Manufacturing engineer Barry Davis has organized this presentation organized by the AeA San Diego Council. Learn about business continuity planning and get a checklist that can help you keep your supply chain intact following a disaster. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and attendance is free for AeA members and $20 for non-members. Get more info here.
Category: San Diego
The Blue Brothers Join Connect’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
Join Connect in welcoming General Atomics’ Neal and Linden Blue to San Diego’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. This luncheon brings together hundreds of top-tier executives to recognize individuals who have achieved distinction in founding, leading or advancing a San Diego life sciences or technology business or organization. Registration begins at 11 a.m., or you can … Continue reading “The Blue Brothers Join Connect’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame”
The Next Fork in the Road: Opotek as a Case Study
San Diego specialized laser systems maker Opotek has been profitable since it was founded in 1993, but after 15 years, founder El Margalith is seeking advice on the next fork in the road from the MIT Enterprise Forum’s panel of entrepreneurs. You can register here.
San Diego’s CovX and Pfizer’s New Strategy For Innovation
It has been a year since the largest pharmaceutical company in the world acquired San Diego’s CovX, a venture-backed life sciences company developing new treatments for cancer and diabetes. At the time, Pfizer already had invested more than $522 million to develop a San Diego campus, which has more than 1,000 employees and operates as … Continue reading “San Diego’s CovX and Pfizer’s New Strategy For Innovation”
Wishing You A Healthy and Happy Holiday Season; Posting Will Be Light
Another year is coming to an end, and for us at Xconomy it has been an action-packed 12 months. Not only has our flagship Boston site grown beyond our expectations, we have also launched Xconomy Seattle and Xconomy San Diego, building our own small, but rapidly growing, network. We’d like to take this occasion to … Continue reading “Wishing You A Healthy and Happy Holiday Season; Posting Will Be Light”
Where Tech Coast Angels Tread, And Why
Jack Florio fits the casting profile of the kind of guy Hollywood might see as an angel investor. He has 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical business, much of it in management jobs at pharma giant Eli Lilly. He’s got the experience to offer advice to a younger entrepreneur, and the Rolodex to make key … Continue reading “Where Tech Coast Angels Tread, And Why”
Genomatica Forms Council to Guide Industrial Expansion
San Diego’s Genomatica is forming an engineering advisory council to help the company as it moves to expand to large-scale chemical production. Privately-held Genomatica has shown it can use genetically modified bacteria to make 1,4-butanediol, or BDO, a basic polymer used to make everything from skateboard wheels to spandex clothing. Genomatica named Page Shirtum, a … Continue reading “Genomatica Forms Council to Guide Industrial Expansion”
Qualcomm Strikes Deal With China’s Biggest Cell Phone Maker
San Diego wireless giant Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) has reached a licensing agreement with Beijing Tianyu Communications Equipment Co., China’s biggest cell phone maker. Under the deal, Tianyu has obtained worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and sell Qualcomm’s proprietary CDMA2000 and WCDMA subscriber units and modem cards. Qualcomm said Tianyu will pay royalties at its standard … Continue reading “Qualcomm Strikes Deal With China’s Biggest Cell Phone Maker”
A Call For Good Data Stewardship Before The Digital Deluge
Everybody knows that America’s crumbling roads, bridges, power plants, and other physical infrastructure won’t make it into the future without costly maintenance, retrofitting, and construction. It’s expensive but necessary: Our civil infrastructure provides the foundation for modern living, and it’s hard to get anywhere without it. The same is true for our digital world. Information … Continue reading “A Call For Good Data Stewardship Before The Digital Deluge”
SAIC Says Greek Government Has Finally Accepted $322 Million Athens Olympics Project
It might have won a gold medal for longest-running contract dispute. Finally, though, it’s over—or so it seems. San Diego defense contractor SAIC said yesterday the Greek government has formally accepted the sophisticated “command and control” security network the company installed for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. The company also known as Science Applications International … Continue reading “SAIC Says Greek Government Has Finally Accepted $322 Million Athens Olympics Project”
Outsourced Chemistry Shop, BioBlocks, Sees Growth in San Diego and Hungary
Peter Pallai has an unusual take on outsourcing. In his view, it might be the way to bring some stability to the volatile world of biotechnology. Pallai, a Hungarian-born medicinal chemist, is carrying out this vision through a contract-chemistry shop in San Diego called BioBlocks. Pallai started this outfit in 2002 after spending more than … Continue reading “Outsourced Chemistry Shop, BioBlocks, Sees Growth in San Diego and Hungary”
Sempra Energy Beams Over Completion of Solar Plant
California’s major utilities have been scrambling to meet a state mandate that requires using renewable energy sources to generate 20 percent of the electricity they supply by 2010. So San Diego’s Sempra Energy (NYSE: [[ticker:SRE]]) had good reason to bask yesterday as it announced its Sempra Generation subsidiary has completed the company’s first solar energy … Continue reading “Sempra Energy Beams Over Completion of Solar Plant”
Sports Web Site Wins Venture Group’s PitchFest
The San Diego Venture Group today named TheSportsTV.com as the winner of its ninth annual “PitchFest” business plan competition. The startup, which was awarded $20,000, was among three finalists that made presentations to 280 people who attended the venture group’s annual meeting on Dec. 3. TheSportsTV.com is a Web site that enables amateur athletes to … Continue reading “Sports Web Site Wins Venture Group’s PitchFest”
SAIC To Support Anti-Bomb Training
The Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, SC, has awarded a $17 million task order to SAIC, the San Diego defense contractor, to support a training program for countering IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. The program trains Marine Corps engineers to defuse roadside bombs and other booby-traps, and in using electronic warfare … Continue reading “SAIC To Support Anti-Bomb Training”
Life Technologies Buys VisiGen for $20M
Life Technologies, the Carlsbad, CA-based maker of lab supplies created by the merger of Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems, has acquired Houston-based VisiGen Biotechnologies for about $20 million. VisiGen, a spin-off from the University of Houston, is working on a new process to sequence individual genomes for as little as $1,000, according to its website.
Abbott Buys Isis’ Diagnostics Subsidiary, Ligand Binds With GlaxoSmithKline, Ardea Raises $30M & More San Diego BizTech News
It was the week before Christmas, and the deals were flying. Could San Diego’s economy be downturn defying? Heed the tech news and be of good cheer! We wish you an Xconomy Xmas and Xponential New Year! —The big deal of the week came Wednesday, when Abbott Labs (NYSE: [[ticker:ABT]]) exercised its option to acquire … Continue reading “Abbott Buys Isis’ Diagnostics Subsidiary, Ligand Binds With GlaxoSmithKline, Ardea Raises $30M & More San Diego BizTech News”
Biotech “Walks With Light,” But If We Don’t Start Explaining it Better, We’re “Cuckoo”
For the last 17 years my office at Targeted Genetics looked out closely onto a pretty major intersection, busy with cars and pedestrians going to and from downtown Seattle. For years the pedestrian crossing signs stated “Walk with Light.” Maybe I’m a romantic fool, but I always thought of that phrase, “walk with light,” as … Continue reading “Biotech “Walks With Light,” But If We Don’t Start Explaining it Better, We’re “Cuckoo””
Quidel Aims for a Piece of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Market
No matter how many times Katie Couric reminds folks that detecting colon cancer early can be a lifesaver, most people are pretty squeamish about the tests involved—not only the invasive ones like colonoscopy but even the less-invasive ones like those that look for traces of blood in the stool. So I was intrigued to hear … Continue reading “Quidel Aims for a Piece of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Market”
SOLARFLARE Communications, Inc. Secures $44,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ef91a221-4330-475f-959c-5475b6bcfa95&Preview=1 Date 12/22/2008 Company Name SOLARFLARE Communications, Inc. Mailing Address 9501 Jeronimo Road Irvine, CA 92618 Company Description Solarflare Communications Inc. is a leading silicon vendor delivering Ethernet products that enable the rapid adoption of 10 Gigabit for data center and enterprise networks. Our products include 10GBASE-T PHYs and high-performance Ethernet controllers. … Continue reading “SOLARFLARE Communications, Inc. Secures $44,000,000 New Financing Round”
Tysabri Patient Dies of Brain Infection, First Death Since Drug Re-Introduced
A patient taking Biogen Idec’s fastest-growing multiple sclerosis drug has died from a rare brain infection. The patient, a woman in the U.S., was diagnosed in October with the PML brain infection after taking natalizumab (Tysabri) for her neurodegenerative disease, said Naomi Aoki, a spokeswoman for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company. The death represents the … Continue reading “Tysabri Patient Dies of Brain Infection, First Death Since Drug Re-Introduced”
Ardea Raises $30.6M in Stock Sale
San Diego-based Ardea Biosciences announced today it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with institutional investors to raise about $30.6 million from the private placement of newly issued shares of its common stock. Ardea (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RDEA]]) is focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs to treat HIV, gout, cancer, and inflammatory diseases.
Michael Robertson Is Calling, But Will Anybody Answer?
If nothing else, Michael Robertson gets credit for stickin’ it to the establishment. Maybe it’s because he was born in 1967, amid America’s flaring protests. Maybe it’s just a result of his penchant for libertarian views. When I saw an announcement earlier this week from Robertson about GizmoCall, his new browser-based calling service, my first … Continue reading “Michael Robertson Is Calling, But Will Anybody Answer?”
Huntington Capital Raises $78 Million For Second Fund
Huntington Capital partner Tim Bubnack says the San Diego firm, which operates as both a venture lender and private equity investor, has raised $78 million in capital commitments for its second fund. The firm hopes to raise a total of $100 million for “Fund II” by early next year. Bubnack told me in October that … Continue reading “Huntington Capital Raises $78 Million For Second Fund”
Novocell Forms Deal with Pfizer to Research Stem Cells for Diabetes
The world’s largest drugmaker is turning to a San Diego-based biotech company to jumpstart its foray into the world of stem cell research. Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) has agreed to form a two-year collaboration with Novocell to advance the biotech’s work, which concentrates on turning human embryonic stem cells into pancreas cells that might one day … Continue reading “Novocell Forms Deal with Pfizer to Research Stem Cells for Diabetes”
The 3-D Graphics Revolution of 1859—and How to See in Stereo on Your iPhone
Gadget lovers and other technology enthusiasts suffer from a curious myopia about the past. The general assumption—fostered by the admittedly blinding pace of progress in computing and software—is that everything really cool must have been invented in the last decade or two. Marvels like wearable virtual-reality displays with force feedback gloves are often described as … Continue reading “The 3-D Graphics Revolution of 1859—and How to See in Stereo on Your iPhone”
BioFuels, BioMedicines & Farming from the Sea and Maritime Technologies Needed to Develop Them
The Center for Marine Systems & Security and The Security Network are sponsoring this joint event to foster collaboration between biotech and marine technology in San Diego.
Ligand Cuts Another Deal With GlaxoSmithKline
San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals has formed another sizable partnership with the world’s second-biggest drugmaker, GlaxoSmithKline. Today, Ligand (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LGND]]) said it granted an exclusive, worldwide license to Glaxo to develop a drug for thrombocytopenia, a disease in which people lack enough platelet cells in the blood to form clots. Under the deal, Glaxo will pay … Continue reading “Ligand Cuts Another Deal With GlaxoSmithKline”
Cadence Turns Attention to Marketplace, as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goals in Clinical Trials
Cadence Pharmaceuticals can now start turning even more of its energy toward doing what it takes to become a commercial drug company. The San Diego-based biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) said yesterday it passed all three clinical trials it says it needs to satisfy FDA requirements so a new intravenous form of an old standby pain reliever … Continue reading “Cadence Turns Attention to Marketplace, as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goals in Clinical Trials”
Maglev Industry Gains Momentum, But Is Big Cost A Turn-Off?
In meeting room G of San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt, Neil Cummings was preaching yesterday to the choir—which in this case is the 20th International Conference on Magnetically Levitated Systems and Linear Drives. “I call it the new Iron Horse,” said Cummings, referring to the maglev industry’s vision for high-speed trains driven by magnetic levitation … Continue reading “Maglev Industry Gains Momentum, But Is Big Cost A Turn-Off?”
Biotech Veteran Talks of Hedge Fund Investing, Boston Celtics, and Hot Companies
The first thing I noticed when I sat down in the office of biotech investor Rich Aldrich was a shelved paperback copy of Barbarians at the Gate, the book about the legendary leveraged buyout of R.J.R Nabisco. It reminded me that Aldrich is a main character in a somewhat similar book about the biotech industry, … Continue reading “Biotech Veteran Talks of Hedge Fund Investing, Boston Celtics, and Hot Companies”
Cadence Shares Boom as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goal in Study
San Diego-based Cadence Pharmaceuticals shares shot up about 30 percent this morning after the company announced it had success in a clinical trial with a new version of an old pain reliever. Cadence (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) says its version of acetaminophen, the pain reliever marketed in tablets by Johnson & Johnson as Tylenol, succeeded in a … Continue reading “Cadence Shares Boom as IV Pain Reliever Reaches Goal in Study”
Venture Survey Forecasts A Big Chill, With Solar Bright Spot, in 2009
More gloomy forecasts from private investors in high-tech sectors. U.S. venture capitalists see a cooling trend in the investment climate for the year ahead. One of the only bright spots I saw in the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Predictions Survey is that a majority of VCs are optimistic that the market for initial public … Continue reading “Venture Survey Forecasts A Big Chill, With Solar Bright Spot, in 2009”
Abbott Labs Acquires Isis Diagnostics Unit for $215M
Good news for shareholders of Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals. Abbott Laboratories, the diversified health products giant, is exercising its right to acquire Isis’ diagnostics spinoff, Ibis Biosciences, for a total of $215 million plus some future payments tied to sales of the instruments. Abbott Park, IL-based Abbott (NYSE: [[ticker:ABT]]) will pay Isis shareholders $175 million … Continue reading “Abbott Labs Acquires Isis Diagnostics Unit for $215M”
Lilly’s San Diego Biotechnology Center of Silence
Eli Lilly and Co. executives were downright chatty about the company’s biotechnology strategy last week when they convened a meeting with Wall Street analysts. “We see more and more that biotech is a key to sustaining pharmaceutical innovation for the future,” Lilly’s vice president of biotech discovery research, Tom Bumol, said in a statement the … Continue reading “Lilly’s San Diego Biotechnology Center of Silence”
CalciMedica Secures $4,000,000 of $12,000,000 Series C Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c77dd3f1-f597-4ac0-8e48-5103070f11a2&Preview=1 Date 11/21/2008 Company Name CalciMedica Mailing Address 505 Coast Blvd S. La Jolla, CA 92037 Company Description The company is developing drugs focused on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Website http://www.calcimedica.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “CalciMedica Secures $4,000,000 of $12,000,000 Series C Funding”
SAIC Gets Biofuels R&D Contract
It turns out that DARPA, the Pentagon’s R&D funding agency, awarded two biofuel development contracts last week, and both went to San Diego companies. As we reported, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $19.5 million contract to a consortium headed by General Atomics. Yesterday, the Pentagon said DARPA also awarded a $14.9 million … Continue reading “SAIC Gets Biofuels R&D Contract”
Prostate Cancer Drug Vaults OncoGenex Onto Investor Radar Screens
The best-performing stock on the Nasdaq last week was a little biotech company from the Pacific Northwest that few people had heard of before. The company was OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, a cancer drug developer based in Vancouver, BC and Bothell, WA, with technology licensed from Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals. Before last week, OncoGenex appeared to be … Continue reading “Prostate Cancer Drug Vaults OncoGenex Onto Investor Radar Screens”
Metabasis CEO Resigns
San Diego’s Metabasis Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MBRX]]) said today that co-founder Paul Laikind has resigned as CEO and interim chief financial officer. The biotech, which is developing drugs for diabetes and liver disease, says Laikind will remain on the company’s board. Mark Erion, a co-founder and chief scientific officer, was named as Laikind’s replacement. In connection with … Continue reading “Metabasis CEO Resigns”
ImageMetrics Secures $6,500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=643e546c-c8ad-44ca-a26b-1cdffcc485bb&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2008 Company Name ImageMetrics Mailing Address 1918 Main Street, 2nd Floor Santa Monica, CA 90405 Company Description Image Metrics provides superior facial animation solutions to the entertainment industry. Its mission is to create believable facial performances that emotionally connect audiences to digital characters in films, games and other forms of … Continue reading “ImageMetrics Secures $6,500,000 New Funding Round”
Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Considers Selling Cancer Drugs
Adventrx Pharmaceuticals issued one of those press releases this morning that suggests the end is near. The San Diego-based cancer drug developer said today it is “exploring strategic options” that include a sale of one or more of its product candidates, or what it calls a “strategic business merger.” When your stock is trading at … Continue reading “Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Considers Selling Cancer Drugs”
Santarus Nabs U.S. Rights for Two Drugs in Cosmo Collaboration
San Diego specialty drug firm Santarus (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SNTS]]) says it has struck a deal with a unit of Italy-based Cosmo Pharmaceuticals (SIX:[[ticker:COPN]]) to commercialize two Cosmo drugs in the U.S. The drugs—which are extended-release versions of budesonide, a steroid, for ulcers and rifamycin, an antibiotic, for traveler’s diarrhea—are in clinical development in Europe and the U.S. … Continue reading “Santarus Nabs U.S. Rights for Two Drugs in Cosmo Collaboration”
SAIC Gets Lunar Mission Contract
San Diego defense contractor SAIC said today NASA has awarded the company a technology services contract to support its Constellation program at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The company, also known as Science Applications International Corp., said the contract could be worth as much as $69 million over the next five years if all options are … Continue reading “SAIC Gets Lunar Mission Contract”
Brain Cells Inc., No Dummy, Raised $50M Before Recession Got Really Ugly
At least in the world of finance, Brain Cells Inc. can make a credible claim that it has a little more going on upstairs than your average biotech company. The San Diego-based startup had flawless timing, by completing a $50 million Series B financing back in April, before venture capital became really hard to come … Continue reading “Brain Cells Inc., No Dummy, Raised $50M Before Recession Got Really Ugly”
California Stem Cell Agency Awards Grants, Cohu Buys German Rival, Amylin Gets Go-Ahead, & More San Diego BizTech News
Venture and private equity firms apparently have clamped down on much of their funding activities in San Diego, but some local firms were able to take advantage of state and federal sources of cash last week. We also saw the Food and Drug Administration give Amylin a break and Qualcomm’s top executives offer their outlook … Continue reading “California Stem Cell Agency Awards Grants, Cohu Buys German Rival, Amylin Gets Go-Ahead, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Dude! San Diego’s Connect Gives Surf Board Maker (And 8 Others) Technology Award
Against the backdrop of a worsening recession, San Diego’s innovation community came together for the 21st annual “Most Innovative Products” awards luncheon today in La Jolla. The event is intended to showcase new products introduced over the past year in eight categories that reflect technology clusters, such as wireless communications, medical devices, and aerospace and … Continue reading “Dude! San Diego’s Connect Gives Surf Board Maker (And 8 Others) Technology Award”
DivX Cuts 21 From San Diego Payroll
A spokesman for San Diego’s DivX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DIVX]]) confirms today the online digital video provider has laid off 21 employees, or nearly 10 percent of its San Diego workforce. We first saw the layoffs reported at TechCrunch. DivX disclosed earlier this month that its chief technology officer resigned, and it’s not clear if these cutbacks were … Continue reading “DivX Cuts 21 From San Diego Payroll”
Ex-Software CEO Sentenced to 8 Years in Fraud
Stephen Gardner, the former CEO of San Diego’s scandal-ridden enterprise software giant Peregrine Systems, was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison for helping inflate Peregrine’s revenue. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Gardner told a federal judge in San Diego yesterday, “I did hide problems in the hope that they would be fixed and … Continue reading “Ex-Software CEO Sentenced to 8 Years in Fraud”
Verve Wireless Adds 6 Media Content Partners
San Diego’s Verve Wireless, which provides technologies that optimize local media content for wireless devices, says it has reached partnership agreements with six publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Financial terms were not disclosed. Verve, founded by a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer, also provides news … Continue reading “Verve Wireless Adds 6 Media Content Partners”
Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms
It’s tough times for biotech entrepreneurs in search of new funds to launch startups, with early-stage investors conserving capital for their existing portfolio companies. Yet one venture group that isn’t hurting for capital nowadays is Biogen Idec New Ventures, the San Diego-based VC arm of big biotech company Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]). Biogen this year committed … Continue reading “Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms”
State Stem Cell Grants Awarded to Four San Diego Biotechs
Venture funding for San Diego’s life science companies seems to have slowed to a trickle, but four local biotechs are among the first companies to get grants from California’s taxpayer-funded stem cell institute. The 29-member governing board for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine voted Wednesday to approve funding of more than $19.8 million for … Continue reading “State Stem Cell Grants Awarded to Four San Diego Biotechs”