The 4th Annual Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa is an exclusive, one-day symposium that draws together the biomedical pioneers who are responsible for advancing stem cell research in the hope of discovering cures for debilitating diseases or injuries. The event features researchers from UC San Diego, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Burnham Institute … Continue reading “Stem Cell Meeting on Torrey Pines Mesa”
Category: San Diego
Learning the Venture Capital Process
Learn how to focus on the right priorities and how to avoid common venture deal killers in this half-day workshop led by Peter Townshend of the McDermott Will & Emery law firm and Ken Selzer of Finistere Ventures. More information is available here. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.
Virginia is for Lovers—and SAIC, MeLLmo Raises $4M, DEMOfall ’09 Comes to Town, & More San Diego BizTech News
Earlier this year, defense contractor SAIC celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding near a ballet studio in La Jolla. Now the company, which has more than 45,000 employees, has moved its headquarters from San Diego to McLean, VA. Get that and the rest of the local technology innovation news here. —Defense contractor SAIC, which … Continue reading “Virginia is for Lovers—and SAIC, MeLLmo Raises $4M, DEMOfall ’09 Comes to Town, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Botox’s Singh Moves on to San Diego’s Transdel, Developer of Pain Reliever to Rival Advil
The woman who helped bring the famous anti-wrinkle treatment Botox to the U.S. market is working on a pain reliever that she says can compete with some of the best-known drugs in the world—Tylenol and Advil. Her name is Juliet Singh, and she’s the CEO of a tiny La Jolla, CA-based company called Transdel Pharmaceuticals. … Continue reading “Botox’s Singh Moves on to San Diego’s Transdel, Developer of Pain Reliever to Rival Advil”
From Academics to Biotech: A Journey to the Supposed “Dark Side”
If you had told me last year that today I would be running the offices of Accelerator Corporation—at least for one morning while everyone is out of town—I would have probably sniffed in disdain, tossed my hair, and shuffled back to my post-doc lab bench, a free donut in one hand (magic vendor food) and … Continue reading “From Academics to Biotech: A Journey to the Supposed “Dark Side””
Ansel Adams Meets Apple: The Camera Phone Craze in Photography
[Corrected 9/28/09: Chase Jarvis is based in Seattle, not San Francisco. I regret the error and apologize to our Seattle readers!] Seattle-based commercial photographer Chase Jarvis is known for his arresting, color-saturated images of people in motion—skiing, swimming, somersaulting. He’s also known for (literally) trademarking the phrase “the best camera is the one you have … Continue reading “Ansel Adams Meets Apple: The Camera Phone Craze in Photography”
HP’s New High-End Printer Bypasses the PC, Connects Directly to the Web
After two years of project development, Hewlett-Packard is preparing for the official sales launch of a new inkjet printer that the technology giant bills as the world’s first “Web-connected home printer,” a peripheral that cuts the cord to the PC by connecting directly to the Internet. The Palo Alto, CA-based company says the device, which … Continue reading “HP’s New High-End Printer Bypasses the PC, Connects Directly to the Web”
SAIC Officially Relocates HQ to McLean VA
SAIC’s plans to move its corporate headquarters from San Diego, where the company was founded in 1969, to McLean, VA, may rank as one of the defense contractor’s worst-kept secrets. Today the company also known as Science Applications International Corp. made it official. In a statement issued by the company, new CEO Walt Havenstein says, … Continue reading “SAIC Officially Relocates HQ to McLean VA”
Investors Inject $51M B Round into Zogenix to Combat Migraines
San Diego-based Zogenix has closed a $51 million equity financing to fund the planned January 2010 launch of its needle-free system for delivering a drug for serious headaches, according to the company. The commercialization dollars from the Series B round of preferred stock will fill a funding void the firm faced when it cancelled its … Continue reading “Investors Inject $51M B Round into Zogenix to Combat Migraines”
Swine Flu Could Benefit Some Biomedical Companies, Local Biotechs Are Looking Healthier, Arena Happy With Obesity Drug Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
As the flu season nears, it’s still unclear how severe the H1N1 strain of swine flu will be. But several San Diego companies are nevertheless riding a wave of investor enthusiasm for the public companies that could benefit. Get that and other biotech news here. —The financial health of San Diego’s public life sciences companies … Continue reading “Swine Flu Could Benefit Some Biomedical Companies, Local Biotechs Are Looking Healthier, Arena Happy With Obesity Drug Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Life Tech and Illumina, Two San Diego Biotech Giants, in Patent Dispute
In what is shaping up as the battle of San Diego’s biotechnology tools titans, Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) has filed a patent-infringement suit against rival Illumina, claiming that some of Illumina’s best-selling genetic-sequencing products violate Life Tech’s intellectual property. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, claims that certain Illumina products, including the … Continue reading “Life Tech and Illumina, Two San Diego Biotech Giants, in Patent Dispute”
The San Diego Biotech Survival Index: Local Firms Make Strong Rebound In First Half of 2009
When Xconomy published its first analysis of the financial health of San Diego’s publicly traded biotech companies last November, half of the nation’s 248 unprofitable biotechs were running on fumes, with less than a year’s worth of cash in the bank. A lot of predictable, painful cuts have followed. Yet a majority of San Diego’s … Continue reading “The San Diego Biotech Survival Index: Local Firms Make Strong Rebound In First Half of 2009”
Four Boston Startups Make Their DEMO Debuts in San Diego
Company presentations and new product launches officially began yesterday in San Diego at the “launchpad for emerging technology” otherwise known as the DEMOfall 09 conference. More than 550 demonstrators, attendees, and others have registered for the three-day event, according to organizers. In the main event that ends today, company founders get 6 minutes on stage … Continue reading “Four Boston Startups Make Their DEMO Debuts in San Diego”
Zogenix Obtains $51,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=48373ffc-1197-4874-9a54-5301675caf36&Preview=1 Date 9/23/2009 Company Name Zogenix Mailing Address 12671 High Bluff Drive San Diego, CA 92130 Company Description Zogenix is a specialty pharmaceutical company whose goal is to uniquely enhance and differentiate medicines by incorporating innovative technologies in an effort to relieve suffering in people with CNS and pain disorders. Founded in … Continue reading “Zogenix Obtains $51,000,000 Series B Funding”
TargetCast Networks Acquires Ripple for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=894d33c2-5386-44e7-9e32-931b9d4684b1&Preview=1 Date 9/23/2009 Company Name Ripple Mailing Address 2101 Rosecrans Avenue El Segundo, CA 90245 Company Description Ripple (formerly called ActiveMaps, Inc.) provides digital entertainment and news content in over 400 locations throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. Headquartered in El Segundo, CA, Ripple’s rapidly expanding network currently reaches nearly 10 million … Continue reading “TargetCast Networks Acquires Ripple for Undisclosed Sum”
MeLLmo Raises $4M to Expand its Market for Mobile Business Intelligence Software
MeLLmo, a Del Mar, CA, startup developing graphics and visualization software, has raised $4 million from private investors to accelerate its penetration in the market for 3G mobile devices. The secondary round means MeLLmo has now raised a total of $10 million from its angel investors since the company was founded 21 months ago. “I … Continue reading “MeLLmo Raises $4M to Expand its Market for Mobile Business Intelligence Software”
San Diego’s MindTouch Uses Open Source to Develop Software—and Strategy
Aaron Fulkerson begins his story about San Diego-based MindTouch in the middle. He says MindTouch today is a Web-based business collaboration and integration platform, with 20 million users and hundreds of thousands of active installations. The company’s software is meant to help engineering groups, business teams, and others collaborate on projects by sharing documents, information, … Continue reading “San Diego’s MindTouch Uses Open Source to Develop Software—and Strategy”
MeLLmo Receives $4,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0b9a02f4-0fd3-4174-8a9a-6d5b765f5136&Preview=1 Date 9/22/2009 Company Name MeLLmo Mailing Address 2002 Jimmy Durante Blvd Del Mar, CA 92014 Company Description MeLLmo Inc. is a privately funded software company setting out to solve this challenge. Founded in January 2008, with offices in San Diego and Santa Monica, MeLLmo’s goal is to create revolutionary ways to … Continue reading “MeLLmo Receives $4,000,000 New Financing”
Novatel to Tap $125M as Needed
San Diego’s Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVTL]]), which provides 3G wireless PC cards and related broadband technologies, says it has filed a universal shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When approved, Novatel will be able to offer and sell up to $125 million of equity, debt or other types of securities as needed. … Continue reading “Novatel to Tap $125M as Needed”
With $37M Investment and New Corporate Partner, San Diego’s Cibus to Develop Enhanced Crop Strains for Europe
Agricultural products company Makhteshim-Agan of Tel Aviv, Israel, says it has formed a strategic development alliance and is investing $37 million over the next five years in San Diego-based Cibus Global, a privately held agricultural biotech company founded in 2001. Under the joint development partnership, Cibus will use its proprietary technology (which offers an alternative … Continue reading “With $37M Investment and New Corporate Partner, San Diego’s Cibus to Develop Enhanced Crop Strains for Europe”
V-Vehicle Begins Work on Plant
San Diego-based V-Vehicle has begun work intended to double the size of a former GM parts plant in Monroe, LA, according to The News Star newspaper. David Hitchcock, V-Vehicle’s director of assembly operations, told the newspaper that construction of the 400,000-square-foot plant is expected to be completed in less than a year, which would be … Continue reading “V-Vehicle Begins Work on Plant”
Swine Flu Spurs Investor Interest in San Diego Biomedical Firms
San Diego’s Quidel, which signaled it would report better-than-expected quarterly results on Sept. 10, isn’t the only San Diego biomedical company to get a boost from worries about swine flu. At least four other companies with flu-related products or research programs also have seen their share prices surge since June 11, when World Health Organization … Continue reading “Swine Flu Spurs Investor Interest in San Diego Biomedical Firms”
SAIC Leans Eastward, CEOs on Culture In a Word, SDG&E Leads Smart Grid Coalition, & Other San Diego BizTech News
Former BAE Systems executive Walt Havenstein takes over today as SAIC’s new CEO, but the big question is if the new boss will move the company’s headquarters from San Diego to McLean, VA. Get our roundup of San Diego’s biztech news here. —San Diego defense contractor SAIC (NYSE: [[ticker:SAI]]), which has been shifting some key … Continue reading “SAIC Leans Eastward, CEOs on Culture In a Word, SDG&E Leads Smart Grid Coalition, & Other San Diego BizTech News”
Calibrating the Latest Advances in GIS and LBS
The San Diego Software Industry Council is hosting a panel discussion about the future of Geographic Information Systems and Location-Based Services. A panel of experts from industry, government, and non-profits will discuss the significance of recent advances, including the advent of cloud computing, and innovations in GPS and microprocessor technologies. Registration and networking begins at … Continue reading “Calibrating the Latest Advances in GIS and LBS”
Sweat Equity as the New Currency
The San Diego Software Industry Council is hosting an entrepreneur’s forum on sweat equity as a great way to build a company. The session includes the practical and legal benefits of sweat equity, as well as the pitfalls of making it the basis of valuations, options, warrants, and stock grants. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., … Continue reading “Sweat Equity as the New Currency”
Biotech Networking and Intellikine CEO Troy Wilson
The San Diego Biotechnology Network is hosting Intellikine at this month’s biotech professional networking event, and Intellikine CEO Troy Wilson is scheduled to make a presentation about the company. Intellikine, which made news in July for raising a potential $51 million in venture capital funding, specializes in the development of innovative, small molecule drugs for … Continue reading “Biotech Networking and Intellikine CEO Troy Wilson”
Learn About the Founder Institute in San Diego
Organizers of the Founder Institute, a four-month program that combines the benefits of an incubator and a startup training camp, are holding an information session for very early-stage entrepreneurs and company founders. The institute is intended to help founders launch world-class technology companies by providing a great level of training, membership, and services. San Diego’s … Continue reading “Learn About the Founder Institute in San Diego”
SAIC Expected to Announce Headquarters Shift From San Diego to Northern Virginia
[Updated 9/18/09 2:45 pm PT. See below.] SAIC, the secretive defense contractor that was founded in San Diego 40 years ago by nuclear physicist J. Robert Beyster, apparently plans to announce the relocation of its corporate headquarters to Tysons Corner, VA, sometime next week. The looming announcement from Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was first … Continue reading “SAIC Expected to Announce Headquarters Shift From San Diego to Northern Virginia”
Put Yourself On the Map, Build a Virtual House: Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings, Part Three
When I set out to write “Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings” two weeks ago, I really meant to put all seven projects into one column. But I’m famous around Xconomy for my inability to say anything briefly. If 800 words are good, then 1,600 words are even better—that’s my motto. The point being … Continue reading “Put Yourself On the Map, Build a Virtual House: Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings, Part Three”
Ambrx Strikes Deal With Wyeth (Soon-to-be Pfizer) to Make Antibody Drugs
Ambrx has ginned up yet another potentially lucrative Big Pharma deal. The San Diego-based biotech company has struck a worldwide partnership with Madison, NJ-based Wyeth to create new engineered antibody drugs against multiple diseases. Financial terms aren’t being disclosed, but Ambrx says it is raking in an upfront payment, research funding, milestone payments based on … Continue reading “Ambrx Strikes Deal With Wyeth (Soon-to-be Pfizer) to Make Antibody Drugs”
Arena Obesity Drug Passes Second Trial, Aims to Sell Safe Option for Millions of People
Arena Pharmaceuticals can breathe a sigh of relief. Twelve years of work and $1 billion invested in drug development isn’t going down the drain. The San Diego-based company is reporting today that it has passed the second big clinical trial it needs to win FDA approval to sell an obesity drug that has potential to … Continue reading “Arena Obesity Drug Passes Second Trial, Aims to Sell Safe Option for Millions of People”
SDG&E Leads Cleantech Coalition to Upgrade ‘Smart Grid,’ Pursue Stimulus Funds
San Diego Gas & Electric has formed a coalition with the non-profit group Cleantech San Diego, UC San Diego, and major companies like Qualcomm, IBM, and Intel to integrate emerging “smart grid” technologies in the public utility’s regional power grid. The coalition’s goal is to develop and deploy a host of innovations, including renewable energy … Continue reading “SDG&E Leads Cleantech Coalition to Upgrade ‘Smart Grid,’ Pursue Stimulus Funds”
As Venture-Backed IPOs Remain Closed, Qualcomm and Google Execs Offer Some M&A Advice to Startup CEOs
The keynote speech that former SEC chairman Christopher Cox delivered yesterday at San Diego’s Seventh Annual Venture Summit was billed as a look at the conditions necessary for the IPO window to reopen, a topic of keen interest to scores of VC partners in the audience. But Cox’s main theme was really focused on the … Continue reading “As Venture-Backed IPOs Remain Closed, Qualcomm and Google Execs Offer Some M&A Advice to Startup CEOs”
VentiRx, Evangelist for Lean, Mean Virtual Way, Makes Progress With Cancer, Allergy Drugs
Virtual companies have been all the rage for some time with biotech venture capitalists, but I’ve been wondering whether this lean-and-mean outsource-darn-near-everything model is really a better way to develop drugs than the traditional soup-to-nuts approach at companies like Genentech. I haven’t seen a good academic paper on this question, and until I do, I’m … Continue reading “VentiRx, Evangelist for Lean, Mean Virtual Way, Makes Progress With Cancer, Allergy Drugs”
Amylin Targets Obesity, Tioga Shows Virtual Business Model, Roka Bioscience Spins Off Gen-Probe, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
The pharmaceutical industry has set its sights on winning a huge new market, with four life sciences companies (three of them in San Diego) in a race to develop the next big obesity drug. Get the latest news as that story unfolds and other developments in San Diego’s life sciences sector. —Business has been surging … Continue reading “Amylin Targets Obesity, Tioga Shows Virtual Business Model, Roka Bioscience Spins Off Gen-Probe, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
How Biotechs Can Stand Out in the Competition for a Big Pharma Partnership
[Editor’s Note: this piece was co-authored by Hari Kumar of San Diego-based Amira Pharmaceuticals.] The benefits of partnerships between emerging biotech companies and major drug developers are numerous and well known. The smaller biotech company gets cash to support its innovative R&D, and the Big Pharma company gets hot new patented drug candidates to replace … Continue reading “How Biotechs Can Stand Out in the Competition for a Big Pharma Partnership”
A Map of Venture Investments Around the U.S.
It’s no secret to those in the innovation community that venture-backed companies are central to America’s economic prosperity. But in its ongoing effort to help reinforce that message—perhaps particularly in light of its current efforts to fight President Obama’s idea of regulating venture capital firms as investment advisers—the National Venture Capital Association this morning released … Continue reading “A Map of Venture Investments Around the U.S.”
$75M Financing for Neurocrine
San Diego’s Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]] says it has arranged $75 million in available financing under a three-year agreement with Kingsbridge Capital, a private investment group. Neurocrine, which is developing drugs for treating endometriosis, anxiety, diabetes, and other diseases, says it is not obligated to draw on any of the available financing. The agreement enables … Continue reading “$75M Financing for Neurocrine”
Boiling it Down: 5 CEOs Describe Their Corporate Culture and San Diego’s Status as a Digital Media Cluster
Xconomy Seattle’s editor Greg Huang got this idea going last month when he conducted an informal and wholly anecdotal survey about the startup culture in the woodsy Pacific Northwest. His premise was that you can tell a lot about a company’s corporate culture from its chief executive. Within a couple of weeks, Xconomy’s founder and … Continue reading “Boiling it Down: 5 CEOs Describe Their Corporate Culture and San Diego’s Status as a Digital Media Cluster”
MicroRNA Drug Developer Santaris Establishes Toehold in San Diego With Isis Veteran
Santaris Pharma, the Danish company that has pushed the first microRNA therapy into clinical trials, is opening a U.S. subsidiary in San Diego to take advantage of the talent pool of people familiar with cutting-edge RNA-based therapies. As it turns out, that includes Art Levin, a former leader of drug development at Carlsbad, CA-based Isis … Continue reading “MicroRNA Drug Developer Santaris Establishes Toehold in San Diego With Isis Veteran”
Report: San Diego’s Innovation Economy Shows Q2 Uptick in Startups, Patents, and Investments
A just-released report on San Diego’s innovation economy shows 102 new technology companies were created during the three months that ended on June 30—a 53 percent increase over the 66 startups launched during the first three months of 2009, and 34 percent more than the 76 companies started during the second quarter of 2008. A … Continue reading “Report: San Diego’s Innovation Economy Shows Q2 Uptick in Startups, Patents, and Investments”
Celladon, Developer of Gene Therapy for Heart Failure, Secures Part of $24.6M Venture Round
Investors haven’t completely turned their backs on gene therapy, at least not on Celladon. The San Diego-based company raised another $2.8 million in recent weeks to keep operating until it sees results from a clinical trial that will show whether it has a groundbreaking gene therapy for people with congestive heart failure. The latest financing … Continue reading “Celladon, Developer of Gene Therapy for Heart Failure, Secures Part of $24.6M Venture Round”
As Shift to Internet TV Accelerates, DivX CEO Positions Company to Offer ‘Any to Any’ Solution
San Diego’s DivX has been on something of a roll since June, when CEO Kevin Hell talked about the capability of someday moving television seamlessly from the living room TV screen to the computer screen and to the screens of wireless mobile devices. The digital media company, which takes its name from the DivX codec … Continue reading “As Shift to Internet TV Accelerates, DivX CEO Positions Company to Offer ‘Any to Any’ Solution”
Gen-Probe Spins Off New Company, Roka Bioscience, For Industrial Testing
[Updated 9/15/09 8:15 am. See below.]San Diego-based Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker: GPRO]]) says it is spinning off its industrial testing business into an independent company, called Roka Bioscience, that is developing real-time molecular tests for biopharmaceutical, food, and water safety testing. Gen-Probe plans to initially own 19.9 percent of the new company. Affiliates of three private … Continue reading “Gen-Probe Spins Off New Company, Roka Bioscience, For Industrial Testing”
AirHop Raises $1M, Adds Execs
AirHop Communications, a San Diego startup that develops systems software for high-performance 4G wireless networks, says it has raised $1 million in funding from wireless industry veterans. AirHop, which was founded in 2007 by Yan Hui, also named Garrett Choi as chief operating officer, Jerry Hall as vice president of marketing and Anand Parikh as … Continue reading “AirHop Raises $1M, Adds Execs”
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Chip Keeps Smartbooks “Always On,” Sapphire Energy Developing Bio-Refinery, EvoNexus Picks First Startups, & More San Diego BizTech News
Qualcomm technology that’s being incorporated in a new line of small and lightweight netbook computers—which Qualcomm calls smartbooks—could make the wireless devices one of the hot gift items for consumers this Christmas. Read on as we unwrap that news and more. —Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs says a lineup of “smartbook” computers that are set for … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Chip Keeps Smartbooks “Always On,” Sapphire Energy Developing Bio-Refinery, EvoNexus Picks First Startups, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Amylin, Dark Horse of the Obesity Drug Battle, Follows Fast Behind Arena, Orexigen
The competition to create new obesity drugs is usually portrayed as a three-way battle royal among San Diego’s Arena Pharmaceuticals, crosstown rival Orexigen Therapeutics, and Mountain View, CA-based Vivus. Yet there’s one more San Diego biotech company with a drug in an earlier phase of development, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which may just have the most effective … Continue reading “Amylin, Dark Horse of the Obesity Drug Battle, Follows Fast Behind Arena, Orexigen”
Bootstrapping Our Way Back From the Collapse
Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year (along with broader financial markets) the question at the top of my mind has been, “What next?” or maybe, “Where to from here?” From my perspective it is clear that small business must be a top priority in the coming months and years. There are approximately five … Continue reading “Bootstrapping Our Way Back From the Collapse”
Reality is Virtual at San Diego’s Tioga Pharmaceuticals
The chief medical officer of Tioga Pharmaceuticals, a start-up working on a drug for irritable bowel syndrome, is in North Carolina. The company’s regulatory team is in San Francisco. Its chief operating officer works from an office at San Diego’s Forward Ventures, the venture capital firm that formed Tioga. He also happens to be the … Continue reading “Reality is Virtual at San Diego’s Tioga Pharmaceuticals”
Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings: Part Two
Whether the fall is back-to-school season for you or not, there’s always more to learn. In last week’s column I outlined three fun weekend projects involving new technologies for digital self-expression. My suggestions covered art (digital “finger painting” with an iPhone app called Brushes), writing (“lifestreaming” with Posterous and Friendfeed), and photography (building three-dimensional photographic … Continue reading “Seven Projects to Stretch Your Digital Wings: Part Two”