The best reporters are always gathering string, as we like to say in the journalism trade. It means we gather lots of facts and observations in our notebooks, which might not be news at first glance, but can become part of a contextual mosaic that we can rely on later when news breaks. There wasn’t … Continue reading “Innovation Northwest Wrapup: Alder, Tekmira, Acucela, & Other Emerging Little Biotechs”
Category: Seattle
Avvo Lands $10,000,000 Series C Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6a9169de-b774-44d3-8fab-4b05e65f0a40&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2010 Company Name Avvo Mailing Address 1218 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Avvo is the only free website that empowers consumers to handle their legal matters with confidence. Avvo rates and profiles every lawyer to help consumers choose the right lawyer, and also offers client reviews, peer endorsements, … Continue reading “Avvo Lands $10,000,000 Series C Funding Round”
Theraclone Sciences Secures $1,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6048837a-0e37-4642-9023-fe15977f8259&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2010 Company Name Theraclone Sciences Mailing Address 1124 Columbia Street Seattle Life Sciences Building Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Theraclone Sciences is a Seattle-based, discovery-stage biotech focused on the development of novel therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of infectious disease and inflammation. Our technology harnesses the power of the human … Continue reading “Theraclone Sciences Secures $1,500,000 New Funding”
Amazon Rents More Space from Vulcan
Seattle-based Amazon.com has leased 180,000 square feet of office space at Vulcan Real Estate’s 2201 Westlake building in the South Lake Union neighborhood, as first reported by the Seattle Times. That space is in addition to the 1.7 million square feet that Vulcan is constructing for Amazon’s new headquarters a few blocks north. Amazon employees … Continue reading “Amazon Rents More Space from Vulcan”
How the Gist Acquisition of Learn That Name Came About—Old-Fashioned Networking
Between social media, company blogs, and TechCrunch, there is less room for traditional journalism these days. By the time you hear a company’s announcement and actually think about it, talk to the people involved, and have time to write something with any depth, it’s on to the next thing. But I want to take a … Continue reading “How the Gist Acquisition of Learn That Name Came About—Old-Fashioned Networking”
Avvo Raises $10M from New Investor, Looks to Expand Online Legal Services
Seattle-based Avvo, the online legal directory, said today it has raised $10 million in Series C financing, led by new investor DAG Ventures of Palo Alto, CA. Existing investors Benchmark Capital and Ignition Partners also participated in the round. The money will be used to help Avvo expand and enhance its online products. The company … Continue reading “Avvo Raises $10M from New Investor, Looks to Expand Online Legal Services”
Xconomy Forum: How Information Technology is Transforming Medicine and Healthcare
Healthcare IT has been near the top of the U.S. agenda since January 2009, when President Obama set a goal of making all of the nation’s health records computerized within five years. The administration poured in $19 billion from the economic stimulus program to support electronic medical records a few months later. Yet many healthcare … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: How Information Technology is Transforming Medicine and Healthcare”
Burrill on How Dx Will Beat Rx, VCs Rip Into Pols, Tekmira Strikes Pfizer Deal, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
I was happy to meet many regular readers during a two-day frenzy of networking, reporting, and writing at the Life Sciences Innovation Northwest meeting. Sleep is now moving up the priority list, so my conference wrap up will have to wait a few more hours. But until then, here’s a recap on the last week … Continue reading “Burrill on How Dx Will Beat Rx, VCs Rip Into Pols, Tekmira Strikes Pfizer Deal, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
How Will Information Technology Transform Healthcare? Xconomy Seeks Answers May 12
Entrepreneurs have been trying to kill off pen and paper with software for the healthcare industry for at least a decade. But it has really only leaped toward the top of the U.S. political agenda since January 2009, when President Obama said he wanted the nation’s health records to go electronic within five years. A … Continue reading “How Will Information Technology Transform Healthcare? Xconomy Seeks Answers May 12”
VCs On Politics: Officials Who Say They Love Innovation Are Actually Suffocating It
An idea virus swept through Washington DC and state capitals around the U.S. like a pandemic last year. Every elected official in front of a microphone suddenly wanted to spur innovation. Then they started pushing policies that will greatly undermine it. Bob Nelsen, the managing director of Arch Venture Partners, didn’t pull any punches during … Continue reading “VCs On Politics: Officials Who Say They Love Innovation Are Actually Suffocating It”
Acucela Gets FDA Fast Track
Acucela and its partner, Japan-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical, said today they have received “Fast Track” designation for an application to market a new drug for the “dry” form of age-related macular degeneration. The designation means that the companies will be able to file data on their drug, ACU-4429, as it becomes available, and which makes it … Continue reading “Acucela Gets FDA Fast Track”
U.S. Chief Humanitarian: We Want to Buy Your Health Products For Poor Countries
The guy whose job is to make sure the U.S. is the world’s leading humanitarian showed up yesterday in Seattle to talk to a bunch of venture capitalists and biotech entrepreneurs. If that sounds odd, it should. But this is Seattle, home of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a cluster of hard-charging social … Continue reading “U.S. Chief Humanitarian: We Want to Buy Your Health Products For Poor Countries”
Second Porch Raises $1M
Portland, OR-based Second Porch, an Internet startup that lets people rent and trade vacation homes through social networks, announced today it has closed $1 million in Series A financing, led by the Oregon Angel Fund. The company has a Facebook application that lets consumers discover their friends’ vacation rental homes and helps homeowners find trusted … Continue reading “Second Porch Raises $1M”
Cozi, Climbing Ranks of Consumer Software, Looks to Deliver on Family-Focused Vision in Mobile Market
As Don Corleone said in The Godfather, “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” If that’s true, then a Seattle company called Cozi should help quite a few people become real men. Cozi is a tech startup focused on family-related software for the home. That includes things … Continue reading “Cozi, Climbing Ranks of Consumer Software, Looks to Deliver on Family-Focused Vision in Mobile Market”
Second Porch Receives $1,000,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=110664b3-d28e-4566-8b56-b5ccfdd04f7a&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2010 Company Name Second Porch Mailing Address 2114 Ne 36th Avenue Portland, OR 97212 Company Description Second Porch is a completely new concept in the explosively growing vacation rental marketplace based on a simple idea: people should consider renting to and from the people they know and trust, And owners … Continue reading “Second Porch Receives $1,000,000 Series A Financing Round”
Amazon, Bing Team Up with Twitter
Twitter, the San Francisco-based micro-messaging company, announced it has developed a new set of frameworks to let consumers tweet, and follow others’ tweets, from within other websites outside of Twitter.com. Initial launch partners for the service, called “@anywhere,” include Seattle-area sites Amazon.com, Microsoft’s Bing, and MSNBC.com. Financial details of the partnerships weren’t given. Other big … Continue reading “Amazon, Bing Team Up with Twitter”
A Chat with Susan Sigl, Incoming CEO of Washington Technology Industry Association
By now, you may have heard that Susan Sigl has been named as the successor to Ken Myer as head of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). This is one of the largest trade associations in the U.S., representing 1,000 members and some 125,000 employees in the technology sector. This morning, I had a chat … Continue reading “A Chat with Susan Sigl, Incoming CEO of Washington Technology Industry Association”
Adapt or Die, Biotechies: Steve Burrill on the Transformation of the Health Care Business
[Updated: 5:15 pm, 3/17/10] Biotechies, of all people, ought to relate to an old quote often attributed to Charles Darwin. It’s the one about how the strongest and most intelligent aren’t necessarily the ones who survive—it’s the ones who are most adaptable to change. That was the closest thing to a single theme running through … Continue reading “Adapt or Die, Biotechies: Steve Burrill on the Transformation of the Health Care Business”
Susan Sigl Is New WTIA CEO
The Washington Technology Industry Association announced today that it has named Susan Sigl its new CEO. Sigl is a former venture capitalist and an expert in mobile technology, financial services, and real estate. She is a founding partner of SeaPoint Ventures and helped found, fund, or manage many Northwest companies, including Ground Truth, SnapIn Software, … Continue reading “Susan Sigl Is New WTIA CEO”
Tekmira Cuts Deal With Pfizer
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, the Vancouver, BC-based developer of RNA interference drugs, said today it has formed a partnership with New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) to use its lipid-nanoparticle technology as a delivery vehicle for Pfizer’s RNAi drug candidates. Tekmira will make the drug formulations, while Pfizer will run the animal tests. This marks the latest significant … Continue reading “Tekmira Cuts Deal With Pfizer”
Google Apps Teams Up with Local Firms, Evri and Twine Merge, WildTangent Goes Social, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
New deals are in bloom as we await the arrival of spring in the Northwest. In the past week, we’ve seen a modest amount of activity in business software, Internet, gaming, health IT, and biotech. —Seattle-based Presage Biosciences has raised $3.1 million from unnamed individual investors, as Luke reported today. Presage, a spinoff from the … Continue reading “Google Apps Teams Up with Local Firms, Evri and Twine Merge, WildTangent Goes Social, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Presage, a Hutch Spinoff, Raises $3M From Angels to Boost Cancer Drug Hit Rate
Seattle-based Presage Biosciences has a big dream for a biotech startup—and now it has seed capital to put that dream to the test. Presage, a spinoff from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is announcing today it has raised $3.1 million from angel investors to get the company off the ground at a $5 million … Continue reading “Presage, a Hutch Spinoff, Raises $3M From Angels to Boost Cancer Drug Hit Rate”
From Main Street to Wall Street—10 Things a Startup Should Do to Groom Itself for an Eventual IPO
You’ve got the vision, the core team, and even a little money. You’re prepared to devote enormous time and energy to your new startup. You’re unsure what the future will bring but you want to preserve the possibility of going public some day. Here are 10 things you can do to put your startup on … Continue reading “From Main Street to Wall Street—10 Things a Startup Should Do to Groom Itself for an Eventual IPO”
Presage Biosciences Receives $3,100,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7293e6ba-d13a-4629-a833-4966b9748c92&Preview=1 Date 3/16/2010 Company Name Presage Biosciences Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Presage Biosciences was founded in November, 2008 based on technology invented in the laboratory of Dr. James Olson, a pediatric oncologist focused on brain tumors. Frustrated by a lack of tools to identify pre-existing resistance to oncology … Continue reading “Presage Biosciences Receives $3,100,000 New Financing Round”
Seattle Grand Challenges Summit (NAE)
Info and registration here. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Seattle “Grand Challenges Summit” is coming on May 2-3. Our topics are “Engineer Better Medicines” and “Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery”. New York Times correspondent John Markoff will emcee the conference and we’ve pulled together a number of impressive keynote speakers from both industry … Continue reading “Seattle Grand Challenges Summit (NAE)”
The Hold Steady: Washington Companies Raised $53.5M in 10 Deals in February
Maybe the world of venture capital has stabilized—albeit at a lower but more sustainable level. Last month, companies in Washington state raised about $53.5 million in 10 venture deals. The stats are almost identical to the $57 million invested in eight deals back in January—and still up from the anemic $22 million invested in just … Continue reading “The Hold Steady: Washington Companies Raised $53.5M in 10 Deals in February”
PopCap, Photobucket on Windows Phones
Microsoft announced today a new development platform and marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series applications. Mobile software developers will be able to make use of Windows Phone accelerometers, location-based services, and push notification services, as well as video, camera, and microphone capabilities, to create games and other visually-based applications. A number of companies with Seattle-area … Continue reading “PopCap, Photobucket on Windows Phones”
How Semantic and Social Search Are Evolving: Lessons From the Evri-Twine Merger
What’s really happening in the emerging fields of semantic and social Web search? I’ve been thinking about this since last week’s merger of Seattle-based Evri and San Francisco-based Radar Networks, the developer of Twine.com. The real story is not that one Paul Allen-backed company has acquired another, or that any investors got hosed in the … Continue reading “How Semantic and Social Search Are Evolving: Lessons From the Evri-Twine Merger”
FiatLux Takes 3-D Imaging from Video Games to a PC in Your Doctor’s Office
The same people who cultivated their skills with 3-D imaging in the video game department at Microsoft have a new challenge in mind. They want to crunch some of medicine’s more complex 3-D images into a form that’s easy to use for the average physician and patient with a Windows-based PC. That’s the vision of … Continue reading “FiatLux Takes 3-D Imaging from Video Games to a PC in Your Doctor’s Office”
Cheetah Medical Lands $20,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6f6a8179-bd5c-427f-8cef-f2180d7dabe6&Preview=1 Date 3/15/2010 Company Name Cheetah Medical Mailing Address 2828 SW Corbett Avenue Portland, OR 97201 Company Description Cheetah Medical is a leading innovator in non invasive cardiac output and hemodynamic monitoring. By providing non-invasive, accurate, continuous and real-time information Cheetah’s products have been used in a broad range of clinical settings … Continue reading “Cheetah Medical Lands $20,000,000 Series B Round”
HIVE.mobile: Interactive Design for Mobile Devices
Now that Internet-enabled devices are in nearly every pocket or purse, design and development for the mobile platform has rapidly become a key sector of interactive design. Join us for an evening focused on the design and development of applications, websites, and experiences for mobile devices. Leaders from companies in both the design and mobile … Continue reading “HIVE.mobile: Interactive Design for Mobile Devices”
Alliance of Angels Director: 2010 Is “A Great Time To Be Starting Something”
Angels have been in the air lately—especially around the Northwest. Last month, Atlas Accelerator hosted what might have been the largest-ever gathering of active angel investors in Seattle, at its first investor open house. Wings, a new angel group to invest in medical devices and software, has gotten started. Last week, there were prominent angel … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Director: 2010 Is “A Great Time To Be Starting Something””
HeLa Book Discussion
The riveting story of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells is also a story of bioethics, informed consent, and the Institutional Review Boards whose duty it is to protect human research subjects while advancing the field of medicine. Please join us for a discussion of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” hosted by the Northwest … Continue reading “HeLa Book Discussion”
Great Expectations Along the Columbia River, as PNNL Reels In Big Energy Problems
There’s a billion-dollar-a-year research operation in the middle of Washington state, with 4,600 staff, working on some of the biggest energy challenges in the world. Yet very few of the locals know a thing about it. And while it hasn’t solved the world’s energy woes, people should start counting on breakthroughs to emerge from there, … Continue reading “Great Expectations Along the Columbia River, as PNNL Reels In Big Energy Problems”
Olympia: Don’t Crush Biotech With New Taxes
Washington’s economy is showing signs of recovery. But some major problems persist—unemployment is stuck at a historic high and healthcare costs continue to skyrocket. The biotechnology industry can help alleviate both these problems. Washington is already a major hub of new biotech research and products. Boosting this sector will deliver our state—and our nation—from this … Continue reading “Olympia: Don’t Crush Biotech With New Taxes”
ActiveTrak Funded by ProtectCell
Portland, OR-based ActiveTrak, a maker of software that helps consumers recover lost or stolen laptops and mobile phones, announced this week it has raised its first round of funding, led by strategic investor ProtectCell, a mobile security and insurance firm based in Michigan. The investment is $500,000, as reported by TechFlash. ActiveTrak (formerly known as … Continue reading “ActiveTrak Funded by ProtectCell”
Tom Daschle, Former Senate Majority Leader, Talks Healthcare Reform (but Not Health IT)
On Wednesday morning, I stopped by the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle to hear Tom Daschle, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota, give the keynote talk at the 10th annual “Breakfast with Champions” fundraiser, organized by the King County Bar Foundation. His main focus: healthcare reform. I don’t usually report on policy … Continue reading “Tom Daschle, Former Senate Majority Leader, Talks Healthcare Reform (but Not Health IT)”
The Apple iPad: Three Unanswered Questions
Today is the first day that consumers can put down money for an Apple iPad. If you pre-order a Wi-Fi model now, you can avoid waiting in the inevitable around-the-block lines when the gadget hits Apple Stores on Saturday, April 3. (If you want the Wi-Fi + 3G model, though, you’ll have to wait until … Continue reading “The Apple iPad: Three Unanswered Questions”
WildTangent Teams Up with Playdom to Deliver Ads in Social Games
This week has been surprisingly quiet for Seattle-area gaming companies, even though the annual Game Developers Conference is going on in San Francisco. Well, OK, Kelly Ripa plugged PopCap’s flagship game, Bejeweled, on “Live with Regis and Kelly”—but does that really count? Here’s some more substantial news. Redmond, WA-based WildTangent, one of the elder statesmen … Continue reading “WildTangent Teams Up with Playdom to Deliver Ads in Social Games”
How Seattle Companies and Innovators Can Change the World: Come Find Out on March 29
There’s no crying in baseball—or in innovation. Yet I’ve been hearing a fair bit of lamenting around town about how Seattle startups or venture capitalists are not making the top-whatever lists (Wall Street Journal, Technology Review, you name it) of most innovative companies or investors around the country. Who cares? The city that brought the … Continue reading “How Seattle Companies and Innovators Can Change the World: Come Find Out on March 29”
UW Business Plan Competition
The University of Washington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, part of the Foster School of Business, is holding the investment round of its annual Business Plan Competition on April 28. This is the marquee event of the year for the center, and has awarded prizes of $812,000 over the past 12 years. The investment round … Continue reading “UW Business Plan Competition”
UW Environmental Innovation Challenge
The University of Washington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, part of the Foster School of Business, is holding its annual Environmental Innovation Challenge on April 1. This event pulls together interdisciplinary teams of students to develop business plans for new cleantech companies, and to compete for a $10,000 prize. For more information, click here.
World TB Day
Become part of the solution to eliminate TB. Take the first step by joining an interactive discussion about TB led by scientists, persons affected by TB, community leaders and members of the Washington State TB Advisory Council. This free public event will be held from 6 to 8 pm on March 24 at Olympic Sculpture … Continue reading “World TB Day”
Lee Hood and Neurosurgeon Greg Foltz on Curing Cancer
Leroy Hood, the president of the Institute for Systems Biology, and Greg Foltz, a brain cancer specialist at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute, will speak about their new campaign to cure cancer. The event will run from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on June 15 at the Washington Athletic Club. Tickets are $20. For more information, … Continue reading “Lee Hood and Neurosurgeon Greg Foltz on Curing Cancer”
Evri Acquires Radar Networks, Redesigns Semantic Search Website
Seattle-based Evri, a Web startup focused on semantic search and discovery, announced today it has acquired San Francisco-based Radar Networks, the maker of Twine.com. Financial terms weren’t given, but both companies are backed by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital. Radar Networks is also backed by Fuse Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and angel investors. This is big … Continue reading “Evri Acquires Radar Networks, Redesigns Semantic Search Website”
Seattle Genetics Adds Patent to 2025
Seattle Genetics, the developer of antibody treatments for cancer, said today it has received a new patent which will extend its proprietary rights to its lead drug for Hodgkin’s disease until at least 2025. The U.S. patent covers technology for a linker that selectively unloads a potent toxin called auristatin on the target cell of … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Adds Patent to 2025”
Bruce Montgomery Joins Zymo Board
Bruce Montgomery, the senior vice president of Gilead Sciences in Seattle, is joining the board of directors at Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]). ZymoGenetics also said that Lars Rebien Sorensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, has resigned from the board. Montgomery recently led the team at Gilead that won FDA approval of a new inhalable antibiotic … Continue reading “Bruce Montgomery Joins Zymo Board”
Android Developers Win Smackdown Vs. iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, Microsoft Asserts It Has Promising Smartphone Future, & More Mobile Madness Highlights
So the iPhone may be the prettiest, the Blackberry may boast the biggest smartphone market share, and the Windows Mobile platform is, um, around, but it’s Android that’s best for developing apps. Or at least it was the Android developers who best defended their platform at the smartphone smackdown during our Mobile Madness event on … Continue reading “Android Developers Win Smackdown Vs. iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, Microsoft Asserts It Has Promising Smartphone Future, & More Mobile Madness Highlights”
Cell Therapeutics’ Friday Bonuses, Dendreon’s IT Partner, Lee Hood’s Eye on South Lake Union, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
We had a little bit of everything on the Seattle biotech beat this week: muckraking, exclusive breaking news, in-depth analytical features, and a sharp guest editorial. —Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) has been known to disclose less-than-flattering news in SEC filings late on Fridays, when most journalists are wiped out and heading home. Sure enough, … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics’ Friday Bonuses, Dendreon’s IT Partner, Lee Hood’s Eye on South Lake Union, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
UpWind Solutions Obtains $28,800,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dd65a07a-acca-4d3b-807e-cec1461b568b&Preview=1 Date 3/11/2010 Company Name UpWind Solutions Mailing Address 3555 Lear Way Medford, OR 97504 Company Description We help wind project developers and owners maximize profits and ensure project success. UpWind Solutions is a full-service operations and maintenance service provider for utility-scale wind energy projects with a bold, innovative approach to business. … Continue reading “UpWind Solutions Obtains $28,800,000 New Funding”