Category: San Diego

Former “Daily Show” Producer Karlin is Humorist Behind WonderGlen Comedy Site

Since October, the Internet has been abuzz with discussion about WonderGlen, a fictional TV production company whose fake company intranet is a window onto the obsessions of a staff that takes dysfunction well beyond the levels of Dunder Mifflin, the fictional paper company in NBC’s “The Office.” Much of the buzz has focused on the … Continue reading “Former “Daily Show” Producer Karlin is Humorist Behind WonderGlen Comedy Site”

Angel Groups Pull Back in 2008

It would have been a surprise—at least to me—to see any group of investors seek more deals in this turbulent economy. So it wasn’t shocking to see that many angel groups reported less deal activity in the Angel Capital Association’s (ACA) latest nationwide Angel Group Confidence Report. The Lenexa, KS-based angel association says it tapped … Continue reading “Angel Groups Pull Back in 2008”

Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA

Amylin Pharmaceuticals stock shot up this morning after the company said it had some good fortune in dealings with the FDA. The San Diego biotech said it will be able file an application to market its diabetes drug, the once-weekly version of exenatide, in the first half of 2009 after all. That’s despite a warning … Continue reading “Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA”

Mars Postponed: Launch Delay Gives Little Company Another Chance to ‘Wow The Public’

When NASA announced last week it was postponing the launch of its next mission to Mars by 26 months, Michael Ravine says his heart sank—and then he breathed a sigh of relief.As the advanced projects manager at San Diego’s Malin Space Science Systems, Ravine says his team has been working frantically to deliver two cameras … Continue reading “Mars Postponed: Launch Delay Gives Little Company Another Chance to ‘Wow The Public’”

Alphatec Gets $30 Million in Debt Financing

Alphatec Holdings (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATEC]]), the Carlsbad parent company of medical device maker Alphatec Spine, says it has secured a $30 million credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance. The debt consists of a $15 million loan and a $15 million line of credit for working capital. The company, which designs and makes products … Continue reading “Alphatec Gets $30 Million in Debt Financing”

Novatel President Departs

San Diego’s Novatel Wireless said today Brad Weinert resigned Monday, after serving 16 months as president of the broadband wireless company. A statement by Novatel chairman and CEO Peter Leparulo said Weinert has been an important contributor to the company’s growth since 2003. Weinert joined Novatel in 1998, and worked in various jobs until 2002, … Continue reading “Novatel President Departs”

Pentagon Awards Biofuel R&D Contract to General Atomics

DARPA, the Pentagon’s R&D funding agency, yesterday awarded a $19.5 million contract to privately held General Atomics of San Diego to make jet fuel from algae and cellulosic feedstocks. Work on developing JP-8 grade biofuel will be done at General Atomics and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Arizona State University, Blue Sun Biodiesel … Continue reading “Pentagon Awards Biofuel R&D Contract to General Atomics”

Qualcomm Executives Look for Industry Rebound Next Summer

The economic downturn means it’s likely the wireless industry will stay with third-generation, or 3G, technologies for the foreseeable future, Qualcomm’s top executives said last night during a panel discussion. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said customers of the San Diego wireless giant have pushed out their chip orders for 3G technologies because of the economic … Continue reading “Qualcomm Executives Look for Industry Rebound Next Summer”

Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers

Most drugs act by interfering with signaling proteins in cells or receptors on cell surfaces. San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals has a different idea, by trying to interrupt the complex carbohydrates known as glycans, that can alter the function of proteins. This concept has been around the biotech industry a number of years, without a whole … Continue reading “Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers”

Emotive Communications, Inc. Lands $6,250,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=95febc7d-09e6-482c-8f47-128f85cdd8ab&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name Emotive Communications, Inc. Mailing Address 6345 Balboa Blvd., Building 2 Encino, CA 91316 Company Description Emotive is an entertainment focused innovation company that provides real-time interactive multimedia products and services to network communication networks worldwide. The company’s “Push Ringer” product introduces active social media networking to the … Continue reading “Emotive Communications, Inc. Lands $6,250,000 Series B Financing Round”

Arena Insomnia Pill Fails in Clinical Trial, Halts Development of Drug

Arena Pharmaceuticals is scrapping development of its experimental insomnia medicine, after it failed to reach its primary and secondary goals in a clinical trial of more than 700 patients. The San Diego-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) didn’t have much more to say than that, other than it’s in a hurry to turn the page and … Continue reading “Arena Insomnia Pill Fails in Clinical Trial, Halts Development of Drug”

Enterprise Partners Re-Ups Funding for Fitness Equipment Venture

San Diego-based Enterprise Partners Venture Capital was among three venture firms that participated in $14 million raised in a secondary round by Expresso Fitness of Sunnyvale, CA. Expresso makes cardio fitness equipment, such as stationary bikes with interactive display screens with online access that allow you to compare your times and training with those of others.  The … Continue reading “Enterprise Partners Re-Ups Funding for Fitness Equipment Venture”

Novocell Teams with Japanese Stem Cell Star

San Diego-based Novocell, a developer of embryonic stem cell therapies for diabetes, said today it has formed a partnership with one of the world leaders in stem cell biology, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University. Yamanaka dominated headlines a year ago when his team, along with James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin, showed they could … Continue reading “Novocell Teams with Japanese Stem Cell Star”

Dot Hill Systems Enacting Cutbacks to Save Cash

Dot Hill Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HILL]]) said today it plans to shut down about 40 percent of its Carlsbad facility as part of a restructuring plan intended to save as much as $1.75 million. The company, which makes network-based data storage systems, did not disclose how many employees would be affected, but estimated its severance costs … Continue reading “Dot Hill Systems Enacting Cutbacks to Save Cash”

A Noble Mission to Turn Parking Lots into “Solar Groves”

Architect Bob Noble was the CEO of San Diego’s Tucker Sadler firm when Kyocera America asked if he would consider designing a “solar carport” for its San Diego headquarters, using photovoltaic solar panels made by Kyocera. The request might have been a non-starter at any other venerable, 50-year-old firm. Solar carports, after all, have been … Continue reading “A Noble Mission to Turn Parking Lots into “Solar Groves””

Blood News: A Quick Rundown of Headlines From the American Society of Hematology

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is one of those scientific meetings that usually flies below the radar of the wire services and big newspapers. Still, this year’s event in San Francisco has drawn more than 21,000 physicians, scientists, and intensely interested folks from biotech companies and Wall Street. They are all scouting new treatments … Continue reading “Blood News: A Quick Rundown of Headlines From the American Society of Hematology”

City Trash Cans Go Solar—and Wireless—to Save Big Bucks on Garbage Trucks

The only solar-powered trash compactor that most people could name is Wall-E, the fictional lovestruck robot from this summer’s Pixar movie. But in Boston, San Diego, Seattle, and more than a dozen other major cities, you can meet the real thing: the BigBelly Cordless Compaction System, a 200-gallon robotic trash container manufactured by Needham, MA-based … Continue reading “City Trash Cans Go Solar—and Wireless—to Save Big Bucks on Garbage Trucks”

Cypress Bioscience Drug Succeeds in Fibromyalgia Study

San Diego-based Cypress Bioscience and its partner, New York-based Forest Laboratories, said today they got positive results from a final-stage study of 1,025 patients with fibromyalgia. The patients took either milnacipran or a placebo, and a greater proportion of patients on the drug experienced at least a 30 percent reduction in pain from when they … Continue reading “Cypress Bioscience Drug Succeeds in Fibromyalgia Study”

Nasdaq Halts Trading in Artes Medical

The Nasdaq market halted trading in Artes Medical this morning, with the last price of the company’s stock at 3 cents a share. In a short statement, Nasdaq said trading will remain halted until Artes has fully satisfied the electronic market’s request for additional information. Nasdaq did not describe the information it’s requested. As Ryan … Continue reading “Nasdaq Halts Trading in Artes Medical”

Cautious Cohu Buys German Rival

Warren Buffet is buying, and so is Cohu (NASDAQ: [[ticker:COHU]]). The San Diego maker of test handling equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers says it is paying $80 million in cash to buy Rasco GmbH of Munich, Germany, from Dover Corp. The company’s statement quotes Cohu CEO James Donahue as saying, “The transaction significantly expands Cohu’s … Continue reading “Cautious Cohu Buys German Rival”

Pure Bioscience Partners With Ciba; Overland Storage Gets Financing; ConfirmNet Buyout Closes; & More San Diego-Area Deals News

The rainy season is upon us here in San Diego, but the deal landscape remains a bit parched—especially when it comes to funding new companies. But a deal’s a deal, right? So here’s our rundown on deals and other news. —San Diego’s Pure Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PURE]]) struck a global marketing agreement with Ciba, the Swiss … Continue reading “Pure Bioscience Partners With Ciba; Overland Storage Gets Financing; ConfirmNet Buyout Closes; & More San Diego-Area Deals News”

Ambrx Aims to Create New Breed of Custom-Built Biotech Drugs

One thing I love about our new Xconomy San Diego office: I could practically shout out the window and get the attention of one of the fastest-growing private biotech companies in the region, Ambrx. (Although I bet the landlord, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, wouldn’t take too kindly.) I actually scheduled a meeting with Ambrx CEO … Continue reading “Ambrx Aims to Create New Breed of Custom-Built Biotech Drugs”

RightScale Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=69f8cf23-aa14-462f-b945-a4d1c69dff15&Preview=1 Date 12/8/2008 Company Name RightScale Mailing Address 402 East Gutierrez Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Company Description RightScale, Inc. delivers the platform, tools and expertise that enable companies to create scalable web solutions on cloud computing services that are reliable, easy to manage, and cost less. Website http://www.rightscale.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “RightScale Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding”

Cadence Secures Supply of Key Ingredient For Drug in Phase III Trials

San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Solvay SA, a Belgian biotech giant, for the active ingredient in its Omnigard gel for treating wounds and burns. Cadence disclosed the deal in a filing with government regulators Friday, although financial terms were not revealed. If Cadence notifies Solvay after Omnigard’s phase III … Continue reading “Cadence Secures Supply of Key Ingredient For Drug in Phase III Trials”

Orexigen Director, Daniel Turner, Buys 300,000 Shares After Bad News Depressed The Stock

One of the directors of San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics, Daniel K. Turner III of Montreux Equity Partners, bought 300,000 shares of the company’s stock today for his fund after the price dipped on some bad news. Turner, who joined the board in April 2005, disclosed today’s purchases, at prices between $3.20 and $3.50 a share, … Continue reading “Orexigen Director, Daniel Turner, Buys 300,000 Shares After Bad News Depressed The Stock”

Orexigen Shares Tank as it Quits Developing Two Drug Candidates, Executives Bail

(This story has been updated with information on severance packages, and the closing share price) Orexigen Therapeutics is getting hammered by investors today. The San Diego biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) dropped 35 percent to $3.51 at the close of trading after it said it is scrapping development of two experimental drugs to conserve cash, and … Continue reading “Orexigen Shares Tank as it Quits Developing Two Drug Candidates, Executives Bail”

Health Insuror Gives Coverage for DexCom Medical Device

The price of shares in DexCom, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DXCM]]) a San Diego medical device maker, settled to about $2.75 in early trading today after soaring above $3 a share yesterday. The company, which makes a seven-day sensor that continuously transmits blood sugar levels for diabetics, said in a filing that health insurance provider Humana has agreed … Continue reading “Health Insuror Gives Coverage for DexCom Medical Device”

Speak & Spell: New Apps Turn Phones into Multimedia Search Appliances

About five years ago, in a previous life at another technology publication, I wrote that I wished I could “Google my sock drawer.” I was being facetious, but my point was that searching the Web had become so easy that it left me yearning for equally convenient ways to search other things, like the books … Continue reading “Speak & Spell: New Apps Turn Phones into Multimedia Search Appliances”

Staying Alive Through Small Business Research Grants—A Primer

The panel discussion that CommNexus organized yesterday in San Diego was intended for the telecom association’s military special interest group. But since the financial markets tanked and credit dried up, many fledgling technology companies might also be interested to know how to tap federal small business research grants. Good thing Xconomy was there, eh? The … Continue reading “Staying Alive Through Small Business Research Grants—A Primer”

Optimer Sharpens Up Commercial Game Plan, After “C.Diff” Drug Success

Of all the people I met last month on a whirlwind of meetings with San Diego biotech companies, none had more bounce in their step than the folks at Optimer Pharmaceuticals. This company passed a huge test last month that suggests it has created the first new drug in decades for a bacterial invader called … Continue reading “Optimer Sharpens Up Commercial Game Plan, After “C.Diff” Drug Success”

DivX’s CTO Resigns

San Diego’s DivX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DIVX]]) says its chief technology officer Markus Moenig has resigned to “return overseas and explore new entrepreneurial opportunities.” The company said Moenig’s primary focus, which was integrating H. 264 digital video technology, has been realized in its soon-to-be released DivX 7 product. The vice president of engineering, Jim Reesman, will lead … Continue reading “DivX’s CTO Resigns”

Grounded in Reality, Maxwell Technology’s CEO Dispels Static Around Ultracapacitors

Is it just me, or have ultracapacitors somehow become the latest hot and mysterious alternative energy technology? Just a few weeks ago, my Xconomy colleague Greg Huang reported that Seattle startup EnerG2 landed $8.5 million in venture funding to develop a new class of ultracapitors that use nanocomposite materials to store energy. Before that, Light … Continue reading “Grounded in Reality, Maxwell Technology’s CEO Dispels Static Around Ultracapacitors”

Innovation Will Set America Back on Track

Most Americans are depressed about the economy. But if we pull back and try to rise above the clouds, there are real reasons for hope. The combination of a “Yes We Can” administration headed to the White House, along with our country’s established leadership in innovation, has us standing at the crest of a trail … Continue reading “Innovation Will Set America Back on Track”

Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In

A few weeks ago we ran a story called How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists. We’d been combing the Web looking for an even ten Top 10 advice lists—but came up one short. Since that time, the advice has continued to flow. One list of particular note, from … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In”

Symwave Secures $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a0c6d141-076c-480b-907d-5249f0e2ffe7&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name Symwave Mailing Address 10251 Vista Sorrento Parkway, 1st Floor San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The company has developed a broad portfolio of analog/mixed-signal IC technology based on a high-speed, low-power, CMOS IC design that can be implemented across serial, physical and/or wireless interfaces. Website http://www.symwave.com Transaction … Continue reading “Symwave Secures $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

FDA Gives Fast-Track Status to Anadys’ Hepatitis C Drug Candidate

Shares of San Diego’s Anadys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) gave up some of the boost they got Tuesday after the company announced the Food and Drug Administration put the biotech’s drug candidate for hepatitis C on fast-track review. Anadys shares fell in early trading today, after gaining almost 20 percent Tuesday. Shares have traded between $1.36 … Continue reading “FDA Gives Fast-Track Status to Anadys’ Hepatitis C Drug Candidate”

Running Near Empty, Overland Storage May Be a Sign of The Times

I thought it was unusual when San Diego’s Overland Storage said Friday it had closed on a $9 million receivable financing agreement. All it means is that a finance company has agreed to lend Overland immediate cash for its customers’ IOUs—like one of those “payday loan” outfits. So I arranged to talk with Vern LoForti, … Continue reading “Running Near Empty, Overland Storage May Be a Sign of The Times”

Prostate Cancer Drug from OncoGenex, Isis Prolongs Lives; OncoGenex Shares Soar

Some eye-opening news for prostate cancer patients crossed the wire this morning, sending shares of OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals rocketing up 80 percent. An experimental drug from OncoGenex and Isis Pharmaceuticals, used in combination with standard treatments, helped men with prostate cancer live a median time of 10.6 months longer than if they took the usual chemo … Continue reading “Prostate Cancer Drug from OncoGenex, Isis Prolongs Lives; OncoGenex Shares Soar”

Artes Files for Bankruptcy After Drop in Facial Filler Sales

Artes Medical, a maker of an injectable filler to smooth facial wrinkles, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing reduced consumer spending on its cosmetic treatment due to the poor economy. The San Diego-based medical technology firm said in an earlier SEC filing on November 21 that a liquidation of its assets and bankruptcy were … Continue reading “Artes Files for Bankruptcy After Drop in Facial Filler Sales”

Meritage Pharma Aims to Develop Drug to Reduce Swelling in the Food Pipe

Intense allergic reactions to things like bee stings or peanuts can be life-threatening because some people can suffocate from massive inflammation in the windpipe. But it’s a little-known fact that the same kind of allergic reaction can also cause swelling and narrowing in the food pipe (aka the esophagus). Sometimes it’s so severe that food … Continue reading “Meritage Pharma Aims to Develop Drug to Reduce Swelling in the Food Pipe”

Appeals Court Slams Qualcomm, Clarifies Law on Disclosing Patents to Standards Groups

A federal appellate court agreed that San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) should be punished for hiding its work from industry groups developing a new video technology standard. But the three-judge panel ruled that a San Diego trial judge went a step too far by invalidating Qualcomm’s patents on the video compression technology it had concealed. … Continue reading “Appeals Court Slams Qualcomm, Clarifies Law on Disclosing Patents to Standards Groups”

Pure Gets Global Marketing Partner for Germ-Killing Compound

San Diego’s Pure Bioscience, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PURE]]) a 25-employee company, has gained a global partner for its silver-based compound that acts as a germ-killing alternative to chlorine and other chemicals. Pure gave exclusive marketing rights to Switzerland’s Ciba for silver dihydrogen citrate, or SDC, in Ciba personal care products worldwide. The deal also gave non-exclusive rights … Continue reading “Pure Gets Global Marketing Partner for Germ-Killing Compound”

Biogen Confirms HQ Move from Cambridge to Suburbs

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) confirmed yesterday that the biotech company plans to move its corporate headquarters from Cambridge, MA, to a site in Weston, MA, in 2010, the Boston Business Journal reports. A company spokeswoman told the BBJ that the firm has recently inked a lease on 350,000 square feet of office space in the Boston … Continue reading “Biogen Confirms HQ Move from Cambridge to Suburbs”

San Diego’s SeaBotix Making Robots For Deep Blue See

When hurricanes Gustav and Ike blew through the Gulf of Mexico in late August and September, most offshore oil and gas production platforms were evacuated and shut down. That’s bad news for the estimated 3,800 platforms in the region, which account for roughly 25 percent of U.S. domestic oil output and 15 percent of natural … Continue reading “San Diego’s SeaBotix Making Robots For Deep Blue See”

Awarepoint Nabs $13.3M, Kratos Fuses With Digital Fusion, Pocket Communications Financing Signals Challenge for Leap Wireless, & More San Diego Deals News

As people gathered from near and far to celebrate Thanksgiving, a couple of startups with San Diego connections had more than one reason to give thanks, with deals closing on a variety of fronts, including one close to home—at home, really—for Xconomy. —Cardinal Partners of Princeton, NJ, (not to be confused with Cardinal Equity Partners … Continue reading “Awarepoint Nabs $13.3M, Kratos Fuses With Digital Fusion, Pocket Communications Financing Signals Challenge for Leap Wireless, & More San Diego Deals News”

San Diego’s Overland Storage Arranges Accounts Receivables Financing

San Diego’s Overland Storage (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVRL]]) says it has closed a two-year deal with Marquette Commercial Finance that will help Overland’s liquidity by enabling it to finance as much as $9 million of its accounts receivables. The deal allows Overland to get cash more quickly from sales of its data storage hardware and software products, instead of waiting for … Continue reading “San Diego’s Overland Storage Arranges Accounts Receivables Financing”

Ceregene Drug Fails in Parkinson’s Trial

Ceregene said its experimental gene therapy technique for Parkinson’s disease failed in a mid-stage clinical trial of 58 patients. The San Diego-based biotech company said its injectable treatment, CERE-120, didn’t offer a signficant improvement compared with a placebo. Ceregene’s chief scientist, Raymond Bartus, said in a statement he was “stunned” by the result, and will … Continue reading “Ceregene Drug Fails in Parkinson’s Trial”

Never Mind That Bailout: Venture Funding for Auto Innovation Accelerates As Startups Race to Leave Detroit in its Own Dust

Tomorrow, Detroit’s automakers are expected to give Congress a detailed plan that explains exactly how they intend to use $25 billion in taxpayer funding to engineer a turnaround—no doubt refueling the nationwide debate over the auto industry bailout. Meanwhile, venture capital funding for innovative automotive technologies has accelerated dramatically over the past five years. Investment … Continue reading “Never Mind That Bailout: Venture Funding for Auto Innovation Accelerates As Startups Race to Leave Detroit in its Own Dust”