Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eef2aa79-86b8-4cee-a358-d29b1120eb32&Preview=1 Date 3/9/2009 Company Name Cornerstone OnDemand Mailing Address 1601 Cloverfield Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90404 Company Description Cornerstone has worked in conjunction with HR, talent and learning executives to build the leading talent management platform for learning and development, performance management, succession planning, compliance and compensation management, in addition to over … Continue reading “Cornerstone OnDemand Lands $9,000,000 Series E Funding”
Category: San Diego
Victory Pharma Inc Obtains $45,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6155ff30-5093-4e05-92d3-eeef1c741843&Preview=1 Date 3/9/2009 Company Name Victory Pharma Inc Mailing Address 11682 El Camino Real San Diego, CA 92130 Company Description Victory was founded in 2003 by an experienced management team that has previously built other successful specialty pharmaceutical companies. Beginning in 2006, after having established an initial base of business in respiratory … Continue reading “Victory Pharma Inc Obtains $45,000,000 New Financing Round”
Fibromyalgia Drug Delayed
San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]) and New York’s Forest Laboratories (NYSE: [[ticker:FRX]]) said Friday their launch of a new drug for treating fibromyalgia, which was expected to be available this month, has been delayed by several months. The companies now say they expect to ship the recently approved drug milnacipran HCL (Savella) to wholesalers and … Continue reading “Fibromyalgia Drug Delayed”
A One-Night Case Study: Benchmark Revenue Management
Founded eight years ago, Benchmark Revenue Management has established its business and technology to help hospitals become more efficient and more effective. Now the San Diego startup is nearing a crossroads. The MIT Enterprise Forum has organized an expert panel to help Benchmark assess its options. Registration begins at 5 pm, or register online here.
Former MIT President’s Lecture on Research Universities
Charles Vest, who served 14 years as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak on “The Public Value of a 21st Century Research University” as part of the Helen Edison Lecture Series. Admission is free, and open to the public. No reservations required.
Otonomy Tunes in to Biotech’s Sound Opportunity: Diseases of the Ear
Driving down Prospect Street in La Jolla one day in January 2008, Jay Lichter got so dizzy he had to pull over. After a stop in the ER, he ended up in the office of Jeff Harris, the chief of ear, nose, and throat surgery at the UC San Diego. The diagnosis: Meniere’s (Men-yay’s) disease, … Continue reading “Otonomy Tunes in to Biotech’s Sound Opportunity: Diseases of the Ear”
A Veteran Entrepreneur Looks to Rescue St. Bernard Software
Like any entrepreneur, Lou Ryan has a job that’s roughly akin to kindling a blaze from a faint spark. In Ryan’s case, though, it might be more like trying to rebuild a fire that was started in 1995. Ryan, 54, is the software industry veteran (and former venture partner at Menlo Park, CA-based Sand Hill Capital) … Continue reading “A Veteran Entrepreneur Looks to Rescue St. Bernard Software”
Three New Reasons To Put Off Buying a Kindle
I titled my January 23 column “E-Book Readers on the iPhone: They’re Not Quite Kindle Slayers Yet.” How quickly technology marches ahead. In the weeks since then, three very compelling new options have arrived for people like me who want to read e-books but balk at the price tag on Amazon’s Kindle 2, the best … Continue reading “Three New Reasons To Put Off Buying a Kindle”
Paul Graham Angel Investing Conference—Live Streaming Now
I just learned that there is a very interesting angel investing conference, happening as I type this, in Silicon Valley. The confab, bringing together angels and entrepreneurs, was organized by Paul Graham, of Y Combinator. It is live streaming here on Justin.tv. A parade of speakers seems to be imparting some great advice on angel … Continue reading “Paul Graham Angel Investing Conference—Live Streaming Now”
Optimer Raises $32.9M in Stock Offering
Optimer Pharmaceuticals has seen its stock almost triple from its low point in the past year, and yesterday it took advantage of the rising tide. The San Diego biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) received commitments from investors to buy new shares and warrants that add up to a cash infusion worth $32.9 million. The company agreed … Continue reading “Optimer Raises $32.9M in Stock Offering”
M&A Workshop Offers A Glimmer of Hope For Defense Companies, Others
Some unexpected bright spots appeared in the outlook for mergers and acquisitions yesterday during a workshop for local executives, which was co-sponsored by Connect and the San Diego offices of the Allen Matkins law firm. The overall M&A market is bleak. But John Stiska, who oversees venture lending for the San Diego office of Agility … Continue reading “M&A Workshop Offers A Glimmer of Hope For Defense Companies, Others”
How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn
I have approximately 7,000 baseball cards in my collection. These treasures are arranged in numerical order, in long and slender cardboard “card boxes,” with the typical box containing cards from a single year. The vast majority of my collection hails from the sixties. My heyday covered the years 1962 through 1965, when I collected every … Continue reading “How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn”
Judge Dismisses 3 Lawsuits Over Qualcomm’s Licensing Practices
Qualcomm has taken a beating in the courtroom in recent years through its patent disputes with Irvine, CA-based Broadcom. So the San Diego wireless giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) was no doubt relieved when a San Diego federal judge dismissed three class-action consumer complaints against the company yesterday. U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes granted Qualcomm’s … Continue reading “Judge Dismisses 3 Lawsuits Over Qualcomm’s Licensing Practices”
St. Bernard Software Names Ryan CEO
Internet security appliance maker St. Bernard Software (OTCBB: [[ticker:SBSW]])has named its chairman, Lou Ryan, as CEO. Ryan, who acquired a 5.3 percent stake in the San Diego company in December, replaces CEO Vincent Rossi, who also was serving as the company’s chief financial officer. Ryan, a software industry veteran, plans to remain as chairman.
Regulus Therapeutics Follows Through on Fundraising, Independence Plans
Regulus Therapeutics, the fledgling biotech firm developing microRNA-based drugs, wasn’t kidding when it told Xconomy earlier this year that it planned to gain a more independent corporate charter and raise a significant round of financing. The Carlsbad, CA-based startup says this morning that it has raised $20 million in a Series A round of financing; … Continue reading “Regulus Therapeutics Follows Through on Fundraising, Independence Plans”
Regulus Therapeutics Inc Lands $20,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c94f2ff1-bcdb-461f-af61-eb2255003d0d&Preview=1 Date 3/4/2009 Company Name Regulus Therapeutics Inc Mailing Address 1896 Rutherford Road Carlsbad, CA 92008-7208 Company Description Regulus Therapeutics, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company created to discover, develop and commercialize microRNA-targeted therapeutics. microRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate networks of genes and biological pathways through post-transcriptional mechanisms. microRNAs function by … Continue reading “Regulus Therapeutics Inc Lands $20,000,000 Series A Round”
Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs Passes Chairman’s Role to Son
Qualcomm said today that CEO Paul Jacobs is succeeding his father, co-founder Irwin Jacobs, as chairman of the San Diego wireless giant. Irwin Jacobs, 75, started the digital wireless company with Andy Viterbi and a handful of others in 1985 and served as CEO for 20 years. He plans to remain on the board. The … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs Passes Chairman’s Role to Son”
Vertex Acquires Virochem for $375M to Make Cocktail Treatments For Hepatitis C
Vertex Pharmaceuticals sees combination treatments as the future of hepatitis C treatment, just as is the case with HIV already, and today it made a big move to beef up that cocktail approach. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said it has agreed to acquire Laval, Quebec-based ViroChem Pharma, a privately held company, for an estimated … Continue reading “Vertex Acquires Virochem for $375M to Make Cocktail Treatments For Hepatitis C”
Buzztime Games Moving Online After Restructuring, Layoffs
NTN Buzztime (AMEX: [[ticker:NTN]]), a Carlsbad, CA, company that sells interactive, multi-player games to sports bars and restaurants, said today it is reorganizing and refocusing its business, and named Terry Bateman as CEO. As part of a cost-cutting initiative, the company said it laid off about 17 percent of its workforce in January, without saying how … Continue reading “Buzztime Games Moving Online After Restructuring, Layoffs”
Evoke Pharma Developing its Drug Candidate in Stealth Mode
San Diego-based Evoke Pharma has managed to maintain a low profile since early 2007, when the specialized drug development company got started with the help of some prominent names in the local biotech industry. Cam Garner, who is listed on Evoke’s web site as a co-founder and chairman, has been on the ground floor of … Continue reading “Evoke Pharma Developing its Drug Candidate in Stealth Mode”
The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser
Three quiet and unknown Finnish engineers in their late thirties, Kim Nyberg, Kari Sydänmaanlakka, and Teemu Rantanen, have spent their working careers at the engineering software company Tekla in Finland. Their clients have used the software they created to model several well-known buildings, including Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, New York’s … Continue reading “The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser”
What It Takes to Raise Capital Today
Financial companies are still investing and lending, but the mindset among capital providers has changed radically over the past six months. The San Diego Venture Group has organized an informative panel discussion for this breakfast session as a way to find out who is getting capital—and how. Register online here.
Sharing the Wealth in a Technology Startup: How Much Stock is Enough?
When I founded Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in 1969, I owned 100 percent of the company’s stock. However, I soon realized that to attract talented employees—and keep them—I would need to offer them real ownership in the business by allocating some of the stock I held. So, within a year after I founded the … Continue reading “Sharing the Wealth in a Technology Startup: How Much Stock is Enough?”
Qualcomm Absorbs Digital Fountain’s Streaming Media Technologies
Qualcomm, with its abiding interest in streaming video technologies, has acquired key assets of Digital Fountain, a Freemont, CA, startup that has developed software to optimize digital media transmitted over any network. Qualcomm made no announcement about its purchase, which was reported by PE Hub and several blogs. The San Diego wireless technology giant did not … Continue reading “Qualcomm Absorbs Digital Fountain’s Streaming Media Technologies”
Optimer To Seek EU Approval
San Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals said today it is preparing to apply for approval to sell fidaxomicin (OPT-80) in the European Union on the basis of one successful Phase III trial. The company reported positive results of the new antibiotic in November from the first of two pivotal studies for patients suffering from “C. Diff” bacterial … Continue reading “Optimer To Seek EU Approval”
Pacira and Histogen Disclose Layoffs, Optimer Advances Diarrhea Drug, Torrey Path Comes to Town, & More SD BizTech
Between President Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress and California’s jobless data reported Friday, economics dominated the news last week. We saw the effects with a couple of layoffs here in San Diego’s innovation community, along with news about local startups, clinical trials, and new technologies. Read on! —The unemployment rate in California … Continue reading “Pacira and Histogen Disclose Layoffs, Optimer Advances Diarrhea Drug, Torrey Path Comes to Town, & More SD BizTech”
The Ozone Man Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f6416479-b6c2-4caa-a561-083b062f5f35&Preview=1 Date 3/2/2009 Company Name The Ozone Man Mailing Address 9454 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Company Description The Ozone Man, Inc. was founded in 2007 by its President and CEO Dr. Halden S. Shane. Like many Los Angeles residents, Dr. Shane had always assumed that his long standing allergy problems … Continue reading “The Ozone Man Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
Fisker Automotive, Inc. Lands $3,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6197f84-f70e-4b7a-bad4-5ad2739730c8&Preview=1 Date 3/2/2009 Company Name Fisker Automotive, Inc. Mailing Address 2811 McGaw Ave Irvine, CA 92614 Company Description The concept was created between two independent companies who clearly wanted to make a difference in not only the automotive industry, but to the environment as well. Fisker Coachbuild, LLC and Quantum Technologies announced … Continue reading “Fisker Automotive, Inc. Lands $3,000,000 New Financing”
Software M&A in a Tough Economic Climate
The Corum Group and the San Diego Software Industry Council are billing this as an “intense two-hour session” on current valuation trends and market drivers in software mergers and acquisitions. A continental breakfast and networking begin at 7:30 a.m. Register online here.
Forging Partnerships With Big IT and Software Companies
A discussion of real-world strategies for senior executives at emerging companies on what it takes to form a winning partnership with large companies. The San Diego Software Industry Council has invited Irwin Rodrigues of Boatracs to moderate. Panelists are Dana Poirier of Qualcomm, Hieu Bui of WebAssist, and Bruce Aboudara of Hewlett-Packard’s Software & Solutions … Continue reading “Forging Partnerships With Big IT and Software Companies”
Enhancing Interface Design and User Experience
The San Diego Software Industry Council has organized this panel discussion to help companies understand how to use their existing resources to improve website user experiences in ways increase customer satisfaction, adoption, retention, and revenue. The session moderator is Sean Van Tyne of Fair Isaac, and the panelists are Teena Singh of Oracle, Mark Hall … Continue reading “Enhancing Interface Design and User Experience”
Look at Cloud Computing From Both Sides Now
Cloud computing represents a new wave of innovation that can enable business to drive down costs and provide potentially unlimited services for business partners and customers. The San Diego Software Industry Council has invited Woody Pewitt, a Microsoft technology evangelist, Ned Curic, a Microsoft platform strategy advisor, and Rodney Guzman of InterKnowlogy. Networking and registration … Continue reading “Look at Cloud Computing From Both Sides Now”
Seeing the Ocean Through Autonomous Eyes
Technology improvements now allow some autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, to navigate the oceans for upwards of 1,000 miles. San Diego Connect has organized this luncheon presentation by Professor Russ Davis, director of the instrument development group at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His lecture describes his recent work with AUVs, including their … Continue reading “Seeing the Ocean Through Autonomous Eyes”
A Seed-Stage Investment in the Next Generation of Innovation: San Diego’s Woodstock of Science
As we hurtle headlong toward the second decade of the millennium, the lines between traditional scientific disciplines become blurrier each day. The high school standards for chemistry, biology, physics and math have been refined by modern scientific theory and super-charged by advances in technology, spawning myriad sub-disciplines and off-shoots that are highly interrelated and interdependent. … Continue reading “A Seed-Stage Investment in the Next Generation of Innovation: San Diego’s Woodstock of Science”
San Diego Celebrates Its Breakout Companies of 2008
The San Diego Venture Group hailed three local companies for their breakout year in 2008, then put an executive from each company on stage yesterday with a newspaper reporter asking them to explain how they did it. It could have made for a hesitant and stilted panel discussion, but the format actually was informative and … Continue reading “San Diego Celebrates Its Breakout Companies of 2008”
Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand
If Silicon Valley didn’t exist, Boston would have to invent it in order to have someplace to feel inferior to. That’s the thought that occurred to me when I read an article in the Boston Globe last week about the Information Technology Collaborative. This new posse of industry, government, and academic leaders met in Cambridge … Continue reading “Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand”
FDA Rejects Somaxon’s Application for Insomnia Drug
San Diego specialty drugmaker Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOMX]] said today the FDA turned down its application to market a new drug for insomnia. Somaxon says the FDA raised a number of issues related to the interpretation of the efficacy data in its new drug application. The company says the FDA did not specifically ask it … Continue reading “FDA Rejects Somaxon’s Application for Insomnia Drug”
BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up
Lobbying for the biotech industry in Washington DC doesn’t sound like fun now. The industry is being left for dead by Wall Street, the IPO market has closed down, and about half of the 370 public companies are reporting they have run down to less than a year’s worth of cash on hand. Many of … Continue reading “BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up”
Enerdyne Adds Technology to Thwart Possible UAV Eavesdroppers
I was a little surprised yesterday when Enerdyne Technologies, a subsidiary of Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat, said encryption technology is now available for its digital data link systems to unmanned military surveillance aircraft. Isn’t the video transmitted from robotic spy planes already encrypted? Not necessarily, says Enerdyne general manager Steve Gardner. As it turns out, it’s … Continue reading “Enerdyne Adds Technology to Thwart Possible UAV Eavesdroppers”
Having Scoured the Ocean for Cancer Drugs, Nereus Aims to Prove Its Concept Works
Off the coast of the Bahamas, in sea grass more than a half-mile deep, San Diego-based Nereus Pharmaceuticals found a fungus that may be the key ingredient for an innovative new cancer drug. This will be a key year for gathering evidence that will either support or debunk the idea. I got the download on … Continue reading “Having Scoured the Ocean for Cancer Drugs, Nereus Aims to Prove Its Concept Works”
WaveTec Vision Systems Inc. Receives $20,100,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0a2cd390-3ced-4eee-b618-a4cedaf002df&Preview=1 Date 2/26/2009 Company Name WaveTec Vision Systems Inc. Mailing Address 66 Argonaut Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 Company Description The company is developing a system to help optimize patient outcomes after intraocular lens replacement procedures. Website http://wavetecvision.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,100,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “WaveTec Vision Systems Inc. Receives $20,100,000 Series C Financing Round”
Isis Inches Closer Toward Profitability
Isis Pharmaceuticals is getting closer to a milestone few biotechs ever reach-profitability. The Carlsbad, CA-based company, through its strategy of forming partnerships with pharmaceutical companies that want a piece of its inventions, was able to build up a war chest of $491 million at year’s end. Isis also trimmed its net loss last year to … Continue reading “Isis Inches Closer Toward Profitability”
Quasar Leads Development of Advanced Sensing Technologies for Government
In the 11 years since Andrew Hibbs started QUASAR, the privately held company has flourished by developing a smorgasbord of sophisticated sensing technologies under various government research and development contracts. I met Hibbs more than a decade ago, during the formative years of San Diego’s Quantum Magnetics, where he led development of advanced electromagnetic sensors … Continue reading “Quasar Leads Development of Advanced Sensing Technologies for Government”
Medtronic, Inc. Acquires CoreValve for $700,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9838b672-62c7-47c2-9a1d-4d4e38d4929d&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2009 Company Name CoreValve Mailing Address 1 Jenner Irvine, CA 92618 Company Description CoreValve – which is headquartered in Paris and has R&D facilities in Irvine, California, has developed a proprietary delivery system for percutaneous heart valve replacement, based on a novel catheter-and-self-expanding-frame approach on a beating heart, thus avoiding … Continue reading “Medtronic, Inc. Acquires CoreValve for $700,000,000”
Patent Lawsuit Against Histogen Forces Layoffs And A Scramble For New Funding
A patent infringement lawsuit filed last month against Histogen has triggered a funding crisis at the San Diego biomedical startup, which was forced to lay off all 36 of its employees at the end of January. Histogen founder and CEO Gail Naughton told me this afternoon the suit filed by rival SkinMedica of Carlsbad, CA, … Continue reading “Patent Lawsuit Against Histogen Forces Layoffs And A Scramble For New Funding”
A Reluctant Entrepreneur Bringing Bioinformatics Startup to San Diego
A couple of years ago, Peter Dresslar saw an opportunity to start his own company when he was working as an information science consultant for a big corporation he describes only as the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Now Dresslar is the 38-year-old CEO of a software analytics company with plans to move to San … Continue reading “A Reluctant Entrepreneur Bringing Bioinformatics Startup to San Diego”
Cypress Buys Lupus Test
Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]), the San Diego-based developer of a drug for fibromyalgia, said today it has acquired technology from Cellatope to diagnose and monitor hard-to-detect autoimmune diseases like lupus. Cypress and its partner, New York-based Forest Laboratories, won FDA approval last month for milnacipran (Savella) as a treatment for a chronic muscle pain condition … Continue reading “Cypress Buys Lupus Test”
Optimer Drug for Traveler’s Diarrhea Passes Key Trial, Will Seek FDA Approval
Here’s some potentially good news for vacationers who have had their trip spoiled by a bad case of the runs. Optimer Pharmaceuticals says its experimental drug for traveler’s diarrhea has reached its goal in a second pivotal clinical trial, and the San Diego-based firm plans to ask the FDA to approve the drug by the … Continue reading “Optimer Drug for Traveler’s Diarrhea Passes Key Trial, Will Seek FDA Approval”
Ambrx Nails Down Partnership with Merck KGaA to Develop Multiple Sclerosis Drug
San Diego-based Ambrx has signed a new partnership with German pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA to co-develop a drug for multiple sclerosis. Ambrx and Merck KGaA have agreed to keep the financial terms of this global partnership hush-hush for the time being, although I was able to get some insight into what it means yesterday from … Continue reading “Ambrx Nails Down Partnership with Merck KGaA to Develop Multiple Sclerosis Drug”
Pacira Cuts 40 Jobs After Setback in Clinical Trial of Painkilling Drug-Delivery Product
[Updated Feb. 26, 2009—Clarifies and corrects terms of Pacira’s financing. See details below.] San Diego-based Pacira Pharmaceuticals, which got a final $10 million installment of a venture capital commitment just a few months ago, laid off about 40 employees last week. Pacira CEO David Stack, who also is a managing director in the Boston office of … Continue reading “Pacira Cuts 40 Jobs After Setback in Clinical Trial of Painkilling Drug-Delivery Product”