Seattle-based Sound Pharmaceuticals said today that its scientists, along with collaborators at UCLA, have found a new molecular target of interest for the treatment of hearing loss. The target, p27Kip1, was described this week in a presentation at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology. Sound Pharmaceuticals said it is seeking to build on this research … Continue reading “Sound, UCLA Find Hearing Loss Target”
Category: Seattle
Obama’s Earmark Ban Could Ripple Through Northwest Makers of Vaccines, Biofuels, Clean Water Technology
When most people hear the word “earmark,” they probably think of a bridge to nowhere, gilded Pentagon plumbing fixtures, or a dubious construction project in some fat-cat congressman’s hometown. But federal earmarks can also fuel innovative research and development in life sciences, high tech, and clean energy—at least, they could until President Obama vowed to … Continue reading “Obama’s Earmark Ban Could Ripple Through Northwest Makers of Vaccines, Biofuels, Clean Water Technology”
UW Environmental Innovation Challenge
The University of Washington’s Foster School of Business is hosting its annual Environmental Innovation Challenge on March 31. In the UW Challenge, interdisciplinary student teams define a clean-tech problem, design and develop the solution, and produce both a prototype (proof of concept/computer simulation) and business summary that demonstrates the market opportunity. Teams are judged-by Seattle-area … Continue reading “UW Environmental Innovation Challenge”
‘No Woman, No Cry’ Screening With Christy Turlington Burns
The Seattle premiere of “No Woman, No Cry,” a documentary film directed by Christy Turlington Burns, is being organized by the World Affairs Council and the Washington Global Health Alliance on March 16. In the film, Turlington Burns, the fashion model and founder of Every Mother Counts, shares the stories of at-risk pregnant women in … Continue reading “‘No Woman, No Cry’ Screening With Christy Turlington Burns”
Gilead Wagers $600M on Calistoga, Dendreon Scopes New Digs, Physio to Spin Off, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week’s news flow was dominated by a pretty rare event—a lucrative acquisition of a Seattle-based, venture-backed biotech company. —Calistoga Pharmaceuticals hit the jackpot this week, as it agreed to be acquired by Foster City, CA-based Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) for as much as $600 million if certain milestones are reached. The deal is interesting … Continue reading “Gilead Wagers $600M on Calistoga, Dendreon Scopes New Digs, Physio to Spin Off, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Collective Media Acquires Oggifinogi for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9be83559-2446-432a-b19a-48d17283a182&Preview=1 Date 2/24/2011 Company Name Oggifinogi Mailing Address 13256 NE 20th Street Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description OggiFinogi delivers an incredibly interactive, highly engaging ad experience better and faster than any other company. OggiFinogi has re-defined rich media as we know it. This next generation technology delivers higher responses, customer interaction and … Continue reading “Collective Media Acquires Oggifinogi for Undisclosed Sum”
Alliance of Angels Says 2010 Investments a Record $10.3M
Seattle’s Alliance of Angels said its investments hit a record $10.3 million last year, with $9 million of the total coming from individual members and the balance pouring from the group’s seed fund. That’s up from a reported $9.1 million in 2009. The biggest single chunk of the money went to software and software-as-a-service companies, … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Says 2010 Investments a Record $10.3M”
Tippr Gets Injunction for Alleged Trade Secret Theft by BuyWithMe, Also Launches Patent Lawsuit
Kashless, the parent of Seattle-based group deals site Tippr, is accusing New York- and Boston-based BuyWithMe of improperly obtaining insider information from a Tippr employee in a civil lawsuit filed in Seattle. Kashless’s lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges that BuyWithMe founder Andrew Moss successfully solicited financial information from a Tippr salesman, Andrew … Continue reading “Tippr Gets Injunction for Alleged Trade Secret Theft by BuyWithMe, Also Launches Patent Lawsuit”
Mobile World Congress 2011 Wrap-up: Competition Intensifies for Operators
Last week I attended Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, along with 60,000 other attendees—a new record according to the GSM Association. While mobile is obviously hot, the consensus was that there was a dearth of big, industry-moving announcements, partly because of all the news at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, but also … Continue reading “Mobile World Congress 2011 Wrap-up: Competition Intensifies for Operators”
Calistoga Hands the Keys to Gilead, Bets It Can Make Cancer a Chronic Disease Like HIV
Calistoga Pharmaceuticals CEO Carol Gallagher was playing with a strong hand of cards, holding onto an emerging cancer drug she could have sold for a mint to any number of Big Pharma companies hungry for innovative new products. But she and Calistoga’s board took an unusual tack, selling the Seattle-based company for as much as … Continue reading “Calistoga Hands the Keys to Gilead, Bets It Can Make Cancer a Chronic Disease Like HIV”
Amazon’s Netflix Challenger, Kinect’s Development Kit, PopCap’s Looming IPO
A little Tuesday catch-up following the holiday weekend (for us, anyway) in Seattle-area tech news: • Amazon made its long-rumored Netflix challenge official with this morning’s announcement of a subscription streaming video service. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) already had an a la carte version called Instant Videos, which offers about 90,000 movie and TV titles. Today’s … Continue reading “Amazon’s Netflix Challenger, Kinect’s Development Kit, PopCap’s Looming IPO”
Microsoft and Athenahealth Join Forces on Health Software
Athenahealth (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ATHN]]) says it has formed a new alliance with Microsoft (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MSFT]]) to develop software to make their systems more compatible and easier for healthcare professionals to use together. The new collaboration, Athena says, will enable healthcare providers to use the companies’ existing products to get a single view of patient records from hospitals and … Continue reading “Microsoft and Athenahealth Join Forces on Health Software”
Medtronic to Spin Off Physio
Minneapolis, MN-based Medtronic (NYSE: [[ticker:MDT]]), the medical device giant, said today it is reviving plans to spin off the Physio-Control unit in Redmond, WA as an independent company. Physio-Control, which makes heart defibrillators that treat sudden cardiac arrest, has been dogged by manufacturing problems for years, although it was given clearance by the FDA to … Continue reading “Medtronic to Spin Off Physio”
Montgomery Startup Gets $1M
Seattle-based Cardeas Pharma, a startup led by prominent biotech entrepreneur A. Bruce Montgomery, has raised its first $1 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company only lists two executives and members of its board—Montgomery and Melissa Yaeger, an experienced drug developer who previously worked with Montgomery at Seattle-based Corus Pharma and Gilead Sciences. Montgomery, … Continue reading “Montgomery Startup Gets $1M”
Gilead Buys Calistoga Pharma for $375M, Making Move Into Cancer Drugs
Gilead Sciences is the world’s biggest maker of HIV medications, and today it’s making a big move to diversify into the cancer drug field by acquiring Seattle-based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals. Foster City, CA-based Gilead (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) said today it has agreed to pay $375 million to acquire Calistoga, plus another $225 million if certain milestones are … Continue reading “Gilead Buys Calistoga Pharma for $375M, Making Move Into Cancer Drugs”
Hydrovolts, Halopure and WaterTectonics See Big Opportunities in Water
Quite a few Seattle-area companies are tackling some ambitious projects that are all about water. I’m talking about clean drinking water, industrial water treatment, and innovative hydropower. Insights on all of that had people taking notes and asking plenty of questions at a cleantech confab Friday. The event was organized through the Washington Clean Technology … Continue reading “Hydrovolts, Halopure and WaterTectonics See Big Opportunities in Water”
A Focus on Energy Efficiency Will Help Keep The U.S. Competitive, and Other Cleantech Industry Predictions for 2011
Foreign competition is rising, and U.S. consumers haven’t departed from their penny-pinching mentality of The Great Recession, and behind this double whammy the cleantech industry is feeling the squeeze. That’s one of the big impressions I came away with after polling a crop of cleantech experts from Xconomy’s network of advisors and op-ed contributors for … Continue reading “A Focus on Energy Efficiency Will Help Keep The U.S. Competitive, and Other Cleantech Industry Predictions for 2011”
Cardeas Pharma Receives $1,001,523 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=35b90a87-9f57-4996-a1dc-8edf252a9482&Preview=1 Date 2/22/2011 Company Name Cardeas Pharma Mailing Address 2518 Eastlake Ave. E. Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description The company is a stealth mode pharmaceutical developer. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,001,523 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Cardeas Pharma Receives $1,001,523 New Financing”
Gilead Sciences Acquires Calistoga Pharmaceuticals for $375,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7043a036-3ca3-4919-a062-a95c9a3c9a77&Preview=1 Date 2/22/2011 Company Name Calistoga Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 2101 – 4th Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, is developing a drug candidate acquired from Icos that has potential to treat various forms of cancer. Website http://www.calistogapharma.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $375,000,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Calistoga … Continue reading “Gilead Sciences Acquires Calistoga Pharmaceuticals for $375,000,000”
Washington’s Innovation Corridor a Key to Recovery
It’s hard to believe that the biggest recession in U.S. history officially ended almost two years ago. For many regions the road to recovery has been rocky at best. Washington State is no exception. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, our state’s unemployment has hovered around nine percent for the past six months. … Continue reading “Washington’s Innovation Corridor a Key to Recovery”
Dendreon Scopes Out Downtown Seattle Headquarters
Dendreon could soon be headed from Belltown to downtown. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), currently based in an aging lab building at 3005 First Avenue near Denny Way, appears to on its way into the 42-story Russell Investments Center, according to a Seattle Times story by commercial real estate reporter Eric Pryne. An architecture … Continue reading “Dendreon Scopes Out Downtown Seattle Headquarters”
Seven Questions That Will Decide Mobile’s Future—Part One
I always smile to think that we launched Xconomy on June 27, 2007, just two days before the original iPhone hit Apple stores in the U.S. That was a transformative moment in consumer information technology—as important as the launch of the Macintosh in 1984, Windows 3.0 in 1990, or Netscape in 1995. Thanks to Apple, … Continue reading “Seven Questions That Will Decide Mobile’s Future—Part One”
Systems Biology & P4 Medicine: ISB’s 10th Annual Symposium
The Institute for Systems Biology is hosting its 10th annual symposium on May 15-16. This year’s lineup of speakers includes George Poste of Arizona State University, Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe, George Church of Harvard Medical School, Steve Gabbe of Ohio State University, Huntington Willard of Duke University, Mark Stevenson of Life Technologies, Cliff Reid of … Continue reading “Systems Biology & P4 Medicine: ISB’s 10th Annual Symposium”
We’re On the Hunt For a Social Media Marketing Intern Here at Xconomy
We have a bunch of journalists at Xconomy who know how to report and write. Now we are looking to add some electricity on the marketing side of the house. I’m specifically looking to fill a position here in the Seattle office for a summer intern with desire to build a career in social media … Continue reading “We’re On the Hunt For a Social Media Marketing Intern Here at Xconomy”
Want to Create More Startups? Do More to Corral Health Insurance Costs
Starting a business has always been a risky financial undertaking. With the huge rise in health insurance costs over the last decade, I’m increasingly worried we have created an enormous new obstacle that discourages and slows down the growth trajectory of new businesses. This post is not about rehashing the debates over the federal healthcare … Continue reading “Want to Create More Startups? Do More to Corral Health Insurance Costs”
Burrill’s Bet on Seattle, Yamada Exits Gates Foundation, Stewart Parker’s New Gig, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week the Seattle life sciences beat was all people coming and going from high-profile jobs, which may say something about where the action is heading. —Steve Burrill, the biotech jack of all trades from San Francisco, likes to say he’s a “geographic agnostic” when it comes to looking around for the best investments in … Continue reading “Burrill’s Bet on Seattle, Yamada Exits Gates Foundation, Stewart Parker’s New Gig, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Concur Taps TripIt as Mobile Front Door
Concur Technologies is putting its new acquisition in the spotlight, announcing today that TripIt‘s travel logistics service will become the key mobile platform for Concur clients. Redmond-based Concur (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CNQR]]), whose software helps big companies track travel and other expenses, bought TripIt last month for up to $120 million. Concur is sticking with a pledge to keep … Continue reading “Concur Taps TripIt as Mobile Front Door”
MIT Enterprise Forum NW: Mix & Mingle
An evening of networking at the Pyramid Alehouse aimed at entrepreneurs, students, volunteers, MITEF NW leaders, and friends. More info and registration here.
MIT Enterprise Forum NW: The Internet of Things
MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest examines what the intersection of sensors, data, and Internet connectivity means for business and personal privacy. Speakers include Streetline CEO Zia Yusuf, Stefan Weitz of Microsoft, Scott Sedlik of Inrix, and Joshua Smith of UW. Moderated by The Seattle Times’ Brier Dudley. More info and registration here.
Meet the Angels: MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest
MIT Enterprise Forum’s “Meet the Angels” is an annual event gives entrepreneurs and investors a chance to meet with angel investors from Alliance of Angels, Bellingham Angel Group, Keiretsu Forum, Puget Sound Venture Club, Seraph Capital, Tacoma Angel Network, and Zino Society. Panel moderated by panel moderated by Rebecca Lovell, Executive Director at NWEN. For … Continue reading “Meet the Angels: MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest”
Wetpaint’s Fast-Twitch TV Gossip Grabs 2M Uniques, New Ad Deal With Alloy Digital Network
Seattle-based Wetpaint Entertainment, the social media-obsessed hive of TV fansites, is boasting a big jump in traffic and a new advertising deal to help it capitalize on a coveted demographic. Founder and CEO Ben Elowitz says Wetpaint Entertainment’s sites reached more than 2 million unique users last month, better than double the traffic from December. … Continue reading “Wetpaint’s Fast-Twitch TV Gossip Grabs 2M Uniques, New Ad Deal With Alloy Digital Network”
EcoATM Raises $14.4M for Mass Production of Electronics Recycling Kiosks
EcoATM, the San Diego startup developing automated kiosks for recycling cell phones and other devices, says it has raised a total of $14.4 million in preferred equity and venture debt financing, which the company plans to use to fund commercial manufacturing of its final kiosk design. The Series A venture round was led by Bellevue, … Continue reading “EcoATM Raises $14.4M for Mass Production of Electronics Recycling Kiosks”
Doxo, Aspiring to Become Grand Central for Online Billing, Nabs $10M
Seattle-based “digital file cabinet” service doxo, which wants to torch that stack of paper bills you get every month, is out with a pretty nice one-two punch today. They’ve landed a significant partner in Puget Sound Energy, the largest electric and natural gas utility in the Puget Sound region, along with a $10 million venture … Continue reading “Doxo, Aspiring to Become Grand Central for Online Billing, Nabs $10M”
Doxo Receives $10,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5f335902-0aa1-446d-a315-bdd94716e53a&Preview=1 Date 2/16/2011 Company Name Doxo Mailing Address 308 Occidental Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description doxo is developing an doxo is pioneering the way for people and providers to connect and go paperfree, breaking customer adoption barriers and saving businesses millions of dollars in printing, paper, and postage costs. Website … Continue reading “Doxo Receives $10,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Stewart Parker Joins IDRI as New CEO, Bringing Biotech Sensibility to Global Health Effort
[Updated: 2:15 pm] H. Stewart Parker did some soul-searching after her dreams fizzled out at Seattle-based Targeted Genetics, but now the well-known biotech executive has found herself a big new challenge at the Infectious Disease Research Institute. Parker, 55, the founder and longtime CEO of Targeted Genetics, has agreed to sign on as the CEO … Continue reading “Stewart Parker Joins IDRI as New CEO, Bringing Biotech Sensibility to Global Health Effort”
Zino Life: Life Sciences Investment Forum
The Zino Society is holding Zino Life, its annual Life Sciences Investment Forum, on March 8th. Tom Clement, the chairman of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, and WBBA president Chris Rivera will be among the featured speakers. About 15 early stage companies are expected to make presentations to investors. For more information on how … Continue reading “Zino Life: Life Sciences Investment Forum”
What You Probably Don’t Know About Non Disclosure Agreements
There is no love like a first time entrepreneur’s love with nondisclosure agreements. They are a romantic dream: secret pacts bonding two economic entities together as one, if only for the transaction. Promises of futures together and sweet nothings exchanged. Now let’s talk reality. First… NDAs don’t stop leaks. Theoretically, a nondisclosure agreement commits the … Continue reading “What You Probably Don’t Know About Non Disclosure Agreements”
NanoString Names VPs
NanoString Technologies, the Seattle-based maker of a genetic analysis instrument, said today it has hired two new vice presidents to fill out its commercial management team. Chris Grimley, the new vice president of marketing, previously worked at Agilent Technologies and Applied BioSystems. Katherine Webster, NanoString’s new vice president of worldwide sales, comes from Qiagen, and … Continue reading “NanoString Names VPs”
RIM Buys Gist, RealNetworks Cuts Jobs, Microsoft’s Nokia Deal, & More Seattle-Area Tech News
The biggest deal this week around the Xconomy office is that we have a new writer to cover the local tech beat. More on that and other Seattle area deals news below. —Seattle-based Gist, the maker of software for managing your contacts online, said this week it has agreed to be acquired by Research in … Continue reading “RIM Buys Gist, RealNetworks Cuts Jobs, Microsoft’s Nokia Deal, & More Seattle-Area Tech News”
Tachi Yamada, Gates Foundation’s Global Health Leader, Stepping Down in June
The former Big Pharma executive who ran the global health program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is moving on. Tachi Yamada, 65, an accomplished physician/scientist and former chairman of R&D at London-based pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline, joined the Seattle-based Gates Foundation as the executive director of global health back in June 2006. He plans … Continue reading “Tachi Yamada, Gates Foundation’s Global Health Leader, Stepping Down in June”
RIM Buys Gist To Help Manage Contacts in BlackBerry Smartphones
The early scuttlebutt was right on the mark. Seattle-based Gist, which was reportedly in talks to be acquired by Research in Motion back in December, has closed the deal and agreed to be sold to the giant maker of BlackBerry smartphones. Gist, which makes software to help people keep track of their contacts online, said … Continue reading “RIM Buys Gist To Help Manage Contacts in BlackBerry Smartphones”
Meet Xconomy Seattle’s Newest Team Member: Ace Reporter Curt Woodward
Xconomy Seattle is adding a lot more journalistic horsepower to serve the Northwest innovation community, starting today. I’m searching for the right word here—ecstatic pretty much nails it—to say how I feel about Curt Woodward joining us as the new senior editor here in Seattle. Curt’s job will be to cover the people and companies … Continue reading “Meet Xconomy Seattle’s Newest Team Member: Ace Reporter Curt Woodward”
Mirador Adds VP of Sales
Seattle-based Mirador Biomedical has a veteran of Arrow International, a medical device company now part of Teleflex (NYSE: [[ticker:TFX]]) as its vice president of sales. Steve Gappa will take on that key role in commercializing Mirador’s Compass family of medical devices. Mirador won FDA approval last October for a digital device that can tell whether … Continue reading “Mirador Adds VP of Sales”
Will 2011 Be a Breakout Year?
[Editor’s note: This post was co-authored by Moss Adams partners Ken Salgado (based in Southern California) and Derek Dowsett (Silicon Valley).] It’s early in the year, and although there are a number of positive trends building, it’s hard to make overly optimistic predictions. But based on the data we currently have, 2011 could be a … Continue reading “Will 2011 Be a Breakout Year?”
Research In Motion Acquires Gist for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6e6f07c0-c288-47f9-82c4-f4f5b149eb83&Preview=1 Date 2/14/2011 Company Name Gist Mailing Address 419 Occidental Ave South Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description We are focused on delivering real user value and rapidly iterating based on customer input. If you are interested in the team, please visit our jobs page to see what we are looking for. Website … Continue reading “Research In Motion Acquires Gist for Undisclosed Sum”
Cartoon Raccoons Lampoon Startup Life
I was too busy to write a regular column this week. Or maybe I’ve simply run out of weighty things to say about mobile gadgets, digital media, the future of journalism, and the like. In any case, I thought I’d entertain you instead with a few of my favorite startup cartoons. These animated shorts all … Continue reading “Cartoon Raccoons Lampoon Startup Life”
Marina Biotech Nabs $5.1M
Marina Biotech (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]) said today it has raised $5.1 million in a new securities offering. The company sold about 6.4 million units at 80 cents apiece. Each unit was composed of one share and 0.1746 warrants to buy future shares. The Bothell, WA-based company said it plans to use the money to run a … Continue reading “Marina Biotech Nabs $5.1M”
The Geographic Agnostic Looking for Hot Biotechs, Steve Burrill, Gravitates to Seattle
Steve Burrill, the biotech prognosticator/meeting impresario/speaker/writer/banker/investor, likes to say he’s “geographically agnostic.” To me, that sounds like one way of saying he hunts for the best biotech investing opportunities in the world. It also essentially means he could care less about the chamber-style boosterism and sentimentality that sometimes clouds the judgment of well-intended folks who … Continue reading “The Geographic Agnostic Looking for Hot Biotechs, Steve Burrill, Gravitates to Seattle”
Dendreon Adds $80M, Amgen Advances ‘Son of Dmab,’ Mobisante Wins FDA OK, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
My favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, won the Super Bowl on Sunday. So it’s kind of amazing I was able to concentrate on work at all this week. I’m beginning to think there’s a Green & Gold glow coming out of my skin, as a matter of fact. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) tacked on … Continue reading “Dendreon Adds $80M, Amgen Advances ‘Son of Dmab,’ Mobisante Wins FDA OK, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Geospiza Gets $1.2M Grant
Seattle-based Geospiza, the maker of software for biologists, said today that it has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Small Business Innovation Research program of the National Institutes of Health, along with collaborators at Weill Cornell Medical College and the Mayo Clinic. The grant will support research to help visualize differences in DNA … Continue reading “Geospiza Gets $1.2M Grant”