Category: Seattle

Nonprofits and the Valley of Death in Drug Discovery

The research and development (R&D) process that ultimately leads to effective drugs is exceedingly difficult, and often the public does not understand the drug discovery pipeline. In a typical model, drug companies will research tens of thousands to millions of compounds and spend in excess of a billion dollars over a 10- to 20-year period … Continue reading “Nonprofits and the Valley of Death in Drug Discovery”

Lee Hood & Team Moving to South Lake Union, Mirina Vs. Marina, Trubion Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

We had some noteworthy personnel moves, a big real estate deal, and some legal battling on the biotech beat this week. —The Institute for Systems Biology made it clear early this year it was scoping out the former Rosetta Inpharmatics building in South Lake Union as its future home, and this week the nonprofit research … Continue reading “Lee Hood & Team Moving to South Lake Union, Mirina Vs. Marina, Trubion Gets Acquired, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Feds Pumps $54.5M in Stimulus Funds into Washington State to Expand Broadband Service, Spark Economic Growth

The Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) has received an additional $54.5 million in Recovery Act funds to expand high-speed broadband Internet to underserved areas across Washington state. U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former Washington state Gov. Gary Locke announced the funding, alongside U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee and Brian Baird, at the Seattle Central Library yesterday. … Continue reading “Feds Pumps $54.5M in Stimulus Funds into Washington State to Expand Broadband Service, Spark Economic Growth”

Institute for Systems Biology Makes it Official: It’s Moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union

The worst kept secret in the local biotech real estate market is now official: The Institute for Systems Biology is moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, into the modern building once occupied by Merck’s Rosetta Inpharmatics unit. Leroy Hood, the biotech pioneer who heads up the Institute for Systems Biology, told me back in … Continue reading “Institute for Systems Biology Makes it Official: It’s Moving to Seattle’s South Lake Union”

Dashwire CEO Ford Davidson Talks Financing, Apple Vs. Android, and the Future of Smartphone Syncing in a “Market That’s on Fire”

Ford Davidson has more smart phones than he can hold in two hands. It’s all part of the business, he says, a necessary product of keeping tabs on different mobile platforms—and competitors—and staying abreast of new trends. And though finding pocket space for all of his devices may be challenging at times, the 31-year-old founder … Continue reading “Dashwire CEO Ford Davidson Talks Financing, Apple Vs. Android, and the Future of Smartphone Syncing in a “Market That’s on Fire””

Seattle Children’s Moves in at Prominent Biotech Address as Targeted Genetics Moves Out

There’s a changing of the guard happening over at one of the historic addresses in Seattle biotech—1100 Olive Way. This former car dealership, which for more than 15 years was home to Targeted Genetics’ leading-edge gene therapy work, is now going to be the center of a new initiative in pediatric cancer studies at Seattle … Continue reading “Seattle Children’s Moves in at Prominent Biotech Address as Targeted Genetics Moves Out”

Calypso Inks EU Deal With Siemens

Calypso Medical Technologies, the Seattle-based maker of technology to pinpoint radiation therapy to reduce side effects, is announcing today that Siemens Healthcare has agreed to distribute its system throughout Europe. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, although it gives Siemens non-exclusive rights to sell the Calypso system in Europe for three years. Last November, … Continue reading “Calypso Inks EU Deal With Siemens”

SpaceCurve Raises $1.1M

Seattle-based database company SpaceCurve has raised $1.1 million in equity led by Reed Elsevier Ventures, according to a regulatory filing. The company, founded in 2009, develops scalable databases capable of storing and analyzing large spatial and graph datasets. According to Reed Elsevier’s Web site, Seattle-based Divergent Ventures is also an investor in the company. A … Continue reading “SpaceCurve Raises $1.1M”

Sound Physicians Taps Into Hospitalist Movement, Builds Fast-Growing Healthcare Delivery Business

One of the fastest-growing companies in the Northwest has little to do with high-tech, biotech, or cleantech. Tacoma, WA-based Sound Physicians owes its rapid rise to an innovative form of healthcare delivery that hospitals are flocking to as part of their ongoing quest to save money and improve patient care. Sound Physicians has got to … Continue reading “Sound Physicians Taps Into Hospitalist Movement, Builds Fast-Growing Healthcare Delivery Business”

Cray Inks $25M DofD Grant, G5 Nabs $15M, Google Acquires Jambool, & More Seattle Area Deals New

There were, surprisingly, quite a few Seattle-area technology deals this week, breaking the typically slow summer deals trend we’ve seen recently. In the last week we’ve seen a local supercomputing company nab a pretty hefty Department of Defense grant, a cleantech startup partner with the Environmental Protection Agency, and an info commerce company settle a … Continue reading “Cray Inks $25M DofD Grant, G5 Nabs $15M, Google Acquires Jambool, & More Seattle Area Deals New”

Mirina Vs. Marina: The Looming Court Battle Over Biotech Company Names

[Updated: 9:53 am Pacific, 8/17/10] Two Seattle-area biotech companies vying for a place among the nation’s elite developers of RNA-based drugs are now battling in court over names that make them sound like they’re in the yachting business. Mirina Corporation, a startup founded in August 2008 inside Seattle’s venture-backed Accelerator, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit … Continue reading “Mirina Vs. Marina: The Looming Court Battle Over Biotech Company Names”

AirlineTickets and AirportParking CEO Sujan Patel on the Future of Online Travel

The airline industry may be in a slow and painful decline, but the online travel searching, booking, and rating industry is still soaring, especially here in Seattle. The combination of the Northwest’s tech startup culture, open-minded worldview, and the rainy winter months that leave us all yearning to hop on a plane to somewhere—anywhere—warm and … Continue reading “AirlineTickets and AirportParking CEO Sujan Patel on the Future of Online Travel”

Are Casual Games Dead? Viximo and Z2Live Founders Weigh In Coast-to-Coast on Social Gaming Movement

There’s a little East Coast-West Coast brouhaha going on in the world of video games. I just spent a couple years in one of the casual gaming (and core gaming) epicenters of the world—Seattle. Little did I know the city might be becoming a graveyard of companies stuck in the past. At least, that could … Continue reading “Are Casual Games Dead? Viximo and Z2Live Founders Weigh In Coast-to-Coast on Social Gaming Movement”

Latterell Thinking: Ken Widder, Latterell Venture Partners’ Man in San Diego, on Early Stage Life Sciences Investing

Before he joined San Francisco-based Latterell Venture Partners almost four years ago, Ken Widder says the VC venture firm was trying to recruit a partner willing to work full time in Latterell’s Embarcadero Center headquarters. “I’ve known Pat for 24 years,” Widder says, referring to Pat Latterell, the namesake founder who started the life sciences … Continue reading “Latterell Thinking: Ken Widder, Latterell Venture Partners’ Man in San Diego, on Early Stage Life Sciences Investing”

Seattle Techies Take to the Streets for a 10-Day Geek Week

We have a lot of events here in Seattle that are so quintessentially representative of Northwest culture—Bumbershoot, Folklife, Bite of Seattle, SeaFair. And then there are all of the gaming conferences—like Casual Connect, and the Penny Arcade Expo—and way too many tech-themed meetups to count. Each and every event, no matter how different, is blogged, … Continue reading “Seattle Techies Take to the Streets for a 10-Day Geek Week”

Lighting Up the World’s Text: A Talk with Vook Founder Brad Inman

The San Francisco Bay Area is one of those places where the new is always coming up against the old, with strange and often delightful results. You’d think, for example, that anyone who has an iPad would want to show it off. But in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, not far from my office, there’s a … Continue reading “Lighting Up the World’s Text: A Talk with Vook Founder Brad Inman”

Calico Energy Emerges in Energy Management World, Partners with EPA

Calico Energy Services has been flying under the cleantech radar for some time. The Woodinville, WA-based company, founded just over a year ago, is in the business of energy management which is quite a bit different from most cleantech companies that get a lot of press. Unlike many companies out there that provide services to … Continue reading “Calico Energy Emerges in Energy Management World, Partners with EPA”

Calypso Axes 15 Percent of Staff, Pares Down U.S. Sales Force for Prostate Cancer Technology

Calypso Medical Technologies, the Seattle-based maker of a device that pinpoints radiation treatments for prostate cancer patients to help reduce nasty side effects, has cut 15 percent of its workforce and reorganized its U.S. sales force, Xconomy has learned. The cutbacks, announced internally last week, were concentrated among U.S. sales reps spread around the country, … Continue reading “Calypso Axes 15 Percent of Staff, Pares Down U.S. Sales Force for Prostate Cancer Technology”

Emergent BioSolutions Acquires Trubion Pharmaceuticals for $96,800,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2121c571-0ac8-4915-a4d5-2a6ab701caf3&Preview=1 Date 8/13/2010 Company Name Trubion Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 2401 4th Ave Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description Trubion Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel medicines to treat inflammatory disease and cancer. Website http://www.trubion.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $96,800,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A … Continue reading “Emergent BioSolutions Acquires Trubion Pharmaceuticals for $96,800,000”

OriGene Acquires Blue Heron Biotechnology for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=536447d4-01f0-4ca7-9f91-aaf421a2e91e&Preview=1 Date 8/13/2010 Company Name Blue Heron Biotechnology Mailing Address 22310 28th Ave. SE Bothell, WA 98021 Company Description Blue Heron has been a gene synthesis pioneer and leader since its founding in 1999. We provide the broadest range of synthetic DNA sequences and related services to thousands of researchers across multiple … Continue reading “OriGene Acquires Blue Heron Biotechnology for Undisclosed Sum”

Trubion Pharmaceuticals Gets Acquired by Emergent BioSolutions for $97M Upfront

[Updated: 2:25 pm Pacific] Trubion Pharmaceuticals, a one-time highflier in Seattle’s biotech community, said today it is getting acquired for less than $100 million upfront. The buyer is Rockville, MD-based Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: [[ticker:EBS]]). Shareholders in Trubion (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRBN]]) will get a total of $96.8 million in an upfront payment from Emergent, plus as much … Continue reading “Trubion Pharmaceuticals Gets Acquired by Emergent BioSolutions for $97M Upfront”

SonoSite’s Chairman, Kirby Cramer, Retires to ‘Refresh’ Board With New Blood

Kirby Cramer, one of the most successful all-around life sciences executives in the Northwest, said today he’s retiring after 12 years as the chairman of the board of SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]), the maker of portable ultrasound machines. Cramer, 74, has been SonoSite’s chairman since the Bothell, WA-based company was originally spun off from ATL Ultrasound … Continue reading “SonoSite’s Chairman, Kirby Cramer, Retires to ‘Refresh’ Board With New Blood”

Allozyne Inks Sigma-Aldrich Deal

Allozyne, the Seattle-based developer of protein drugs, is announcing today it has obtained a license from Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SIAL]]) to chemical technology for linking certain compounds to protein drugs. Terms of the license to Sigma’s cycloaddition technology weren’t disclosed, although it covers drug and diagnostic uses that Allozyne may pursue in the future. Allozyne didn’t … Continue reading “Allozyne Inks Sigma-Aldrich Deal”

ZeaChem, Pursuing the Dream of Ethanol from Wood Chips, Faces First Large Scale Test

The political classes chattered about cellulosic ethanol after President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address. Bush used that speech to raise the profile of fuels made from ordinary biomass like wood chips, cornstalks, or sugarcane, making it sound like a potential key to the U.S. strategy to break the addiction to foreign oil. Four … Continue reading “ZeaChem, Pursuing the Dream of Ethanol from Wood Chips, Faces First Large Scale Test”

Montgomery Says Goodbye Gilead, Kaleetan’s Plan to Be the Next Dendreon, Calypso’s CEO Exit, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

This week’s roundup is short and sweet, because, as you Tweeps out there know from following me on Twitter, I took a few days off to summit Mt. Baker and Mt. Hood with an old college buddy. —Before I headed to the wilderness with no BlackBerry access, I broke the story on Bruce Montgomery‘s decision … Continue reading “Montgomery Says Goodbye Gilead, Kaleetan’s Plan to Be the Next Dendreon, Calypso’s CEO Exit, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

McKinstry Innovation Center Cozies into Position as Cleantech ‘Accelerator’, Director Elsa Croonquist On What’s Next

Perched atop two floors of parking on the McKinstry campus, the Seattle-based consulting, construction, and energy firm has built the first real space of its kind dedicated entirely to fostering the local cleantech industry. The McKinstry Innovation Center is fast becoming a 24,000-square-foot oasis for up-and-coming clean energy startups. Everything about this place, from the … Continue reading “McKinstry Innovation Center Cozies into Position as Cleantech ‘Accelerator’, Director Elsa Croonquist On What’s Next”

Kendall Square Wants an Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame—and So Should Every Innovation Hub

Local legends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck rose from the bowels of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (the high school’s drama department really is in the basement) to become international movie stars—and Damon was chosen three years ago to get a star along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. But the business leaders who have … Continue reading “Kendall Square Wants an Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame—and So Should Every Innovation Hub”

DepotPoint Obtains $2,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=befe062d-a582-4ad6-bd71-78359008b159&Preview=1 Date 8/11/2010 Company Name DepotPoint Mailing Address 1406 140th Place NE Bellevue, WA 98007 Company Description DepotPoint’s vision is to be the leading provider of technologies that optimize the tracking, recording, and management of property related data. The company utilizes its centralized workflow and tracking technology to create solutions for participants … Continue reading “DepotPoint Obtains $2,000,000 New Round”

Intelius to pay $1.3M settlement

Bellevue, WA-based online background check and information commerce company Intelius, agreed today to pay $1.3 million in a legal settlement, according to a report by TechFlash. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office handled the dispute, which was part of an ongoing effort to prevent “post-transaction marketing” tactics that unknowingly rope consumers into adding and paying … Continue reading “Intelius to pay $1.3M settlement”

Telekenex Raises $5.5M

Seattle-based IP service provider Telekenex has raised $5.5 million in debt financing from Canadian specialty firm Wellington Financial. In a statement released Monday, Wellington said the funding will provide Telekenex with the capital necessary to “continue its growth and penetration of the managed voice and data service market.” Telekenex is backed by a number of … Continue reading “Telekenex Raises $5.5M”

Cray, Nvidia Team Up on $25M Defense Grant to Develop Graphics-Based Supercomputers

Seattle-based supercomputing company Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]) is part of a team that has been awarded a $25 million U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grant for the further development of supercomputer technology. The team, led by graphics processing unit (GPU) developer Nvidia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NVDA]]), also includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory and six U.S. universities. … Continue reading “Cray, Nvidia Team Up on $25M Defense Grant to Develop Graphics-Based Supercomputers”

Zulily Raises $6M More, Korrio Nabs $3.3M for Youth Sports Automation, & More Seattle Area Deals News

Although it’s been another slow week for Seattle-area technology deals, there have been a few notable financings and one pretty sizable acquisition. Of the three deals this week, two fell into the online space, while the third was in the security and software sector. Take a look at this week’s highlights: —Seattle-based private-sales website Zulily … Continue reading “Zulily Raises $6M More, Korrio Nabs $3.3M for Youth Sports Automation, & More Seattle Area Deals News”

Who Are You? Part 2: Gender and Education Backgrounds of Venture-Backed Internet Startups

As we reported last week, there wasn’t much to surprise the sociologists of innovation in Part 1 of the data CB Insights gleaned about the race, age, and experience of the founders at 165 Internet startups that raised venture capital funding during the first half of 2010. But there are some interesting, and perhaps unexpected, … Continue reading “Who Are You? Part 2: Gender and Education Backgrounds of Venture-Backed Internet Startups”

G5 Secures $15,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e6b4230-30b0-426d-83ed-12b4900bb7ad&Preview=1 Date 8/10/2010 Company Name G5 Mailing Address 550 NW Franklin St. Bend, OR 97701 Company Description G5 is the leading provider of Local Marketing Solutions that help mid-market companies get found online, generate more qualified leads, convert more leads into new customers, analyze marketing performance – including offline, and optimize to … Continue reading “G5 Secures $15,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

Teachers Explore How to Integrate Computer Science into K-12 Curriculum at UW Conference

Although computer science may be one of the most applicable academic tracks to pursue today, teachers are having a hard time convincing students—and administrators—that the subject is worthy of a place in K-12 curriculum. Figuring out how to entice student, parents, and school districts to embrace and support computer science curricula in public education was … Continue reading “Teachers Explore How to Integrate Computer Science into K-12 Curriculum at UW Conference”

Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer

Lots of biotech companies around the country are grasping for the title of “the next Dendreon,” including one fledgling startup here in Seattle, Kaleetan Pharmaceuticals. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has become one of the nation’s hottest biotech stories of the year, after it made history in April, winning the first FDA approval for a prostate cancer … Continue reading “Kaleetan Seeks to Stand on Dendreon’s Shoulders, With Immune Therapy for Cancer”

Angel Investing: The Most Satisfying Experience You’ll Ever Have

[Editor’s Note: On July 29, leading Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway, the founder of SV Angel, gave the opening talk at AngelConf, an afternoon conference for budding angel investors sponsored by the Y Combinator startup incubator program in Mountain View, CA. The following is an edited transcript of Conway’s talk, published by permission.] I’m … Continue reading “Angel Investing: The Most Satisfying Experience You’ll Ever Have”

CEO Eric Meier Out at Calypso Medical; Layoffs Reported

At least three people were laid off from Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies on Wednesday, and former CEO Eric Meier has left the firm, according to a source close to the company. Director of marketing David Gusdorf declined to comment on the layoffs. A request for comment from Eric Meier was not immediately answered. Vice president … Continue reading “CEO Eric Meier Out at Calypso Medical; Layoffs Reported”

How to Banish Business Cards: A Ranked List of Digital Options

Business cards are the scourge of anyone trying to go paperless. Sure, the basic concept is brilliant: a business card provides a compact, easily transferable storage location for all of the key data about another person. But it’s a mystery to me why the traditional paper business card, a descendant of the 17th-century visiting card, … Continue reading “How to Banish Business Cards: A Ranked List of Digital Options”

Venture-Backed IPOs Recovering but Weak: We Compare Results for San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, & San Diego

Amid an overall improvement in IPOs, a survey by Menlo Park, CA-based VentureDeal shows 21 venture-capital backed technology or life sciences companies went public in the U.S. during the first six months of 2010, raising a total of $1.9 billion in gross proceeds. VentureDeal’s IPO activity report is focused on a specific subgroup of technology … Continue reading “Venture-Backed IPOs Recovering but Weak: We Compare Results for San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, & San Diego”

MSKYNET Garners $550,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=601eff6c-b6e1-40ef-a631-d48c398b4902&Preview=1 Date 8/6/2010 Company Name MSKYNET Mailing Address 3305 115th Ave. NE. Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description MSKYNET is a 2D optical recognition technology provider that specializes in the mobile phone space. Website http://www.mskynet.com/static/maestro Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $550,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A … Continue reading “MSKYNET Garners $550,000 New Financing Round”

Korrio Raises $3.3M, Enters Youth Sports Automation Sector

Mercer Island, WA-based Korrio (formerly known as iPlaySportz) has raised $3.3 million in equity, according to a regulatory filing. The company is run by Steve Goldman, formerly the CEO of Isilon Systems and a senior executive at F5 Networks, and Brad Hefta-Gaub, of Sweat365.com, Revenue Science, and Real Networks, according to a preliminary version of … Continue reading “Korrio Raises $3.3M, Enters Youth Sports Automation Sector”

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Venture Northwest 2010

The focus for OEN’s Venture Northwest is on getting the region’s economy up and moving by connecting the people with the ideas to the people with the expertise and funding. Under the leadership of Diane Fraiman chair of OEN’s Venture Northwest and a partner at Voyager Capital, this year’s event is bringing together the national … Continue reading “Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Venture Northwest 2010”

Gilead’s Lung Drug Ace, Bruce Montgomery, Hits Free Agent Market, Scopes Startup Ideas

Bruce Montgomery, the prolific drug developer and a leader of Seattle’s biotech cluster, has become a free agent, Xconomy has learned. Montgomery, 57, has told colleagues at Gilead Sciences that he is resigning from his full-time operating job as senior vice president of Gilead’s respiratory drug division in Seattle. He plans to continue working for … Continue reading “Gilead’s Lung Drug Ace, Bruce Montgomery, Hits Free Agent Market, Scopes Startup Ideas”

EnergySavvy Carves Out Cleantech Space, Focuses on Making Energy Retrofitting Easy

[Updated: 4:40pm Pacific] It’s somewhat surprising to me how long the cleantech industry—no matter how innovative—has been somewhat eclipsed by other up-and-coming tech sectors. In the ’90s the tech industry was dominated by the software and dotcom bubble. In the 2000s, the rising stars were wireless and mobile. Today, it’s cloud computing and social media. … Continue reading “EnergySavvy Carves Out Cleantech Space, Focuses on Making Energy Retrofitting Easy”