Ronald Peck has been appointed chief medical officer of New Haven, CT-based Arvinas (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARVN]]). Peck most recently worked at cancer drug developer Tesaro where he was senior vice president of clinical research. His experience also includes posts at Kolltan Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]). Arvinas is developing drugs based on protein degradation, a … Continue reading “Arvinas Appoints Ronald Peck Chief Medical Officer”
Category: New York
Upjohn & Mylan to Merge, Freeing Pfizer to Focus on Biopharma R&D
Pfizer became the world’s biggest drug maker by revenue through acquisitions that diversified its portfolio. Now it’s spinning out its off-patent drug division and charting a different course for the remaining company as a smaller business focused on developing innovative new drugs. On Monday, Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) announced that its Upjohn division, which sells drugs … Continue reading “Upjohn & Mylan to Merge, Freeing Pfizer to Focus on Biopharma R&D”
Merck Data Are Another Step for Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer
Merck this morning announced that a combination of its drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and chemotherapy succeeded in a Phase 3 study in breast cancer, a potentially notable advance for immunotherapy in treating the disease. Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) said that Keytruda and chemotherapy beat chemo alone when given to patients with triple-negative breast cancer in a study … Continue reading “Merck Data Are Another Step for Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer”
Duchenne Advocates Start Casimir, Aiming to Capture Missing Data
Three years ago, the FDA made one of the most polarizing decisions in its history. It approved a drug for the rare genetic disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy on the slimmest of evidence, a watershed moment that caused a highly publicized rift within the agency. In the midst of it all were parents who pushed hard … Continue reading “Duchenne Advocates Start Casimir, Aiming to Capture Missing Data”
Bio Roundup: Leiden’s Exit, Depression Data, a New Pricing Bill & More
What will the legacy be of Jeff Leiden, the longtime CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals? Vertex surprised Wall Street this week by announcing Leiden’s seven-year run will end next spring. In some ways, his legacy is already written. He steered Vertex through a crisis when its hepatitis C business was squashed by competition, in no small … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Leiden’s Exit, Depression Data, a New Pricing Bill & More”
No Co-Founder? Y Combinator Offers Matchmaking at Startup School
From the moment Talia Frenkel resolved to found a company after a kitchen-table talk with her parents, the odds were against her. There were a host of reasons—she wasn’t a software engineer, she had no product development experience, and she wanted to launch a consumer item that was already sold widely by established enterprises. Yet … Continue reading “No Co-Founder? Y Combinator Offers Matchmaking at Startup School”
As Castle Bio Jumps on IPO Train, Industry Trends Suggest Slowdown
Castle Biosciences is joining the public markets through a $64 million IPO that will support cancer tests that help doctors make treatment decisions. On Wednesday evening, Castle priced its offering of 4 million shares at $16 apiece, which was the high end of its targeted price range. The Friendswood, TX, company had previously planned to … Continue reading “As Castle Bio Jumps on IPO Train, Industry Trends Suggest Slowdown”
Bristol, With Another Lung Cancer Flop, Loses More Ground to Merck
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) this afternoon revealed yet another setback for its cancer immunotherapy nivolumab (Opdivo) in lung cancer, boosting the outlook for rival Merck. The New York pharma giant said that a regimen of nivolumab (Opdivo) and chemotherapy failed to extend the lives of non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer patients compared to chemo alone … Continue reading “Bristol, With Another Lung Cancer Flop, Loses More Ground to Merck”
The Entrepreneurial Potential of Cannabis
Recreational marijuana is now legal here in Massachusetts and it seems that everywhere you look, people are excited to create business ventures around it. But, like any other business endeavor, research, planning, and discipline are essential – maybe even more so given the legal and regulatory issues involved with cannabis. As of now, marijuana is fully legal … Continue reading “The Entrepreneurial Potential of Cannabis”
Freenome Snags $160M to Boost Blood Test for Early Cancer Detection
Freenome, one of the rivals racing to detect the earliest signs of cancer through blood tests, announced Wednesday it has raised $160 million in a Series B funding round. The money boosts Freenome’s fundraising total to $238 million. It’s a boon for the South San Francisco startup founded in 2014, but not an unusual haul … Continue reading “Freenome Snags $160M to Boost Blood Test for Early Cancer Detection”
TScan Lands $48M for Better, Safer T-Cell Receptor Cancer Therapies
Despite the progress of therapies that coax the immune system to fight cancer, these treatments don’t work for all patients. When they are effective, some patients experience serious side effects. TScan Therapeutics CEO David Southwell says his company aims to improve cancer immunotherapy on both fronts. TScan’s research is still in the lab, but the … Continue reading “TScan Lands $48M for Better, Safer T-Cell Receptor Cancer Therapies”
With Regulator’s Nod, Bosch Plans Spread of Driverless Valet Parking
Mass fleets of self-driving cars have yet to arrive on our streets, but people are already worrying about where they’re going to park. If they all just circle around city blocks, competing to offer on-demand rides, they could slow traffic to a crawl, industry observers say. Autonomous robotaxi services like Alphabet unit Waymo’s are still … Continue reading “With Regulator’s Nod, Bosch Plans Spread of Driverless Valet Parking”
Could Facebook’s Crypto Break Financial System? Congress Airs Fears
In late 2017, a federal watchdog unit assigned a working group to keep an eye on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and to sound an alert if those alternate currencies showed signs of becoming a risk to the stability of the US financial system. Soaring prices of Bitcoin and other so-called digital tokens were attracting investments … Continue reading “Could Facebook’s Crypto Break Financial System? Congress Airs Fears”
Bio Roundup: Opioid Exposé, Gilead’s Gambit, Life Science IPOs & More
The opioid crisis reaches all corners of the nation, and newly released data this week revealed how the growth of the epidemic tracked with a massive increase in the production and distribution of these drugs. From 2006 to 2012, the number of pills distributed to pharmacies increased by more than 50 percent. In total, 76 … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Opioid Exposé, Gilead’s Gambit, Life Science IPOs & More”
Genmab, Mirum Pharma & Fulcrum Raise $653M in Wall Street Debuts
Initial public offerings took a brief summer break the week of Independence Day, but healthcare IPO activity resumed this week as three more companies joined the US public markets. Here’s a recap of the biotech companies that priced IPOs Wednesday evening. —Genmab is different from the other life science companies that joined the public markets … Continue reading “Genmab, Mirum Pharma & Fulcrum Raise $653M in Wall Street Debuts”
Amperity Raises $50M for Marketing Software Used by Consumer Brands
Amperity, a Seattle-based startup developing software to help consumer-facing brands collect and manage customer data, announced Monday it has raised $50 million in new financing to add more clients in industries on which it hasn’t previously concentrated. New York-based Tiger Global Management led the Series C funding round. Other participating investors included Goldman Sachs, Madera … Continue reading “Amperity Raises $50M for Marketing Software Used by Consumer Brands”
Narrowing AI: A Useful Context for AI Innovation, Opportunity, and Investment
I was asked recently if there was a meaningful analog to AI – its pervasiveness, its transformative potential, its power – in the annals of technology, and I answered with a straight face: “Yes. The Wheel. The Printing Press. Electricity. The Internet.” I truly believe AI is going to be that big, if not bigger, … Continue reading “Narrowing AI: A Useful Context for AI Innovation, Opportunity, and Investment”
Neon’s Early Vaccine Study Is a Peek at Immunotherapy’s Third Wave
In this new age of cancer immunotherapy, two versions have been approved. The first are checkpoint inhibitors, which have begun to change the way skin, lung, and other cancers are treated. The second are CAR-T cell therapies, which have shown promise in blood cancers. A third type of cancer immunotherapy is just now reaching clinical … Continue reading “Neon’s Early Vaccine Study Is a Peek at Immunotherapy’s Third Wave”
Bio Roundup: Michael Becker, Suzanne Eaton, Gene Therapy Moves & More
The life science and healthcare worlds are vast. We often talk about impact in terms of millions of patients and billions of dollars. But these worlds can be small, too. It seems at times we’re never far removed from any one person, through their published papers, social media connections, friends, colleagues, or people they’ve mentored. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Michael Becker, Suzanne Eaton, Gene Therapy Moves & More”
Amgen, Novartis BACE Inhibitor Joins List of Failed Alzheimer’s Drugs
Amgen and Novartis are stopping work on an experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug after an early look at clinical data showed worsening cognitive function in patients. The interim results announced Thursday were part of a pre-planned review of data from two pivotal clinical trials testing the drug, umibecestat. Based on that review, Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) and … Continue reading “Amgen, Novartis BACE Inhibitor Joins List of Failed Alzheimer’s Drugs”
Trump Kills His Administration’s Plan to End Secret Drug Rebates
Donald Trump’s criticism of high drug prices began during the 2016 presidential campaign and continued through his presidency, perhaps most famously just before his inauguration when he said that drug companies were “getting away with murder.” This week has underlined the gap between the administration’s rhetoric and results. Most strikingly, the White House said last … Continue reading “Trump Kills His Administration’s Plan to End Secret Drug Rebates”
Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment
More than a third of the companies that went public in the first half of this year were backed by venture capital. That, plus robust merger and acquisition activity, set a record for venture-backed exit value—$165.2 billion in money returned to investors—that’s already topped all other full-year totals, according to the latest VentureMonitor, the quarterly … Continue reading “Record Exit Value for VC-Backed Startups Could Fuel Investment”
Ross Perot Dies: Tech Pioneer Sold Two Firms For Billions to Dell, GM
Dallas—Ross Perot, the Texan billionaire businessman who twice ran for president in the 1990s, died Tuesday, five months after being diagnosed with leukemia, according to news reports. He was 89. Perot sold his first company, Plano, TX-based computer services business Electronic Data Systems, to General Motors (NYSE: [[ticker:GM]]) in 1984 for $2.5 billion. In 1988, … Continue reading “Ross Perot Dies: Tech Pioneer Sold Two Firms For Billions to Dell, GM”
Honeywell Spinout Resideo Adds to Smart Home Cache, Opens Austin HQ
Austin—[Corrected 11:14 a.m. See below.] Doorbells, thermostats, refrigerators, and more—everything in the modern home is becoming a smart, connected device. (You can even monitor your kitty’s litter box habits with the Litter Robot 3!) There are many other, less frequently discussed appliances that businesses are pitching homeowners on as connected devices, such as air conditioning units … Continue reading “Honeywell Spinout Resideo Adds to Smart Home Cache, Opens Austin HQ”
How Do YOU Think the Internet Will Evolve? A Sampling of Your Tweets
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] For my feature article “Special Report 2069: Predicting the Internet’s Next 50 Years,” I asked my Twitter … Continue reading “How Do YOU Think the Internet Will Evolve? A Sampling of Your Tweets”
AV Mapping Startup Carmera Joins Baidu’s Open-Source Apollo Platform
Just as Google is developing autonomous vehicles through its subsidiary Waymo, China’s largest online search engine, Baidu, is also racing to develop AVs. Last week, the company announced a new milestone: It has now tested self-driving cars on more than 1 million miles of roadway in 13 Chinese cities. Baidu (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIDU]]) is playing catch-up … Continue reading “AV Mapping Startup Carmera Joins Baidu’s Open-Source Apollo Platform”
As Sangamo Touts Data, BioMarin Preps Hemophilia Gene Therapy For FDA
[Updated 7/8/19, 9:22 am. See below.] Gene therapy for hemophilia is as close as it’s ever been to market. And the race to get there got more heated this past weekend at a medical meeting in Australia. At the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis meeting in Melbourne, Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]) and partner Pfizer … Continue reading “As Sangamo Touts Data, BioMarin Preps Hemophilia Gene Therapy For FDA”
Future of the Internet: What Scares Networking Pioneer Radia Perlman
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] Bob Metcalfe co-invented Ethernet, the communications standard still used for most local on-site networking, but Radia Perlman … Continue reading “Future of the Internet: What Scares Networking Pioneer Radia Perlman”
Why Ethernet Inventor Bob Metcalfe is an Internet Optimist
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] Right alongside Moore’s Law, which describes the exponential growth in computing power since the 1960s, there’s Metcalfe’s … Continue reading “Why Ethernet Inventor Bob Metcalfe is an Internet Optimist”
Bio Roundup: Duchenne Race, Warren v. Gottlieb, A $599 Genome & More
As we pause to celebrate the 4th of July, another birthday is top of mind: A third baby whose embryonic DNA was edited by Chinese scientist He Jiankui. As Xconomy reported in November, He hinted about a second pregnancy after his infamous revelation of twins altered with CRISPR gene editing tools. That second pregnancy—a third … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Duchenne Race, Warren v. Gottlieb, A $599 Genome & More”
Ex-Apple UX Guru Don Norman Calls for Replacing the Internet
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] No one has done more than Donald Norman to teach us that every piece of hardware … Continue reading “Ex-Apple UX Guru Don Norman Calls for Replacing the Internet”
Mercato, Grocery Delivery Startup For “Indie” Retailers, Gets $4M
Delivery services such as Shipt and Instacart deliver groceries to customers’ doorsteps daily. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) and Walmart (NYSE: [[ticker:WMT]]) also offer the service, albeit only for their own stores. Large-scale chain stores are the focus of most grocery delivery services. Mercato, a San Diego startup that bills itself as the option for independent grocery … Continue reading “Mercato, Grocery Delivery Startup For “Indie” Retailers, Gets $4M”
What Is the Future of the Internet? Experts Predict Next 50 Years
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] It’s a good thing journalists, pundits, and consultants can’t be held liable for the predictions we … Continue reading “What Is the Future of the Internet? Experts Predict Next 50 Years”
What ARPANET’s History Can Teach Us About Cybersecurity
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series examining the internet’s first 50 years and predicting the next half century. Join Xconomy and World Frontiers Forum on July 16 for Net@50, an event exploring the internet’s past and future.] The internet nearly came with built-in caller ID. The year was 1972: three years after the … Continue reading “What ARPANET’s History Can Teach Us About Cybersecurity”
IPO to Watch: Digital Health Developer Livongo Plans to Go Public
Digital health businesses haven’t had trouble raising venture capital funds from investors—2018 was a record year with $8.1 billion in funding—but few of them have made the move to hold initial public offerings. Livongo Health, a digital health company developing devices and software to help patients manage chronic conditions, believes it is ready, announcing Friday … Continue reading “IPO to Watch: Digital Health Developer Livongo Plans to Go Public”
Peter Gabriel Joins Net@50 Lineup; Tix Going Fast for July 16 Event
Legendary rock musician and longtime internet evangelist Peter Gabriel has joined the all-star cast of speakers for Net@50, a historic event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first net message—while also looking ahead to the internet’s next 50 years. The event, put on by the non-profit World Frontiers Forum in association with Xconomy, takes place … Continue reading “Peter Gabriel Joins Net@50 Lineup; Tix Going Fast for July 16 Event”
As Cities Ban Face Recognition, Body-Cam Firm Axon Also Nixes It
This week’s decision by police equipment manufacturer Axon to forego using facial recognition software in its body cameras follows a string of other actions against the use of face-matching technology by public agencies. They include a pioneering ban in San Francisco last month, and another passed Thursday by the city council of Somerville, MA. What … Continue reading “As Cities Ban Face Recognition, Body-Cam Firm Axon Also Nixes It”
Carnegie Mellon, Argo AI Form $15M Self-Driving Car Research Center
Carnegie Mellon University this week announced a five-year research partnership with Argo AI that will focus on advanced perception and decision-making algorithms for autonomous vehicles (AVs). Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based self-driving car startup whose majority investor is Ford (NYSE: [[ticker:F]]), is spending $15 million to fund the effort, which will be called the Carnegie Mellon … Continue reading “Carnegie Mellon, Argo AI Form $15M Self-Driving Car Research Center”
Bio Roundup: Merger Drama, FDA Trauma, Big IPOs, CRISPR Fights & More
It was a busy week. If we had to choose a theme, it was all about getting together. Two huge drug companies, AbbVie and Allergan, said they’d be better as one. Two more huge drug companies, Celgene and Bristol-Myers Squibb, learned they would have to leave a big product behind if they want to merge. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Merger Drama, FDA Trauma, Big IPOs, CRISPR Fights & More”
What’s Worth $34B? IBM Gets OK in Europe for Acquisition of Red Hat
IBM’s acquisition of open-source software maker Red Hat cleared the hurdle of approval from European regulators Thursday because it raised no concerns about competition, according to the European Commission. The $34 billion deal, which the companies plan on closing in the second half of 2019, drew attention when it was announced last fall for being … Continue reading “What’s Worth $34B? IBM Gets OK in Europe for Acquisition of Red Hat”
Degreed Raises $75M to Expand in Growing Workforce Training Sector
Degreed, which helps businesses upgrade the skills of their staffers through an online gateway to learning resources, announced Thursday it has raised $75 million to grow the service and expand internationally. San Francisco-based Degreed is among the educational technology companies now classified as “learning experience platforms,’’ because they organize staff participation in skills development training … Continue reading “Degreed Raises $75M to Expand in Growing Workforce Training Sector”
BridgeBio Upsizes IPO to $348M, Topping Adaptive’s Wall Street Debut
Rare disease drug developer BridgeBio is now a public company, raising $348.5 million in the biggest biotech IPO so far this year. On Wednesday night, BridgeBio priced its stock offering of 20.5 million shares at $17 each, topping the $14 to $16 per share price range it had initially targeted. The Palo Alto, CA, company … Continue reading “BridgeBio Upsizes IPO to $348M, Topping Adaptive’s Wall Street Debut”
Detroit’s StockX Gains Unicorn Status After $110M Series C Investment
Southeast Michigan is now home to another unicorn startup. Detroit-based e-commerce company StockX announced Wednesday that it has raised $110 million in a Series C funding round, increasing the company’s total value to more than $1 billion. The investment was led by DST Global, General Atlantic, and GGV Capital. In a statement announcing the funding … Continue reading “Detroit’s StockX Gains Unicorn Status After $110M Series C Investment”
PanTheryx Lands $50M to Use “First Milk” to Target Gut Microbiome
[Corrected, 6/28/19. See below.] There’s a reason why mothers are instructed to breastfeed their babies soon after they’re born. The milk they produce in the days after giving birth is rich in nutrients, immune cells, and antibodies. While this “first milk,” also known as colostrum, is crucial in getting newborns off to a healthy start, … Continue reading “PanTheryx Lands $50M to Use “First Milk” to Target Gut Microbiome”
Encoded Nabs $104M, Illumina’s Help, to Push Gene Therapy’s Limits
Despite the progress of gene therapy—a cutting edge medicine promising long-lasting effects from a single treatment—it remains a crude and limited tool. Startup Encoded Therapeutics has raised $104 million to join the race to expand gene therapy’s reach. The South San Francisco, CA, company has emerged from the startup accelerator of Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), and … Continue reading “Encoded Nabs $104M, Illumina’s Help, to Push Gene Therapy’s Limits”
Acutus, Maker of Next-Gen Electrophysiology Tech, Adds $100M Series D
A company that makes a mapping system to help doctors see high-resolution, 3D images of irregular heart rhythms in real time has raised $100 million in venture investment and a $70 million credit facility to fund its full-scale market launch. Acutus Medical, based in the northern San Diego community of Carlsbad, was founded in 2011. … Continue reading “Acutus, Maker of Next-Gen Electrophysiology Tech, Adds $100M Series D”
Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns
Even as Uber, Lyft, and other high-profile initial public offerings underperformed out of the gate, the average share price of companies that have gone public in the US this year is up by almost 33 percent. That’s according to data based on the mean returns of issuers that started trading through June 19, released by … Continue reading “Led by Tech, Healthcare Debuts, IPOs in 2019 Show Positive Returns”
The Path to a More Human Voice Interface
The world is changing fast. Everything is getting connected. The connected home – the smart fridge, the smart thermostat, the smart TV – will soon be a mainstay of a connected world, an era quickly being ushered in by 5G, AI on the edge, and a slew of other enabling technologies. And I believe the … Continue reading “The Path to a More Human Voice Interface”
AbbVie to Pay $63B for Allergan to Prepare for Life Without Humira
[Updated, 10:11 am ET, see below.] Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie this morning agreed to acquire Allergan in a $63 billion deal meant to provide the pharmaceutical giant with enough revenue to brace for the loss of patent protection for the world’s top-selling drug. AbbVie (NYSE: [[ticker:ABBV]]) will pay $188.24 per share in cash and stock for … Continue reading “AbbVie to Pay $63B for Allergan to Prepare for Life Without Humira”
Conatus to Slash Staff, Consider Sale After NASH Trial Failures
Conatus Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it would cut its staff by 40 percent and consider a sale or merger after a drug it was testing as a treatment for an increasingly common form of chronic liver disease failed to beat a placebo in a mid-stage clinical trial—the latest letdown in a number of trial failures. … Continue reading “Conatus to Slash Staff, Consider Sale After NASH Trial Failures”