San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) and its partners, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]), said today the FDA has set a deadline of Oct. 22 to finish reviewing the application to start selling exenatide once-weekly (Bydureon) for diabetes. The first application was filed in May 2009, and the FDA said in … Continue reading “Amylin, Alkermes Get New FDA Date”
Hood Wins $100k Kistler Prize
Leroy Hood, the pioneer of high-speed gene sequencing technologies that made the Human Genome Project possible, has been awarded the 2010 Kistler Prize. The $100,000 award is named after Walter Kistler, the inventor and president of the Bellevue, WA-based Foundation for the Future. Past winners include famous scientists J. Craig Venter, Richard Dawkins, and Edward … Continue reading “Hood Wins $100k Kistler Prize”
5 Things Michigan Can Do to Build a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem
Building a sustainable innovation ecosystem is hard and will require patience married to a sense of real optimism. It will require numerous centers of innovation: academic settings, corporate research labs, world-class hospitals, all operating with an entrepreneurial culture. All this cannot simply be mandated, but rather it comes about over generations of startup success stories. … Continue reading “5 Things Michigan Can Do to Build a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem”
The Underlying Impact of the “Apps” Phenomenon on VC-Backed Software Startups
New smartphone applications (“apps”) are being developed at a rate of nearly 1,000 new titles a day. While Apple’s brilliance in cultivating the developer community receives much of the credit for this incredible phenomenon, it has also ridden the back of the global economic meltdown coinciding with the rise of the iPhone. “Huh, come again,” … Continue reading “The Underlying Impact of the “Apps” Phenomenon on VC-Backed Software Startups”
Avalon Raising New Fund, Althea Technologies Gets Altus Assets, Trancon Pharmaceuticals Nabs Financing, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
We saw a spate of deal-making in the past week. Those developments and more are summarized for you here. —Avalon Ventures, one of the few San Diego venture capital firms that continues to invest in early-stage life sciences companies, embarked on fund-raising for its ninth venture fund with the intention of raising $150 million from … Continue reading “Avalon Raising New Fund, Althea Technologies Gets Altus Assets, Trancon Pharmaceuticals Nabs Financing, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Dendreon Makes History, Microsoft Tries Open-Source Biology, an OVP IPO Is Brewing, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week, my Mom wrote to say she saw a Seattle biotech company featured on ABC’s World News Tonight. That may be a first in the nine years I’ve been writing about this business. So yes, this was a big week. —Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) made history, and the TV network evening news, when it … Continue reading “Dendreon Makes History, Microsoft Tries Open-Source Biology, an OVP IPO Is Brewing, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
InTouch Health Looks to Hire Michigan Engineers to Develop RoboDocs (of Sorts)
A man is brought into a hospital emergency room in Port Huron, MI, after collapsing while riding his bike. The patient had a stroke, so the first problem facing the ER docs is that there is not a moment to lose, as there is a narrow window of time available to treat a stroke before … Continue reading “InTouch Health Looks to Hire Michigan Engineers to Develop RoboDocs (of Sorts)”
Five Ways to Jump-Start the Reinvention of Detroit
[Editor’s Note: Lux Capital’s Josh Wolfe and Shahin Farschi also contributed to this post.] In terms of the difficulty of the turnaround needed, it’s telling that Detroit derives from the French word for strait—a narrow passageway—symbolic of the chances Detroit really has for re-invention. It will take radical action, hugely energetic leaders, and messianic spokespeople … Continue reading “Five Ways to Jump-Start the Reinvention of Detroit”
Dympol Uses Targeted Advertising to Cut Online Music Costs
Consumer brands have long employed celebrities to build their brands, but this may not be the most effective way of targeting consumers, says Jay Ziskrout, founder and CEO of Dympol, a Vermont and Cambridge, MA-based startup. “Is just being co-located with the entertainment enough for the magic to rub off on the brand?” asks Ziskrout, … Continue reading “Dympol Uses Targeted Advertising to Cut Online Music Costs”
Tekelec Acquires Camiant for $130,000,000
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2faa0d6a-819c-4659-b899-abc841974765&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2010 Company Name Camiant Mailing Address 200 Nickerson Road 2nd Floor Marlborough, MA 01752-4603 Company Description Camiant is about harnessing the possibilities of the modern broadband IP network so that broadband network operators can deliver superior performance across the entire spectrum of applications and possibilities. Website http://www.camiant.com Transaction Type M&A … Continue reading “Tekelec Acquires Camiant for $130,000,000”
DormNoise Obtains $500,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=52650daa-02a8-40c2-a77a-cdfc0936763a&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2010 Company Name DormNoise Mailing Address 75 Crest Drive Cranston, RI 02921 Company Description DormNoise is an interactive collegiate calendar system that gives students a series of interconnected personal, student group, and campus wide calendars to organize all of their student events, and let’s them sync everything to the most … Continue reading “DormNoise Obtains $500,000 New Financing”
Arch’s Nelsen Joins NVCA Board
Robert Nelsen, a managing director with Arch Venture Partners in Seattle, has been elected to the board of the National Venture Capital Association, according to an NVCA statement. Nelsen was elected to a four-year term as one of five new directors on the board. Kate Mitchell of Scale Venture Partners is also replacing Terry McGuire … Continue reading “Arch’s Nelsen Joins NVCA Board”
MITEF Program: To VC or Not to VC?
Info and registration here. To VC or Not to VC? Growing and Financing Your Company Through Challenging Times As a proven source of funding, it’s understandable that emerging companies often look first to venture capital firms to support their big ideas. Today, however, many start-ups are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of VC money and … Continue reading “MITEF Program: To VC or Not to VC?”
RCR Local Boston Cocktail Reception and Panel Discussion
RCR Local, a series of networking events designed to bring people in the wireless industry together, is making its way to the Boston area. Panelists from Sprint, Red Bend Software, Sonus Networks, and Cisco Networks will discuss strategies for deploying 4G networks. Registration is free.
Tableau Signs Up Zynga
Seattle-based Tableau Software, the data visualization company, said today that Zynga, the social gaming firm in San Francisco, has signed up to use Tableau’s analytics and business intelligence software. Financial details weren’t given. Zynga, the maker of such popular social games as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Cafe World, says it has more than 235 million … Continue reading “Tableau Signs Up Zynga”
AudienceScience Acquires Consorte Media
Bellevue, WA, and New York-based AudienceScience said today it has acquired Consorte Media, a digital marketing and advertising network firm based in San Francisco. Financial terms were not given. AudienceScience (formerly called Revenue Science) makes a technology platform for digital marketing, and this acquisition should help it connect advertisers with Hispanic communities. The company raised … Continue reading “AudienceScience Acquires Consorte Media”
What Facebook VP Mike Schroepfer Is Looking For in Seattle Engineers: Entrepreneurial Passion
Facebook made big local news this morning when it said it is planning to open a Seattle engineering office in July. This will be the Palo Alto, CA-based social networking company’s first engineering center in the U.S. outside of its headquarters. (It also has an engineering office in Tokyo.) Facebook currently boasts more than 400 … Continue reading “What Facebook VP Mike Schroepfer Is Looking For in Seattle Engineers: Entrepreneurial Passion”
Tough Challenges for Clinical Trials
For those of you who, like me, wonder why the cost of getting a drug to market continues to grow each year, here’s what may be a piece of the puzzle: It’s getting harder to do clinical studies. A report released this morning by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development describes how … Continue reading “Tough Challenges for Clinical Trials”
Facebook Coming to Seattle in July: Engineering Center Could Hire 30 People
Facebook, the social networking phenom based in Palo Alto, CA, is planning to open an engineering office in Seattle in July. The company says it is actively looking for office space to accommodate as many as 30 employees over the next year, and it is recruiting for experienced engineers in Seattle starting today. The news … Continue reading “Facebook Coming to Seattle in July: Engineering Center Could Hire 30 People”
Sanofi-Aventis to Aid Startups in Massachusetts
Sanofi-Aventis, the French drug powerhouse that has one of its research sites in Cambridge, MA, has agreed to contribute $500,000 over the next two years to a state program that provides financing to life sciences startups in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, which administers the program. The program is one of several … Continue reading “Sanofi-Aventis to Aid Startups in Massachusetts”
Sequenom Settlement Approved
Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) says a federal judge in San Diego has approved its $14 million settlement with shareholders in an agreement that consolidated multiple securities class action lawsuits against the San Diego maker of diagnostics kits and products. The cases were filed after Sequenom withdrew plans last April to introduce a diagnostic test for Down … Continue reading “Sequenom Settlement Approved”
Glaxo Stops Study of Sirtris “Red Wine” Drug in Cancer Patients
There’s bad news this week about one of the much-hyped drug candidates based on the red wine chemical called resveratrol. Several news outlets are reporting that safety concerns have prompted GlaxoSmithKline to halt a mid-stage clinical trial of the drug, called SRT501, which the London-based drug giant gained in its $720 million buyout of Sirtris … Continue reading “Glaxo Stops Study of Sirtris “Red Wine” Drug in Cancer Patients”
Cadence Re-Files FDA Application
Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]), the San Diego-based developer of a pain reliever for use in hospitals, said today it has re-submitted its new drug application for the IV form of acetaminophen (Ofirmev) to the FDA. The company’s earlier application was delayed on February 10, when the FDA said it found deficiencies on an inspection of … Continue reading “Cadence Re-Files FDA Application”
Ariad Gets $69M in Revised Merck Deal
Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ARIA]]) reports this morning that it has amended its July 2007 agreement with a unit of the drug giant Merck & Co. for the development of Ariad’s experimental cancer drug, ridaforolimus, which is in late-stage clinical development for treating certain soft tissue and bone sarcomas. The revised pact gives Merck (NYSE:[[ticker:MRK]]) … Continue reading “Ariad Gets $69M in Revised Merck Deal”
Eliza Speech Recognition Technology Out to Make Healthcare Communication Sexier
It’s no surprise that many aspects of the healthcare system are deemed broken. But Beverly, MA-based Eliza is targeting a segment of the healthcare business that draws far less attention than the usual big ticket subjects like health insurance coverage or Medicare reimbursement codes. Eliza uses a software-as-a-service model to deliver interactive communications for insurance … Continue reading “Eliza Speech Recognition Technology Out to Make Healthcare Communication Sexier”
Mobile Health Edges Closer to Transformation as Industry Convenes Fifth Summit
As mobile healthcare entrepreneurs, technologists, and investors gather in San Diego next week for a three-day conference on wireless health, a report assessing the state of the industry concludes that “mHealth” is still emerging, and not yet ready for mainstream adoption. A survey of mobile health companies found that 94 percent of the wireless health … Continue reading “Mobile Health Edges Closer to Transformation as Industry Convenes Fifth Summit”
Celebrate Entrepreneurs Like the Red Wings Winning the Stanley Cup
I am very pleased to see Xconomy moving into the Michigan area to help with the reinventing of the economy there. A lot of people are clearly feeling real pain from the economy, and the injection of “innovation adrenaline” can not only be incrementally beneficial economically, it can make a profound change in the spirit … Continue reading “Celebrate Entrepreneurs Like the Red Wings Winning the Stanley Cup”
Motown Robots Rock With Bon Jovi
With the downturn in the auto industry, industrial robots that assemble car parts are down on their luck. So, like their flesh-and-blood counterparts, robots are looking to diversify. A few metallic laborers from ABB Robotics North America in Auburn Hills, MI, have found a new gig to help make ends meet…as backup dancers for the … Continue reading “Motown Robots Rock With Bon Jovi”
Venter Institute Raises $53M Through Sale-Leaseback Deal
The $53 million generated by the sale of the J. Craig Venter Institute’s five-building campus in Rockville, MD, could help finance construction of a multi-disciplinary research facility proposed for a scenic coastal bluff on the U.C. San Diego campus. The nonprofit genomic research institute announced the sale of its Maryland property yesterday to BioMed Realty … Continue reading “Venter Institute Raises $53M Through Sale-Leaseback Deal”
Five Ways to Build a Culture For Innovation in Michigan
First of all, don’t be fainthearted. Let’s face it, the Michigan workforce has been trained to perform in very hierarchical institutions, where compliance is rewarded and innovation is not. The old days are gone, but the attitude lingers. It will take serious blood, sweat, and tears to turn this around. Second, seek out the community … Continue reading “Five Ways to Build a Culture For Innovation in Michigan”
Introducing the Detroit X Lists: Xconomy’s Guide To Michigan Innovation
Did you know that Detroit has an image problem? Strange, but true. Just recently, “Dateline NBC” did a report on Detroit, “City of Heartbreak and Hope,” that has us, once again, talking about how the world perceives us. It’s become a big debate around these parts. Well, cartoon images aside (NBC has been criticized for … Continue reading “Introducing the Detroit X Lists: Xconomy’s Guide To Michigan Innovation”
Christina Lomasney of Modumetal: Science & Technology Discovery Series
Christina Lomasney, the CEO of Seattle-based Modumetal, will be the featured speaker along with Modumetal chief scientist John Whitaker, at the Technology Alliance’s Science and Technology Discovery Series meeting on May 14. The Technology Alliance asks attendees to register by Noon on May 10. For more information, contact Amy Bell at [email protected] or (206) 389-7261.
Idenix Prices Stock Offering, Google Ventures Reveals Investments, Sophos Sells Stake to Apax, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Google pulled off the veil this week to reveal the portfolio companies in its two-year-old venture fund. Add that to a flurry of startup funding rounds, a stock sale, and an acquisition transaction, and it’s made for a busy deals news week for us in New England. —Management Health Solutions, a Fairfield, CT, maker of … Continue reading “Idenix Prices Stock Offering, Google Ventures Reveals Investments, Sophos Sells Stake to Apax, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Welcome to the New World Order, Where Our Gadgets Rule Us
I refuse to live in a world where my computer appliances are now smarter and more powerful than I am. Last week, my Kindle wouldn’t download new books because I was too far away from the cell tower—I had to drive ten miles from my Vermont house to the nearest town, go around the green, … Continue reading “Welcome to the New World Order, Where Our Gadgets Rule Us”
ActiveVideo Networks Acquires TAG Networks for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6349460d-bd49-4880-8de5-00cbd1a6f554&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2010 Company Name TAG Networks Mailing Address 1937 Landings Drive Building H Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description The Company’s first media property is TAG TV, a true games-on-demand television network that brings an unprecedented level of high-quality casual games to broad television audiences using patent pending, break-through technology. Website … Continue reading “ActiveVideo Networks Acquires TAG Networks for Undisclosed Sum”
Groupon Acquires Mob.ly for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d4d03473-3e21-40cf-a241-6f0c5c6bac03&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2010 Company Name Mob.ly Mailing Address 211 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Company Description At Mob.ly we offer a complete set of services from helping clients develop their mobile strategy to product management, design, development and testing. Our team has extensive line experience designing and developing large-scale mobile products. … Continue reading “Groupon Acquires Mob.ly for Undisclosed Sum”
INVIDI Technologies Receives $23,000,000 Series D Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be2e47ac-3fea-498c-8633-9ef33edac3ea&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2010 Company Name INVIDI Technologies Mailing Address 420 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10170-0038 Company Description INVIDI Technologies Corporation is the world’s only truly addressable targeted television advertising and marketing solution for cable, satellite and IPTV service providers at the headend, household and individual viewer level. Website http://www.invidi.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “INVIDI Technologies Receives $23,000,000 Series D Financing Round”
Big Ideas for Health IT from Hood, Smarr, Lazowska: Highlights of the OVP Tech Summit
The fabled convergence of information technology and biology has been going on for a long time, but merging these fields ain’t easy. Chad Waite, a managing director with OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, knows this all too well, even though he has a megahit on his resume with Rosetta Inpharmatics, a computational biology company … Continue reading “Big Ideas for Health IT from Hood, Smarr, Lazowska: Highlights of the OVP Tech Summit”
An OVP IPO is Brewing, Allozyne Doing Fine, VLST Finds Second Partner, & More Tidbits from the OVP Tech Summit
There was a lot of big picture talk about the future of IT, biotech, and cleantech today at the OVP Tech Summit in downtown Seattle, but I also picked up quite a few morsels of news on the portfolio companies from the venerable Kirkland, WA-based venture firm. Here are the highlights, which largely came from … Continue reading “An OVP IPO is Brewing, Allozyne Doing Fine, VLST Finds Second Partner, & More Tidbits from the OVP Tech Summit”
Icahn Calls Genzyme’s Manufacturing “Broken,” Advises Against Termeer’s Re-Election to Board
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn ratcheted up his campaign to get himself and three of his associates elected to Genzyme’s board of directors next month, telling shareholders that the Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company’s manufacturing system is “broken,” according to a proxy statement filed with the SEC today. Icahn, who controls 4.9 percent of Genzyme’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) common … Continue reading “Icahn Calls Genzyme’s Manufacturing “Broken,” Advises Against Termeer’s Re-Election to Board”
Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day
Customers of three Michigan companies might soon see much better now that the Michigan Microloan Fund has given them a combined $121,000 to develop their products. Seeing what you’re killing: RiserCam, based in Saline, MI, makes video equipment for the outdoors industry. Its flagship product is the Roscoby Riser Cam, which is a flash memory … Continue reading “Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day”
How to Power “Eternal” UAVs in Flight: A LaserMotive Blueprint
You want some real tech? Here’s some real tech: LaserMotive, the Kent, WA-based startup founded by physicists Jordin Kare and Tom Nugent, has published a white paper on how to beam power to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) so they don’t have to land and refuel, or change batteries. The idea is to recharge UAVs while … Continue reading “How to Power “Eternal” UAVs in Flight: A LaserMotive Blueprint”
GameHouse Unveils Social Gaming
Seattle-based GameHouse, a division of RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]), announced today a social gaming platform called GameHouse Fusion that lets gamers connect across social websites like Facebook and devices like mobile phones and PCs. The software platform, which could help drive multi-player game development and publishing, has support from partners including Comcast, MySpace, Qualcomm, Mattel, and … Continue reading “GameHouse Unveils Social Gaming”
Nimbit Drums Up $377K
Nimbit, a Framingham, MA-based provider of online music marketing services, has raised $376,950 to cap off a $1.75 million round of Series A-1 funding, says CEO Bob Cramer. The new funding included backing from the CommonAngels group, in addition to LaunchCapital and Mike Dreese, co-founder and CEO of the Boston-area music and entertainment retailer Newbury … Continue reading “Nimbit Drums Up $377K”
AdReady Raises More Cash
Seattle-based AdReady, the online advertising firm, has raised $5.3 million in new equity funding, according to an SEC filing late last week. The investors were not disclosed. AdReady develops software tools that make display ads more efficient to produce and monitor, especially for small businesses. The company was co-founded by Aaron Finn in 2006 and … Continue reading “AdReady Raises More Cash”
Sophos Sells Majority Stake to Apax to Fuel Growth
Sophos, a Burlington, MA-based maker of IT security software and hardware, announced its plans to sell a majority stake to private equity firm Apax Partners. The transaction values Sophos at $830 million, and will leave the company founders remaining as significant minority stakeholders in the company. Sophos had been exploring different avenues for entering a … Continue reading “Sophos Sells Majority Stake to Apax to Fuel Growth”
Fool Gets Its Xconomy On—Motley Fool to Carry Xconomy Stories
I am extremely pleased to announce that Xconomy and The Motley Fool have reached an agreement that will put one Xconomy feature story a day on Fool.com, the flagship website of the Alexandria, VA-based organization. The first story, by our Seattle editor Greg Huang about how startups might learn from Clay Christensen’s “disruptive innovation” model … Continue reading “Fool Gets Its Xconomy On—Motley Fool to Carry Xconomy Stories”
GE Vows 1,300 New Michigan Tech Jobs
General Electric says it will add 220 jobs to the 1,100 new technology, software, manufacturing, and sourcing positions it plans to create in Michigan over the next five years. The announcement was made Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new GE Aviation facility in Van Buren Township, MI. GE Vice Chairman John Rice called … Continue reading “GE Vows 1,300 New Michigan Tech Jobs”
Link Medicine Ups Third Round to $45M, Taking Aim at Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Link Medicine has wrapped up its Series C round at $45 million, $5 million more than the $40 million the developer of drugs for neurodegenerative diseases said it would raise in the financing in September 2008, says Michael Fitzgerald, the company’s financial chief. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company finished the venture round with a third … Continue reading “Link Medicine Ups Third Round to $45M, Taking Aim at Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s”
$6M in New Funding for Exit41
Exit41, an Andover, MA-based maker of software that captures takeout, delivery, and catering orders at restaurants, has been recapitalized with $6 million in new funding, erasing previous venture investments of more than $20 million, the blog peHUB reported on Friday. The company was not available for comment at press time, but the peHUB report says … Continue reading “$6M in New Funding for Exit41”