paying close attention to a meeting at the FDA yesterday, during which an advisory panel to the agency voted on … Continue reading “Latest in Stroke-Prevention Saga: FDA Panel Backs Drug From J&J and Bayer”

HookLogic Raises $9.5M in Growth Capital, Will Nearly Double Staff

New York’s HookLogic said in a press release Thursday it raised $9.5 million in financing from Bain Capital Ventures in Boston. This marks the first institutional funding for HookLogic. Jonathan Opdyke, CEO of HookLogic, said in an interview with Xconomy the funding will help his company nearly double its staff. “We’ll hire at least 50 … Continue reading “HookLogic Raises $9.5M in Growth Capital, Will Nearly Double Staff”

Technology You Can Touch

Join NYC Tech Connect for an evening of networking for entrepreneurs, engineers, and inventors. NYC Tech Connect is sponsored by New York City Investment Fund, the Partnership for New York City, and the New York City Council. Its mission is to foster a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in NYC in the hard sciences. Register here.

Bristol-Pfizer Team on Alert as FDA Reviews Stroke-Prevention Drug From Rivals J&J and Bayer

In 2007, New York-based pharmaceutical giants Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) and Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) formed a deal to develop Bristol’s anti-clotting drug, apixaban (Eliquis). The partnership hit a high point on August 28, when the two companies announced positive results from a Phase 3 trial of the drug in patients with the heart-rhythm disorder atrial … Continue reading “Bristol-Pfizer Team on Alert as FDA Reviews Stroke-Prevention Drug From Rivals J&J and Bayer”

Bloomberg Sports Kicks Off New Season of Fantasy Football

As the 2011 pro football season officially kicks off tonight, New York’s Bloomberg Sports hopes managers of fantasy teams will turn to the latest version of its Decision Maker software to help them choose their starting lineups. Backed by analytics developed by media and information services giant Bloomberg LP, Decision Maker aims to serve football … Continue reading “Bloomberg Sports Kicks Off New Season of Fantasy Football”

Xconomist of the Week: Five Questions with Biocom CEO Joe Panetta

Joe Panetta is a 30-year biotech veteran on both sides of the interface between business and government regulators. He’s spent close to half of that time as president and CEO of Biocom, the San Diego-based regional life sciences industry association. Panetta also happens to be the latest member of the local innovation community to join … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Five Questions with Biocom CEO Joe Panetta”

HookLogic Obtains $9,500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=77733fcf-6579-4e71-be52-58fdcd73e343&Preview=1 Date 9/8/2011 Company Name HookLogic Mailing Address 455 Broadway 4th Floor New York, NY 10013 Company Description HookLogic was founded in 2004 with the goal of understanding and influencing shopper decisions. Website http://www.hooklogic.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The funding will be used to … Continue reading “HookLogic Obtains $9,500,000 New Round”

Google Acquires Zagat for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6173c114-0f31-4b1f-9573-02f080fb8e0f&Preview=1 Date 9/8/2011 Company Name Zagat Mailing Address LLC 4 Columbus Circle 3rd Floor New York, NY 10019 Company Description Zagat Survey® is a business based on a simple premise – that the shared opinions of thousands of avid consumers with real experiences are inherently more accurate than the opinions of just … Continue reading “Google Acquires Zagat for Undisclosed Sum”

General Assembly Incubator Takes in $4.25 Million

General Assembly, a New York-based technology incubator, has raised $4.25 million, as announced today on the company’s blog by co-founder Brad Hargreaves. The funding round was led by Maveron, the Seattle-based firm co-founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, with participation from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Yuri Milner, Tom Vander Ark, Alexis Ohanian, Hosain Rahman, and Alex … Continue reading “General Assembly Incubator Takes in $4.25 Million”

Ideeli’s Paul Hurley Talks About Winning Over Investors and Making His Mark in Online Fashion

The dynamics of shopping, especially for fashion, may never be the same again with growth of websites such as New York’s ideeli, which offers limited time “flash sales.” The five-year-old company carries the clout of venture backing that lets it strut through the industry with the confidence of a runway model. “Flash sales are part … Continue reading “Ideeli’s Paul Hurley Talks About Winning Over Investors and Making His Mark in Online Fashion”

Amira Pharma on How it Beat the Odds, and Sold an Early Stage Drug to Bristol-Myers for $325M

Amira Pharmaceuticals CEO Bob Baltera has gotten lots of questions lately from his fellow biotech entrepreneurs, which all basically go something like this: “How did you do that?” Baltera has certainly had a lot to talk about since late July when Amira agreed to be acquired by New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) for $325 … Continue reading “Amira Pharma on How it Beat the Odds, and Sold an Early Stage Drug to Bristol-Myers for $325M”

(Mis)Understanding Drug Discovery: It’s Much Harder Than Rocket Science

Developing new medicines is an amazingly difficult undertaking. The research portion alone is daunting, and for those of us who have actually attempted it, humbling. A recent article reminded me just how little many people understand about the drug discovery process. The basic premise of “Pharma Needs an Innovation Intervention” was that pharma should change … Continue reading “(Mis)Understanding Drug Discovery: It’s Much Harder Than Rocket Science”

BountyJobs Secures $5,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5cef1fef-d64d-46be-a4a4-ce80915a9c6a&Preview=1 Date 9/7/2011 Company Name BountyJobs Mailing Address 230 W 41st St. New York, NY 10036 Company Description BountyJobs is an online marketplace that eliminates the inefficiencies afflicting the recruiting industry. BountyJobs provides employers with unparalleled access to a huge pool of talent while giving headhunters the opportunity to tap into a … Continue reading “BountyJobs Secures $5,000,000 New Round”

H.BLOOM Obtains $4,700,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=35ad0e27-30cb-433b-bb8a-4dea087e7724&Preview=1 Date 9/7/2011 Company Name H.BLOOM Mailing Address 20 W. 22nd St. New York, NY 10010 Company Description H.BLOOM (www.hbloom.com) launched in February 2010 to provide luxurious flowers at affordable prices. Delivering directly to the home or business, H.BLOOM makes it convenient and easy to regularly enjoy extraordinary flowers. Website http://www.hbloom.com Transaction … Continue reading “H.BLOOM Obtains $4,700,000 New Financing”

Sam Waksal, Pfizer Venture Investments, and More: Moderator Looks Forward to All-Star Chat at New York Life Sciences 2031

Les Funtleyder, manager of the Miller Tabak Health Care Transformation Fund (MTHFX), recently told Xconomy that in a few years, investors are going to look back and wish they had invested more in healthcare today. That forward-thinking attitude prompted Xconomy to invite Funtleyder to moderate our first public New York event, Life Sciences 2031, a … Continue reading “Sam Waksal, Pfizer Venture Investments, and More: Moderator Looks Forward to All-Star Chat at New York Life Sciences 2031”

Dramatic Changes in Hepatitis C Treatment Expected to Continue

Earlier this year the FDA approved telaprevir (Incivek) from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and boceprevir (Victrelis) from Merck for the treatment of hepatitis C. Both agents are protease inhibitors and represent the first approvals of direct acting antivirals for hepatitis C. Direct acting antivirals are a broad class of agents that act to block the growth of … Continue reading “Dramatic Changes in Hepatitis C Treatment Expected to Continue”

Fearless Fantasy Football, Uh, I Mean Biotech, Predictions for the Season Ahead

Football season is getting started this week, and I’m pumped. This is the time millions of people test their wits against friends (and strangers) in fantasy football. For fellow biotech nerds who aren’t familiar, this is a little bit like the stock market—you try to pick a diversified portfolio of pro football players who you … Continue reading “Fearless Fantasy Football, Uh, I Mean Biotech, Predictions for the Season Ahead”

AppFirst Garners $4,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f3c0a9ab-0cac-4440-9885-b6fcdba86ac3&Preview=1 Date 9/6/2011 Company Name AppFirst Mailing Address 6 W. 14th Street New York City, NY 10011 Company Description AppFirst was founded in 2009 by industry veterans to solve the gap of operational excellence. There are just a few software companies that have achieved operational excellence but have done so at great … Continue reading “AppFirst Garners $4,000,000 Series A Financing”

Labor Day Friday Bad News Poll Results: Government Jobs Report the Worst Biz News of the Weekend

Well, it turned out that perhaps I was too cynical. On Friday morning, I posted the Labor Day Bad News Poll, pointing out that companies often buried bad news after markets closed on a Friday—and asking readers to predict what type of bad news they expected, if any, on the extra slow Friday before Labor … Continue reading “Labor Day Friday Bad News Poll Results: Government Jobs Report the Worst Biz News of the Weekend”

MyPad and the Coming Facebook Wars on the iPad

Why on earth isn’t there an official Facebook app for the iPad? The social networking giant has had an iPhone app ever since the launch of the iTunes App Store in 2008, and the company says that more than 250 million people access Facebook through mobile devices. Its engineers have tried to make the Facebook … Continue reading “MyPad and the Coming Facebook Wars on the iPad”

The Labor Day Friday Bad News Poll

Any savvy news hound knows that companies love to bury bad news by disclosing it after the close of markets on a Friday. The Friday before a long weekend like Labor Day is especially attractive. That got me wondering what bad news might be coming today. Is there another big CEO shuffle looming, a la … Continue reading “The Labor Day Friday Bad News Poll”

500 Startups Brings Its Latest Grads to New York

Armed with gusto and a microphone, Bay Area Internet guru Dave McClure and his gang from 500 Startups brought their latest batch of hatchlings to New York at last night’s demo day at General Assembly. A handful of locally bred startups stood among the twenty-one exuberant presenters—all graduates of McClure’s Mountain View, CA-based accelerator program—who … Continue reading “500 Startups Brings Its Latest Grads to New York”

Why Governments Don’t Get Startups–Or, Why There’s Only One Silicon Valley

Not understanding and agreeing what “entrepreneur” and “startup” mean can sink an entire country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. I’m getting ready to go overseas to teach, and I’ve spent the last week reviewing several countries’ ambitious attempts to kick-start entrepreneurship. After poring through stacks of reports, white papers and position papers, I’ve come to a couple of … Continue reading “Why Governments Don’t Get Startups–Or, Why There’s Only One Silicon Valley”

Pfizer Beefs Up Cambridge Presence, Adding 400 Jobs in Kendall Square

Pfizer is gobbling up some prime biotech real estate in Cambridge, MA. The New York-based pharma company (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) is adding space for 400 employees at the heart of the biotech R&D hub in Kendall Square. The world’s largest drug company—which greatly increased its Boston presence a couple years ago through the $68 billion acquisition … Continue reading “Pfizer Beefs Up Cambridge Presence, Adding 400 Jobs in Kendall Square”

Xconomist of the Week: Bob Langer’s Advice for Turning Foundation and Government Money into Startup Success

Yesterday, Selecta Biosciences—one of many companies founded by MIT professor and entrepreneur Bob Langer—announced that it had received a subcontract from the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to develop a vaccine against malaria. The financial details weren’t released, but the initiative is part of a $76.5 million contract SAIC has with the National Institutes of … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Bob Langer’s Advice for Turning Foundation and Government Money into Startup Success”

Covestor Receives $4,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7085101d-7ac2-4e93-8368-f6c4bd9a28e7&Preview=1 Date 9/1/2011 Company Name Covestor Mailing Address 48 West 37th Street New York, NY 10018 Company Description Covestor is a real-trade sharing service for proven self-investors, a place to share your real investment decisions, gain recognition and earn fees by helping others and where all data is private, normalized and anonymous, … Continue reading “Covestor Receives $4,000,000 New Funding Round”

The “Un-Incubator” vs. the Echo Chamber: Five Questions for New Venture Partners’ Robert Rosenberg

New Venture Partners is a VC firm with a twist: It invests exclusively in corporate spinouts. The firm—which has U.S. offices in San Mateo, CA, and Murray Hill, NJ—counts among its successes Flarion Technologies (bought by Qualcomm), GeoVideo Networks (acquired by Wire One Technologies), and Silicon Hive, a spinout from Philips Electronics that was acquired … Continue reading “The “Un-Incubator” vs. the Echo Chamber: Five Questions for New Venture Partners’ Robert Rosenberg”

Some Biotechs Love New York—Hindrances and All

New Yorkers who follow technology trends know our state is losing jobs in life sciences. Many people in the industry believe it’s because New York is inhospitable to biotech. In the words of a recent academic report, “the state taxes too much, regulates too much [and] has fostered a generally risk averse atmosphere…” The exodus … Continue reading “Some Biotechs Love New York—Hindrances and All”

Innovid Obtains $9,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be7febbd-6c5d-4ece-8348-b45f9741fb33&Preview=1 Date 8/31/2011 Company Name Innovid Mailing Address 588 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Company Description Our focus is creating a video ad experience that integrates well with the content, both contextually and visually. Website http://www.innovid.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company will use … Continue reading “Innovid Obtains $9,500,000 New Financing”

New York’s DoubleVerify Raises $33 Million to Track Online Media Advertising

New York-based DoubleVerify, which has technology for tracking and verifying online advertising, says today it has raised $33 million in a Series C round of financing led by JMI Equity, based in San Diego and Baltimore, and the Bay Area’s Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Existing investors Blumberg Capital and First Round Capital joined in the … Continue reading “New York’s DoubleVerify Raises $33 Million to Track Online Media Advertising”

Market Makers: Developing and Deploying Energy Efficiency Technology in NYC

The New York Academy of Sciences, NYU POLY ACRE, and the Sallan Foundation present this Climate Week 2011 panel discussion on trends in energy efficiency and the path to success experienced by start-ups founded in New York City. Speakers include David Biello of Scientific American, Mei Shibata of ThinkEco, Colin Smart of Con Edison, and … Continue reading “Market Makers: Developing and Deploying Energy Efficiency Technology in NYC”

Spongecell, Backed by Eric Schmidt, Squeezes Social Media and Video Into Banner Ads

Ben Kartzman wants banner ads to do more than sit and wait to be clicked. As common as that mode of marketing has become, he believes his company, Spongecell, can more efficiently engage the public by weaving rich content—video, social media, or interactive features—into typically idle ads. “We don’t think static ads should exist anymore,” … Continue reading “Spongecell, Backed by Eric Schmidt, Squeezes Social Media and Video Into Banner Ads”

DoubleVerify Receives $33,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=70bdf7e1-6b91-4db0-8859-101f2f0ef442&Preview=1 Date 8/30/2011 Company Name DoubleVerify Mailing Address 575 8th Avenue Seventh Floor New York, NY 10018 Company Description DoubleVerify is a pioneer in online advertising verification. We increase online advertising accountability and transparency by providing agencies, marketers, publishers and ad networks with real-time audit and verification of online advertising transactions. Website … Continue reading “DoubleVerify Receives $33,000,000 New Financing Round”

Iconology Receives $500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f2458271-a8e3-441e-8c04-a1f7273669cb&Preview=1 Date 8/30/2011 Company Name Iconology Mailing Address 13 West 36 Th Street 5 Th Floor New York, NY 10018 Company Description Iconology, Inc. is a developer specializing in Entertainment and Books. Website http://www.iconology.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory … Continue reading “Iconology Receives $500,000 New Funding Round”

A Fireside Chat With Sam Waksal

MIT Enterprise Forum of New York City presents an evening with Samuel Waksal, founder of Imclone and CEO of Kadmon Pharmaceuticals. He will share his viewpoints on such topics as funding new biopharmaceutical ventures, the need to invigorate R&D pipelines, and key market opportunities. Register here.

Zymeworks Snags $187M Deal With Merck to Discover Multi-Pronged Antibodies

Merck has made plain that it needs to elevate its game in biotech drug development, and that means turning to partners for help. The latest chapter in this ongoing story is now unfolding at a little company called Zymeworks in Vancouver, BC. Zymeworks is announcing today it has secured a partnership with Whitehouse Station, NJ-based … Continue reading “Zymeworks Snags $187M Deal With Merck to Discover Multi-Pronged Antibodies”

The Fall of Pfizer: How Big is Too Big for Pharma Innovation?

There are big companies out there—Apple, Google, Amazon—that most people today would consider innovative developers of new products. But can a company that seeks to create new drugs get too big to innovate? Is there something about life sciences that requires it to stay small if it wants to create? The question has been on … Continue reading “The Fall of Pfizer: How Big is Too Big for Pharma Innovation?”

EnergyHub Gets $14.5M in Series B Round to Power Its Play in Home Energy Efficiency

A startup out to make homes more energy efficient continues to draw investor support. Brooklyn’s EnergyHub said in a press release Thursday it raised $14.5 million in a series B funding round that included Acadia Woods, .406 Ventures, the New York City Investment Fund, and Physic Ventures. EnergyHub makes software and systems for energy management … Continue reading “EnergyHub Gets $14.5M in Series B Round to Power Its Play in Home Energy Efficiency”

What Comes After Flickr? The Future of Photos in the Cloud

It’s unclear how much damage Hurricane Irene will deal out as it travels up the Eastern Seaboard this weekend, but in the British Virgin Islands, it’s already caused one notable loss. Lightning from the storm sparked a fire that destroyed the home of Sir Richard Branson, who lost thousands of irreplaceable photographs in the blaze. … Continue reading “What Comes After Flickr? The Future of Photos in the Cloud”

Verizon’s Software Beachhead in Boston: The Story Behind CloudSwitch and Terremark

OK, I had to ask: Did Ellen Rubin tell Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to piss off? “No comment,” says Rubin, with a laugh. We were talking about her startup, Burlington, MA-based CloudSwitch, getting bought by Verizon (NYSE: [[ticker:VZ]]) yesterday for an undisclosed sum—and being integrated into the New York City telecom giant’s Terremark division. It turns … Continue reading “Verizon’s Software Beachhead in Boston: The Story Behind CloudSwitch and Terremark”

Buddy Media Attracts World’s Top Brands With Facebook-Management Platform

In February, the Facebook page for the popular snack brand Pretzel Crisps had drawn only 6,800 fans. So Jason Harty, director of field and interactive marketing for the brand, launched a campaign on Facebook offering a dollar-off coupon to anyone who became a fan. In two weeks, the fan base grew to 13,700 for Pretzel … Continue reading “Buddy Media Attracts World’s Top Brands With Facebook-Management Platform”

Xconomist of the Week: Sakti3’s Sastry on How to Succeed in Cleantech

Xconomy readers are no doubt familiar with Ann Marie Sastry. She’s the co-founder of Sakti3, a next-generation lithium-ion battery development company, and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. Sakti3’s battery has already attracted deep-pocketed investors such as Khosla, General Motors, and Beringea. In April, the company’s solid-state batteries made the MIT Technology Review’s … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Sakti3’s Sastry on How to Succeed in Cleantech”