Category: San Diego

From Main Street to Wall Street—10 Things a Startup Should Do to Groom Itself for an Eventual IPO

You’ve got the vision, the core team, and even a little money. You’re prepared to devote enormous time and energy to your new startup. You’re unsure what the future will bring but you want to preserve the possibility of going public some day. Here are 10 things you can do to put your startup on … Continue reading “From Main Street to Wall Street—10 Things a Startup Should Do to Groom Itself for an Eventual IPO”

EMN8 Receives $14,400,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=69228b27-7e5d-449b-b1a5-f416147b1255&Preview=1 Date 3/16/2010 Company Name EMN8 Mailing Address 10070 Mesa Rim Rd. San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description EMN8® is the leading innovator of rich media software delivered over enterprise networks that automate the customer ordering and payment processes in quick service restaurants, movie theatres, theme parks and other exhibition and retail … Continue reading “EMN8 Receives $14,400,000 New Financing Round”

Sequenom Highlights Its Good News, Keeps Lid on Bad

Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) sought to assure shareholders on a variety of fronts today, nearly a year after the San Diego maker of genetic diagnostic tests canceled the launch of its flagship test for Down syndrome due to “employee mishandling of R&D test data and results.” Following an internal investigation, Sequenom announced five months later that … Continue reading “Sequenom Highlights Its Good News, Keeps Lid on Bad”

The 20-Year Outlook for San Diego Life Sciences: Sold Out? Not Anymore

You spoke, and we listened. Demand has been surging for the event we’re organizing on the 20-year outlook for San Diego’s life sciences cluster. We sold out all 130 tickets with three weeks left before the big event on March 31. While I must say we were pretty darn happy about that, it also meant … Continue reading “The 20-Year Outlook for San Diego Life Sciences: Sold Out? Not Anymore”

Amylin, Alkermes Diabetes Drug Delayed by FDA

[Updated: 8:38 am Eastern, 3/15/10] Amylin Pharmaceuticals and its partners Eli Lilly and Alkermes are going to have to wait a while to celebrate. The FDA has delayed an application from San Diego-based Amylin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly to start marketing their new diabetes drug, the first once-weekly shot, as a more convenient … Continue reading “Amylin, Alkermes Diabetes Drug Delayed by FDA”

San Diego’s Small Cap Stocks Arrive in Force at Roth Capital’s Largest Investor Conference

Call it optimism or a sense of relief, but the atmosphere surrounding Roth Capital’s 22nd annual growth stock conference feels more upbeat and expansive. The invitation-only institutional investor conference begins today at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point, CA, with a 7 a.m. breakfast panel on investing in China, and runs through mid-afternoon Wednesday. Attendee … Continue reading “San Diego’s Small Cap Stocks Arrive in Force at Roth Capital’s Largest Investor Conference”

West Wireless Health Institute Names First CEO, Leap Wireless Trims Operations, MaxLinear Sets Price Range for IPO, & More San Diego BizTech News

A recent Harris poll found that most Americans have never heard of a smart meter and they don’t know what the smart grid is, but these new technologies are coming anyway. We’ve got a lot of cleantech news, which we’ll dispense as efficiently as possible. —Is Leap Wireless, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LEAP]]) optimizing its operations for a … Continue reading “West Wireless Health Institute Names First CEO, Leap Wireless Trims Operations, MaxLinear Sets Price Range for IPO, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Magento Receives $22,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4cfaf881-439f-407d-8db7-7278666ffea0&Preview=1 Date 3/15/2010 Company Name Magento Mailing Address 11832 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064 Company Description Magento was a direct response to the emerging new needs of today’s online merchants. More than any feature or functionality what our clients really needed was “flexibility.” Our primary goal with Magento was to … Continue reading “Magento Receives $22,500,000 New Funding Round”

Peter Preuss Inducted Into Connect’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Connect has inducted San Diego software pioneer Peter Preuss as the eighth person in its Entrepeneur Hall of Fame. The distinction recognizes entrepreneurs who founded, led, or advanced a San Diego life sciences or technology-based business or organization, and who have contributed to the business sectors that shape our local economy, improve our quality of … Continue reading “Peter Preuss Inducted Into Connect’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame”

Healthcare and Medical DeviceFest

Biocom and AdvaMed are hosting a day-long conference exploring the implications of healthcare reform and its impact on the medical device industry. This event will outline the latest important developments on healthcare reform, telehealth, reimbursement, regulatory, intellectual property and financing strategies. Register online here.

An Industry Insider and Veteran Consumer Recap the CTIA Wireless 2010 Show

Wireless industry veteran Andy Abramson, the CEO of Comunicano, and TV personality and wireless technology enthusiast Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien will offer their perspectives from inside and outside the wireless industry’s annual conference. CommNexus has organized this entertaining and informative presentation—and more information is available online. Registration begins at 5:30, or you can register … Continue reading “An Industry Insider and Veteran Consumer Recap the CTIA Wireless 2010 Show”

Ligand Drug OK’d in Europe

San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LGND]]) said today that its partner, GlaxoSmithKline, has won clearance to start marketing a new drug for a platelet deficiency in Europe. The treatment, eltrombopag (Revolade), is for patients for idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), a rare bleeding disorder in which the immune system attacks platelet cells that help people form … Continue reading “Ligand Drug OK’d in Europe”

The Hybritech Alumni: Where Are They Now?

[Updated: 6:45 pm, 2/23/11] Plenty of ink has been devoted over the years to how San Diego’s biotech family tree can be traced back to Hybritech. The company was born in biotech’s halcyon days in the ’70s, and it quickly became the magnet for young scientific and business talent in San Diego. After Eli Lilly … Continue reading “The Hybritech Alumni: Where Are They Now?”

EcoDog Expands as Developer Puts Energy Watchdog in New “Eco-Savvy” Homes

When I had breakfast recently with Ron Pitt, he pointed out that there are only about 100 or so major, investor-owned utilities in the United States—but there are roughly 70 million owner-occupied single-family homes. So why, in the name of God’s greenhouse gases, are so many venture-backed startups focused on developing cleantech innovations and smart … Continue reading “EcoDog Expands as Developer Puts Energy Watchdog in New “Eco-Savvy” Homes”

The Apple iPad: Three Unanswered Questions

Today is the first day that consumers can put down money for an Apple iPad. If you pre-order a Wi-Fi model now, you can avoid waiting in the inevitable around-the-block lines when the gadget hits Apple Stores on Saturday, April 3. (If you want the Wi-Fi + 3G model, though, you’ll have to wait until … Continue reading “The Apple iPad: Three Unanswered Questions”

Sonos Obtains $25,000,000 Series C Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=862d97dc-2b48-4893-af21-ce496eb1bd0c&Preview=1 Date 3/12/2010 Company Name Sonos Mailing Address 223 E. De La Guerra Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Company Description It’s no surprise that all of us at Sonos are die-hard music fans. We too love to listen to salsa in the kitchen, techno in the office and rock in the garden. Which … Continue reading “Sonos Obtains $25,000,000 Series C Financing”

China’s WuXi, a Partner of San Diego’s TargeGen, Offers New Model for Drug Development

A few years ago, news articles in Business Week, Nature, and elsewhere described a veritable stampede among big pharmaceutical companies like Roche, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline to work with contract research organizations in China and India. As it turns out, some of San Diego’s smallest biotech startups have been doing the same thing. The … Continue reading “China’s WuXi, a Partner of San Diego’s TargeGen, Offers New Model for Drug Development”

West Wireless Names CEO, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Awaits FDA Deadline, Life Technologies In Cancer Research Partnership, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

Things were hopping over the past week in San Diego. Get into the rhythm here. —San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute named Donald Casey chief executive officer. Casey was formerly worldwide chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s comprehensive care group. The Institute was founded last year with a $45 million gift from telemarketing and communications entrepreneurs … Continue reading “West Wireless Names CEO, Amylin Pharmaceuticals Awaits FDA Deadline, Life Technologies In Cancer Research Partnership, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Android Developers Win Smackdown Vs. iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, Microsoft Asserts It Has Promising Smartphone Future, & More Mobile Madness Highlights

So the iPhone may be the prettiest, the Blackberry may boast the biggest smartphone market share, and the Windows Mobile platform is, um, around, but it’s Android that’s best for developing apps. Or at least it was the Android developers who best defended their platform at the smartphone smackdown during our Mobile Madness event on … Continue reading “Android Developers Win Smackdown Vs. iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, Microsoft Asserts It Has Promising Smartphone Future, & More Mobile Madness Highlights”

San Diego’s Acadia Pharmaceuticals Updates Plans for Experimental Parkinson’s Drug

Acadia Pharmaceuticals of San Diego and its Canadian partner Biovail are continuing to move ahead with pimavanserin. The experimental drug, you might recall, failed last September in a trial testing it as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease-related psychosis. Pimavanserin is Acadia’s lead drug candidate, which may help explain why Acadia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACAD]]) and its partner … Continue reading “San Diego’s Acadia Pharmaceuticals Updates Plans for Experimental Parkinson’s Drug”

Amylin, Alkermes Sit in Suspense For FDA Verdict on Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug

It’s pins-and-needles time for employees and investors at San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Waltham, MA-based Alkermes. The FDA has a deadline of Friday, March 12, to say whether it has approved a new drug from Amylin and Alkermes (oh yeah, and Eli Lilly too) which seeks to transform diabetes treatment with the first once-weekly injectable … Continue reading “Amylin, Alkermes Sit in Suspense For FDA Verdict on Once-Weekly Diabetes Drug”

World Wide Web Consortium Must Seize High Ground on Web Standards Earlier, Says New CEO Jeffrey Jaffe

[Corrected 3/12/10, see below] When Tim Berners-Lee and colleagues from CERN proposed the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and the hypertext markup language (HTML) as Internet-wide standards back in the early 1990s, they didn’t face much resistance, because there weren’t any competing ideas for doing what Berners-Lee wanted to do—that is, setting up a global network … Continue reading “World Wide Web Consortium Must Seize High Ground on Web Standards Earlier, Says New CEO Jeffrey Jaffe”

Leap Wireless Closes Cricket Stores, Cuts 180 Employees

Amid considerable speculation about a potential merger, San Diego’s Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LEAP]]) has trimmed about 4 percent of its workforce and closed or transferred 38 of its Cricket Communications storefronts. Leap spokesman Greg Lund confirms that the flat-rate wireless service provider laid off a total of 180 employees nationwide on March 1 as part … Continue reading “Leap Wireless Closes Cricket Stores, Cuts 180 Employees”

Algae World Summit: From the Lab to Commercial Scale

The algae-biofuels industry is pushing to take technology from the laboratory to commercial-scale plants, which is the theme of this three-day conference in Del Mar, CA. Key industry players attending the event include algae biofuels refiners, oil and chemical companies, utilities, industrial carbon dioxide generators, financiers, transportation companies, and government officials. More information and online … Continue reading “Algae World Summit: From the Lab to Commercial Scale”

The Smart Grid is Coming! What’s a Smart Grid?

Several hundred utility executives, government regulators, and engineers have gathered in downtown San Diego this week for a three-day conference that is focused on what may be the utility industry’s biggest paradigm shift since the Tennessee Valley Authority electrified the Southeastern United States. The only problem is that it’s the biggest paradigm shift that people … Continue reading “The Smart Grid is Coming! What’s a Smart Grid?”

West Wireless Health Institute Names J&J Exec as First CEO

San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute today named Donald Casey as its first chief executive officer. Casey, a former worldwide chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s Comprehensive Care group, also will serve on the institute’s board of directors, according to a statement issued today. Gary West, who sold his Omaha, NE-based West Corp. for $3.3 billion … Continue reading “West Wireless Health Institute Names J&J Exec as First CEO”

The 20-Year Future of San Diego Biotech, Coming March 31

A wise man once said that overnight success in biotech takes about 15 years. All kidding aside, we at Xconomy recognize that real innovation in life sciences doesn’t just pop out of the blue on a quarterly time horizon. So we thought it would be worthwhile to ask some of San Diego’s scientific and business … Continue reading “The 20-Year Future of San Diego Biotech, Coming March 31”

Tocagen, Developing Anti-Cancer Therapies, Close to Closing on $8M Round

San Diego’s Tocagen, a biotech developing gene therapy treatments for terminal cancers, says it has raised nearly $7.8 million from 75 investors in a Series D round that began Feb. 2, according to a recent regulatory filing. Tocagen, which also raised about $3 million last month by selling preferred shares, says in the filing that … Continue reading “Tocagen, Developing Anti-Cancer Therapies, Close to Closing on $8M Round”

Fallbrook Reveals Development Deal

San Diego’s Fallbrook Technologies, which is developing a new and more-efficient design for a continuously variable transmission, says today it has signed an agreement with Hodyon of Austin, TX, for joint development of a new air conditioner compressor for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Fallbrook says its deal … Continue reading “Fallbrook Reveals Development Deal”

Introduction to Intellectual Property with the Sughrue Mion Law Firm

An understanding of intellectual property is essential to companies, universities, entrepreneurs, researchers and inventors. Anyone involved in innovation—from gene therapy treatments to surfboard designs—needs to know what their IP is and how to protect it. This introductory program will explain that and focus specifically on the patent process, including strategies for protecting IP on a … Continue reading “Introduction to Intellectual Property with the Sughrue Mion Law Firm”

Isis Nabs $6M Bristol Payment

Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]), the Carlsbad, CA-based biotech company, said today it has earned a $6 million payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb for getting clearance from regulators to begin clinical trials of a new cholesterol-lowering drug. Isis and Bristol are collaborating on BMS-PCSK9Rx, as a targeted antisense therapy which seeks to lower cholesterol by hitting the … Continue reading “Isis Nabs $6M Bristol Payment”

Qualcomm CEO Outlines Vision for Wireless Internet, Experts Explain Memjet’s Pluses and Minuses, Tech Coast Angels Slow Investment Activity, & More San Diego BizTech News

Qualcomm’s chairman and CEO says the San Diego wireless company is in the driver’s seat when it comes to setting the agenda for the wireless industry. We’re here to tell you what that means, so you don’t miss the on-ramp. —When Paul Jacobs was named to head San Diego’s Qualcomm five years ago, the No. … Continue reading “Qualcomm CEO Outlines Vision for Wireless Internet, Experts Explain Memjet’s Pluses and Minuses, Tech Coast Angels Slow Investment Activity, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Scientists from Sapphire Energy, UCSD, Scripps, and Protelica Show Genetically Modified Algae Can Make Important Drugs

Scientists in San Diego and Hayward, CA, have demonstrated the feasibility of using algae to produce commercial levels of human therapeutic proteins that are currently being used to treat emphysema and other diseases, or are in clinical trials for use to boost the immune system. “The bottom line from the study is that the algae … Continue reading “Scientists from Sapphire Energy, UCSD, Scripps, and Protelica Show Genetically Modified Algae Can Make Important Drugs”

Vertex Maps Out Combo Drug Game Plan for Treating Hepatitis C

HIV has taught the pharmaceutical industry that the best way to fight an infectious virus that resists a single drug is to make a cocktail that attacks the virus in more than one way. Vertex Pharmaceuticals and its competitors are now following a similar formula with new therapies for hepatitis C. Vertex, the Cambridge, MA-based … Continue reading “Vertex Maps Out Combo Drug Game Plan for Treating Hepatitis C”

New Frontiers in Life Sciences Analytics

Leaders in life sciences analytics from Pfizer, Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, and U.C. San Diego offer their insights in how analytics is transforming life sciences, healthcare, biotechnology, and related research. San Diego is on the cutting edge in applying new information technology tools. The San Diego Software Industry Council has organized this event to highlight research … Continue reading “New Frontiers in Life Sciences Analytics”

Wireless Life Sciences Alliance Commercialization Day

Commercialization Day, which is open to the public, follows a two-day, invitation-only wireless health investor’s meeting & convergence summit. The all-day event is intended to provide insights into the most promising opportunities in the convergence of wireless technology, healthcare, clinical trials, medical devices, and diagnostics. Get yourself invited to the invitation-only sessions, and get more … Continue reading “Wireless Life Sciences Alliance Commercialization Day”

Managing Growth When Your Light Remains Under a Bushel

More than two-thirds of the products made by San Diego’s D&K Engineering are complex electromechanical devices that were developed confidentially for the military and major manufacturers. The engineering company has grown to $50 million in revenues through “word-of-mouth” marketing. Now D&K Engineering is considering worldwide expansion. The San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum explores what key … Continue reading “Managing Growth When Your Light Remains Under a Bushel”

Trius Puts the Brakes on IPO Plan, While It Adjusts to New FDA Clinical Guidelines

[Updated: 4:05 pm Eastern, 3/5/10, with company comment] San Diego will have to wait a while longer for another biotech IPO. Trius Therapeutics, the San Diego-based developer of an antibiotic against dangerous MRSA infections, said this week it has postponed its plan to go public while it adapts to new guidelines from the FDA that … Continue reading “Trius Puts the Brakes on IPO Plan, While It Adjusts to New FDA Clinical Guidelines”

ImThera Medical Generating Buzz Over Neurostimulation for Sleep Apnea

Some 800,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with obstructive sleep apnea, in which the tongue relaxes during the onset of sleep to the point of physically blocking much of the upper airway. The condition often causes repeated interruptions of sleep, which can lead to increased blood pressure, coronary problems, and diabetes. The … Continue reading “ImThera Medical Generating Buzz Over Neurostimulation for Sleep Apnea”

Life Tech to Sequence Breast Cancer Genomes

Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) the Carlsbad, CA-based maker of gene sequencing instruments and lab supplies, said today it is joining an effort with two partners to sequence the genomes of 14 women with an aggressive form of breast cancer. The partnership, with the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute and U.S. Oncology in  Woodands, TX, will … Continue reading “Life Tech to Sequence Breast Cancer Genomes”

Neurocrine Nabs $20M

Neurocrine Biosciences, the San Diego biotech company developing treatments for neurological and endocrine disorders, said today it has raised gross proceeds of about $20 million in a stock offering. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]]) sold 9.1 million shares at $2.20 apiece. Jefferies & Co., the sole book-running manager of the offering, has a 30-day option to … Continue reading “Neurocrine Nabs $20M”

Adamis and La Jolla Pharma Kill Merger Deal

Two San Diego biotechs, Adamis Pharmaceuticals and La Jolla Pharmaceutical, said today they have agreed to terminate their merger agreement, which was signed three months ago. The Nasdaq market also delisted La Jolla Pharmaceutical today, saying the company is operating only as a “public shell” with minimal assets and operations. La Jolla Pharmaceutical said that … Continue reading “Adamis and La Jolla Pharma Kill Merger Deal”

Innovation Summit Highlights Drug Development, Cleantech, and Potential Impact of Drought

The La Jolla Research & Innovation Summit held yesterday at the Salk Institute was a smaller and a much more modest affair than the inaugural summit that Connect CEO Duane Roth organized last year. I have some impressions from the morning presentations: —Climatologist Dan Cayan of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography explained why multiple computerized … Continue reading “Innovation Summit Highlights Drug Development, Cleantech, and Potential Impact of Drought”

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Set Back by FDA, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Can’t Cure Shareholder Apathy, Regulus Signs Another Deal With Glaxo, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

There was a flurry of San Diego life sciences news over the past week, but we’ve got it all sorted for you here. —Politicians sometimes complain about voter apathy, but consider the plight of San Diego’s La Jolla Pharmaceutical. The biotech, which failed to develop a drug for lupus, has been unable to muster enough … Continue reading “Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Set Back by FDA, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Can’t Cure Shareholder Apathy, Regulus Signs Another Deal With Glaxo, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

ActivX Biosciences, Showing Life After Takeover, Keeps Innovative Ties in San Diego

Cover business long enough, and some storylines becomes routine. Startup creates something valuable, gets acquired. Valuable thing gets plucked away by big company, cost cuts ensue, jobs are lost, founders bolt, remaining employees are never to be heard from again. But ActivX Biosciences isn’t following that script. This San Diego-based company was a highflier during … Continue reading “ActivX Biosciences, Showing Life After Takeover, Keeps Innovative Ties in San Diego”

Qualcomm CEO Sees Company Driving Wave of Mobile Internet Innovation

Some people in the audience began to gasp audibly as Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs neared the end of his presentation at the San Diego wireless company’s annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday. The exclamations came about 40 minutes into Jacobs’ address, as he began explaining how various aspects of Qualcomm’s technology are expected to come … Continue reading “Qualcomm CEO Sees Company Driving Wave of Mobile Internet Innovation”