Helicon Therapeutics, a San Diego biotech developing drugs to enhance memory, has raised $50 million from undisclosed investors, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the filing was dated June 24, it was not among the second quarter venture capital fundings in the recent MoneyTree Report, according to Emily … Continue reading “New Biotech in Town: Relocated Helicon Therapeutics Raises $50 Million”
Category: San Diego
Alnylam and Isis’ Offspring, Regulus, Keeps Pushing on Biology’s ‘Bleeding Edge’
Regulus Therapeutics, its CEO admits, is a child of privilege. It was born two years ago with a silver spoon in its mouth—some hot intellectual property to make drugs based on emerging knowledge about microRNA biological networks. It has a couple of parents with wealth and pedigree: Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), and Carlsbad, … Continue reading “Alnylam and Isis’ Offspring, Regulus, Keeps Pushing on Biology’s ‘Bleeding Edge’”
aTyr Pharma Receives $12,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ffac8cf3-4397-4dfb-97a6-17b3828c68be&Preview=1 Date 7/28/2009 Company Name aTyr Pharma Mailing Address 3565 General Atomics Court San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The company is a biopharmaceutical company developing a novel class of naturally occurring protein biologics for human therapeutics. Website http://www.atyrpharma.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “aTyr Pharma Receives $12,000,000 Series C Funding”
Histogen Reports Hair-Raising Study Results
San Diego’s Histogen announced final results from a clinical trial of its baldness treatment over the weekend. Nearly 85 percent of 24 men with male pattern baldness had more hair at the end of three months, and experienced an increase in hair thickness and density, according to a press release. Results came after a single … Continue reading “Histogen Reports Hair-Raising Study Results”
BrainCells Depression Drug Reaches Goal
BrainCells Inc., the San Diego-based developer of treatments for neurological disorders, said today that its experimental drug for depression showed promising results in a clinical trial of 142 patients. The company’s drug, BCI-952, a combination of low-dose buspirone and melatonin, is designed to work differently than other depression drugs, by stimulating growth of new brain … Continue reading “BrainCells Depression Drug Reaches Goal”
Rayspan Raises $12.5 Million from Sequoia, Khosla Ventures
San Diego-based Rayspan said today that it has collected $12.5 million in Series B funding to finance its work on advanced materials that could be used to make smaller, more sensitive, and more versatile antennas for mobile devices. Existing investor Sequoia Capital of Menlo Park, CA, provided part of the money, with the rest coming … Continue reading “Rayspan Raises $12.5 Million from Sequoia, Khosla Ventures”
Beck’s CEO Looks to SAIC’s Buyout, San Diego’s Venture Funding Improves, Korean Watchdog Slaps Qualcomm With $208M Fine, & And More San Diego BizTech News
Venture capital investments are viewed as one indicator of economic health, and a couple of reports last week suggest that San Diego’s VC actvity is recuperating—or at least stabilizing. Catch up on that and other developments in local biztech news below. (Meanwhile, we’re keeping the lights on at Xconomy San Diego, but I’m going to recharge … Continue reading “Beck’s CEO Looks to SAIC’s Buyout, San Diego’s Venture Funding Improves, Korean Watchdog Slaps Qualcomm With $208M Fine, & And More San Diego BizTech News”
The Fastest Growing Startups in Boston, Seattle, and SoCal
Behind the stubborn economic clouds, there may be a few hints of blue sky. A few companies, in other words, are hiring rather than firing—and a new report from StartUpHire, a Vienna, VA-based job board that specializes in advertising open positions at venture-backed startups, has the lowdown on which ones (see the lists below). As … Continue reading “The Fastest Growing Startups in Boston, Seattle, and SoCal”
Rayspan Obtains $12,500,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=48d60b8a-851f-4672-b6ce-f8666b8bf3bc&Preview=1 Date 7/27/2009 Company Name Rayspan Mailing Address 11975 El Camino Real San Diego, CA 92130-2543 Company Description Rayspan Corporation is the world’s leading innovator of revolutionary metamaterial air interface solutions for high performance wireless communication networks. Metamaterials are emerging as the most important advance in air interface technology in decades. They … Continue reading “Rayspan Obtains $12,500,000 Series B Funding Round”
Project Tuva or Bust: How Microsoft’s Spin on Feynman Could Change the Way We Learn
“I don’t know what’s the matter with people: they don’t learn by understanding, they learn by some other way—by rote or something,” physicist Richard Feynman once said. “Their knowledge is so fragile!” Maybe Feynman’s brain was big enough to simply “learn by understanding”—sucking in and comprehending complex realities in a single glance. But what I … Continue reading “Project Tuva or Bust: How Microsoft’s Spin on Feynman Could Change the Way We Learn”
Startups Just Want to Have Funds: A Roundup of Recent San Diego Deals
Venture deals seem to be picking up again in the San Diego region. A number of local startups have been raising capital, according to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of the deals are relatively small, suggesting that VC firms are still being conservative in their investments following what seemed like … Continue reading “Startups Just Want to Have Funds: A Roundup of Recent San Diego Deals”
No More Tears: Avanir Investors Await Trial Results on Emotional Outburst Drug
Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVNR]]) has been working for so long on a drug for an odd neurological syndrome that triggers involuntary laughter and tears, it’s almost enough to make some investors cry. Soon they will learn if the wait has been worth it. In the next few weeks, the onetime San Diego biotech now just over … Continue reading “No More Tears: Avanir Investors Await Trial Results on Emotional Outburst Drug”
Korean Agency Fines Qualcomm $208M
Following a three-year inquiry and a seven-day hearing, the Korean Fair Trade Commission has fined Qualcomm $208 million and ordered the San Diego wireless chipmaker to end its unfair business practices in South Korea. In a statement, Qualcomm says it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. Korean press reports say it is the largest fine to … Continue reading “Korean Agency Fines Qualcomm $208M”
Orexigen Raises $70M
Orexigen Therapeutics, the San Diego-based developer of an experimental obesity drug, said today it has raised $70.9 million through a stock offering. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) sold 10 million shares at $7.50 apiece, then subtracted underwriting discounts and expenses. Orexigen announced earlier in the week that three large clinical trials of 4,500 patients reached their … Continue reading “Orexigen Raises $70M”
VC Biotech Funding Rebounds, Biogen Idec Co-Founder Resigns From Board, Pathway Genomics Debuts $250 Personal Genome Test, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
Venture capital funding for San Diego’s life sciences companies was surprisingly strong from April through June—with another deal announced this week. —One of the key trends to be teased out of venture capital investment data for the second quarter of this year is that VC funding for life science companies rebounded to record levels. In San … Continue reading “VC Biotech Funding Rebounds, Biogen Idec Co-Founder Resigns From Board, Pathway Genomics Debuts $250 Personal Genome Test, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Orexigen Therapeutics Receives $70,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d35e0d25-e602-4af9-9fc8-626fc99735fd&Preview=1 Date 7/23/2009 Company Name Orexigen Therapeutics Mailing Address 3344 N. Torrey Pines Court La Jolla, CA 92037 Company Description OREXIGEN is studying a novel, and potentially more effective way, to achieve and sustain weight loss through a combined, two-drug approach. Website http://www.orexigen.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $70,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Orexigen Therapeutics Receives $70,000,000 New Financing”
Qualcomm Anticipates Fine in Korean Probe of Anticompetitive Practices
[Updated July 23 at 8:30 a.m PT: South Korea’s antitrust watchdog set a $208M fine. More details are here.] Qualcomm, the San Diego wireless technology giant, has remained resilient through the recession so far, and today the chipmaker raised its forecast for fiscal-year revenue and operating income due to a healthy demand for its products. Chairman and CEO … Continue reading “Qualcomm Anticipates Fine in Korean Probe of Anticompetitive Practices”
BeneChill Raises $13.5 Million to Commercialize Medical Cooling Device
Perhaps it’s a sign of the “coolness” of medical device technology in San Diego. Fresh on the heels of Philips Electronics’ purchase of San Diego-based InnerCool Therapies, which uses cooling therapies to treat patients, BeneChill says it has raised $13.5 million in a Series C round of venture funding. In its statement, BeneChill says a … Continue reading “BeneChill Raises $13.5 Million to Commercialize Medical Cooling Device”
Pink Cashmere in the Boardroom
Characteristics traditionally defined as “feminine traits” are playing an important role in the business world today as the days of the tough masculine approach give way to more realistic and nuanced management. Learn which traits are in the highest demand, how to be a leader within the context of your business, and how to enhance … Continue reading “Pink Cashmere in the Boardroom”
UCSD Extension HR Breakfast Seminar
This breakfast seminar will include practical wisdom that CEO Kim Shepherd has to share on dealing with the recession and taking advantage of opportunities, as well as how to inspire and encourage productivity in employees. The session includes pointers on how to prepare for the economic turn around, tactics for maintaining your brand during difficult times, Engaging Gen … Continue reading “UCSD Extension HR Breakfast Seminar”
EvoNexus 101
An inside look at San Diego’s first non-profit business incubator. EvoNexus is focused on communication technology start-ups, and provides office space, mentoring programs, educational programs, workshops, and all the utilities and resources a budding business would want. If you are interested in applying with your business, or getting involved you won’t want to miss this event! … Continue reading “EvoNexus 101”
A Low Wind Blows Fair as Knight & Carver Shipyard Sails Into Wind Turbine Business
The Knight & Carver Yacht Center was founded in 1971 along the southeastern shore of San Diego Bay, where it continues to build and repair large boats, specializing in custom-built yachts and commercial passenger vessels. Because so many boat hulls are made of fiberglass, the National City, CA-based boatyard also has worked extensively with fiberglass … Continue reading “A Low Wind Blows Fair as Knight & Carver Shipyard Sails Into Wind Turbine Business”
Startup School: The Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, 2009 Edition
Technology entrepreneurship can be a lonely road. Not only do you have to convince a few friends or colleagues to work hundred-hour weeks for the next several years in support of your wild idea, but you’ve got to make it past the elevator pitch with at least one funder, and then prove that your idea … Continue reading “Startup School: The Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, 2009 Edition”
San Diego’s Slight Rebound in Venture Investing Reflects Broader Trends—Region’s Top Deals List
Following a nationwide trend, venture capital investments in San Diego region strengthened during the second quarter that ended June 30, but still remained well below funding levels at this time last year. Regional data released by Dow Jones VentureSource shows VCs invested $208.8 million in 25 San Diego deals, a 40 percent decline from the … Continue reading “San Diego’s Slight Rebound in Venture Investing Reflects Broader Trends—Region’s Top Deals List”
VC Investing Activity Shows Some Gains in Second Quarter, But Still Well Below 2008 Levels
Venture capital invested in U.S. startups during the second quarter was roughly half the amount invested during the same quarter last year, but two venture capital surveys found encouraging signs of improvement from the abysmal first three months of 2009. VCs put $3.67 billion into 612 deals during the three months that ended June 30, … Continue reading “VC Investing Activity Shows Some Gains in Second Quarter, But Still Well Below 2008 Levels”
Advanced Telemetry Obtains Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af85b97e-e233-483c-b6df-31908df9800c&Preview=1 Date 7/21/2009 Company Name Advanced Telemetry Mailing Address 10670 Treena Street San Diego, CA 92131-2435 Company Description With a corporate belief that energy and fiscal conservation begins with an awareness of wasteful consumption habits as they occur, Advanced Telemetry offers EcoViewTM – a proprietary, smart energy and resource management system for … Continue reading “Advanced Telemetry Obtains Series B Financing”
go2 Media Garners $3,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d3573983-1be5-417d-ad85-cd85099ef570&Preview=1 Date 7/21/2009 Company Name go2 Media Mailing Address 2850 Red Hill Ave Santa Ana, CA 92705 Company Description go2 Media™ is a mobile media company that enables carriers and advertisers to deliver a content-rich, personalized and hyper-local experience to all mobile subscribers. The company has longstanding relationships with carriers and advertisers; … Continue reading “go2 Media Garners $3,000,000 New Financing”
Orexigen Obesity Drug Hits Weight Loss Goal in Studies, Company Looks Toward FDA
San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics dumped a boatload of information in the public domain this morning about clinical trials of its experimental obesity drug. Investors have been in a wait-and-see mode about this drug for months after arguing over the merits of one big trial, but they reacted positively to this new batch of data, sending … Continue reading “Orexigen Obesity Drug Hits Weight Loss Goal in Studies, Company Looks Toward FDA”
Synthetic Genomics Gets Big Oil Funding for Algae Biofuel, Qualcomm May Pull Plug on LifeComm, Aculon’s Nanocoating Replaces Toxic Chromium, & More San Diego BizTech News
The biggest news by far last week was ExxonMobil’s decision to invest $600 million in biofuels, with half of that going to San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics. A number of companies also launched new technology iniatives. To find out what’s happening, just keep reading. —ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, said last week it plans to … Continue reading “Synthetic Genomics Gets Big Oil Funding for Algae Biofuel, Qualcomm May Pull Plug on LifeComm, Aculon’s Nanocoating Replaces Toxic Chromium, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Insights into SAIC’s Acquisition of R.W. Beck for $155M—and Beck’s Strategy in Energy, Water
It may be one of the great untold success stories of the Seattle technology scene. For the past decade, R.W. Beck, an engineering and business consulting firm, has been quietly making a name for itself in key technical areas like energy and water management. Now the Seattle-based firm with 550 employees is becoming part of … Continue reading “Insights into SAIC’s Acquisition of R.W. Beck for $155M—and Beck’s Strategy in Energy, Water”
Replacing Phil Sharp Will Be Up to Biogen’s Board
Famed scientist Phil Sharp’s retirement from the board of directors at Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) leaves the board without what was perhaps its leading scientific voice, but his departure doesn’t leave activist investor Carl Icahn with much of an opening to seize greater control over the company. When I reported last week that Sharp had stepped … Continue reading “Replacing Phil Sharp Will Be Up to Biogen’s Board”
BeneChill Lands $13,500,000 Series C Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=30190483-e992-4e64-bf9e-3c6be8bf8c92&Preview=1 Date 7/20/2009 Company Name BeneChill Mailing Address 10060 Carroll Canyon Rd San Diego, CA 92131 Company Description Benechill Corp. has been working towards reducing tissue damage in patients with cerebral ischemia by rapidly and non-invasively cooling targeted areas of the body. Website http://www.benechill.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $13,500,000 Transaction … Continue reading “BeneChill Lands $13,500,000 Series C Funding Round”
San Diego’s 9th Annual Go Go GadgetFest
CommNexus, the San Diego telecom trade group, has organized the ninth annual GadgetFest as an opportunity for tech companies large and small to show their wares and compete to have their technology named “Greatest Gadget.” The exhibit, networking, and registration begin at 4:30 p.m. More information is available here.
Tuning in on the Wavelength for Wireless Health
CommNexus, San Diego’s wireless industry trade group, has asked Clint McClellan, Qualcomm’s senior director of market development, to provide an overview of the wireless health industry. McClellan also will talk about the significance of San Diego’s new West Wireless Health Institute. Registration and networking begins at 7:30 a.m., or you can register online here.
Biocom Roundtable with State Sen. Christine Kehoe
Biocom has organized this legislative roundtable meeting with State Sen. Christine Kehoe, the Democrat whose 39th Senate District includes much of San Diego, Del Mar, and Lemon Grove. Sen. Kehoe chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, and is a member of the senate committees on banking, finance and insurance, energy, local government, natural resources, and transportation … Continue reading “Biocom Roundtable with State Sen. Christine Kehoe”
Biocom Breakfast for the Life Sciences Community
Biocom has scheduled its regular monthly breakfast meeting, but the agenda remains unsettled. For more information, check out Biocom’s event calendar here.
San Diego Venture Group’s Summer Social
The San Diego Venture Group’s annual summer social is a tropical picnic in paradise. In this case, paradise takes the form of the extraordinary, ocean-front conference center at the southern end of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. More information is available here.
Biocom’s Annual Open House
Biocom, the San Diego life sciences trade association, opens its doors for a back-to-basics afternoon for enjoying food, drinks, and conversation with 400 life sciences colleagues. More information and online registration is here.
Algae, Biofuels, and Logarithmic Growth
San Diego’s early success in academic and industrial biotechnology research has helped to establish the region with an early lead in the fast-paced industrial development of algae-based biofuels technologies. If successful, startups such as Synthetic Genomics and Sapphire Energy could eventually replace petroleum fuels with a renewable energy industry, and transform San Diego into a world leader in renewable … Continue reading “Algae, Biofuels, and Logarithmic Growth”
The World According to Eric Topol
Connect’s Frontiers in Science and Technology hosts Eric Topol, the cardiologist and Scripps Health chief academic officer, to discuss the advances he is seeing. Topol also serves as director of the NIH-funded Scripps Translational Science Institute, as a senior consultant cardiologist at Scripps Clini, and as chief medical officer of the West Wireless Health Institute. More … Continue reading “The World According to Eric Topol”
Throw Out The First Pitch! San Diego Tech Coast Angels Host Third Annual Quick Pitch Competition
Selected entrepreneurs will make a two-minute quick pitch presentation to members of the San Diego network of Tech Coast Angels. A panel comprising veteran CEOs and startup investors will score both the substance of your presentation and the quality of your presentation itself. Winners will receive valuable services and awards plus great exposure. Only the … Continue reading “Throw Out The First Pitch! San Diego Tech Coast Angels Host Third Annual Quick Pitch Competition”
Femta Raises $1M
Femta Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego biotech developing a new generation of antibody therapeutics, is raising $1 million in venture captial, according to a recent filing with government regulators. Investors were not disclosed in the filing, although San Francisco’s Latterell Venture Partners identifies Femta as one of its portfolio companies. Femta was founded last year.
To ESRI’s Thompson, GIS Mapping Innovations Are The ‘Canvas On Which We Draw the Story of Analysis’
I met Simon Thompson at the center of the GIS world, which was set at least for several days this week at 32.7090 degrees North, 117.1644 degrees West. Those are the coordinates for the main exhibit hall of the San Diego Convention Center, where more than 12,000 people interested in GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, … Continue reading “To ESRI’s Thompson, GIS Mapping Innovations Are The ‘Canvas On Which We Draw the Story of Analysis’”
Art Isn’t Free: The Tragedy of the Wikimedia Commons
I came across a nice Isaac Asimov quote this week: “No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” The copyright dispute that went public this week between the UK’s National Portrait Gallery and the Wikimedia Commons is … Continue reading “Art Isn’t Free: The Tragedy of the Wikimedia Commons”
Aculon Offers Cleantech Breakthrough as it Commercializes Nanocoating Technology
After getting a briefing last month from Aculon CEO Ed Hughes, I would not have thought of the five-year-old San Diego startup as a cleantech company. Nanotechnology? Yes. Materials Science? Absolutely. Cleantech? Nah, not really. Yet Aculon is announcing today that it has developed a formulation of its proprietary nanocoating technology to replace certain applications … Continue reading “Aculon Offers Cleantech Breakthrough as it Commercializes Nanocoating Technology”
Femta Pharmaceuticals Obtains $1,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=88beb2a3-9d95-4719-9b0a-00cdff7a9c7e&Preview=1 Date 7/17/2009 Company Name Femta Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address Undisclosed San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Femta Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego biotech developing company. Website http://www.femtapharma.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Latterell Venture Partners
Pathway Genomics Has $250 DNA Test
A San Diego startup has joined the stampede of medical diagnostic startups that are offering to help consumers decode their own personal genome to determine their risk for disease. Pathway Genomics, which announced its debut yesterday, joins Complete Genomics and 23andMe, which are both based in Mountain View, CA, Navigenics of Foster City, CA, and … Continue reading “Pathway Genomics Has $250 DNA Test”
Qualcomm, Unable to Raise Capital, May Be Terminating LifeComm
Struggles to find third-party financial support has prompted San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) to stop supporting LifeComm, its startup healthcare mobile network, according to a report by Mobihealthnews, a Boston website covering the wireless health industry. Attributing the information to an anonymous source, Mobihealthnews reported yesterday that Qualcomm is pulling the plug on LifeComm. In response to a … Continue reading “Qualcomm, Unable to Raise Capital, May Be Terminating LifeComm”
Biotech Pioneer Phillip Sharp Retires from Biogen Idec Board
Phillip Sharp, the MIT biologist and geneticist who co-founded Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) in 1978, has retired from the biotech powerhouse’s board of directors, according to a company statement issued this morning. Sharp, 65, has served as a director of Biogen since 1982. During his tenure on the Cambridge, MA-based company’s board, Biogen has evolved from … Continue reading “Biotech Pioneer Phillip Sharp Retires from Biogen Idec Board”
Sciele Pharma Cancels Victory Pharma Buyout, Life Science Startups Raise Capital, Sorrento Therapeutics Engineers Reverse Merger, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
We saw a couple of San Diego’s life sciences companies successfully raise capital in the past week. But a couple of others experienced problems that would have been difficult to anticipate. —Sciele Pharma, an Atlanta, GA, unit of Japan’s Shionogi & Co. left San Diego’s Victory Pharma at the altar last week, after announcing in … Continue reading “Sciele Pharma Cancels Victory Pharma Buyout, Life Science Startups Raise Capital, Sorrento Therapeutics Engineers Reverse Merger, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”