Category: Raleigh-Durham

Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Appia, Chimerix, Ascletis & More

Here are this week’s headlines in North Carolina technology and biotechnology news: —Appia, a Durham, NC, company that markets mobile apps online, is being acquired by Mandalay Digital Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MNDL]]) in a stock deal that values Appia at $65 million. Los Angeles, CA-based Mandalay Digital will also assume $10 million of Appia’s debt, as … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Appia, Chimerix, Ascletis & More”

AgBiome Secures $3,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8d836e12-c0a6-41dc-8eb0-864933165b0c Date 11/14/2014 Company Name AgBiome Mailing Address 104 T W Alexander Drive Building 18 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA Company Description AgBiome provides industry-leading discovery and early research for agriculture. Website http://www.agbiome.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “AgBiome Secures $3,000,000 Series A Round”

Medical Device Firm Baxano Files for Bankruptcy, CFO Resigns

Medical device company Baxano Surgical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BAXS]]) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the Raleigh, NC company’s chief financial officer has resigned. Baxano said today that bankruptcy would allow it to keep selling its minimally invasive spinal surgery devices. Along with the bankruptcy filing, Baxano says Hercules Technology Growth Capital has agreed to … Continue reading “Medical Device Firm Baxano Files for Bankruptcy, CFO Resigns”

Mandalay Digital Group Acquires Appia for $65,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5beb2ce7-f5a4-4867-b724-c5b91abdd7ab Date 11/13/2014 Company Name Appia Mailing Address 320 Blackwell Street 3rd Floor Durham, NC 27701 USA Company Description Appia is the world’s largest cross platform, open app store and content marketplace with a catalog of more than 140,000 paid and free titles available for discovery and download. Website http://www.appia.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Mandalay Digital Group Acquires Appia for $65,000,000”

Next-Gen Network Monitoring: The Missing Piece of the Security Puzzle

If 2014 has taught us anything, it’s that IT security is falling behind the threats against which it is supposed to protect, and the gap is widening quickly. From data breaches at major retailers to serious zero-day vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed and Shellshock, the events of the last 12 months have caused everyone with an … Continue reading “Next-Gen Network Monitoring: The Missing Piece of the Security Puzzle”

Lowering the Cost of Failure in Biopharmaceuticals

In any business, projects fail, but in biopharmaceuticals, the consequences of failure are especially damaging. Projects in the industry tend to be long and expensive—from clinical trials to regulatory approvals to commercial application. At any point in the process, obstacles can derail a project. Failure is most certainly an option, and for companies with many … Continue reading “Lowering the Cost of Failure in Biopharmaceuticals”

New Ag-Biotech Initiative Plants Seeds for Startups

Agriculture is rarely the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Medicine and technology have defined its 7,000 acres for most of its 55 years; anchor tenants such as GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) and IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) still keep a steady Park presence. But lately, bioagriculture companies are … Continue reading “New Ag-Biotech Initiative Plants Seeds for Startups”

Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals

If you work in academia or in Big Pharma, you likely have easy access to the world’s scientific literature. Outside of these places, however, obtaining affordable access to the latest scientific journals is much more problematic. This includes scientists at all but the largest biopharma companies, doctors and other health care professionals, and people wanting … Continue reading “Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals”

How a Big Company Can Run Fast, Like a Startup

What does the word “startup” mean to you? Many words can come to mind: new, exciting, experimental, small, lean, agile, fast. To me, “startup” mostly makes me think of “agile” and “fast.” In an early stage startup, everybody is focused on the same thing. People are passionate, enthusiastic, hungry for an opportunity to change the … Continue reading “How a Big Company Can Run Fast, Like a Startup”

Formlabs Grows, Counts Millions in Sales Despite Patent Lawsuit

Patent lawsuits from a deep-pocketed competitor can crush a young company before it really gets going. But at the bustling headquarters of 3D printer startup Formlabs, you’d never know the past two years have been spent fighting accusations that its flagship product is a brazenly illegal knock-off. The company now employs about 90 people, and … Continue reading “Formlabs Grows, Counts Millions in Sales Despite Patent Lawsuit”

Zift Solutions Garners $920,406 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1fc8b5f3-8b38-4304-8c69-65483fa84d67 Date 11/5/2014 Company Name Zift Solutions Mailing Address 4601 Creekstone Drive Durham, NC 27703 USA Company Description Zift Solutions provides a marketing distribution platform that extends the reach of your marketing campaigns through your channel. Website http://www.ziftsolutions.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $920,406 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “Zift Solutions Garners $920,406 New Funding Round”

Fuel3D Obtains $6,400,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c30f6306-b647-44dd-a803-8313048bb694 Date 11/5/2014 Company Name Fuel3D Mailing Address 1800 North Greene Street Greenville, NC 27834 USA Company Description FUEL3D is an affordable handheld 3D scanning system that delivers extremely high quality 3D shape and color capture for a range of creative applications. The Fuel3D handheld scanner is a point-and-shoot 3D scanning system … Continue reading “Fuel3D Obtains $6,400,000 New Financing”

Pendo Receives $1,250,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=52e11451-cb4a-4134-953b-bb3557add3e9 Date 11/5/2014 Company Name Pendo Mailing Address 310 S. Harrington St. Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Company Description Pendo was founded in late 2013 by former product owners that have experienced the joys and challenges of creating great products at companies like Rally, Google, Cisco, and Red Hat among others. Our platform … Continue reading “Pendo Receives $1,250,000 Seed Financing Round”

History, Yes, But Biologist’s Imagination Is No Flight Of Fancy

Any book about life science innovation that starts with quotes from Frank Zappa and Albert Einstein promises to be a good read. The Biologist’s Imagination holds to that promise, as authors William Hoffman and Leo Furcht, both of the University of Minnesota Medical School, take several forays back in history to explain the “crossroads”—perhaps an … Continue reading “History, Yes, But Biologist’s Imagination Is No Flight Of Fancy”

LabCorp to Expand Drug Research Reach with $6.1B Deal for Covance

LabCorp (NYSE: [[ticker:LH]]), already one of the largest laboratory testing and diagnostics companies in the nation, plans to further expand its reach into clinical trials by buying contract research organization Covance (NYSE: [[ticker:CVD]]) in a deal valued at approximately $6.1 billion. The Burlington, NC, company will pay $105.12 per share in cash and stock to … Continue reading “LabCorp to Expand Drug Research Reach with $6.1B Deal for Covance”

Inmar Buys Digital Coupon Startup Hopster in Wiegand’s Latest Exit

[Updated 11/3/14, 2:50 p.m., to include comments from Hopster and Inmar executives.] In another exit for Wisconsin serial entrepreneur Brian Wiegand, e-commerce technology provider Inmar has acquired Wiegand’s digital coupon startup Hopster for an undisclosed price. This marks the fourth tech startup that Wiegand, Hopster’s CEO, has guided to a sale. BizFilings, NameProtect, and Jellyfish were … Continue reading “Inmar Buys Digital Coupon Startup Hopster in Wiegand’s Latest Exit”

EasyVote’s Software Promises Smoother Running Elections

As voters queue to fill out ballots on election Tuesday, some voters might notice the lines moving a bit faster, the precincts running more orderly, and as the polls close, vote totals coming earlier than in past elections. They might have new election software to thank for that. EasyVote Solutions, a Wilmington, NC company, has … Continue reading “EasyVote’s Software Promises Smoother Running Elections”

Innovation Hub: How Immigrants Fuel Innovation

Immigration policy reform is a hot-button issue right now, but it’s affecting the innovation economy in unexpected ways. U.S. companies are having a hard time recruiting enough skilled workers to fill all their high-level science, tech, and engineering positions. I discussed the issue with Stanford Law School professor Dan Siciliano and Silicon Valley Leadership Group … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: How Immigrants Fuel Innovation”

New to Data Analytics? Here’s 3 Simple Steps For Getting Started

Since I got involved in the big data and analytics world a few years ago, I’ve become the person that friends come to (and refer their friends to) for answers to questions about data. Recently I’ve been asked a few times by entrepreneurs how they can make sure their company is prepared to do analytics, … Continue reading “New to Data Analytics? Here’s 3 Simple Steps For Getting Started”

Photofy Secures $1,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e44f9397-2966-4b46-a649-433ad081f786 Date 10/31/2014 Company Name Photofy Mailing Address 213 Fayetteville Street Raleigh, NC 27601 USA Company Description Photofy is a social content creation and photo editing engine for iOS and Android that enables people to take the images they love, add their own unique touch and then share with the world. Website … Continue reading “Photofy Secures $1,000,000 New Round”

Chimerix Plans $105M Stock Offering to Finance Ebola Drug Trials

Antiviral drug developer Chimerix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CMRX]]), which recently received the regulatory go-ahead to begin human tests of a potential Ebola drug, is launching a stock offering that could pay for those clinical trials. The Durham, NC company on Wednesday announced plans to sell $105 million in stock, part of a $150 million shelf offering. Chimerix … Continue reading “Chimerix Plans $105M Stock Offering to Finance Ebola Drug Trials”

I Believe in Angels

My colleague and friend Jeb Spencer recently wrote a piece for Xconomy about angel investors looking for “Unicorns,” those rare early stage companies with valuations—justified or not—of $1 billion or more. He wondered if angels are flying too close to the sun by misunderstanding their chances of success and failing to do their homework on … Continue reading “I Believe in Angels”

Innovation in Ireland: Overview to Xconomy’s Special Report

Until earlier this October, the only time I had visited Ireland was in April of 1989, on the World B. Tour. A group of American former collegiate basketball players came to the Emerald Isle on a hoops tour, taking part in an international tournament outside Dublin and playing exhibition games against Irish all-stars and holding … Continue reading “Innovation in Ireland: Overview to Xconomy’s Special Report”

Another Mega Battery Factory in U.S., This One For the Grid

A stealth Swiss startup called Alevo plans to make the equivalent of Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory” in North Carolina. The main difference: its batteries will be as big as shipping containers and connect to power plants, rather than electric cars. These new batteries, designed to store energy for use in the power grid, would be built … Continue reading “Another Mega Battery Factory in U.S., This One For the Grid”

On a Wing and a Prayer: 300,000 Angels in Search of a Unicorn

As co-founder and managing partner of San Diego’s TVC Capital, I awake every morning to a certain routine that includes scanning my Term Sheet e-mail to see what investments and acquisitions got done in the tech space. I have noticed in recent years that the space Dan Primack has devoted to investments is long, while … Continue reading “On a Wing and a Prayer: 300,000 Angels in Search of a Unicorn”

HexaTech Obtains $500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2ca0d15e-d216-4269-9993-ac3389a06d77 Date 10/27/2014 Company Name HexaTech Mailing Address 991 Aviation Pkwy Morrisville, NC 27560 USA Company Description HexaTech, Inc. develops single crystalline aluminum nitride (AIN) substrates. The proprietary growth process employed by HexaTech enables fabrication of high quality AIN substrates, which provide an attractive growth platform for advanced electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor … Continue reading “HexaTech Obtains $500,000 New Financing Round”

Lea(R)n Garners $20,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=74eb5f7b-166c-4a70-a424-a47bfa10ccdb Date 10/24/2014 Company Name Lea(R)n Mailing Address 310 S. Harrington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 USA Company Description We are educators, data scientists, designers, clinicians, and thought leaders. With your help, we can change the way the world learns. Website http://www.learntrials.com Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $20,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Lea(R)n Garners $20,000 Seed Financing”

J&J, GSK, Tekmira, And Others Take Next Steps To Fight Ebola

There’s been distressing Ebola-related news in recent days. The deadly virus continues to spread in West Africa, with more than 4,500 fatalities now reported, and efforts to halt its spread in the U.S. have been mired in controversy and confusion, forcing President Obama to appoint an Ebola “czar” to coordinate national response. But there’s good … Continue reading “J&J, GSK, Tekmira, And Others Take Next Steps To Fight Ebola”

As Atlas Splits, Is There A Case To Make In Venture For Specialists?

Readers of this column who are of a certain age might remember Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders in black eyeliner, dressed as a diner waitress singing, “I’m special, so special, and I gotta have some of your attention.” Swap “money” for “attention,” and it could be a refrain that venture capitalists are singing these days … Continue reading “As Atlas Splits, Is There A Case To Make In Venture For Specialists?”

Viamet Pulls IPO, Raises $60M, Spins Off Cancer Program

Viamet Pharmaceuticals has withdrawn plans for an initial public offering and has instead raised $60 million in private financing to pay for clinical trials of its lead antifungal drug candidate. Along with the Series D round of financing, the Durham, NC, company also said it would also spin out its prostate cancer program to existing … Continue reading “Viamet Pulls IPO, Raises $60M, Spins Off Cancer Program”

Security Software Provider SilverSky Snapped Up by BAE Systems

SilverSky, a Milford, CT-based provider of cloud-based managed services and security software, said Tuesday it agreed to be acquired for $232.5 million by Britain’s BAE Systems and become part of the larger company’s applied intelligence division. SilverSky has offices in Boston, New York, Denver, Colorado Springs, CO, and Morrisville, NC, as well as in Florida … Continue reading “Security Software Provider SilverSky Snapped Up by BAE Systems”

Viamet Pharmaceuticals Secures $60,000,000 Series D Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=647fc483-5d57-4942-8954-18f506244152 Date 10/21/2014 Company Name Viamet Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 4505 Emperor Blvd. Durham, NC 27703 USA Company Description Viamet Pharmaceuticals discovers and develops best-in-class inhibitors of validated metalloenzymes via an innovative and proprietary metal-binding approach, our Metallophile Technology. Website http://www.viamet.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $60,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds … Continue reading “Viamet Pharmaceuticals Secures $60,000,000 Series D Round”

BioPontis, Reborn as Nonprofit, Takes On Rare Disease Drugs

Of the more than 7,000 rare diseases that each affect just a sliver of the population, an estimated 95 percent of them have no treatment. The lack of treatments is an economic problem, not a scientific one, says Barbara Handelin, CEO of the BioPontis Alliance for Rare Diseases. Large pharmaceutical companies see little financial gain … Continue reading “BioPontis, Reborn as Nonprofit, Takes On Rare Disease Drugs”

Shanghai Report: Big Questions About China’s Growth Plans

It only took a few days after I returned from China for my eyes to stop burning, and maybe the slight cough was really due to the changing seasons in Boston and not the air pollution in Shanghai (now I better understand the amenity in my hotel room—see below). A small price to pay to … Continue reading “Shanghai Report: Big Questions About China’s Growth Plans”

Innovation Hub: Introverts as Innovators

Entrepreneurs, bosses, and leaders are often highly social and extroverted—take Steve Jobs or Richard Branson. They can work a room. They derive energy from being around others. But what if being outgoing and extroverted isn’t actually the key to success in the workplace? Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Introverts as Innovators”

VC Funding Still Robust as Year-to-Date Total Exceeds 2013

Venture capital activity is down from a 13-year high during the second quarter, but a new MoneyTree Report released today shows that venture funding was still going strong in the three months that ended Sept. 30, with $9.9 billion invested in 1,023 deals. That was almost a 27 percent drop from the $13.5 billion that … Continue reading “VC Funding Still Robust as Year-to-Date Total Exceeds 2013”

6fusion Garners $4,275,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=75a7b29d-ab5f-405e-a727-dc0d511432e6 Date 10/17/2014 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 Garners $4,275,000 New Financing”

Chimerix Antiviral to Start in Ebola Clinical Trial

Chimerix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CMRX]]) is cleared to start a clinical trial studying its antiviral drug brincidofovir in patients infected with Ebola. The Durham, NC, company announced today that the Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to test the compound in a Phase 2 trial. Chimerix gave no details on the size of the trial, … Continue reading “Chimerix Antiviral to Start in Ebola Clinical Trial”

Joint Harvard-MIT Events to Showcase Innovation Across Energy Spectrum

Having grown up in a small town in eastern North Carolina, going to Harvard for college was more than a dream come true. I still remember from my campus visit feeling my jaw drop as I wandered into the freshman dining hall that looked like the Great Hall straight out of the Harry Potter books. … Continue reading “Joint Harvard-MIT Events to Showcase Innovation Across Energy Spectrum”

FilterEasy Receives $500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=240474ab-cea8-4e9c-bc79-c42064d04298 Date 10/16/2014 Company Name FilterEasy Mailing Address 5510 Six Forks Road Raleigh, NC 27609 USA Company Description FilterEasy offers all home air filters at an affordable price. Filters are mailed directly to your door when it is time for them to be replaced. Website http://www.filtereasy.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $500,000 … Continue reading “FilterEasy Receives $500,000 New Round”

Venture Firms Turn Down Funding Volume, but Still Rockin’ in Q3

Venture capital activity descended from the stratosphere during the third quarter, but it was still flying high, as venture firms invested nearly $9.8 billion in 879 deals across the United States, according to a report released today by the financial data firm CB Insights. The amount invested during the quarter was down 30 percent from … Continue reading “Venture Firms Turn Down Funding Volume, but Still Rockin’ in Q3”

Biotech Startups Tap Spider Genes in Quest to Spin Silk Gold

A modern-day Silk Road is emerging, and traffic on it is building up. These explorers aren’t traversing routes across continents, but instead are seeking scientific and agricultural alchemy to produce a sort of holy grail in apparel: commercial amounts of spider silk. Spider silk is a multi-purpose fiber able to be transformed into surgical bandages, … Continue reading “Biotech Startups Tap Spider Genes in Quest to Spin Silk Gold”

Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Targacept, Chimerix, Red Hat, & More

Here are this week’s headlines in North Carolina tech and biotech news: —Targacept’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRGT]]) decade-long strategic partnership with AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) is ending with no new drugs to show for it. Winston-Salem, NC-based Targacept quietly disclosed the end of the research and collaboration partnership in a regulatory filing, saying that the British drug giant … Continue reading “Raleigh-Durham Roundup: Targacept, Chimerix, Red Hat, & More”

PrecisionLender Lands New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d8c64c7f-e6bd-4713-810f-e84c0bc6a7a2 Date 10/13/2014 Company Name PrecisionLender Mailing Address 5605 Carnegie Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28209 USA Company Description We believe that lending is critical to the success of community banks and that the most important conversation a lender has with a borrower is about pricing. We’re passionate about developing tools that make that … Continue reading “PrecisionLender Lands New Financing Round”

Can Salesforce1 Push the Workforce into the Mobile Age?

Dreamforce 2014 is quickly approaching, and it has me thinking about the impact Salesforce (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRM]]) has had on the way we work and more generally on the future of work itself. Dreamforce is the annual Salesforce user conference, and it has more or less become a must-attend event for anyone in the cloud computing … Continue reading “Can Salesforce1 Push the Workforce into the Mobile Age?”

What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech

These are incredibly exciting times in biomedical research. Though the biopharmaceutical industry is in flux, prospects for a greater understanding of the disease process, and the development of new treatments, has never been brighter. Gilead Sciences’s new hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) will actually cure most patients of their infections, and replaces treatments that were … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech”

Clinipace Garners $3,999,999 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d07ce309-1d23-4a82-b547-66ce406d0d51 Date 10/8/2014 Company Name Clinipace Mailing Address 3800 Paramount Pkwy Morrisville, NC 27560 USA Company Description Clinipace is a clinical research software company providing a single, integrated data capture and study management platform for post-approval research and registries conducted by biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and Academic … Continue reading “Clinipace Garners $3,999,999 New Financing”