It’s summer and that means intern season is in full swing. According to a recent Washington Post piece by Jeffrey Selingo, “More than 70 to 80 percent of new hires at big companies like Facebook, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and eBay come through their internship programs now, compared to about half or less just a decade ago.” … Continue reading “Intern Season is Here—But Companies Need A Better Hiring Strategy”
Category: Raleigh-Durham
Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two
Ebola doctors Heroic efforts admired Angels of mercy! Genome sequencing Compare normal with patient Secrets revealed Next-gen sequencing One big issue still out there Interpretation Republicans rule Eye Affordable Care Act Newly covered screwed? 2.3 percent Medical devices tax Soon to disappear? Advertised widely Personalized medicine More substance, less hype … Continue reading “Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two”
XRpro Resurrects Icagen With Buy of Some Pfizer Ion Channel Assets
[Updated 7/2/15, 10:38 am. See below.] Finding new drugs can be challenging, time consuming, and expensive. But Cambridge, MA, drug discovery company XRpro Sciences believes it can make the process faster and more efficient, and it’s scooping up some North Carolina-based assets from Pfizer to do it. XRpro said today it has acquired drug discovery … Continue reading “XRpro Resurrects Icagen With Buy of Some Pfizer Ion Channel Assets”
Why I Killed Noncompetes at My Startup—And You Should, Too
There’s a battle brewing in Boston that every local startup founder and employee is closely watching, but the outcome will have implications far beyond Massachusetts. As our state legislature weighs several bills that would ban noncompete agreements, the New England Venture Capital Association (NEVCA) and many entrepreneurs, including myself, are arguing that the time is … Continue reading “Why I Killed Noncompetes at My Startup—And You Should, Too”
6fusion Secures $10,918,865 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=486e402b-a4ae-4365-b091-2433c92635d6 Date 7/2/2015 Company Name 6fusion Mailing Address 1730 Varsity Dr. Raleigh, NC 27606 USA Company Description 6fusion is an innovative young company that has emerged from this new era of utility computing with a refreshing vision for the future, a cutting edge technology and a unique commercial business model. 6fusion’s founders … Continue reading “6fusion Secures $10,918,865 New Funding Round”
Five Obstacles That Impede Startup Innovation
If you’re building a startup, chances are that you’re aspiring to innovate – to create something new or do something differently. In fact, innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. However, many startups unwittingly create obstacles that hamper innovation in their organization. What are some of those obstacles and how can you avoid them? Fear … Continue reading “Five Obstacles That Impede Startup Innovation”
Milestones of Innovation 9: Early Bird On Station
Fifty years ago, on June 28, 1965, an exotic device named Early Bird made it possible to transmit an uninterrupted live television show across the Atlantic from Europe to America or vice versa. This event, a landmark on the way to today’s interconnected world, happened less than 40 years after the first radio-telephone conversations between … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 9: Early Bird On Station”
Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Cree, Google Fiber, Bayer CropScience, & More
Here are the highlights from recent North Carolina tech and biotech news: —Cree (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CREE]]) is restructuring its LED products business in response to an oversupply of LEDs and a weakening forecast for LED sales. The company said it would consolidate two manufacturing plants at its home in Durham, NC, and two in China to … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Cree, Google Fiber, Bayer CropScience, & More”
Out of the Digital Health Fog, More Investments Are Coming in 2015
Venture capitalists have been talking up the rewards of digital health for some time now, and we are certainly putting our money where our mouth is. Record-breaking dollars continue to flow into health care IT startups. According to Rock Health, digital health saw over $4B in funding in 2014, more than doubling funding from 2013 … Continue reading “Out of the Digital Health Fog, More Investments Are Coming in 2015”
ImagineOptix Receives $747,500 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f63a56b2-10eb-4801-94c7-19b9296838d8 Date 6/29/2015 Company Name ImagineOptix Mailing Address 10030 Green Level Church Rd. Cary, NC 27519 USA Company Description ImagineOptix was founded on the simple idea of providing large, beautifully rich display capabilities from the smallest of devices. Website http://www.imagineoptix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $747,500 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “ImagineOptix Receives $747,500 New Round”
How Your Startup Can Run With Unicorns
Have you noticed those unicorns outside your office? Recently, there’s been an uptick in the all-important $1 billion “unicorn” valuation for startups in the tech industry. In the VC-funded startup community, the young companies receiving such valuations are in the media daily. When an entrepreneur considers her unicorn counterparts, it’s not hard to see why … Continue reading “How Your Startup Can Run With Unicorns”
The Decade Of The Brain: 25 Years Later
My phone rang late in the day on a pleasant fall afternoon. It was a close friend and business associate of mine and, because we talk often enough about a whole variety of things, I didn’t think for a moment about not answering. I rarely talk about my days as a practicing physician, and it’s … Continue reading “The Decade Of The Brain: 25 Years Later”
Duke Long-Term Health Study Aims To Join Obama’s Precision Med Plan
The small North Carolina mill town of Kannapolis left its mark on the U.S. economy and history by becoming the nation’s largest center for textiles manufacturing. In its next chapter, Kannapolis could become part of medical history. Duke University wants the medical research already underway at Kannapolis to become part of the federal Precision Medicine … Continue reading “Duke Long-Term Health Study Aims To Join Obama’s Precision Med Plan”
Introducing Exome, Xconomy’s New Home For Biotech and Health Coverage
By now you’ve had a day or two to meet Exome, Xconomy’s new place for all things life sciences, health, and biotech, which launched Monday. Let me amend that. Some things are new, which I’ll get to in a moment, but some things remain the same: the reporting and analysis you expect from me, Ben … Continue reading “Introducing Exome, Xconomy’s New Home For Biotech and Health Coverage”
U.S. IPO Activity Loses Steam to PE Deals in First Half of 2015
In the strange times category of today’s innovation news, a preview of IPO activity through the first half of 2015 suggests that market bubbles don’t always rise. In fact, the total number of IPO deals and proceeds actually sank through the first half of 2015, with 101 IPOs raising total proceeds of $19.7 billion, according … Continue reading “U.S. IPO Activity Loses Steam to PE Deals in First Half of 2015”
Houston Dares to Challenge the Bicoastal Model of Biotech Growth
World-class universities, prominent medical institutions, a talented workforce, access to capital and favorable geography are critical factors required to stimulate and support a dynamic regional bioscience industry. Some might believe that these factors only converge along the coasts of New England and California, and many new and growing biotech companies may feel that they are … Continue reading “Houston Dares to Challenge the Bicoastal Model of Biotech Growth”
Welcome To The Sharing Economy. Cancer Researchers Are Next.
We’re sharing everything these days. Rides. Spare rooms. Pictures of things wrapped in bacon. Our thoughts, 24 hours a day. Next up: Cancer data? It can’t come soon enough for Charles Sawyers. Sawyers is one of the world’s most decorated cancer researchers, and his long resumé includes crucial work that helped make imatinib (Gleevec) one … Continue reading “Welcome To The Sharing Economy. Cancer Researchers Are Next.”
Where the Red Book Meets the Unicorn
Mike Stonebraker – my partner, friend, and winner of the 2014 A.M. Turing Award – has been on the cutting edge of modern database research, development, and deployment for over 40 years. The cutting edge … for 40 years. Mike was the main architect, starting in the 1970s through the 1990s, of many systems that … Continue reading “Where the Red Book Meets the Unicorn”
25 Years in Biotech
That is a sobering headline to write. Twenty-five years ago at this time of year, I was graduating from college with no job, a pretty choppy economy, a bunch of student loans, a resume that included things like a summer research internship catching salamanders, and an aspiration to “get into biotech.” I look back and think … Continue reading “25 Years in Biotech”
Transforming Health Care for Those Who Need it Most
Like other engaged consumers, my family of athletes tries out many of the new healthcare related wearables and apps. From counting steps to counting calories, there is a site or app out there for everything we do. But it’s not my immediate family that can benefit most from these tools. Today, devices are bought and … Continue reading “Transforming Health Care for Those Who Need it Most”
Flagship CEO on Backing NY Biotech, Moderna, and Investing in a Boom
It’s been a jam-packed few months for Flagship Ventures, one of the Boston area’s most well-known biotech startup creators. The Cambridge, MA-based VC firm just raised a $537 million fund of its own, and recently became a founding investor in the eye-popping $217 million Series A for Denali Therapeutics, a startup led by a group … Continue reading “Flagship CEO on Backing NY Biotech, Moderna, and Investing in a Boom”
Wallet, Watch, and What We Learned from Google I/O and Apple’s WWDC
The two leading platform owners in the smartphone industry, Apple and Google, are going in very different directions—particularly in their philosophies about privacy, and approaches to the “next billion” smartphone users—with major implications for app developers and consumers. Team Apptentive attended both companies’ annual developer conferences, held in late May and early June, in San … Continue reading “Wallet, Watch, and What We Learned from Google I/O and Apple’s WWDC”
Houston Health Ventures Invests in InRFood, NC-Based Food App
Not all calories are created equal, and Keval Mehta, founder and CEO of INRfood, says his app can help us sort the good from the bad. INRfood is an app with a database of about 500,000 products and 650 restaurants nationwide. The technology analyzes ingredients—read off the nutrition label on food packaging—and gives users a … Continue reading “Houston Health Ventures Invests in InRFood, NC-Based Food App”
BioCryst Licenses Flu Drug to CSL, Gains Cash For Rare Disease Work
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has licensed the rights to its influenza drug to CSL Limited, a $45 million deal that allows BioCryst to focus entirely on developing rare disease drugs. In signing away the rights to peramivir (Rapivab)—the Durham, NC, company’s only FDA-approved drug so far—BioCryst (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCRX]]) gets $33.7 million up front, and stands to gain … Continue reading “BioCryst Licenses Flu Drug to CSL, Gains Cash For Rare Disease Work”
Top Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Launching Startups
High-impact entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Most venture-backed businesses don’t achieve the levels of success their founders and investors hoped for. Indeed, a significant number will fail. Having worked as legal counsel for dozens of venture-backed startups over the years, what frustrates me most is the number of companies that fail not … Continue reading “Top Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Launching Startups”
SQL Sentry Secures $25,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0fdea106-ad80-45a8-9356-269307cc53f9 Date 6/17/2015 Company Name SQL Sentry Mailing Address 8936 NorthPointe Executive Park Drive Huntersville, NC 28078 USA Company Description SQL Sentry delivers software products that optimize the performance of Microsoft SQL Server environments around the globe. SQL Sentry was started in 2004 as a business unit of InterCerve, a leading Microsoft … Continue reading “SQL Sentry Secures $25,000,000 New Funding Round”
Aerie Surges As FDA Agrees to New Goals for Glaucoma Trial
Aerie Pharmaceuticals took a big step back earlier this year when its glaucoma drug came up short in the first of a few Phase 3 trials. But the Bedminster, NJ-based company still has a shot to bounce back, and got some needed news from the FDA that could help. Aerie (NASDSAQ: [[ticker:AERI]]) said late Monday … Continue reading “Aerie Surges As FDA Agrees to New Goals for Glaucoma Trial”
How Pozen’s Tribute Pharma Deal Paves New Path for “Safer Aspirin”
Pozen’s drug pipeline yielded two products that successfully reached the market. For the third, it is changing up its business strategy to try something it has never done before—take a drug into the market on its own. Partnerships had enabled Pozen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:POZN]]) to leverage the sales forces of larger pharma companies to commercialize a … Continue reading “How Pozen’s Tribute Pharma Deal Paves New Path for “Safer Aspirin””
Winner Takes All?
Last week I spent some time with Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE Foundation and Singularity University (among dozens of other initiatives), who quite simply is trying to solve some of the world’s greatest problems. What was most striking about the XPRIZE vision to democratize innovation was how effectively the model corrals entrepreneurs with a very … Continue reading “Winner Takes All?”
Milestones of Innovation 8: Ten Minutes in White House Shapes World War II
Seventy-five years ago today, science took a seat next to the American presidency. It was a move of immense and continuing consequences for innovation in this country and across the world, not only in a war to the death but in the decades of uneasy peace that followed. The actual event on June 12, 1940 … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 8: Ten Minutes in White House Shapes World War II”
Microsoft Acquires BlueStripe Software for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c625c3a5-a8f5-405e-bc00-470f92fab975 Date 6/11/2015 Company Name BlueStripe Software Mailing Address 2501 Aerial Center Parkway Morrisville, NC 27560 USA Company Description BlueStripe Software was founded by experienced systems management professionals with a passion for solving interesting enterprise IT challenges. Website http://www.bluestripe.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial … Continue reading “Microsoft Acquires BlueStripe Software for Undisclosed Sum”
Rare Heart Disease Advocate: “I’m More Relieved Than I’ve Ever Been”
[Corrected 6/10/15, 10:14pm. See below.] Katherine Wilemon had a celebratory glass of wine a couple hours ago, which some say is good for the heart. Even better for Wilemon, however, is the reason she’s celebrating: In a two-day discussion about two new drugs aimed at high cholesterol, a panel of outside advisors recommended that the FDA … Continue reading “Rare Heart Disease Advocate: “I’m More Relieved Than I’ve Ever Been””
How to Keep Your Best Employees: Write the Book
When it comes to retaining great employees, every executive has their favorite platitude: it’s all about culture; make sure people feel challenged; give them a clear path to advancement. Easy to say, but much harder to do. What is a great culture? Is it really enough to keep someone from taking a new job or … Continue reading “How to Keep Your Best Employees: Write the Book”
Arrowlytics Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5464594c-f0bb-443e-a279-b489871be8b4 Date 6/10/2015 Company Name Arrowlytics Mailing Address 4601 Park Rd. Charlotte, NC 28209 USA Company Description Arrowlytics dashboard helps healthcare organizations by pulling data from their various platforms into one system to aggregate and analyze data with one tool. By creating Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across all of an organizations data, … Continue reading “Arrowlytics Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round”
Chimerix Preps $150M Stock Sale to Match Rising R&D
Antiviral drug developer Chimerix plans to raise up to $150 million through a stock offering as the company presses forward with its lead drug candidate on multiple fronts. Chimerix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CMRX]]) has not yet set a date for the offering, nor has it said how much stock it will sell and at what price. While … Continue reading “Chimerix Preps $150M Stock Sale to Match Rising R&D”
Rockwell Helping Manufacturers (Slowly) Join the Internet of Things
Just as connected devices are slowly but surely making their way into our homes, the Internet of Things is also starting to impact the manufacturing industry. The going is slow: Less than 14 percent of U.S. manufacturers have linked up their factory machines with their enterprise software, says Keith Nosbusch, CEO of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation … Continue reading “Rockwell Helping Manufacturers (Slowly) Join the Internet of Things”
Take a Grain of Salt (Or Two) With New Cholesterol Drug Predictions
My mother always warned me never to start a column with a reference to management consultants. Sorry, Mom. Cover your eyes. But anyone else with personal health or personal finance interest in the latest cholesterol-fighting drugs, read on. Two years ago, three McKinseyites published a study about forecasts for drug sales. The upshot: To predict … Continue reading “Take a Grain of Salt (Or Two) With New Cholesterol Drug Predictions”
Surgical Robot Maker TransEnterix to Raise $50M in Stock Offering
Wasting no time in preparing for commercialization of its surgical robot system, TransEnterix is pulling out plans to raise $50 million through a stock sale intended to finance sales and marketing of the technology. The plans come a week after Research Triangle Park, NC-based TransEnterix (NYSE: [[ticker:TRXC]]) applied to the FDA for regulatory clearance for … Continue reading “Surgical Robot Maker TransEnterix to Raise $50M in Stock Offering”
Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Sprout Pharma, DARA Bio, Viamet, & More
Here are the headlines in North Carolina tech, biotech, and cleantech news. —The Sprout Pharmaceuticals female sexual desire drug that twice failed to secure FDA approval can now claim the backing of an FDA advisory panel—with conditions. The panel voted 18-6 on Thursday to support flibanserin’s (Addyi) approval as long as the Raleigh, NC, company’s … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Sprout Pharma, DARA Bio, Viamet, & More”
Apple Watch: The First Wearable Device Worth Wearing
It’s just a watch. I’ve had my Apple Watch for three weeks now, and I have no qualms about telling you that the device’s killer app is telling time. That’s what I was expecting. After all, it looks like a wristwatch, you wear it in the same place as a wristwatch, and the first thing … Continue reading “Apple Watch: The First Wearable Device Worth Wearing”
Entigral Systems Garners $500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6790c883-500f-4159-a03e-64c5a0500f63 Date 6/5/2015 Company Name Entigral Systems Mailing Address 3716 National Drive Raleigh, NC 27612 USA Company Description Founded in 2003, Entigral Systems is an enterprise software company that develops and sells TraxWare – an industry-leading sensor automation platform. Website http://www.entigral.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Entigral Systems Garners $500,000 New Funding Round”
Vertex Teams up With Durham’s Parion in $80M Lung Drug Deal
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has reshaped itself into a cystic fibrosis powerhouse the past few years. Today, it’s trying to add to that position by teaming up with a biotech out of Durham, NC, on some experimental drugs for the devastating disorder—and perhaps for other lung diseases as well. Boston-based Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) said this afternoon it’ll … Continue reading “Vertex Teams up With Durham’s Parion in $80M Lung Drug Deal”
ASCO Roundup: Checkpoints, Pushback Against Prices, CAR-T & More
As has been the case the past few years, the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, which just wrapped up in Chicago, was the latest referendum on immunotherapy. But this year, not only did the meeting feature scientific developments for these new types of cancer fighters that rev up patients’ immune systems, but it … Continue reading “ASCO Roundup: Checkpoints, Pushback Against Prices, CAR-T & More”
Leica Microsystems To Acquire Duke Eye-Imaging Spinoff Bioptigen
Bioptigen, a medical device firm that developed and commercialized a non-invasive scanning technology for ophthalmic procedures, has caught the eye of a German diagnostics company now set to buy the startup. Leica Microsystems has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Morrisville, NC-based Bioptigen. The companies disclosed no financial terms for the deal. Bioptigen was founded … Continue reading “Leica Microsystems To Acquire Duke Eye-Imaging Spinoff Bioptigen”
BioDelivery Sciences Lands $20M to Prep for Drug Launch
BioDelivery Sciences International has added $20.7 million to its coffers as the specialty pharmaceutical company prepares for the commercial launch of its opioid addiction treatment. Raleigh, NC-based BioDelivery (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BDSI]]) secured the debt funding from MidCap Financial. BioDelivery’s total debt with MidCap now stands at $30 million. BioDelivery’s opioid addiction treatment is not a new … Continue reading “BioDelivery Sciences Lands $20M to Prep for Drug Launch”
Summer Reading List: True Tales That Will Inspire and Educate You
OK, you’ve already read the latest hot science bestsellers—Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies and Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (both terrific, by the way)—and you’re wondering what to grab next. I’ve suggested below a number of remarkable science books that I’m fond of, and that you might find interesting as … Continue reading “Summer Reading List: True Tales That Will Inspire and Educate You”
Milestones Of Innovation 7: FDR Phones Knudsen At General Motors
One of the sharpest controversies about our nation’s history is who gets top credit for the titanic American public-private partnership that won World War II with an avalanche of production. Some call it a rescue by private business, others view it as an example of Franklin Roosevelt’s multi-layered and often-mysterious leadership. How we see this … Continue reading “Milestones Of Innovation 7: FDR Phones Knudsen At General Motors”
Irritable Bowel Drugs Originally Developed by NC Firms Win FDA Nod
Irritable bowel syndrome symptoms range from abdominal pain to diarrhea, but for years, patients had no FDA-approved treatment to turn to for relief. That changes with the agency’s approval of two new drugs that were originally developed by North Carolina pharmaceutical companies. The FDA today approved Actavis’s (NYSE: [[ticker:ACT]]) eluxadoline (Viberzi), as well as rifaxamin … Continue reading “Irritable Bowel Drugs Originally Developed by NC Firms Win FDA Nod”
After Orexigen Gaffe, What Role for Drugs Amid Obesity Crisis?
Two recent happenings prompted this column. First, Orexigen Therapeutics drew fire from, well, nearly everyone earlier this month for an improper release of data related to its weight-loss drug Contrave. The second happening is Memorial Day weekend. I’m assuming you, like me, did not spend the long weekend hunting and gathering, sharpening your arrowheads, and … Continue reading “After Orexigen Gaffe, What Role for Drugs Amid Obesity Crisis?”
Guerrilla RF Receives $2,000,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24ec1c2d-a64f-4f5c-9b5d-5c6cb68ab0d0 Date 5/26/2015 Company Name Guerrilla RF Mailing Address 1196 Pleasant Ridge Road Greensboro, NC 27409 USA Company Description Our high performance RF and Microwave IC products enable new levels of range and coverage area in wireless systems. Aimed at various infrastructure applications, our products utilize our patent pending technologies, world class … Continue reading “Guerrilla RF Receives $2,000,000 Series A Funding Round”