Category: San Diego

Trius Gets $29.5M Defense Contract

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has awarded a contract that could be worth as much as $29.5 million through 2015 to San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics to develop novel antibiotics for gram-negative bacterial pathogens. In a statement, Trius says it will use its proprietary Focused Antisense Screening Technology and expertise in structure-based drug design to optimize … Continue reading “Trius Gets $29.5M Defense Contract”

Halozyme Announces Recall, Pathway Genomics Halts Genetic Test Kit Rollout, Vertex Gets Ready for Hepatitis C Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

April was a dry month for life sciences news, but May has been roaring with Halozyme’s product recall, Pathway Genomics’ aborted sales plan, and funding news—lots of funding news. Your Xconomy life sciences briefing begins now. —San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) and its manufacturing partner, Baxter Healthcare, announced that they are voluntarily recalling Hylenex, … Continue reading “Halozyme Announces Recall, Pathway Genomics Halts Genetic Test Kit Rollout, Vertex Gets Ready for Hepatitis C Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

How to Make Money from Saving Energy: Tales of Innovation at the SDG&E Energy Showcase

Conservation is a big deal in California. While per capita energy usage has climbed approximately 50 percent from 1975 to 2005, according to presentations by former California Energy Commissioner Arthur Rosenfeld, California managed to keep the growth of energy consumption at about  2 percent per capita over the same period—largely by requiring aggressive energy conservation … Continue reading “How to Make Money from Saving Energy: Tales of Innovation at the SDG&E Energy Showcase”

Scripps Chemistry Idea “Clicks” With Big Pharma, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics

One of the Nobel Prize winners at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego has been saying for a decade that chemists would be better off doing the simple thing instead of the hard thing. Now quite a few of the world’s top academic scientists and Big Pharma companies are starting to adopt K. Barry … Continue reading “Scripps Chemistry Idea “Clicks” With Big Pharma, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics”

Biogen Idec Grant Sends San Diego’s Aspiring Biotech Rock Stars Into Local Schools

In a move that borrows a page from Intel’s “Rock Stars of Engineering” advertising campaign, a San Diego non-profit group is organizing a program that will bring the aspiring rock stars of San Diego’s life sciences industry into local classrooms. The pilot program, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec Foundation, … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Grant Sends San Diego’s Aspiring Biotech Rock Stars Into Local Schools”

Celula Receives $15,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1dd4d35a-e83e-40a1-b5d9-7b6bbe848e8d&Preview=1 Date 5/19/2010 Company Name Celula Mailing Address 5820 Nancy Ridge Drive San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Celula develops innovative instruments for personalized diagnostics using advanced microfluidics and other technologies. Using its platforms, Celula alone and in collaborations with industry and academia, identifies, develops, and validates unique cutting edge assays with … Continue reading “Celula Receives $15,000,000 Series B Round”

Coda Automotive Obtains $33,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7655ba32-1b85-4064-8500-b3a87ef1fc46&Preview=1 Date 5/19/2010 Company Name Coda Automotive Mailing Address 1601 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90403 Company Description We were formed by a group of innovators, experts in their fields, motivated to solve some of today’s most pressing problems to leave a better world for their children. Our business model is unique. … Continue reading “Coda Automotive Obtains $33,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

San Diego’s Celula Gets $15M for Molecular Diagnostics

[Clarification 5/19/10 11:00 am. See below.] Celula, a molecular diagnostic startup founded in San Diego five years ago, has raised $15 million in a secondary round of venture funding led by Palo Alto, CA-based Skyline Ventures, according to a VentureWire report today. Celula’s top executives did not return a call this afternoon seeking to confirm … Continue reading “San Diego’s Celula Gets $15M for Molecular Diagnostics”

Legend Has It—An Early Lead in the Post-Avatar Rush to Convert 2D Films to 3D

Barry Sandrew, who was once a staff neuroscientist at the Harvard Medical School, now presides over one of the fastest-growing companies in San Diego—with a business that has nothing to do with medical research. As a matter of fact, the company known today as Legend 3D no longer resembles the digital colorization studio that Sandrew … Continue reading “Legend Has It—An Early Lead in the Post-Avatar Rush to Convert 2D Films to 3D”

Fallbrook Details Risk Factors in Amended IPO Filing

San Diego’s Fallbrook Technologies amended its IPO filing with securities regulators Friday—providing additional details about the company’s risk factors, including its lack of profitability and need to raise more capital to stay afloat. As we reported, Fallbrook filed for its initial public offering in February. The cleantech company, which has 56 employees, has been developing … Continue reading “Fallbrook Details Risk Factors in Amended IPO Filing”

Glass Flakes in Vials Prompt Halozyme, Baxter to Recall Hylenex Pediatric Rehydration Product

First San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]), and now, Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]), have encountered troubles resulting from contaminated biomedical products coming from their manufacturing partner, Baxter Healthcare, a unit of Baxter International (NYSE: [[ticker:BAX]]) of Deerfield, IL. Today Halozyme and Baxter said they are voluntarily recalling affected lots of a product called Hylenex that … Continue reading “Glass Flakes in Vials Prompt Halozyme, Baxter to Recall Hylenex Pediatric Rehydration Product”

National Alliance Focuses on Turning Algal Biofuels Into Viable Industry

It was just over a year ago that some of San Diego’s biggest life sciences research institutions announced the formation of SD-CAB, the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, amid some outsized calls to make San Diego the top of the mountain in biofuels development. Since then, we’ve continued to see occasional flurries of activity, … Continue reading “National Alliance Focuses on Turning Algal Biofuels Into Viable Industry”

Venture Financing Looking Up, Sorenson Media Launches Online Video Technology, Avalon Ventures Buys Copley Building, & More San Diego BizTech News

The emerging mobile health industry made a stronger showing last week than it has in past years at its annual Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance Convergence Summit. Get the latest uptick in wireless health and other news now. —San Diego’s Avalon Ventures founder Kevin Kinsella told me the firm’s investment in San Francisco-based Zynga, which develops multiplayer … Continue reading “Venture Financing Looking Up, Sorenson Media Launches Online Video Technology, Avalon Ventures Buys Copley Building, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Connect Silver Anniversary and Symphony Centennial Convergence Celebration

In an era of technology and innovation convergence, it seems only fitting that Connect should mark it’s 25th anniversary with a convergence of special occasions, as the San Diego Symphony also is observing its 100th anniversary this year. As part of its Silver Anniversary Celebration, Connect has arranged a special cameo appearance by Marvin Hamlisch, … Continue reading “Connect Silver Anniversary and Symphony Centennial Convergence Celebration”

Cut the Belts and Look for Capital and Talent in Your Own Backyard

The first step in getting any venture ecosystem going is capital formation. With all the retired auto industry execs in the region, there should be no shortage of angel investors. But someone has to organize them and convince them that they are angel investors—and that investing in local innovation is a worthy expenditure of their … Continue reading “Cut the Belts and Look for Capital and Talent in Your Own Backyard”

CleanTECH San Diego Showcase: The Solar Path to Profitability

Daniel Gross of Hudson Clean Energy, a global private equity firm dedicated solely to investing in renewable energy technologies, is the guest speaker at a forum on how to make solar profitable. The forum will explore emerging trends, investment opportunities and the role of government and utilities in moving solar power forward. Networking and registration … Continue reading “CleanTECH San Diego Showcase: The Solar Path to Profitability”

Vertex, Worth $7.5B, Eagerly Awaits Final Proof that Hepatitis C Drug Works

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has been in business for more than 20 years, and burned through more than $2.8 billion on a quest to develop drugs that shake up the medical standards of care. Now in the coming weeks and months, it will get the first definitive evidence that will say whether its lead drug candidate for … Continue reading “Vertex, Worth $7.5B, Eagerly Awaits Final Proof that Hepatitis C Drug Works”

itherx Pharmaceuticals Receives $2,800,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c237165d-3fb4-493c-b0e5-babe4a902ea0&Preview=1 Date 5/17/2010 Company Name itherx Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 10790 Roselle St. San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description iTherX is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for Hepatitis C. This is a disease that affects almost 3% of the world’s population, and is the … Continue reading “itherx Pharmaceuticals Receives $2,800,000 New Funding”

How to Evaluate a Biotech Company? It’s Still About Management, Hale and Garner Say

Life science startups are facing a lot of challenges today, and the biggest of all is the lack of capital and increased scrutiny from venture capitalists that goes with it. But over the years of booms and busts, the thing that biotech companies must have is a great management team. That was the consensus view … Continue reading “How to Evaluate a Biotech Company? It’s Still About Management, Hale and Garner Say”

aFraxis Lands $1,200,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eec0d63a-734f-4d62-8530-9b01f23fd002&Preview=1 Date 5/16/2010 Company Name aFraxis Mailing Address 5626 Oberlin Dr. San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Afraxis is discovering and developing drugs to treat diseases of the central nervous system, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Fragile X syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. Recent scientific discoveries have linked these disorders to underlying defects … Continue reading “aFraxis Lands $1,200,000 New Financing Round”

Afraxis Raises $1.2M in Venture Funding

San Diego-based aFraxis, which has completed pre-clinical testing of a promising compound for treating fragile X syndrome, the most common cause of inherited mental impairment, has raised $1.2 million in a venture round targeting $6 million, according to a recent regulatory finding. San Diego’s Avalon Ventures already has invested about $6 million since the company … Continue reading “Afraxis Raises $1.2M in Venture Funding”

Flatt Jumps to Synthetic Genomics

San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics, which said last year it’s getting at least $300 million from ExxonMobil to develop algae-based biofuels, has named James Flatt as its new chief technology officer, effective May 19. Flatt previously served as the senior vice president of research at Mascoma Biosciences, a cellulosic ethanol developer that moved last fall from … Continue reading “Flatt Jumps to Synthetic Genomics”

Avalon’s Kinsella Says San Diego, Like Any Robust Startup Ecosystem, Needs Local VCs

My favorite journalistic description of Avalon Ventures founder Kevin Kinsella came from former San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Penni Crabtree, who wrote in 2005: “He has an exacting intelligence, a steely competitiveness, and a passion for big ideas. On the flip side, those who know him say Kinsella tends to lose interest when the grunt work … Continue reading “Avalon’s Kinsella Says San Diego, Like Any Robust Startup Ecosystem, Needs Local VCs”

Okay, You’ve Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy. Now What?

There’s lots going on in Xconomy-land, so this week’s column will be shorter than usual. Which is probably fine with you, since everyone seems pressed for time these days. Microsoft is notorious for its lame ad campaigns, but lately the software giant has been putting its finger on the overcommitment problem, through an amusing series … Continue reading “Okay, You’ve Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy. Now What?”

Cooley Q1 Report Shows Venture Investment Terms Continue to Improve

Venture financing is not out of the woods yet, but there are fewer trees, according to a report issued today that analyzes 83 VC transactions with a total value of $935 million. The Cooley law firm’s Venture Financing Report shows “continuing improvement” in VC deals nationwide during the first three months of 2010. Cooley, which … Continue reading “Cooley Q1 Report Shows Venture Investment Terms Continue to Improve”

Sequenom Restarts Down Syndrome Test, Cytori Upbeat About Cardiac Study, Pathway Genomics Mass Markets Genome Tests, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

The sector was firing on all burners in the past week with fresh developments in devices, drug development, wireless health, and weight loss (just ask Larry Smarr). You can catch all the latest here. —Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]), which scrubbed the launch of its diagnostics test for Down syndrome a year ago over “mishandled data,” is … Continue reading “Sequenom Restarts Down Syndrome Test, Cytori Upbeat About Cardiac Study, Pathway Genomics Mass Markets Genome Tests, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston

Boston’s Rockport Capital has chipped in $12.5 million as part of a $40 million financing round for Think, the Oslo, Norway-based company building long-range electric vehicles. Think said in an May 11 announcement that it plans to use the new funds to expand operations and sales in North America, including opening a planned assembly facility … Continue reading “Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston”

Sequent Medical Receives $15,600,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d1286999-8c76-4d33-aa3e-2c7c241e5591&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Sequent Medical Mailing Address 11A Columbia Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 Company Description The company is dedicated to the development of innovative devices to advance the endovascular treatment of neurovascular disease conditions. Website http://www.sequentmedical.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,600,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes We … Continue reading “Sequent Medical Receives $15,600,000 Series B Funding Round”

Gary and Mary West Add $20M to Their $45M Donation For Wireless Health Institute

The namesake family foundation that launched San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute last year with a $45 million donation has just announced another $20 million grant to support biomedical engineering research in mobile health. Word of the latest bequest from the Gary and Mary West Foundation came out of today’s closed session of the Wireless-Life … Continue reading “Gary and Mary West Add $20M to Their $45M Donation For Wireless Health Institute”

Sequenom Raises $51.6 Million As It Prepares to Restart Down Syndrome Test

Sequenom can cross off another item on its long to-do list. The San Diego-based developer of diagnostic tests is announcing today that it has raised $51.6 million in a private placement, an important step toward regaining the confidence of investors. The much-needed funds will go toward R&D, product commercialization and general corporate purposes, Sequenom (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Sequenom Raises $51.6 Million As It Prepares to Restart Down Syndrome Test”

Wireless-Life Sciences Investor Meeting Puts Innovation on Stage—Boston Sleep Company Zeo Claims a Top Prize

As Qualcomm’s vice president of health and life sciences and as chairman of the San Diego-based Wireless Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA), Don Jones is attuned to subtle disturbances in the field of mobile health. He tells me that one of the auspicious signals for the still-emerging industry is that the 200 people who registered for … Continue reading “Wireless-Life Sciences Investor Meeting Puts Innovation on Stage—Boston Sleep Company Zeo Claims a Top Prize”

Can academia bridge the gap between bench and bedside?

A few weeks ago I heard a pharmaceutical executive say at an industry meeting that academia shouldn’t be trying to develop drugs. They don’t know how to do it, his message was. Now, he didn’t specify what he meant: Was it that academics do not know how to discover and optimize promising drug candidates, or … Continue reading “Can academia bridge the gap between bench and bedside?”

How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self”

Larry Smarr is one of the people who had a vision in the 1980s for a high-speed computer network that grew to become the Internet of today. So sharing data is important to him. Now he has found a new source of data that he believes has great potential if shared widely: information from his … Continue reading “How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self””

Astute Medical Raises $26.5M

San Diego’s Astute Medical, a medical diagnostics startup that specializes in identifying acute conditions that require rapid diagnosis, says it has completed a $26.5 million series B round of venture funding co-led by Domain Associates and Delphi Ventures. The three-year-old company, which has raised total funding of more than $32.7 million, says its focus includes … Continue reading “Astute Medical Raises $26.5M”

Sotera Wireless Prepares to Take Pulse of Market for Vital-Signs Device

As representatives of the emerging mobile health industry convene for their annual summit today in La Jolla, it seemed both timely and appropriate to revisit San Diego-based Sotera Wireless. The company, which was founded six years ago as Triage Wireless, jumped onto our radar screen in April after the medical device company successfully raised nearly … Continue reading “Sotera Wireless Prepares to Take Pulse of Market for Vital-Signs Device”

Will People Bid Online for a Nose Job Just Like an Airline Ticket? PriceDoc Thinks So

If PriceDoc has its way, masses of people will go online to bid for routine medical and dental procedures a lot like airline tickets. Find a doc near your house. Agree on the price for a nose job. Pay the doc in cash. This is a simple idea with appeal to many doctors and patients, … Continue reading “Will People Bid Online for a Nose Job Just Like an Airline Ticket? PriceDoc Thinks So”

Pathway Genomics to Sell Over-the-Counter Genetic Test This Week

San Diego’s Pathway Genomics, which announced plans last July to offer consumers a personal genome test for $250, says it will begin selling its genetic test this week at about 80 percent of Walgreens stores nationwide, according to a front page story in today’s Washington Post. “We believe the market is ready for this,” Jim … Continue reading “Pathway Genomics to Sell Over-the-Counter Genetic Test This Week”

We Hope for Better Things in Detroit

When I was young and growing up in the Detroit area, the city was a hotbed of innovation and industry like nowhere else in the United States. The automobile industry was in full swing, and for decades it was the engine of growth for our nation. Although the city—and the companies that helped make it … Continue reading “We Hope for Better Things in Detroit”

Sorenson Targets Brightcove in Updated Release of Online Video Platform Technology

Sorenson Media CEO Peter Csathy tells me it was always part of the company’s plan to introduce its digital media technology in the enterprise market, where big media and Internet companies enable Internet users to watch streaming video and TV broadcasts. Today the company with offices in Salt Lake City, UT, and Carlsbad, CA, is … Continue reading “Sorenson Targets Brightcove in Updated Release of Online Video Platform Technology”

SocialVibe Receives $11,650,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dd5b6f97-3a30-493c-be14-03c38d9ff24f&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2010 Company Name SocialVibe Mailing Address 9000 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069 Company Description The company develops advertising solutions within social networks. Website http://www.socialvibe.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $11,650,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Astute Medical Garners $26,500,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4b7779b1-3e83-47e1-9db1-3fb7dd63cc81&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2010 Company Name Astute Medical Mailing Address 3550 General Atomics Court San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Astute Medical’s mission is to identify and validate protein biomarkers of severe acute disease.Our focus is community and hospital acquired acute conditions that require rapid diagnosis and risk assessment. Our emphasis is on … Continue reading “Astute Medical Garners $26,500,000 Series B Financing”

Integrien Garners $8,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6524a82b-5695-46b2-a424-c2de4fed78be&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2010 Company Name Integrien Mailing Address 114 Pacifica Irvine, CA 92618 Company Description Integrien Corporation is the leading provider of integrity management solutions. Integrien’s products and services allow enterprise IT organizations to predict, prevent and heal problems in technology-based business systems. Website http://www.integrien.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 … Continue reading “Integrien Garners $8,000,000 New Funding”

Adenyo Acquires MoVoxx for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e9dfc73a-3b1c-4e1c-befc-a4f3b5d344e0&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2010 Company Name MoVoxx Mailing Address 710 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401 Company Description MoVoxx enables interactive agencies and brands to reach massive mobile audiences – with focus on maximizing user interaction. Website http://www.movoxx.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of … Continue reading “Adenyo Acquires MoVoxx for Undisclosed Sum”

Ad.ly Secures $5,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fbab434e-00c8-45ae-bbb2-dfba7a472050&Preview=1 Date 5/11/2010 Company Name Ad.ly Mailing Address 2341 Weybridge Lane Los Angeles, CA 90077 Company Description Operates an in-stream advertising platform for Twitter. Website http://www.ad.ly Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes from the funding were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor GRP Partners … Continue reading “Ad.ly Secures $5,000,000 New Financing”

Avalon Ventures Founder Says FarmVille Creator Zynga Could Be Best Bet in 27 Years

Last week, San Diego’s Avalon Ventures confirmed that it is setting out to raise its ninth venture fund, which is expected to close between $150 million and $200 million. That’s a modest fund by the billion-dollar standards of Sequoia Capital or New Enterprise Associates, but it’s a formula that has worked well in the 27 … Continue reading “Avalon Ventures Founder Says FarmVille Creator Zynga Could Be Best Bet in 27 Years”

Avalon Ventures Goes for Ninth Fund, Mobile Health Industry Seeks Tipping Point, Google Ventures Steps Into Spotlight, & More San Diego BizTech News

New industries like cleantech and mobile health are changing the face of San Diego’s innovation scene. Better catch up on all that’s happening before you don’t recognize it anymore. —The wind power industry is now in the doldrums, after soaring last year to a record number of wind turbine installations. The industry’s boom and bust … Continue reading “Avalon Ventures Goes for Ninth Fund, Mobile Health Industry Seeks Tipping Point, Google Ventures Steps Into Spotlight, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Relationship Building: The Power of Networking

Connect and PricewaterhouseCoopers have organized a two-hour interactive workshop with local life sciences leaders that offers insights and best practices about learning how to effectively build and maintain strong professional networks. More information and online registration is here.