Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0cc72185-a659-42bd-9b56-e3a94da6fd78&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2011 Company Name Pose Mailing Address 227 Broadway St Santa Monica, CA 90401 Company Description Use Pose to showcase your latest style finds, follow friends & trendsetters as they shop in real-time, & track the latest releases from top brands & retailers. Wherever you are, Pose helps you discover inspiring … Continue reading “Pose Receives $3,000,000 Series A Financing Round”
Category: San Diego
Illumina Takes Page From Apple Playbook, in Blending Hardware and Software for the Genome
Illumina has long been about hardware, hardware, hardware. The San Diego-based company became the market leader in DNA sequencing instruments by focusing on the hardware and the consumable chemicals to run the machines. Its scientific customers were basically on their own when it came to finding software to analyze all the DNA data Illumina machines … Continue reading “Illumina Takes Page From Apple Playbook, in Blending Hardware and Software for the Genome”
Venture Industry Calls for Rules Changes to Reopen IPO Market
There was a time when most growing companies went to the public stock markets for the capital they needed to keep hiring and growing—but that time ended a decade ago. At no point since 2001 has the number of initial public offerings per year reached even the minimum levels set in the 1990s. (The pre-1999 … Continue reading “Venture Industry Calls for Rules Changes to Reopen IPO Market”
Roche Acquires Anadys, Wests Create $100M Fund, Johnson & Johnson Makes Room for 20 Startups, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
Between the formation of the new $100 million West Health Investment Fund and the new wet-lab space Johnson & Johnson is hosting for as many as 20 startups, you’d have to say it’s been a good week for life sciences innovation in San Diego. Get briefed here or get left behind. —San Diego’s Gary and … Continue reading “Roche Acquires Anadys, Wests Create $100M Fund, Johnson & Johnson Makes Room for 20 Startups, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 2 of 2
Read part 1 of this post for background. By the early 1920s General Motors realized that Ford, which was now selling the Model T for $290, had an unbeatable monopoly on low-cost automobile manufacturing. Other manufacturers had experimented with selling cars based on an image and brand. (The most notable was an ad by the … Continue reading “How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 2 of 2”
Illumina Leads $8M Investment in GenoLogics to Help Manage DNA Data Overload
San Diego-based Illumina, the world’s leading maker of gene sequencing instruments, is getting more serious about software as its customers continue to drown in a sea of cheap DNA data. Victoria, BC-based GenoLogics is announcing today it has raised $8 million in what it called a “strategic financing” led by Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the world’s … Continue reading “Illumina Leads $8M Investment in GenoLogics to Help Manage DNA Data Overload”
Xconomist of the Week: Joe Chung Says Redstar Ventures Is Creating Companies for “the TechCrunch Crowd’s Mothers”
“There’s sort of an infinite number of good ways to start a company,” says Xconomist Joe Chung. “One of the fundamental rules in startups is that there really aren’t any rules.” But the serial entrepreneur has some pretty specific plans for how his new creation will pop out startups. That would be Cambridge, MA-based Redstar … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Joe Chung Says Redstar Ventures Is Creating Companies for “the TechCrunch Crowd’s Mothers””
ViaSat Launches Satellite in One Giant Leap for High-Capacity Internet
[Updated 10/20/11 12:45 pm, with ViaSat announcing successful launch.] Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]) says today that yesterday’s launch of its ViaSat-1 satellite was successful, and the spacecraft is now moving into position for its final geosynchronous orbit. The satellite, designed to be the highest data capacity satellite ever built, blasted off from from the … Continue reading “ViaSat Launches Satellite in One Giant Leap for High-Capacity Internet”
Wests Create New $100M Investment Fund Focused on Cutting Healthcare Costs
San Diego philanthropists Gary and Mary West lifted the curtain today on a $100 million fund they have established solely to invest in “cutting-edge” medical technologies and services that offer “the potential to substantially reduce” healthcare costs. The new West Health Investment Fund says it is targeting its investments in “early stage opportunities” with a … Continue reading “Wests Create New $100M Investment Fund Focused on Cutting Healthcare Costs”
Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Cystic Fibrosis Drug, Second Potential Hit of Big Year
Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals is looking to be more than another one-hit biotech wonder. The company, best known for its drug for hepatitis C introduced earlier this year, is now vying for FDA approval of a second treatment that it hopes will shake up the way physicians treat cystic fibrosis, a deadly genetic disease. Vertex … Continue reading “Vertex Seeks FDA Green Light for Cystic Fibrosis Drug, Second Potential Hit of Big Year”
MoneyTree Report Sees Third-Quarter Slowdown in U.S. Venture Investments
Venture capital firms invested $6.95 billion in 876 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The numbers marked a slowdown from the preceding quarter, when venture capitalists put $7.9 billion in 1,015 deals. But look at … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report Sees Third-Quarter Slowdown in U.S. Venture Investments”
Raising Funds: AnaptysBio, Sonexa, Eclipse, NextDx, Naviscan
There’s been a flurry of funding deals among San Diego life sciences companies in recent weeks, led by AnaptysBio, a six-year-old startup that named a new executive chairman and chief business officer just last week. Here’s a rundown of recent activity: —AnaptysBio, founded in 2005 with technology to discover and optimize potent antibodies to fight … Continue reading “Raising Funds: AnaptysBio, Sonexa, Eclipse, NextDx, Naviscan”
How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 1 of 2
It was the most advanced consumer product of the century. The industry started with its innovators located in different cities over a wide region. But within 20 years it would be concentrated in a single entrepreneurial startup cluster. At first it was a craft business, then it was driven by relentless technology innovation and then … Continue reading “How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 1 of 2”
Johnson & Johnson Creates Innovation Center for Life Sciences Startups in San Diego
In a bid to foster life sciences startups, Johnson & Johnson is refurbishing part of its pharmaceutical research and development facility in San Diego to create an “innovation center” for new biotech and health IT companies. The New Jersey pharmaceutical and healthcare giant anticipates housing from 18 to 20 life sciences startups in the new … Continue reading “Johnson & Johnson Creates Innovation Center for Life Sciences Startups in San Diego”
Naviscan PET Systems Secures $330,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5867e14b-28f5-4798-a90e-35282ac2c5ce&Preview=1 Date 10/18/2011 Company Name Naviscan PET Systems Mailing Address 6865 Flanders Drive San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Naviscan PET Systems, Inc., founded in 1995, designs and develops compact, high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) scanners that are intended to guide challenging radiological and surgical procedures, and to guide minimally invasive therapy … Continue reading “Naviscan PET Systems Secures $330,000 New Funding”
Sonexa Therapeutics Receives $999,994 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=133f5e19-dd10-4daa-b9a8-98f607b5835c&Preview=1 Date 10/18/2011 Company Name Sonexa Therapeutics Mailing Address 12555 High Bluff Drive San Diego, CA 92130 Company Description The company is developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Website http://www.sonexa.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $999,994 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. Amount included securities to be acquired … Continue reading “Sonexa Therapeutics Receives $999,994 New Funding Round”
FitOrbit Secures $2,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5677ae42-a9f8-424f-b85e-b71a18f550f9&Preview=1 Date 10/18/2011 Company Name FitOrbit Mailing Address 11611 San Vicente Los Angeles, CA 90049 Company Description The company operates a website that connects people to professional personal trainers online. Website http://www.fitorbit.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A … Continue reading “FitOrbit Secures $2,000,000 New Funding Round”
Sequenom Inaugurates New Diagnostic Test for Down Syndrome
San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) says today it’s making a prenatal test for fetal Down syndrome available in 20 U.S. cities, 2 1/2 years after the company shelved the debut of an earlier Down syndrome test due to “mishandled” research data. The proprietary test announced today is a laboratory-developed test (LDT) that detects an abnormal … Continue reading “Sequenom Inaugurates New Diagnostic Test for Down Syndrome”
Wireless Devices to Double by 2020, Overland Set for Turnaround, Ford Demos Wireless Health, & More San Diego BizTech News
Mobile technologies were the topic of the week as the wireless industry’s big enterprise & applications conference came to town. But we also had some interesting economic new, and our Xconomy week in review begins now. —The number of wireless-connected devices around the world will double by 2010, from roughly 12 billion to about 24 … Continue reading “Wireless Devices to Double by 2020, Overland Set for Turnaround, Ford Demos Wireless Health, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Anadys Pharmaceuticals Surprises the Street, Gets Acquired by Roche for $230M
San Diego-based Anadys Pharmaceuticals was only valued at about $60 million yesterday by Wall Street, but it’s worth $230 million today. The developer of hepatitis C drugs (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) said today it has agreed to be acquired by pharmaceutical giant Roche for $3.70 a share, a 256 percent premium over its closing price of $1.04 … Continue reading “Anadys Pharmaceuticals Surprises the Street, Gets Acquired by Roche for $230M”
Genomics 2.0: Ten Years After the Bubble, it’s Getting Really Interesting Again
What do 10,000 people with autism, 50,000 people in some remote islands in the North Atlantic, and 1,000 healthy old folks in southern California have in common? They are on the front edge of one of the most exciting stories in science today, and their contributions will have a huge impact on our long-term understanding … Continue reading “Genomics 2.0: Ten Years After the Bubble, it’s Getting Really Interesting Again”
Eclipse Therapeutics Garners $2,775,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e91012e4-7a5c-44c1-97f5-6e7ceacd033d&Preview=1 Date 10/17/2011 Company Name Eclipse Therapeutics Mailing Address Undisclosed San Diego , CA 92102 Company Description Eclipse Therapeutics, Inc. is a private biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of therapeutics that target cancer stem cells and other forms of innovative cancer treatment. Cancer stem cells are a subset of … Continue reading “Eclipse Therapeutics Garners $2,775,000 New Funding”
AnaptysBio Lands $8,024,394 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b5785a2d-8447-437d-a8e4-d5df9f7ddee2&Preview=1 Date 10/17/2011 Company Name AnaptysBio Mailing Address 10835 Road To The Cure San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The company develops biotherapeutics to rapidly evolve protein structure. Website http://www.anaptysbio.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,024,394 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms … Continue reading “AnaptysBio Lands $8,024,394 New Round”
Author Rebecca Skloot and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
Due to overwhelming demand, the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology is holding a lottery for tickets to the third installment in its “Ethics in Science and Technology Series,” a presentation by Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” All tickets are free, but registering for the lottery is now the … Continue reading “Author Rebecca Skloot and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks””
Third Annual Maritime Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony
In conjunction with the 3rd annual Maritime Business & Technology Summit, the annual showcase of innovation in maritime technology dedicated to promoting maritime business and technologies, San Diego’s Maritime Alliance has organized a gala dinner and awards ceremony. Oceanographer Sylvia Earle will be the guest speaker for the evening. She is the former chief scientist … Continue reading “Third Annual Maritime Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony”
iCal or iHAL? Apple and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Dear Mom: You asked me to write to let you know if I arrived safely in iCloud-land. Well, I’m here and I’m in one piece, although unfortunately some of my things didn’t make it here with me, such as my calendar. It was a pretty hellish journey, I’ll tell you. There were a couple of … Continue reading “iCal or iHAL? Apple and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”
Xconomist of the Week: Appature’s Kabir Shahani Eyes Culture as Company Expands
When it’s time for a scrappy tech startup with a bootstrapped culture to expand its footprint, the conventional thinking might go something like this: Hire young, hungry people who won’t blow through too much of your coin, and hold onto that staff until you absolutely have to take the plunge into grown-up salaries and benefits. … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Appature’s Kabir Shahani Eyes Culture as Company Expands”
Ford Developing Wireless Health Apps for Motorists on the Go
K. Venkatesh Prasad has been working in Detroit for the past five years on an innovation that could be described as the next big crazy idea that might just work. As the senior technical leader in vehicle design and infotronics at Ford Research & Innovation, Prasad oversees development of voice-activated apps and wireless services that … Continue reading “Ford Developing Wireless Health Apps for Motorists on the Go”
TechAmerica’s 18th Annual High Tech Awards
TechAmerica San Diego (previously known as the San Diego chapter of the AeA) is holding its annual High Tech Awards luncheon, a premier technology networking event that brings more than 500 technology executives together to celebrate the achievements of tech companies’ in the greater San Diego area. Networking and registration begins at 11 am. More … Continue reading “TechAmerica’s 18th Annual High Tech Awards”
Greenpeace and Michele Bachmann’s Joint Campaign to Stop Science
I took the family to Boston on vacation in September. During the time away, I read Patrick Moore’s book “Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist.“ Dr. Moore was one of the original founders of Greenpeace in the 1970s. I heard him speak recently. While he remains a passionate advocate for … Continue reading “Greenpeace and Michele Bachmann’s Joint Campaign to Stop Science”
San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum: A Case Study on Independa and the Multiple Dimensions of Focus
The increased need for technology-driven, home-based healthcare services is accelerating faster than innovation can keep up. And in the fast-paced world of high-tech start-ups, recognizing the many “blind sides” of taking your product to market is paramount in maintaining the proper speed as you build a business. If focus equals getting from point A to … Continue reading “San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum: A Case Study on Independa and the Multiple Dimensions of Focus”
San Diego’s Economic Engine Boosted by High-Tech Jobs, Wages
San Diego’s high-tech sectors did not escape unscathed from the great recession of 2007-2009, but a new study says local technology industries have had a disproportionate effect in boosting the regional economy in recent years. Using state employment data, the study released yesterday by the National University System Institute for Policy Research counted just over … Continue reading “San Diego’s Economic Engine Boosted by High-Tech Jobs, Wages”
Sequenom Plans $19M Lab in North Carolina, Illumina Shares Plunge, PatientSafe Advances Device, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
It was a full and busy week for life sciences news in San Diego, with interesting advances in wireless health and a variety of deals. I’m planning at least one more report from the Wireless Health 2011 Conference, but in the meantime, here’s everything else. North Carolina Gov. Beverly Burdue said yesterday that San Diego-based … Continue reading “Sequenom Plans $19M Lab in North Carolina, Illumina Shares Plunge, PatientSafe Advances Device, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
VC Keeps up Hot Pace, 2011 Could Mark 10-Year Peak, CB Insights Says
Market meltdowns, international turmoil, stubborn unemployment—none of the lingering macro-economic troubles seem to be holding back the momentum for venture investing in 2011, according to a report on third-quarter investments from research firm CB Insights. The latest tally from the firm’s venture capital database shows venture investments reaching $7.9 billion in the quarter across 790 … Continue reading “VC Keeps up Hot Pace, 2011 Could Mark 10-Year Peak, CB Insights Says”
Ebyline Garners $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=91cbc434-a01d-4afd-9f78-a4a6d43fc4cf&Preview=1 Date 10/13/2011 Company Name Ebyline Mailing Address 15250 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Company Description Ebyline is a Los Angeles-based startup, founded in August 2009 on the concept that a marketplace for buying and selling quality news can help publishers maintain their mission of distributing high-quality content while also reaching … Continue reading “Ebyline Garners $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Next-Generation Sequencing and the Looming Era of the $1,000 Genome
From academia to industry and from popular press to Wall Street, the amount of attention and coverage devoted to new sequencing technologies is unprecedented. But in a world of real research, clinical and diagnostic needs—and real, pressing deadlines—how can your organization actually take advantage of sequencing today? Biocom has organized a panel discussion to explore … Continue reading “Next-Generation Sequencing and the Looming Era of the $1,000 Genome”
Overland Set to Ring Turnaround Bell with Disruptive Technology at a Disruptive Price
With yesterday’s introduction of a new line of data storage products, San Diego’s Overland Data (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVRL]]) has set out to make a name for itself in the same high-tech market where it has been operating for the past 31 years. Since it began making IBM-compatible 9-track tape drives in 1980, Overland Storage has been … Continue reading “Overland Set to Ring Turnaround Bell with Disruptive Technology at a Disruptive Price”
CTIA Convenes Apps & Enterprise Conference Amid Predictions of Explosive Growth
The CTIA wireless industry group convened its annual enterprise and apps conference in San Diego yesterday, and the biggest buzz so far has been around Google and Samsung’s decision to cancel the debut they had planned for both the “Ice Cream Sandwich” version of Android and the Nexus Prime, characterized as the next “pure Google” … Continue reading “CTIA Convenes Apps & Enterprise Conference Amid Predictions of Explosive Growth”
Websense Partners With Facebook, Qualcomm Shuffles Top Execs, ViaSat Satellite Set for Launch Next Week, & More San Diego BizTech News
There’s been a lot of tech news in San Diego over the past week, from Web 2.0 startups like SocialIQ that are identifying and measuring social media influencers, to changes in the executive leadership at established companies like Qualcomm. Our roundup begins now. —San Diego’s Websense (NASDAQ: [[ticker:WBSN]]) said it has installed its network security … Continue reading “Websense Partners With Facebook, Qualcomm Shuffles Top Execs, ViaSat Satellite Set for Launch Next Week, & More San Diego BizTech News”
How Not to Start a Startup
Startups can be a lot like first girlfriends (or boyfriends). You fall madly, passionately in love, think of them 24/7, talk, walk, eat, drink, breathe them, put everything into them and beyond, but sometimes, despite the passion, it just doesn’t work out. And, actually if you’re willing be to be brutally honest, in retrospect the … Continue reading “How Not to Start a Startup”
Atlantis Technologies Cleans Up at Angels’ Quick Pitch Competition
Atlantis Technologies is a San Diego cleantech startup that has developed proprietary, low-energy, chemical-free water desalination systems for treating industrial wastewater—especially the 1 trillion gallons of salty wastewater created each year by the oil and gas industry ‘s fracking practices. In a presentation last week, Atlantis CEO P.M. Curran said the company is now seeking … Continue reading “Atlantis Technologies Cleans Up at Angels’ Quick Pitch Competition”
Smoke on the Water: Fireworks at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit
I spent the early part of this week attending the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit and, despite the fact that the Cleveland Clinic stubbornly insists on holding its conference in Cleveland (aka The Mistake on the Lake), it was well worth attending. Cleveland is an interesting town. Once upon a time, when old white men … Continue reading “Smoke on the Water: Fireworks at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit”
Five Things Industry Can Do to Support True FDA Reform, and Restore Public Confidence
The FDA is one of the easiest punching bags in American politics. Depending on your point of view, it’s either too hard on business with its unreasonable demands, or too soft on those predatory drug companies seeking to profit off Grandma’s illness regardless of whether the products are safe. When it does its job well, … Continue reading “Five Things Industry Can Do to Support True FDA Reform, and Restore Public Confidence”
Anaphore Lands $39,895,617 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=86e7c5d3-250e-41c6-b41c-63e6083b5efc&Preview=1 Date 10/10/2011 Company Name Anaphore Mailing Address 10931 North Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037 Company Description Anaphore was created through the acquisition of Borean Pharma ApS, a Danish biotechnology company with both a product portfolio and technology platforms for creating improved protein therapeutics. The Danish firm spent six years … Continue reading “Anaphore Lands $39,895,617 New Round”
New Legislation Review: Patent Director David Kappos on the America Invents Act
Connect has invited David Kappos, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), to be the featured speaker in a public policy forum entitled “A Review of the America Invents Act and its impact on the USPTO.” After six long years and numerous legislative modifications, the President signed the America Invents Act earlier … Continue reading “New Legislation Review: Patent Director David Kappos on the America Invents Act”
Connect Framework Series: Intellectual Property Workshop
Intellectual property rights are often key to the foundation, growth, and ultimate survival of a company. For technology and bioscience companies, the ability to raise funding is dependent on establishing a sound intellectual property portfolio and strategy. This workshop also will cover the legal requirements and basic process for obtaining a patent and the effect … Continue reading “Connect Framework Series: Intellectual Property Workshop”
Licensing Executives Society Annual Meeting
The Licensing Executives Society is holding its annual meeting in San Diego, with sessions on the economic uncertainty rocking biopharma, the historic Nortel auction, deal-making in China, new valuation strategies, technology convergence and other pivotal issues. More than 1,000 of the world’s leading intellectual property, licensing and business development leaders are expected to attend. More … Continue reading “Licensing Executives Society Annual Meeting”
Innovating a Paradigm Shift through Green Technologies
Athena has organized a panel discussion to discuss how green innovations are shaping the way we live and work, and how these disruptive technologies are providing solutions to global challenges. The emerging green economy is about much more than green products and services. Behind this growing segment are incredibly talented and forward-thinking entrepreneurs as well … Continue reading “Innovating a Paradigm Shift through Green Technologies”
Entrepreneurs Workshop: Getting SBIR Grants From the National Institutes of Health
The San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange (SDEE) has organized a three-hour workshop on getting NIH small business innovative research grants. The session is intended to cover strategies that can work, nuts and bolts of submitting an SBIR application, and small group discussions with life sciences entrepreneurs who have received small business innovation research grants. Entrepreneurs are … Continue reading “Entrepreneurs Workshop: Getting SBIR Grants From the National Institutes of Health”
Illumina Stock Dives on Weak Quarterly Sales Report
Illumina shareholders are having a rough day today. The San Diego-based maker of genome sequencing tools (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) fell $12.85 a share, or 32 percent, to $27.08 at 11:45 am Eastern time today. The drop came after Illumina released a dismal third-quarter sales report, in which it reported $235 million in revenue on an unaudited … Continue reading “Illumina Stock Dives on Weak Quarterly Sales Report”