Building a biotech business comes down to a lot of meetings and networking with potential new partners, hires, investors and others. Having all of these folks, along with top academics, highly concentrated in an urban center (that also has a lot of nice restaurants and coffee shops to meet in) was a key factor in … Continue reading “Coming to Boston Was a “No-Brainer”: Xconomy’s Newcomer Award Finalists”
Category: New York
Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T
[Corrected, 9/18/17, see below] The FDA has forced Cellectis to shut down two Phase 1 trials it has been running to test an “off the shelf” type of cell therapy—a stinging setback to the France- and New York-based company’s aspirations to leapfrog other developers of CAR-T, a type of cancer immunotherapy that the FDA just … Continue reading “Patient Death Triggers FDA Hold For Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T”
Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More
[Corrected 9/5/17, 12:22 p.m. See below.] The far-out idea of reprogramming a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer, known as CAR-T, entered the mainstream this week, and two numbers highlight the tale. The first is $11.9 billion, the price Gilead Sciences is paying for Kite Pharma and its cancer-fighting cell therapy pipeline. It’s one of … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CAR-T’s Huge Week, Merck’s ‘Pib Choice & More”
Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?
Novartis said Wednesday that it would not charge for its newly approved cellular immunotherapy, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah)—the first so-called CAR-T product to ever come to market—if it fails to help patients within a month. If the cell therapy, approved for kids with leukemia who have run out of other options, starts to work within a month, … Continue reading “Novartis: CAR-T Results In One Month, Or No Charge. Why One Month?”
Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles
Read today’s news and you’d think fully autonomous vehicles—commercial vehicles, in particular—will be everywhere in the very near future. With headlines like these, it’s no wonder: Self-Driving Trucks Could be on Highways in 3 to 4 Years U.S. and Europe Race to be First to Self-Driving Trucks Ford Plans Self-Driving Car for Ride Share Fleets … Continue reading “Embracing the Inevitable Changes of Self-Driving Vehicles”
Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000
Ahead of schedule, Novartis has received the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy called CAR-T, which uses a cancer patient’s own immune cells as the medicine. Within days, children and young adults with a severe form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia could receive the treatment at a handful of centers across the U.S. … Continue reading “Novartis Wins Historic FDA Nod, Prices CAR-T For Leukemia at $475,000”
GoKid App Helps Busy Parents Connect and Share Carpooling Duties
GoKid, the carpooling app startup that went through the Techstars Mobility accelerator program in Detroit last summer, today unveiled a new enterprise version of its product for schools called GoKid Connect. Based in the Motor City and New York City, GoKid is a mobile tool that allows parents to create and manage carpooling schedules. Parents … Continue reading “GoKid App Helps Busy Parents Connect and Share Carpooling Duties”
Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem
The word ecosystem conjures up a rain forest in Ecuador, where sunlight, soil, water, and a multitude of species exist together in a self-sustaining environment that is constantly evolving. This image from biology translates perfectly into what many people like to call an innovation ecosystem. Think of a group of people developing a new idea, … Continue reading “Taking Tech Ideas Global: Connecting an Innovation Ecosystem”
Celgene Broadens Forma Deal, Adding $195M More for Drug R&D
Celgene and Forma Therapeutics are expanding their already extensive relationship. The Summit, NJ-based drugmaker has exercised a $195 million option to widen the breadth of the 2014 deal it signed with Forma to co-develop drugs for cancer and other therapeutic areas—an agreement that gave Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) the option to buy Forma down the road. … Continue reading “Celgene Broadens Forma Deal, Adding $195M More for Drug R&D”
Will Merck Seek FDA Filing For Heart Drug After Lackluster Results?
News from Merck this morning on a large trial known as Reveal might signal the end of the road for a once-promising group of cholesterol-lowering medicines. It all depends on what New York drug giant Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) intends to do now that it has the results of the four-year, 30,449-patient trial, which tested a … Continue reading “Will Merck Seek FDA Filing For Heart Drug After Lackluster Results?”
FDA Refuses to Review Acorda Parkinson’s Drug, Shares Tumble
The heat is on Acorda Therapeutics once again. Months after Acorda lost a key group of patents, the FDA has declined to review, at least for now, an experimental Parkinson’s disease drug that is critical to the company’s future. Acorda (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACOR]]) said this morning that the FDA has sent the Ardsley, NY, company a … Continue reading “FDA Refuses to Review Acorda Parkinson’s Drug, Shares Tumble”
Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?
The news broke Sunday night that Uber has offered the job of CEO to Dara Khosrowshahi, the outspoken steady hand guiding Bellevue, WA-based online travel giant Expedia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXPE]]) for the last dozen years. Khosrowshahi and Uber have not officially confirmed the news as of Monday evening. An internal e-mail from Barry Diller, Expedia chairman, … Continue reading “Who is Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s Pick to be CEO?”
TARA Biosystems Taps MyoKardia’s Michael Graziano for CSO Post
Michael Graziano is joining TARA Biosystems to become the New York company’s chief scientific officer. TARA Biosystems is developing “heart-on-a-chip” tissue models that can be used in drug discovery and drug toxicity testing. Graziano most recently worked at South San Francisco, CA-based MyoKardia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MYOK]]), where he was vice president of research biology. Before MyoKardia, Graziano … Continue reading “TARA Biosystems Taps MyoKardia’s Michael Graziano for CSO Post”
SetPoint Nabs $30M For More Tests of Bioelectric Device as RA Therapy
SetPoint Medical is trying to use tiny pulses of electricity to treat inflammation in the body, and it now has an additional $30 million in funding to continue testing its approach in humans. The capital infusion announced Monday for SetPoint is a Series D round of investment. The company says it plans to use the … Continue reading “SetPoint Nabs $30M For More Tests of Bioelectric Device as RA Therapy”
Power to the Patient: Meet Xconomy’s Patient Partnership Award Finalists
It’s clear at this point that patients are no longer just subjects in clinical trials. Thanks to the growing power of patient advocacy groups—and an FDA eager to hear their perspective—patients and drug developers are increasingly finding creating ways to work together, as we’ve seen with the four finalists in the Patient Partnership category of … Continue reading “Power to the Patient: Meet Xconomy’s Patient Partnership Award Finalists”
Gilead Makes Long-Awaited Splash With $12B Bet on Kite, Cell Therapy
Investors have been waiting for years for Gilead Sciences to make another big splash. This morning, it finally did, agreeing to buy Kite Pharma for close to $12 billion in a significant bet on the success of an emerging, cutting edge type of cancer immunotherapy known as CAR-T. Gilead (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]), of Foster City, CA, … Continue reading “Gilead Makes Long-Awaited Splash With $12B Bet on Kite, Cell Therapy”
Stand Up to “Bully” Trump: Bio CEOs Levin, Holtzman Call to Their Peers
Biotech CEOs Jeremy Levin and Steve Holtzman have watched the violence in Charlottesville, VA, and its continuing aftermath with disgust. But they aren’t just upset about the rally, the violence and death, and President Trump’s equivocating blame of “many sides.” Levin, of Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVID]]), and Holtzman, of Decibel Therapeutics, have been disappointed with … Continue reading “Stand Up to “Bully” Trump: Bio CEOs Levin, Holtzman Call to Their Peers”
Memphis Meats Cooks Up $17M Funding Round for Lab-Grown “Meat”
Memphis Meats says it has developed a way to grow animal cells into products that have the look, texture, and taste of meat from farm-grown chickens. The San Francisco Bay area startup is now working to scale up its production process, and it has raised $17 million in funding toward that goal. The Series A … Continue reading “Memphis Meats Cooks Up $17M Funding Round for Lab-Grown “Meat””
FDA Clears Way for Filing on Psych Drug From Intra-Cellular, Shares Climb
The FDA has just lowered a key barrier standing between Intra-Cellular Therapies and potential approval of an experimental schizophrenia drug. Now the question is whether the mixed set of data the company has accrued to support the program will be good enough for regulators. Intra-Cellular (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITCI]]) said the FDA has finished looking over responses … Continue reading “FDA Clears Way for Filing on Psych Drug From Intra-Cellular, Shares Climb”
The Downside of Immersive Tech: An Increasingly Isolated World
As an entrepreneur who has been involved in tech and media for over two decades, I have seen my share of disruptions (I so hate that word!) and even participated in a few. Back in the 1990s, while we were developing some broadband technologies at Sourcecom, my first startup, we also had to develop the … Continue reading “The Downside of Immersive Tech: An Increasingly Isolated World”
GNS Healthcare Adds $6M, Led by Amgen, for Machine Learning Tech
The investment arm of biotech giant Amgen has led a new $6 million round of funding in GNS Healthcare, CEO Colin Hill tells Xconomy. Amgen Ventures’ new investment is a part of the company’s Series C financing round, which now totals $23 million, says Hill, who is also GNS’s chairman and co-founder. Cambridge, MA-based GNS … Continue reading “GNS Healthcare Adds $6M, Led by Amgen, for Machine Learning Tech”
Scott Miller Talks Dragon Innovation’s Winding Journey to Avnet Deal
It’s funny how relationships can come full circle in the business world. The seeds of Dragon Innovation’s sale to Avnet, announced Tuesday, were planted over a decade ago in China, says Dragon co-founder and CEO Scott Miller. At the time, he was running iRobot’s operations there alongside his future Dragon co-founder Herman Pang, he says. … Continue reading “Scott Miller Talks Dragon Innovation’s Winding Journey to Avnet Deal”
Near The East River, Plans Emerge For NY’s Next Life Science Center
At a time when biotech incubators and shared spaces are beginning to multiply in Manhattan, work on what could rank among the city’s largest biotech centers—if it can all come together—is just getting underway. According to Paul Wexler, a longtime healthcare-focused real estate broker, construction should begin next year on what is being called the … Continue reading “Near The East River, Plans Emerge For NY’s Next Life Science Center”
On Drug Pricing: FDA Backs Up Its Calls for Increased Competition
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has been very public in expressing his desire to provide increased competition and greater choice to American consumers in a bid to drive down prices of prescription medicines. Recently, the agency he oversees took some unusual steps to back up those statements with action. Last week, the FDA approved the use … Continue reading “On Drug Pricing: FDA Backs Up Its Calls for Increased Competition”
Bio Roundup: Frazier v. Trump, Data Dumps, New York Steps & More
The CEO of a major U.S. pharmaceutical company was in the news this week, but for a change not because of the cost of drugs. Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier (pictured) was the first of what quickly became a line of CEOs to exit President Trump’s manufacturing council, leading to its dissolution altogether. Frazier was widely … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Frazier v. Trump, Data Dumps, New York Steps & More”
Expanding Tissue and Squeezing Cells: Meet Xconomy’s Young Innovator Award Finalists
The finalists in the Young Innovator category of the 2017 Xconomy Awards show that it’s never too early in life to start a company or invent a new technology. These four individuals (30 years of age or under) share a strong drive, even a restlessness, to build new things that make a difference. Three knew … Continue reading “Expanding Tissue and Squeezing Cells: Meet Xconomy’s Young Innovator Award Finalists”
On the Hudson, Two Developers Open NYC’s Latest Bio Startup Space
Two real estate developers, Taconic Investment Partners and Silverstein Properties, have unveiled plans to bring about 150,000 square feet of new wet lab space online on the West Side of Manhattan, the latest effort in an ongoing quest in New York City to provide startup biotech companies a local home to form and grow. Taconic … Continue reading “On the Hudson, Two Developers Open NYC’s Latest Bio Startup Space”
Join GE, IBM Watson & Others at Healthcare + A.I. on Nov. 2
On November 2, Xconomy will explore the intersection of healthcare and artificial intelligence at our newest event in the Boston area, Healthcare + A.I. We’re gathering top leaders from New England and beyond to discuss strategies that companies are using to bring A.I. to healthcare, the business challenges around those efforts, and how all of … Continue reading “Join GE, IBM Watson & Others at Healthcare + A.I. on Nov. 2”
Private Equity Investors Have $740 Billion to Spend, Driving Valuations
Private equity investors have more capital at their disposal than at any time in more than a decade, which could boost prices for companies seeking acquisitions. As of Aug. 1, private equity firms in North America and Europe had secured $212.6 billion in new commitments this year, on pace to eclipse the “already stellar” fundraising … Continue reading “Private Equity Investors Have $740 Billion to Spend, Driving Valuations”
Latest Immunotherapy Setback: Bristol Drugs Stumble in Kidney Cancer
The recent stumbles for cancer immunotherapy—specifically, combinations of treatments meant to help boost its effectiveness—continued late Tuesday with some disappointing news from one of the leaders in the field, Bristol-Myers Squibb. Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) said that a Phase 3 trial testing two of its immunotherapies together in newly diagnosed kidney cancer patients, a study called … Continue reading “Latest Immunotherapy Setback: Bristol Drugs Stumble in Kidney Cancer”
WatchHerWork Uses Crowdsourced Videos to Empower Professional Women
Houston—Denise Hamilton, founder and CEO of WatchHerWork, says that when it comes to achieving a better gender balance in the workplace, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” That mantra has provided the motivation for her startup—a website that features women offering testimonials of their experiences navigating a variety of workplace issues. “I … Continue reading “WatchHerWork Uses Crowdsourced Videos to Empower Professional Women”
Immune Pharma Taps Triumvira’s Tony Fiorino for CMO, COO Roles
Tony Fiorino has been named to the joint positions of chief medical officer and chief operating officer of New York-based Immune Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMNP]]). Fiorino will oversee research and development, clinical development, and manufacturing of Immune’s drug candidates. The company’s lead drug, bertilimumab is in mid-stage clinical testing for bullous pemphigoid, a rare autoimmune skin … Continue reading “Immune Pharma Taps Triumvira’s Tony Fiorino for CMO, COO Roles”
Dragonfly, eGenesis, Spero & More: Xconomy’s Startup Award Finalists
Startups play a critical role in the innovation economy that we chronicle at Xconomy—transforming new ideas that begin in a lab into the products and companies of tomorrow. No surprise, then, that the startup category in our first-ever Awards program was a particularly competitive one, loaded with private companies (no more than 5 years old) … Continue reading “Dragonfly, eGenesis, Spero & More: Xconomy’s Startup Award Finalists”
Ophthotech’s Final Try at Combo Eye Drug Comes up Short
It wasn’t too long ago that Ophthotech was running a group of clinical trials being perhaps as closely watched as any in the ophthalmology field, studies that had a chance to change the way a common form of vision loss, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is treated. But those days are a distant memory now. All … Continue reading “Ophthotech’s Final Try at Combo Eye Drug Comes up Short”
Kauffman Fellows Take On VC Sexual Harassment, Bench Mentor McClure
If you’re looking for a counterpoint to the recent flurry of news stories about sexual harassment and gender bias in the tech sector, the Kauffman Fellows program isn’t a bad place to start. The Palo Alto, CA-based program, a spinoff of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, has been a gateway into the venture capital industry … Continue reading “Kauffman Fellows Take On VC Sexual Harassment, Bench Mentor McClure”
Bio Roundup: $1B Deals, Data Bumps, Acorda’s Lumps, Generic OKs & More
With President Trump holed up in New Jersey, rattling his saber at Kim Jong-un and Mitch McConnell and ignoring his own commission’s advice on the opioid crisis, there was still life sciences news from the nation’s capital. The FDA reported that generic drug approvals are set to hit a record; the agency under Commissioner Scott … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: $1B Deals, Data Bumps, Acorda’s Lumps, Generic OKs & More”
Tech Hiring Trends: Buzzwords, Trump Effect, and Gender-Pay Gap
As the tech economy continues its historic boom, here’s three views of labor market trends released this week, including the rise and fall of buzzwords in engineering job postings; the Trump Administration’s impact on U.S. companies’ interest in foreign workers; and another disappointing look at the gender-pay gap. —In the last two years, big data … Continue reading “Tech Hiring Trends: Buzzwords, Trump Effect, and Gender-Pay Gap”
Tyme Technologies Taps Eckard for Chief Scientific Affairs Post
Tyme Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TYME]]) has appointed Jonathan Eckard chief scientific affairs officer. Eckard most recently worked as chief business and strategy officer for cancer drug developer Sellas Life Sciences. New York-based Tyme’s lead drug candidate, SM-88, is in early-stage testing as a potential prostate cancer treatment.
Why We All Should Care About the Recent Brouhaha at Google
The issues raised by the 10-page memo on the suitability of women for certain engineering and leadership positions at Google (culminating in the firing of its author) have implications for all of us. They are as much about the requirements for success in today’s workplace—and how to identify and nurture those qualities in all employees—as they … Continue reading “Why We All Should Care About the Recent Brouhaha at Google”
Celgene Narrows Its Relationship With Sutro, No Acquisition Coming
Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) is revamping its relationship with Sutro Biopharma, walking away from an option to acquire the privately held antibody drug developer but keeping potential rights to four of Sutro’s programs—none of which have yet reached clinical studies. Their first deal was in 2012, and they expanded it two years later with Celgene taking … Continue reading “Celgene Narrows Its Relationship With Sutro, No Acquisition Coming”
Startup Builders, IPO Closers & More: Meet Xconomy’s CEO Award Finalists
There are many ways to stand out as a biotech CEO, from getting a company started in the first place to pushing its first drug over the finish line. Those differences are what we noticed when going through the nominations from you, the readers, for the top Boston biotech CEO, as part of the first-ever … Continue reading “Startup Builders, IPO Closers & More: Meet Xconomy’s CEO Award Finalists”
For Parkinson’s, Two New Drugs Coming As Prevail Gets Started in NY
A drug that actually slows or reverses the brain damage inflicted by Parkinson’s disease, rather than just alleviates its often debilitating symptoms, remains elusive. But Prevail Therapeutics, a startup just launched in New York, has become the latest to try. This morning, the Silverstein Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed by OrbiMed partner Jonathan Silverstein, announced … Continue reading “For Parkinson’s, Two New Drugs Coming As Prevail Gets Started in NY”
Antibiotics Firms Cempra, Melinta Therapeutics Agree to Merger
Cempra plans to combine with Melinta Therapeutics, a merger that provides a new path forward for the Chapel Hill, NC, firm following the FDA’s surprising rejection of its lead drug late last year. Meanwhile, privately held Melinta, based in New Haven, CT, will gain a public stock listing through the deal as it prepares to … Continue reading “Antibiotics Firms Cempra, Melinta Therapeutics Agree to Merger”
Xconomy Awards: The Finalists Are….
The nominees for our first ever Xconomy Awards were an impressive bunch, and represent a wide range of the technologies, approaches, and yes, personalities, that are all driving Boston biotech today. There’s a lot of talent in this town, so narrowing the list of more than 250 nominations down to a handful of finalists in … Continue reading “Xconomy Awards: The Finalists Are….”
Experimental Drug With San Antonio Roots Changes Home After Merger
San Antonio — Galena Biopharma, a Bay Area biotech that has been developing a cancer vaccine created by a San Antonio researcher, is merging with another immunotherapy company: Sellas Life Sciences Group, which will also be the name of the combined business. Sellas Life Sciences is developing multiple experimental cancer immunotherapies, including a treatment for … Continue reading “Experimental Drug With San Antonio Roots Changes Home After Merger”
Dermira Commits $135M for Global Rights to Roche Eczema Drug
Skin treatments developer Dermira is adding another experimental drug to its pipeline that it plans to test as a potential treatment for eczema, through a deal announced this morning with healthcare giant Roche. But in picking up the global rights to lebrikizumab, Menlo Park, CA-based Dermira (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DERM]]) is entering a suddenly crowded field of … Continue reading “Dermira Commits $135M for Global Rights to Roche Eczema Drug”
An Insider’s Guide to Bridging the Biotech Gender Gap
As an executive recruiter focused solely on life sciences, I’m among the first to acknowledge the industry’s gender gap. Of the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies around the world, only one has a woman at the helm—and GSK named Emma Natasha Walmsley as CEO less than five months ago. Among biotech executive leadership teams, women make … Continue reading “An Insider’s Guide to Bridging the Biotech Gender Gap”
Report: Martin Shkreli Faces Prison Term After Fraud Conviction
After days of deliberation, a New York jury Friday afternoon found Martin Shkreli guilty of securities fraud. According to a report from CNBC, the jury in the civil case said that Shkreli is guilty on three of eight counts, two of which are securities fraud and the other conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Shkreli, according … Continue reading “Report: Martin Shkreli Faces Prison Term After Fraud Conviction”
Bio Roundup: CRISPR Advances, Obamacare Lives, FDA Nods & More
Gene editing took an important step this week when a group of U.S. researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to correct a genetic error in dozens of human embryos without complications. It’s a significant achievement, but amidst the hype, it’s worth cautioning just how much work has to be done before the technology leads to a safe … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CRISPR Advances, Obamacare Lives, FDA Nods & More”
IFM Gets $300M Bristol Buyout, Plans Second Strike With New Spinout
Bristol-Myers Squibb this afternoon is acquiring a young startup, IFM Therapeutics, in an unusual deal that will also see the big drugmaker get a chance to own rights in a new company the biotech is spinning out as well. New York-based Bristol (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) will pay $300 million up front for IFM, which will give … Continue reading “IFM Gets $300M Bristol Buyout, Plans Second Strike With New Spinout”