It was another pretty busy week for deals in the Northwest, as everyone scrambled to beat the holiday rush. Lots of action in biotech, Internet, and mobile. —Seattle-based ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) is getting back the full rights to its drug for surgical bleeding in the U.S. and every other country except Canada, under a restructured … Continue reading “Zulily Gets Funded, Ontela Merges with Photobucket, OncoGenex Secures $60M from Teva, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Category: Seattle
VLST Cuts Jobs To Preserve Cash, Still Feeding Novo Nordisk Pipeline
VLST, the Seattle-based biotech company seeking new ways of treating autoimmune diseases, has recently completed a round of layoffs. I received a tip that the company eliminated about 30 percent of its workforce in recent weeks. CEO Marty Simonetti confirmed that job cuts have occurred, but wouldn’t say how many people were let go or … Continue reading “VLST Cuts Jobs To Preserve Cash, Still Feeding Novo Nordisk Pipeline”
My Top 10 List of Innovations Across the Spectrum
Here are my top 10 innovations that are coming to the forefront in 2010. Of course, none of these would be possible without the economic engine that is embodied by the USA Science & Engineering Festival, which is creating the innovative minds of the future. 1) High-tech treatment of nuclear waste, a technology that solves … Continue reading “My Top 10 List of Innovations Across the Spectrum”
LiveMocha Receives $8,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2480a31f-9635-4803-b6a5-43f7d487f011&Preview=1 Date 12/22/2009 Company Name LiveMocha Mailing Address 11000 33rd NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description The company provides an online website to assist users in learning new languages. Website http://www.livemocha.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “LiveMocha Receives $8,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
ZymoGenetics Regains Full U.S. Rights to Recothrom as Bayer Walks Away
If ZymoGenetics is going to make its lone marketed product into a success, it will have to do it on its own. The Seattle-based biotech company said today that its partner, Germany-based Bayer, is walking away from its U.S. commercial rights to the drug for surgical bleeding. ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) said today it is getting … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Regains Full U.S. Rights to Recothrom as Bayer Walks Away”
Vulcan Capital President Leaves
Seattle-based Vulcan Capital, Paul Allen’s investment firm, has confirmed today that president Chris Temple has left the company by mutual agreement. The news was first reported by TechFlash. Temple joined Vulcan Capital in 2008 and was promoted to president last May. In an interview with Xconomy at the time, Temple said the job was “rewarding, … Continue reading “Vulcan Capital President Leaves”
Ex-Microsoft CFO Liddell Joins GM
Chris Liddell, Microsoft’s former chief financial officer, has been named CFO and vice chairman of General Motors, the Detroit-based automaker. Liddell will lead GM’s global financial and accounting operations starting in the new year, and will report directly to Ed Whitacre, GM’s chairman and CEO. GM says it employs 209,000 people around the world and … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoft CFO Liddell Joins GM”
The New Google: Internet Giant Opens Up About Real-Time and Local Search, Cloud Computing, and Data Liberation
When it comes to product and business strategy, Google is one of the most secretive companies around. So I was pleased when the Internet giant agreed to grant me a series of interviews last week, most of them with senior product managers from its Mountain View, CA, headquarters. I touched on elements of Google’s technology … Continue reading “The New Google: Internet Giant Opens Up About Real-Time and Local Search, Cloud Computing, and Data Liberation”
Seattle Genetics Bags $12M From GSK
Seattle Genetics, the Bothell, WA-based developer of antibody drugs for cancer, said today it has secured $12 million in upfront payments from GlaxoSmithKline in exchange for technology that links antibodies to toxins that make them more potent. Seattle Genetics stands to receive $390 million of milestones if all of the antibody-drug conjugates GlaxoSmithKline is developing … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Bags $12M From GSK”
OncoGenex Grabs $60M Upfront From Teva for Rights to Cancer Drug, Shares Drop Anyway
[Updated: 12:30 pm Eastern time 12/21/09, with stock reaction.] The Cinderella story of Seattle biotech in 2009 is making more news. Bothell, WA-based OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) is announcing today it has clinched $60 million in upfront payments from Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical for the right to co-develop an experimental prostate cancer drug that has been … Continue reading “OncoGenex Grabs $60M Upfront From Teva for Rights to Cancer Drug, Shares Drop Anyway”
Microsoft’s Director of Environmental Sustainability Talks Green Initiatives, Copenhagen Summit
In the past, Microsoft has had a reputation for being slow moving in the areas of green technology and energy-saving innovation. However, in the last two years, the corporation seems to have turned the tide, stepping up to the sustainability plate and implementing a number of company-wide green initiatives. First, it hired Rob Bernard as … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Director of Environmental Sustainability Talks Green Initiatives, Copenhagen Summit”
Top Five Tech Advances of the 2000s
[Editor’s Note: As the decade comes to an end, we’ve asked Xconomists and other technology leaders around the country to identify the top innovations they’ve seen in their fields the past 10 years, or predict the top disruptive technologies that will impact the next decade.] 1—Digital camera proliferation. Digital cameras and camera phones have become … Continue reading “Top Five Tech Advances of the 2000s”
Melodeo Spoofs Apple-IBM Ad, Welcomes Steve Jobs to the Cloud
Anyone else out there remember the famous 1981 ad by Apple in the Wall Street Journal, welcoming competitor IBM into the personal computer age? The ad was Apple’s stake in the ground, saying it had invented the first PC system—and predicting massive growth and competition in the burgeoning industry. The rest, as they say, is … Continue reading “Melodeo Spoofs Apple-IBM Ad, Welcomes Steve Jobs to the Cloud”
Cell Therapeutics Dangles New Bonuses to Execs for Pixantrone Approval, Boosting Stock
Cell Therapeutics has survived a near-death experience this year, and now it is dishing out a new batch of potentially rich rewards for management to stick around at least two more years. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today in a regulatory filing that the board’s compensation committee has approved a new series of … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Dangles New Bonuses to Execs for Pixantrone Approval, Boosting Stock”
TechStars in Seattle Will Be “Centralizing Force” for Entrepreneurs and Startups, Investors Say
Not to hype this too much, but TechStars coming to town could be the rallying point for a new generation of high-tech entrepreneurship in Seattle—the likes of which we haven’t seen before. At least, that’s the word from two of the main investors responsible for bringing the tech startup program here. (By now, most of … Continue reading “TechStars in Seattle Will Be “Centralizing Force” for Entrepreneurs and Startups, Investors Say”
The Decade’s Most Important Biomedical Discovery
The past decade has been rich in biological and biomedical advances. The decade opened with the reports of the large number of new genes within the human genome that encode small non-coding RNAs, or microRNAs. We have learned that these RNAs a) control at least half of all genes, b) are dysfunctional in many cancers … Continue reading “The Decade’s Most Important Biomedical Discovery”
Apple Vs. Google, Genome Sequencing Goes Commercial, and More OVP Predictions for 2010
All this week, the venture capitalists over at OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, have been posting their thoughts on 2009—such as the biggest surprises in tech and life sciences—as well as their predictions for 2010. It’s a common theme these days, sure, but it’s always fun to get VCs on the record about such … Continue reading “Apple Vs. Google, Genome Sequencing Goes Commercial, and More OVP Predictions for 2010”
Digital Magazines Emerge—But Glossy Paper Publishers Haven’t Turned the Page on the Past
With all the drama this year around newspapers, including the Boston Globe‘s near-death experience and the actual demise of several other papers such as the Seattle P-I and the Rocky Mountain News, there’s been slightly less hoopla over the fate of magazines. They’re dealing with many of the same problems as newspapers, including a falloff … Continue reading “Digital Magazines Emerge—But Glossy Paper Publishers Haven’t Turned the Page on the Past”
Cancer: What People Really Want to Know
The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research and Gilda’s Club Seattle are organizing an event titled “Cancer: What People Really Want to Know” on January 16. Nora Disis of the University of Washington and Brian Till of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are among the featured speakers for this event, which seeks to let people … Continue reading “Cancer: What People Really Want to Know”
TechStars Expansion to Seattle Fueled by Boston Success, Says Brad Feld
Yesterday’s official announcement that TechStars, the startup boot camp and seed-stage investment fund, is coming to Seattle next fall has a lot of us here buzzing with anticipation. Founded in Boulder, CO, in 2007, the program invites about 10 small tech startups for three months of training and mentorship, and awards $6,000 per founder in … Continue reading “TechStars Expansion to Seattle Fueled by Boston Success, Says Brad Feld”
Zulily Zips Out of Stealth and Raises $4.6M, Led by Maveron and Ex-Blue Nilers
I’m no expert in online retail, but this seems pretty interesting. Seattle-based Zulily has emerged from stealth mode and is announcing today a $4.6 million Series A funding round led by Maveron, the Seattle venture capital firm founded by Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan. Maveron is known for its investments in consumer and tech businesses … Continue reading “Zulily Zips Out of Stealth and Raises $4.6M, Led by Maveron and Ex-Blue Nilers”
Chicken Little is History, Now It’s Time for Old School VC
“Biotech is Broken!” “Pharmaceuticals Out of Balance!” “Venture Capital abandoning Biotech Sector!” Lately articles on the state of biotech scream out like spinning headlines on the MovieTone News Reels from seventy years ago: “Millions out of work!” or “War in the Pacific!” Since I’m penning my article on Pearl Harbor Day, the dramatic headlines pop … Continue reading “Chicken Little is History, Now It’s Time for Old School VC”
CTI Heading to FDA Panel
Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]), the Seattle-based developer of pixantrone for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said today that the experimental treatment will be reviewed by an FDA advisory panel on February 10. The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will review the evidence for pixantrone and make a recommendation to the agency, which will ultimately decide whether to clear … Continue reading “CTI Heading to FDA Panel”
Dendreon Nails Down $409M, Stewart Parker Gets Itch to Return, Seattle Genetics Finds New Partner, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
‘Tis apparently the season to cram in as much biotech news as possible before taking a holiday breather. —Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) snapped up a total of $409 million through a stock offering. The Seattle-based biotech company sold 15 million shares in an initial piece of the financing that brought in $356 million, and secured the … Continue reading “Dendreon Nails Down $409M, Stewart Parker Gets Itch to Return, Seattle Genetics Finds New Partner, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Zulily Lands $4,600,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4a87992c-6cbe-4138-868a-470a7564f24a&Preview=1 Date 12/17/2009 Company Name Zulily Mailing Address 505 5th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Just what is zulily? It’s a fabulous new online store offering daily sales on top-quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms, babies and kids. Members can enjoy savings of up to 70% off retail … Continue reading “Zulily Lands $4,600,000 New Financing Round”
TechStars, the Startup Boot Camp, Coming to Seattle Next Fall, Led by Andy Sack
Yes, it’s another big rumor confirmed today… TechStars, the two-year-old seed-stage investment fund and boot camp for tech startups, announced it is expanding to Seattle in the fall of 2010. Seattle entrepreneur and investor Andy Sack will lead the local effort as executive director. Sack has previously served as a mentor in Boston and in … Continue reading “TechStars, the Startup Boot Camp, Coming to Seattle Next Fall, Led by Andy Sack”
Ontela Merges with Newly Independent Photobucket, Looks to Combine Companies’ Reach on Web and Mobile
OK, so there was truth to the rumors. But this is no ordinary merger or acquisition. Seattle-based Ontela, the mobile imaging startup focused on getting pictures off your camera phone, announced today it is merging operations with Photobucket, the Denver, CO-based photo sharing site. Financial details of the merger weren’t announced. The new, combined entity … Continue reading “Ontela Merges with Newly Independent Photobucket, Looks to Combine Companies’ Reach on Web and Mobile”
iPhone Goes Bing
Microsoft announced yesterday that Bing search is now available as a free app on the iPhone and iPod Touch. It includes features like voice search, news, maps, and other location-based services. Bing is already available on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and a few other mobile platforms. The move to Apple’s iPhone signifies the importance of mobile … Continue reading “iPhone Goes Bing”
AltAir in Biofuels Deal with 14 Airlines
Seattle-based AltAir Fuels announced yesterday it has signed agreements with 14 airlines to negotiate the purchase of up to 750 million gallons of camelina-based jet fuel and diesel. AltAir plans to produce the biofuels at a new facility in Anacortes, WA, which is slated to open in 2012. The participating airlines (which entered into a … Continue reading “AltAir in Biofuels Deal with 14 Airlines”
Google Senior Exec Alan Eustace on Innovation Strategy and the Technology of the Next Decade
If ever a company defied hyperlocal coverage, it’s Google. Whether you live in Boston or Bosnia, Seattle or Shanghai, Google is a big deal—and it’s getting bigger every day. Whether it’s attracting or gobbling up the best companies and talent in New England or Southern California, or competing with giants like Microsoft (Bing) and Amazon … Continue reading “Google Senior Exec Alan Eustace on Innovation Strategy and the Technology of the Next Decade”
Zymo Drug Gets Canadian Approval
ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]), the Seattle-based biotech company, said today in a regulatory filing that its drug to control excess surgical bleeding has received approval from Canadian regulators. ZymoGenetics’ partner, Bayer AG, received clearance to start marketing recombinant thrombin (Recothrom), in Canada. ZymoGenetics, which first received approval of the drug in the U.S. in January 2008, … Continue reading “Zymo Drug Gets Canadian Approval”
Photobucket Merges With Ontela
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=acd923a8-a8f0-4c6a-a440-cd4fb7d62fb4&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2009 Company Name Ontela Mailing Address 506 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description The Ontela PicDeck™ platform brings simple and reliable image services to popular mobile phone handsets, helping both wireless carriers and image service providers deliver more value to their customers. Website http://www.ontela.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Photobucket Merges With Ontela”
Microsoft Buys Opalis and Sentillion, Swype and Widevine Raise Cash, Dendreon Rakes In $409M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a busy week for Northwest deals, as companies tried to beat the holiday rush. Lots of action in software, mobile, and biotech. —Seattle-based Swype, maker of text-input software for touch screens, raised $5.6 million in a Series B round led by Samsung Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, and Benaroya Capital. Swype released its first … Continue reading “Microsoft Buys Opalis and Sentillion, Swype and Widevine Raise Cash, Dendreon Rakes In $409M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Azure Reorganization Raises Questions About the Future of Ray Ozzie at Microsoft
Last week, we reported that Microsoft is moving Windows Azure, its cloud computing platform, into a new business unit called the Server and Cloud Division, as the company gears up to offer a paid cloud service early next year. Azure now falls under the authority of Bob Muglia, president of the company’s Server and Tools … Continue reading “Azure Reorganization Raises Questions About the Future of Ray Ozzie at Microsoft”
WTIA 2010 Annual Industry Achievement Awards
Info and registration here. This year’s 15th annual Industry Achievement Awards will celebrate the vibrant technology community in the state of Washington. Through 8 award categories, covering all technology segments, we will recognize the accomplishments of the brightest companies, individuals and students in our state during the past year. Washington is well known for nature … Continue reading “WTIA 2010 Annual Industry Achievement Awards”
The Top Five Biotech Innovations of the 2000s
[Editor’s Note: As the decade comes to an end, we’ve asked a number of Xconomists around the country to weigh in with the Top 5 innovations they’ve seen in their respective fields the past 10 years, or the Top 5 disruptive technologies that will impact the next decade. Here’s the first installment.] Here are the … Continue reading “The Top Five Biotech Innovations of the 2000s”
Seattle Genetics Nabs $60M Upfront From Millennium For “Empowered Antibody”
Seattle Genetics lost one marquee partner last week, and a few days later, it gained another. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company said today that it has clinched a partnership with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company to co-develop and market an “empowered antibody” for Hodgkin’s disease and related lymphomas. Millennium, a Cambridge, MA-based operation that handles … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Nabs $60M Upfront From Millennium For “Empowered Antibody””
Swype Raises $5.6M, Looks to Go Global with Text Input Software for Smartphones
Seattle-based Swype, a maker of text-input software for touch screens, has raised $5.6 million in Series B equity financing from new investors Samsung Ventures and Nokia Growth Partners, and returning investor Benaroya Capital. The funding should help Swype expand its technology to more mobile phones around the world, and eventually explore other types of devices … Continue reading “Swype Raises $5.6M, Looks to Go Global with Text Input Software for Smartphones”
Swype Receives $5,600,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7e0f3782-3946-41cb-ace7-74046e08ff05&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2009 Company Name Swype Mailing Address 701 North 34th St Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description Swype is a maker of text-input technology for mobile devices. Website http://www.swypeinc.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,600,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The infusion will be used to further fuel Swype’s partnerships … Continue reading “Swype Receives $5,600,000 Series B Funding Round”
Widevine Closes $15M in Growth Capital for Online Video Platform
Seattle-based Widevine Technologies announced today it has raised $15 million in equity funding from strategic partners Liberty Global, Samsung Ventures, and an unnamed corporation. The round looks to be an extension of a smaller amount of funding reported last month. Widevine makes a software platform for delivering Internet video to consumer electronic devices including TVs, … Continue reading “Widevine Closes $15M in Growth Capital for Online Video Platform”
Pathway Device Wins EU Approval
Pathway Medical Technologies, the Kirkland, WA-based developer of a medical device to clear out blockages in leg arteries, said today it has received regulatory clearance to sell the product in Europe. The company is now developing plans to sell the Jetstream G2 NXT for peripheral artery disease in all European Union countries. The product first … Continue reading “Pathway Device Wins EU Approval”
San Diego’s Verari Systems Restructuring its Data Storage Business
PE Hub reports today that San Diego-based Verari Systems shut down on Friday, but a top executive at the company, which provides blade servers and data storage technology, says the doors are still open and that Verari is restructuring its business. Verari is backed by venture investors including Seattle-based Voyager Capital. “Verari has initiated a … Continue reading “San Diego’s Verari Systems Restructuring its Data Storage Business”
Zymo Application Yanked in EU
ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]), the Seattle-based developer of a treatment to stop excess surgical bleeding, said today that its partner has voluntarily withdrawn an application to market the product in Europe. Germany-based Bayer, who formed a collaboration with ZymoGenetics to market recombinant thrombin (Recothrom) in 2007, withdrew the European application after regulators there said another clinical … Continue reading “Zymo Application Yanked in EU”
Novomer Uses Kodak’s Idle Film Plants to Scale Up Its Green Process for Making Plastic
There’s news out of Boston-based Novomer today offering a measure of encouragement to environmentalists fixated on this month’s climate-change negotiations in Copenhagen. The material science startup, which has venture backing from Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and other firms, says it has embarked on a partnership with Kodak to use the 117-year-old company’s chemical manufacturing … Continue reading “Novomer Uses Kodak’s Idle Film Plants to Scale Up Its Green Process for Making Plastic”
From Russia With Love (for Biotech), Stewart Parker Gets “Antsy” to Return
H. Stewart Parker’s biotech dream came to an end a little more than a year ago. The company she founded back in 1992, Seattle-based Targeted Genetics, had essentially run out of time and money for its quest to develop groundbreaking new gene therapies. It’s still around, but it never developed a cure, and it is … Continue reading “From Russia With Love (for Biotech), Stewart Parker Gets “Antsy” to Return”
Widevine Technologies Lands $15,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd8b0d82-9c9e-4ff0-9ca8-1bb0d3e86a22&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2009 Company Name Widevine Technologies Mailing Address 901 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98164 Company Description Widevine is the most widely deployed provider of content security solutions for IP video operators worldwide. Widevine enables telco, cable, fiber, satellite, internet and wireless service operators to generate new revenue opportunities through the secure … Continue reading “Widevine Technologies Lands $15,000,000 New Funding”
Dendreon Wraps Up $409M Deal
Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), the Seattle based company developing a treatment to stimulate the immune system against prostate cancer, said today it has tacked on an additional $55.7 million through its stock offering, bringing the grand total of this financing to $409 million after expenses. The company sold 15 million shares earlier in the week, and … Continue reading “Dendreon Wraps Up $409M Deal”
Top 10 Fails, Five New Startups, and More Seattle Tech Tidbits
Catching up on a bunch of tech startup news from around the blogosphere this week, most of it not very serious, but notable nonetheless… —Brier Dudley at the Seattle Times took a considered look at the local video game industry and its outlook heading into 2010. Three things caught my eye: the comparison of the … Continue reading “Top 10 Fails, Five New Startups, and More Seattle Tech Tidbits”
Microsoft Acquires Opalis for IT Automation
Microsoft announced today it has acquired Opalis Software, a Toronto-based maker of data center and IT management software. Financial terms of the deal were not given, but Opalis CEO Todd DeLaughter provided some details about how Opalis’s IT process automation technology will fit with the Microsoft System Center product line, in a blog post. The … Continue reading “Microsoft Acquires Opalis for IT Automation”
Roche Scraps Partnership With Seattle Genetics on Lymphoma Drug
If Seattle Genetics is destined to emerge a leading maker of antibody drugs that specifically target diseased cells, it will get there without the help of the world’s dominant player in the market for antibody drugs. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today that Roche’s U.S.-based Genentech unit has canceled a partnership the … Continue reading “Roche Scraps Partnership With Seattle Genetics on Lymphoma Drug”