Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a59e17fe-617c-4493-9608-d3ab162340ca&Preview=1 Date 12/20/2011 Company Name ProfitLine Mailing Address 9920 Pacific Heights Blvd. San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description ProfitLine is the premier provider of telecom expense management services for Fortune 1000 companies. The company’s outsourced solution streamlines and manages the entire telecom lifecycle process for both wireline and wireless. Website http://www.profitline.com Transaction … Continue reading “Tangoe Acquires ProfitLine for $23,500,000”
Category: San Diego
Realizing Value from Innovation: Successful Business Models for New Technologies
Connect has arranged with Agile Strategy to lead this workshop, which is intended to cover the essentials of designing a successful business model for technology innovation. The class covers the purpose and key elements of a business model, optimizing the business model to maximize total value, evaluating the model across the life cycle of innovation, … Continue reading “Realizing Value from Innovation: Successful Business Models for New Technologies”
Tafamidis: The First Drug Approved for a Rare Neurodegenerative Disease
Transthyretin Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP) is a rare, progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 8,000 patients worldwide. Based on results from a pivotal 18-month placebo controlled clinical trial featuring an 18-month follow-on study, Pfizer’s tafamidis (Vyndaqel) has proven its effectiveness in delaying peripheral neurologic impairment. In giving the drug its green light, the … Continue reading “Tafamidis: The First Drug Approved for a Rare Neurodegenerative Disease”
MIT Enterprise Forum: Artificial intelligence and ai one
Unlike other forms of artificial intelligence, San Diego-based ai-one’s biologically inspired technology learns without human intervention, requires less than a day of training to use, and works with existing standards and programming languages. The challenge for ai one lies in creating awareness of this latest advance in artificial intelligence. Networking and registration at the door … Continue reading “MIT Enterprise Forum: Artificial intelligence and ai one”
Science and Medical Literacy and Underserved Populations
In the fifth of nine presentations inspired by the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Tate Hurvitz of Grossmont College talks about the difficult personal and institutional challenges of introducing ways of teaching science literacy, with strategies for decoding challenging information and assessing the credibility and validity of scientific sources. More information and online … Continue reading “Science and Medical Literacy and Underserved Populations”
CalBio2012 in San Francisco
CalBio2012 is a statewide conference produced by Biocom, San Diego’s nonprofit life sciences industry group, and BayBio, it’s counterpart in San Francisco. The 2011 conference had almost 1,000 registered participants from 14 countries, 23 states, and 163 life sciences companies. This year more than 1,500 are expected, with heavy attendance from San Diego’s life sciences … Continue reading “CalBio2012 in San Francisco”
Startup Leadership: What do VCs Look For?
What makes a great CEO of a venture-backed company? The San Diego Venture Group has organized a session on exploring the question. Networking and registration at the door begins at 7 a.m. More information and online registration is here.
Tech Roundup of the Week: Ford Focus EV, Flud, Legend3D, Sotera
—Quest Software (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QSFT]]), the IT software provider on the border between San Diego and Orange Counties, said today it acquired BitKOO, a North Hollywood, CA-based specialist in identity and access management technology. Financial terms were not disclosed. Combined with the recent acquisitions of e-DMZ (privileged identity management), Völcker Informatik AG (provisioning), and Symlabs (virtual … Continue reading “Tech Roundup of the Week: Ford Focus EV, Flud, Legend3D, Sotera”
EnVerv Raises $12 Million to Advance Power Line Communications Chips
EnVerv, a chip design firm based in San Jose, CA, says this morning it has raised $12 million in a Series B round for its “system-on-a-chip” technology, which enables a utility to use its own power lines to serve as a smart grid communications network. Benchmark Capital led the new round, which was joined by … Continue reading “EnVerv Raises $12 Million to Advance Power Line Communications Chips”
Trius Antibiotic Passes Pivotal Study Against Pfizer’s Zyvox
San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSRX]]) got some long-awaited good news today for its lead antibiotic in development. The company said today that its experimental drug, tedizolid phosphate, met the main goal of its pivotal clinical trial by showing it was roughly equal (non-inferior) to Pfizer’s linezolid (Zyvox) when treating acute skin and skin structure … Continue reading “Trius Antibiotic Passes Pivotal Study Against Pfizer’s Zyvox”
Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer’s Report Card: C
Kevin Sharer will not go down in history as one of biotech’s most successful, or beloved, CEOs. But how well did Sharer really perform during his decade running the industry’s biggest company? For those who missed it, Thousand Oaks, CA-based Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) said last week that Sharer, 63, will be retiring as CEO in … Continue reading “Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer’s Report Card: C”
Water Solutions from Australia and Singapore
Ecotopics, a clean technology networking group, has organized an evening focused on the increasing demands and diminishing supplies of water. California has a long history of water conflicts, and it is not getting easier. Two countries, Singapore and Australia, have implemented some policies and projects that have enabled them to evolve out of their own … Continue reading “Water Solutions from Australia and Singapore”
Venture Outlook for 2012
The San Diego Venture Group is hosting Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, who will join an expert panel of venture capital fortune tellers for a preview of what to look for in 2012. Registration at the door begins at 7 am, or register online here.
How To Build a “Lifestyle Business” with 30M Visitors Per Month
In Silicon Valley, there is no more pejorative term than “lifestyle business.” It’s usually applied to companies that do well enough to earn their founders and employees a living—sometimes a very good living—but that will never make anyone mega-rich. Venture capital partners, who have to weed out all but the fastest-growing companies if they’re to … Continue reading “How To Build a “Lifestyle Business” with 30M Visitors Per Month”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: BeneChill, Sotera, Imthera, & More
—After naming former Boston Scientific executive Fred Colen as CEO last month, San Diego’s BeneChill raised nearly $15 million in a round that’s targeting a total of $25.6 million, according to a recent regulatory filing. BeneChill, founded in 2004, has been developing therapeutic hypothermia medical products. The company’s European headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland, and … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: BeneChill, Sotera, Imthera, & More”
Ford Plugs Focus Electric in SD Stop of Fuel-Efficiency Road Trip
There are about 25 million cars registered in California, and probably about 2 million of those are motoring around the roads of San Diego County. So it was statistically insignificant when I stepped out of the San Diego Automotive Museum today and counted at least six all-electric vehicles bathed in Southern California sunshine at the … Continue reading “Ford Plugs Focus Electric in SD Stop of Fuel-Efficiency Road Trip”
Updated Flud Platform Combines News Aggregation and Social Networking
According to Bobby Ghoshal, the future of news consumption is in finding new ways for users to interact with content and influence other users’ reading habits, and the development of online “news personalities.” Ghoshal is the co-founder and CEO of Flud, a news aggregation app that unveiled its updated platform for the iPhone and iPad earlier … Continue reading “Updated Flud Platform Combines News Aggregation and Social Networking”
VMIX Extends Video Streaming Technology with Invitation-Only Service
San Diego-based VMIX has been revising its strategy, which was originally focused on providing a technology platform that enables TV stations and other media companies to stream online video. Earlier this year, VMIX began rolling out technology that allowed consumers to use the company’s video streaming technology on social media sites like Facebook. Now the … Continue reading “VMIX Extends Video Streaming Technology with Invitation-Only Service”
Xconomist of the Week: Stefan Savage on Computer Security
The evolution of computer security is not merely some dark mirror, passively reflecting advances in technology. While technology provides new opportunities for threats, these become true dangers only when there is a motivation to exploit them and a means to do so. Stefan Savage, writing in The New York Times, Dec. 5, 2011. By his … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Stefan Savage on Computer Security”
Vertex Names Jeff Leiden as New CEO, Staring Down Tough Competition
[Update: 10:40 am ET] Vertex Pharmaceuticals is getting a new CEO, as it faces tough new competition with its flagship hepatitis C drug and prepares to roll out a second new medicine for cystic fibrosis. Cambridge, MA-based Vertex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) said today that Jeff Leiden, a member of the company’s board and a managing director … Continue reading “Vertex Names Jeff Leiden as New CEO, Staring Down Tough Competition”
Anticipating FDA Clearance in 2012, Sotera Wireless Raises $12.2M
San Diego’s Sotera Wireless says it has raised $12.2 million in a Series D round of financing led by the Singapore-based global fund EDB Investments. Sotera says it also signed a commercial agreement with Cerner, the Kansas City, MO-based giant that provides complete health IT systems for hospitals and other medical organizations to integrate and … Continue reading “Anticipating FDA Clearance in 2012, Sotera Wireless Raises $12.2M”
Fate Therapeutics Names Biotech Vet Bill Rastetter as Chairman, Interim CEO
Fate Therapeutics has been quiet during a down time for the stem cell business, but now it’s making news by luring a big name into its inner management circle. Bill Rastetter, the CEO of Idec Pharmaceuticals during its long journey to develop the blockbuster lymphoma drug rituximab (Rituxan), has agreed to become the chairman and … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Names Biotech Vet Bill Rastetter as Chairman, Interim CEO”
BeneChill Secures $14,838,895 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9c9859df-75bf-440c-88bb-0068d457b838&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2011 Company Name BeneChill Mailing Address 10060 Carroll Canyon Rd San Diego, CA 92131 Company Description Benechill Corp. has been working towards reducing tissue damage in patients with cerebral ischemia by rapidly and non-invasively cooling targeted areas of the body. Website http://www.benechill.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $14,838,895 Transaction … Continue reading “BeneChill Secures $14,838,895 New Funding”
Kidzui Lands $2,400,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a89fa8db-f877-4a2a-b369-22d1b440797b&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2011 Company Name Kidzui Mailing Address 2448 Historic Decatur Rd San Diego, CA 92106 Company Description The company is developing software that lets children harness info from the internet. Website http://www.kidzui.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,400,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The funding proceeds will be used for … Continue reading “Kidzui Lands $2,400,000 New Financing”
Antengo Lands $415,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2cabd3b7-1c74-4ead-a6f8-b259bac82c38&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2011 Company Name Antengo Mailing Address 4225 Executive Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 Company Description Antengo is a free mobile application that facilitates real-time, location-based, person-to-person and business-to-consumer exchanges and transactions. Website http://www.antengo.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $415,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Antengo Lands $415,000 New Round”
With New Post-Production 3D Initiative, Legend3D Secures $19 Million
San Diego-based Legend3D, a private digital media and visual effects company, says it has closed on a $19 million Series E preferred stock offering. The company, which ranks as the largest studio providing 3D conversion services in the United States, says proceeds from the offering will be used to further research and development, and to … Continue reading “With New Post-Production 3D Initiative, Legend3D Secures $19 Million”
Sotera Wireless Obtains $9,191,025 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9dfbf1fc-60c6-47b2-be08-211cc95ab95d&Preview=1 Date 12/13/2011 Company Name Sotera Wireless Mailing Address 9444 Waples Street San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Our vision is to revolutionize patient safety by enabling the early detection of deterioration in patients who are mobile and free to move about in the hospital or the home. With adequate warning of … Continue reading “Sotera Wireless Obtains $9,191,025 New Financing”
Party Earth Garners $4,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ed061e85-9d86-4b2c-856f-3d59ee7bbc2e&Preview=1 Date 12/13/2011 Company Name Party Earth Mailing Address Undisclosed Los Angeles, CA 90049 Company Description Party Earth is a global media and entertainment company whose mission is to enable its community of users to maximize their social experiences worldwide. Website http://www.partyearth.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed … Continue reading “Party Earth Garners $4,000,000 New Financing”
Legend3D Secures $19,000,000 Series E Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba936479-8638-4f84-8025-dcc7580d91d9&Preview=1 Date 12/13/2011 Company Name Legend3D Mailing Address 3721 Valley Centre Drive 5th Floor San Diego, CA 92130 Company Description Legend3D, Inc., is a leading digital media technology company that specializes in using its proprietary image processing technology and artistry to create greater value from entertainment assets for its clients. Legend3D’s technology … Continue reading “Legend3D Secures $19,000,000 Series E Financing Round”
San Diego BizTech Roundup: News from Mingle, Qualcomm, & More
Some of San Diego’s biggest tech news last week came out of the mHealth Summit near Washington, D.C. But we’ve rounded up all the other tech news too. —San Diego-based Mingle, an Internet holding company operating Climber.com and several affiliated businesses, said it acquired Sunnyvale, CA-based Affinity Circles to expand its job hunting and recruiting … Continue reading “San Diego BizTech Roundup: News from Mingle, Qualcomm, & More”
Optimer Wins EU Approval for New Antibiotic
Optimer Pharmaceuticals got approval in the U.S. for its new antibiotic just in time for the Memorial Day weekend, and now it has closed out the year by getting clearance for the drug in Europe. The San Diego-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) said today it has gotten clearance from the European Commission to start selling … Continue reading “Optimer Wins EU Approval for New Antibiotic”
Bill Walton Hails Spirit of Entrepreneurship at San Diego Awards
Connect, the non-profit group that supports innovation and entrepreneurship, named San Diego’s eight most-innovative products of 2011—and bestowed its highest honor on Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GPRO]]) for its nucleic acid test for screening donated blood. Connect gave Gen-Probe its William W. Otterson Award for its Procleix test, which won FDA approval in 2002, saying Procleix has … Continue reading “Bill Walton Hails Spirit of Entrepreneurship at San Diego Awards”
Energy Subsidies: A Historical Perspective
As we turn the page on the year 2011, there is no shortage of topics about which the entire world seems to be debating. One that interests me the most is the renewed debate on the role of government in the energy sector, specifically in the United States. Budget shortages, deficit increases, front-page analysis of … Continue reading “Energy Subsidies: A Historical Perspective”
The Hepatitis C Market: Biotech’s Version of the Daytona 500
Biotech rivalries are sometimes a bit like boxing matches, where you have two lone fighters vying for the prize. But the hepatitis C market is turning into a battle royal that’s more wide open and unpredictable, with all the competitive maneuvering, surprise crashes, and comebacks you might expect from the Daytona 500. The medical advances … Continue reading “The Hepatitis C Market: Biotech’s Version of the Daytona 500”
Greenstart Accelerator Hatches Four Energy Startups
Will the startup accelerator model that’s proved so popular and successful in the Web and mobile sectors also help to boost entrepreneurship in other industries, such as healthcare and cleantech? In a tottering economy that needs all the job-creating companies it can get, that’s a crucial question. And here in the Bay Area, it’s been … Continue reading “Greenstart Accelerator Hatches Four Energy Startups”
SF’s Prescience Sharpens New Biotech Business Model in San Diego
[Updated 12/12/11 11:20 am to clarify terms for startups. See below.] After spending much of her career in the tech sector, Melinda Richter has been pondering a provocative question for the life sciences industry. “Billionaires are a dime a dozen in tech,” she says, “but it’s hard to find an entrepreneur in the life sciences … Continue reading “SF’s Prescience Sharpens New Biotech Business Model in San Diego”
Lpath Looks to Raise $10 Million Through Secondary Offering
San Diego’s Lpath (OTC: [[ticker:LPTN]]), a biotech developing specialized monoclonal antibodies for cancer and other diseases, intends to raise about $10 million through a secondary offering of stock and warrants, according to a recent regulatory filing. The company is working to advance two related drug candidates within an emerging field of medical science that targets … Continue reading “Lpath Looks to Raise $10 Million Through Secondary Offering”
Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster
Disaster is defined by Merriam-Webster as a sudden or great misfortune or failure. In 2006, NPS Pharmaceuticals had certainly experienced its own “disaster.” With much of the company’s resources dedicated to building a commercial infrastructure in anticipation of FDA approval of its lead product for osteoporosis, the company was thrown a curve ball. NPS received … Continue reading “Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster”
Xconomist of the Week: Stephen Wolfram on Big Ideas & Companies
Stephen Wolfram is not one to be summed up in a few pithy quotes. Well, too bad. Here is his life in a nutshell: “I grew up in England and went to all sorts of good schools that I thought were completely irrelevant.” “By the time I was 20 years old, I was a physics … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Stephen Wolfram on Big Ideas & Companies”
Qualcomm Puts $100M into Life Fund, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
There seemed to be a paucity of news from San Diego’s life sciences sector over the past week, which makes our briefing especially brief. —San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) established a $100 million fund for investing in wireless health and related health IT startups. The fund will be managed by Qualcomm Ventures, which already has … Continue reading “Qualcomm Puts $100M into Life Fund, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Climber.com Acquires Affinity Circles for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=51bef89f-9f3d-4496-ab82-767e3293931c&Preview=1 Date 12/8/2011 Company Name Affinity Circles Mailing Address 701 B Street Sunnyvale, CA 92113 Company Description With inCircle, Associations have the tools they need to continually engage and retain their members. Members stay close to their organizations because they’re continually engaged with authenticated opportunities, wherever they are on the Web. And … Continue reading “Climber.com Acquires Affinity Circles for Undisclosed Sum”
ViaSat’s High-Capacity Satellite Nears Start of Commercial Operations
A new kind of countdown has begun. Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]) says it recently transmitted the first test data to ViaSat-1, the highest capacity communications satellite ever launched into space. The satellite, launched Oct. 19 from Russia’s Baikonour Cosmodrome, successfully relayed e-mail, streaming video, and Web browsing data to ViaSat’s WildBlue high-speed data network. … Continue reading “ViaSat’s High-Capacity Satellite Nears Start of Commercial Operations”
Affinity Circles Deal Gives Climber.com Access to More Recruiting Tools
Mingle, a San Diego Internet holding company founded in 2005, says it’s expanding its online recruiting business, Climber.com, with the acquisition of Affinity Circles, a Sunnyvale, CA-based startup built around alumni organizations and other social networks. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Mingle CEO Michael O’Brien sized the deal for me, saying … Continue reading “Affinity Circles Deal Gives Climber.com Access to More Recruiting Tools”
Tribogenics Receives $2,500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7bb4751b-e9da-4a7d-ba6c-a0b54f3fdf71&Preview=1 Date 12/7/2011 Company Name Tribogenics Mailing Address 4040 Del Rey Avenue Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 Company Description Tribogenics patented technology enables portable, compact x-ray solutions for applications in precious metal, mining, military, medical imaging, security and other industries. By miniaturizing X-ray sources and eliminating the need for high voltage. Website … Continue reading “Tribogenics Receives $2,500,000 New Financing Round”
Classing Up the Joint
Regular visitors to Xconomy.com may have noticed that we did some redecorating over the weekend. Our new look and feel, courtesy of the crazy talented Rob Hunter of True Italic in New York, is the first in a series of changes we’ll be making over the next few months—all aimed at making it easier and … Continue reading “Classing Up the Joint”
Lean Startups? I Prefer Mine Phat
I read the book and found it quite enjoyable. And with all due respect to Eric Ries and all of the VCs out there chasing lean startups, I recognized one simple truth. I still like my startups Phat. A phat startup aims to solve a very big, very difficult problem that will transform an industry. … Continue reading “Lean Startups? I Prefer Mine Phat”
It Takes a Village to Raise a Biotech Startup: Highlights from the Tweetchat
Carol Gallagher, the former CEO of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, is glad to see Gilead Sciences spending billions on acquiring a new drug for hepatitis C, rather than spending billions on stock buybacks. And Jason Rhodes, the chief business officer of Epizyme, borrowed a line from Hillary Clinton, on how “it takes a village” to raise a … Continue reading “It Takes a Village to Raise a Biotech Startup: Highlights from the Tweetchat”
While Politicians Fight, Entrepreneurs Focus on “Smart Health”
A new decade of “smart health” arrived in 2011. Granted, it wasn’t always easy to discern – what with the noisy background of healthcare legal challenges and political one-upmanship. Fortunately, even while various policies continue to be ironed out, a set of resilient entrepreneurs have been busy making sure we get smarter about our health. … Continue reading “While Politicians Fight, Entrepreneurs Focus on “Smart Health””
Cooking.com Receives $13,500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c7a155bf-d53b-40b9-8868-944de08e94ea&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2011 Company Name Cooking.com Mailing Address 4086 Del Rey Avenue Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 Company Description Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Santa Monica, CA. As the leading online marketplace for kitchen and house wares, Cooking.com operates six uniquely branded websites: Cooking.com, FoodNetworkStore.com, StarbucksStore.com, KitchenEtc.com, PillsburyStore.com, … Continue reading “Cooking.com Receives $13,500,000 New Financing Round”
Aptera Shuts Down, Nettle Starts Movie App, & More San Diego BizTech News
There wasn’t a lot of news out of San Diego’s high tech community last week. On the other hand, the news we had was big. Get your roundup here. —Aptera Motors, which raised an estimated $36 million in venture funding to develop a teardrop-shaped, three-wheel electric vehicle, shut down its operations Friday, according to an … Continue reading “Aptera Shuts Down, Nettle Starts Movie App, & More San Diego BizTech News”