Game Strategy: Seeing Two Moves Beyond Console, Online, Mobile

More than 50 percent of the game industry’s $60 billion in annual revenue has traditionally been generated by three companies: Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. But now the landscape is shifting as new game platforms and categories are introduced almost daily. The San Diego Venture Group hosts a panel discussion about the gaming industry, which has … Continue reading “Game Strategy: Seeing Two Moves Beyond Console, Online, Mobile”

Shocking Technologies Lands $8,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a761f721-7671-46a3-a1c1-10d280a0cbcd&Preview=1 Date 2/28/2010 Company Name Shocking Technologies Mailing Address 5870 Hellyer Avenue San Jose, CA 95138 Company Description Shocking Technologies develops applications for it’s patented voltage switchable dielectric materials. Applications include ESD protection for Printed Circuit Boards (PCB’s) and Semiconductor Packages. Website http://www.shockingtech.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Shocking Technologies Lands $8,000,000 Series B Funding”

Under the Radar Deals: 10 Northwest Financings You Might Not Have Heard Of

Unlike the retail industry, Northwest startups pulled in a fair amount of cash in January. Venture investing jumped from $22 million in December to $57 million in the first month of 2010. But there’s another layer of data that further attests to the state of financing in the startup landscape. That would be last month’s … Continue reading “Under the Radar Deals: 10 Northwest Financings You Might Not Have Heard Of”

AFraxis CEO Outlines Biotech’s Success With Ultra-Lean Pre-Clinical R&D in Russia

AFraxis, a mostly stealthy San Diego biotech, is getting ready to come out with a big announcement in the next week or so, but CEO Jay Lichter previewed some key parts of the story yesterday during a presentation before the San Diego Venture Group. He says the biotech has completed pre-clinical testing of a promising … Continue reading “AFraxis CEO Outlines Biotech’s Success With Ultra-Lean Pre-Clinical R&D in Russia”

Intrinsic Therapeutics Grabs $18M

Spinal implant developer Intrinsic Therapeutics has pulled in $18 million of a $20 million mixed offering of equity, options, and warrants, according to a filing with the SEC. Existing Intrinsic investors New Enterprise Associates, Spray Venture Partners, and New Leaf Venture Partners are listed as directors on the filing. The Woburn, MA-based company, which produces … Continue reading “Intrinsic Therapeutics Grabs $18M”

Breakthrough Ideas: Hanauer, Hood, Myhrvold to Keynote Xconomy Event at UW

Entrepreneurs need to think bigger. Big companies need to think bigger. Everyone needs to think bigger. Including Xconomy. That’s why we’re organizing our biggest event in Seattle so far, called “What’s Your Breakthrough Idea?” It’s on the afternoon of March 29 at the University of Washington, in the atrium of the Computer Science & Engineering … Continue reading “Breakthrough Ideas: Hanauer, Hood, Myhrvold to Keynote Xconomy Event at UW”

3Tier Pockets $3M

3Tier Group, the Seattle-based company that has developed a map of the world’s best places for wind and solar power plants, has raised $3 million in new equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The company raised $10 million in December 2008, and recently completed its detailed map of solar power hotspots. The company, which … Continue reading “3Tier Pockets $3M”

Video and Books: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together?

If a book can be made from something other than paper—say, pixels on a screen—then why can’t it consist of something other than plain old words and pictures? It can. Companies like Eastgate Systems in Watertown, MA, have been publishing PC-based interactive “hypertexts” for almost 30 years. Thanks to the built-in speech synthesis software on … Continue reading “Video and Books: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together?”

Arena Gets October FDA Deadline

Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]), the San Diego-based developer of an obesity drug, said today that the FDA has set a deadline of October 22 for completing a review of Arena’s application to market lorcaserin in the U.S. The company’s application includes 18 clinical trials that enrolled more than 8,500 patients. If the FDA clears the … Continue reading “Arena Gets October FDA Deadline”

Avila Aims to Trump Vertex With Drug that Hits Hepatitis C Virus and Won’t Let Go

Avila Therapeutics can’t be accused of thinking too small. This Waltham, MA-based startup is on a quest to show it has the scientific chops to build a better drug than one of Boston’s anchor biotech companies—Vertex Pharmaceuticals. So this is shaping up to be a big year for Avila (AH-vill-uh), as it plans to start … Continue reading “Avila Aims to Trump Vertex With Drug that Hits Hepatitis C Virus and Won’t Let Go”

FDA Says Novalar Brochure for Dental Drug is Misleading

[Updated 2/26/10, 1:30 pm. See below.] The FDA has told San Diego-based Novalar to stop using a misleading patient brochure promoting the company’s injectible dental drug, phentolamine mesylate, which is intended to help dissipate the prolonged numb sensation of dental anesthetic. The brochure omits and minimizes the risks of the drug while overstating its benefits, … Continue reading “FDA Says Novalar Brochure for Dental Drug is Misleading”

Microsoft Builds Out Health IT Portfolio, Waits (and Waits) for Market to Materialize

Patience has got to be the watchword for the 800 or so people who work at Microsoft’s Health Solutions Group. There’s certainly been a lot of political rhetoric over the past year about dragging the inefficient world of pen and paper medical records into the 21st century—but this is still one big market opportunity waiting … Continue reading “Microsoft Builds Out Health IT Portfolio, Waits (and Waits) for Market to Materialize”

Under the Radar in January: A Baker’s Dozen of New England Startup Financings Worth $1M or Less

Earlier this month, we wrote about some of the mammoth venture deals that helped add up to $355 million worth of investments in Massachusetts startups in January. But don’t think we’ve forgotten about the little guys. These are what we call our under-the-radar deals, typically worth between $100,000 and $1 million (though the January list … Continue reading “Under the Radar in January: A Baker’s Dozen of New England Startup Financings Worth $1M or Less”

La Jolla Pharmaceutical: Going, Going, But Not Quite Gone

Staying in business was a challenge for La Jolla Pharmaceutical. Going out of business may be harder still. After its lead drug candidate bombed last year in a clinical trial, La Jolla Pharmaceutical had few options. It proposed liquidation, but too few of its investors voted, so the plan failed due to lack of a … Continue reading “La Jolla Pharmaceutical: Going, Going, But Not Quite Gone”

Biogen Idec Seeks Science-Savvy CEO, LifeImage Partners With EMC, GenomeQuest Aims to be Genetic Google, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Another eventful week for New England’s life sciences companies, with big changes potentially in store for two of the biggest firms. —Biogen Idec’s new board chairman, Bill Young, told Luke that the committee tasked with finding a replacement for outgoing CEO Jim Mullen is first and foremost looking for somebody “who has managed and understands … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Seeks Science-Savvy CEO, LifeImage Partners With EMC, GenomeQuest Aims to be Genetic Google, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

3Tier Obtains $3,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b9dc19b3-0cff-49e7-a302-89493ce28665&Preview=1 Date 2/26/2010 Company Name 3Tier Mailing Address 2001 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description 3TIER is an energy efficiency company: we provide the core data and knowledge for clients to make the best decisions regarding their investment in a renewable energy generation technology. 3TIER is unique in that we cover … Continue reading “3Tier Obtains $3,000,000 New Funding”

Intrinsic Therapeutics Obtains $18,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4a7ceded-2a16-4469-bcf8-26020a7de93f&Preview=1 Date 2/26/2010 Company Name Intrinsic Therapeutics Mailing Address 30 Commerce Way Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description The company is developing surgical equipment for use in spinal tissue repair. Website http://www.in-or.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $18,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Intrinsic Therapeutics Obtains $18,000,000 New Funding Round”

Javelin Semiconductor Receives $6,200,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=569da885-69ae-473a-8b9d-54cb204cec84&Preview=1 Date 2/26/2010 Company Name Javelin Semiconductor Mailing Address 3801 S. Capital of Texas Highway Austin, TX 78704 Company Description Javelin Semiconductor develops mixed-signal CMOS ICs for wireless communications. The company is based in Austin, Texas, a recognized center of mixed-signal semiconductor design talent. Backed by leading technology investors, Javelin was founded … Continue reading “Javelin Semiconductor Receives $6,200,000 Series B Funding”

Seattle 2.0 Awards

Registration and info here Marcelo Calbucci’s blog post here. Technology startups have been the birthplace of some of the biggest changes in our way of life this century, from how we buy houses to how we manage our family photos, from how we entertain ourselves on the Web to how we run our businesses. The … Continue reading “Seattle 2.0 Awards”

PhotoRocket Hires Michael Cockrill; Founder Scott Lipsky Shares More Details

Seattle stealth startup PhotoRocket has some intriguing news today. The company, which says it is planning on “changing the landscape of the photo sharing space,” has hired former Atlas Accelerator managing partner Michael Cockrill to lead the delivery of its products and services. PhotoRocket has also officially opened a new round of financing, which it … Continue reading “PhotoRocket Hires Michael Cockrill; Founder Scott Lipsky Shares More Details”

Alliance of Angels Invested $9.1M in 2009

Seattle-based Alliance of Angels said today that it invested more money in 2009—$9.1 million in 29 companies—than in any previous year. The investments were made in software (33 percent of the money), cleantech (28 percent), retail and consumer products (12 percent), and other sectors like Internet, mobile, biotech, and medical devices. Besides direct investment, the … Continue reading “Alliance of Angels Invested $9.1M in 2009”

How Amazon Innovates: Lessons in Strategy for Microsoft and Others

Sometimes a question that sounds naïve at first can lead to a revealing answer. So here goes: What is it about Amazon’s corporate culture that seems to foster creativity and innovation, while Microsoft gets ripped constantly for failing to innovate? Are there simple principles at work inside Amazon that might explain the difference? I choose … Continue reading “How Amazon Innovates: Lessons in Strategy for Microsoft and Others”

What Makes a City Entrepreneurial?

Why are some metropolitan areas so much more entrepreneurial than others? Silicon Valley seems almost magically entrepreneurial, with a new startup on every street corner, but in declining Rust Belt cities such startups are far and few between. In a new Policy Brief published by Harvard’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, which is sponsoring a … Continue reading “What Makes a City Entrepreneurial?”

The X Lists Debut: San Diego’s Online Reference Library for Innovators and Entrepreneurs

If Xconomy had a storefront in downtown San Diego instead of a Web address, it might be easier for readers to see what we’ve got under construction, because people could peer behind the plywood fencing and the signs reading “Pardon Our Dust.” Instead, curious visitors who clicked on the tab that says “resources” only got … Continue reading “The X Lists Debut: San Diego’s Online Reference Library for Innovators and Entrepreneurs”

Mobile Madness Mega-Post: The Full Details on Xconomy’s Can’t-Miss March 9 Mobile Technology Forum

Xconomy’s next big event, Mobile Madness: The New Future of Computing, is coming up fast—it’s on March 9 at Microsoft’s New England R&D Center in Cambridge. Once again, the tech community has come out in force to support our event, and I have an amazing lineup of speakers to tell you about, as well as … Continue reading “Mobile Madness Mega-Post: The Full Details on Xconomy’s Can’t-Miss March 9 Mobile Technology Forum”

Startup Ra Pharmaceuticals Bags $10.3M Funding

Ra Pharmaceuticals has big-named backers and a co-founder of Transkaryotic Therapies (now part of Shire) serving as CEO, but not much else is known about the secretive startup. Yesterday the Boston-based firm reported in an SEC filing that it had raised $10.3 million of a planned $27.6 million round of equity financing. The company is … Continue reading “Startup Ra Pharmaceuticals Bags $10.3M Funding”

Tips on How Academic Scientists Can Make the Career Switch to Industry

Scientists have a lot to consider if they want to leave the world of academia for a job in industry. I picked up a lot of good insights yesterday at a meeting of people with experience in making that transition. This event was hosted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, organized by the Washington … Continue reading “Tips on How Academic Scientists Can Make the Career Switch to Industry”

SonoSite Spends $89M on Share Buyback

SonoSite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SONO]]), the Bothell, WA-based maker of portable ultrasound machines, said today it has agreed to pay $88.8 million to buy back 2.96 million shares at $30 apiece. That represents about 16.9 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, and leaves it with about 14.5 million shares outstanding. The deal was managed by JP Morgan … Continue reading “SonoSite Spends $89M on Share Buyback”

OncoGenex CFO Exits

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals,  the Bothell, WA-based developer of a prostate cancer drug, said today that its chief financial officer, Stephen Anderson, left the company yesterday. OncoGenex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) is searching for a replacement, who is “suited for the next stage of company growth, with deep ties in the biopharma investment community and experience transitioning a pharmaceutical … Continue reading “OncoGenex CFO Exits”

FDA Diabetes Drug Review Slowed by Snow

San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]), along with partners Eli Lilly and Waltham, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]), said today that the FDA deadline for reviewing a once-weekly injectable diabetes drug has been pushed back one week, to March 12, because of the mid-Atlantic snowstorm earlier this month. If approved, analysts expect the drug, exenatide once-weekly, … Continue reading “FDA Diabetes Drug Review Slowed by Snow”

Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Isis and Alnylam, Strikes Potential $150M Deal with Glaxo

Two years have passed since GlaxoSmithKline anointed a startup called Regulus Therapeutics as a leader in the bleeding-edge world of microRNA drugs, and now the pharma giant has made clear it likes what it sees so far. Regulus, a Carlsbad, CA-based spinoff from neighboring Isis Pharmaceuticals and Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, is announcing today it … Continue reading “Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Isis and Alnylam, Strikes Potential $150M Deal with Glaxo”

Anadys Hep C Drug Shows Promise, Synthetic Genomics Recruits Illumina Exec, ProActa Gets Funds, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

There was a smorgasbord of announcements in the last week. Get your fill here. —Anadys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) said preliminary findings from a mid-stage trial in hepatitis C patients showed that a drug cocktail consisting of its experimental drug ANA598, interferon, and ribavirin was about as effective after 12 weeks as interferon and ribavirin alone. … Continue reading “Anadys Hep C Drug Shows Promise, Synthetic Genomics Recruits Illumina Exec, ProActa Gets Funds, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Cadence’s Manufacturing Woes Detailed; Black Eye for Baxter?

San Diego-based Cadence (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) disclosed two weeks ago that the FDA could not approve the company’s pain reliever because of manufacturing problems, but the company didn’t provide any details. Now the FDA inspection report on the manufacturing plant has surfaced—and the details aren’t pretty. The FDA found numerous deficiencies in the production process and … Continue reading “Cadence’s Manufacturing Woes Detailed; Black Eye for Baxter?”

Dendreon Spending Big Bucks, Gilead Gets FDA Nod, NanoString Thinking Diagnostics, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Seattle biotech had more than the usual flow of good news this week. —The top executives at Seattle-based Dendreon provided a detailed overview to analysts this week about their plans for the year ahead. Dendreon is planning to spend $460 million of its cash hoard on the commercial push for sipuleucel-T (Provenge), a first-of-its-kind immune … Continue reading “Dendreon Spending Big Bucks, Gilead Gets FDA Nod, NanoString Thinking Diagnostics, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

GenomeQuest Wants to Be the Google of DNA Data Searches

A flood of new genetic data generated by advanced DNA sequencing systems has landed some life sciences researchers in a bit of information-management pickle. But this problem is a major opportunity for GenomeQuest and its competitors in the business of proving DNA analysis software. GenomeQuest aspires to do for biologists what Google did for people … Continue reading “GenomeQuest Wants to Be the Google of DNA Data Searches”

Ra Pharmaceuticals Receives $10,300,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=27cddea0-7b8f-4303-98c5-d0e096aacb6a&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name Ra Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 222 Berkeley Street 20th Floor Boston, MA 02116 Company Description Ra Pharmaceuticals has big-named backers and a co-founder of Transkaryotic Therapies (now part of Shire) serving as CEO, but not much else is known about the secretive startup. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Ra Pharmaceuticals Receives $10,300,000 New Financing”

Music Mastermind Obtains $4,850,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ced56b08-0d5a-4300-9beb-3679fb7cb2f2&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name Music Mastermind Mailing Address 22301 Mulholland Highway Calabasas, CA 91302 Company Description Music Mastermind (MMM), based in Calabasas, CA, and formed in 2008, is an entertainment software company that is changing the way music is created, shared, and enjoyed. Led by top players in the three very … Continue reading “Music Mastermind Obtains $4,850,000 Series A Round”

MOG Obtains $9,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f16b1ad7-eb79-4467-9d75-4328c69e9d5e&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name MOG Mailing Address 185 Los Altos Drive Kensington, CA 94708 Company Description The company operates an online social networking for music communities. Website http://www.mog.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The funds will support the development of mobile applications, building partnerships … Continue reading “MOG Obtains $9,500,000 New Financing”

Cleantech Group Garners $3,200,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bbf86a86-739e-4094-8837-ef981907fbba&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name Cleantech Group Mailing Address 220 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94104 Company Description Stresses in the global economy are being compounded by repercussions from climate change, scarcity of food, water and other commodities, and concerns about energy independence. Investing in clean technologies holds the greatest promise of … Continue reading “Cleantech Group Garners $3,200,000 New Funding Round”

Rent the Runway Receives $15,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fb133dbb-f69b-4bfd-90e7-3fc2a618bd5e&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name Rent the Runway Mailing Address 304 Hudson Street New York, NY 10013 Company Description What if your closet was big enough to hold all the latest runway trends? What if, just for a night, you could experiment a little – say, try a one-shoulder dress in a … Continue reading “Rent the Runway Receives $15,000,000 New Funding Round”

eHealth Global Technologies Obtains New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=04549276-e0a3-48c4-8541-e8180de55d1c&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2010 Company Name eHealth Global Technologies Mailing Address 140 Allens Creek Rd Rochester, NY 14618 Company Description eHealth Global utilizes pioneering information technology to retrieve external medical records and images, and securely deliver them electronically to healthcare providers. This technology is also utilized to provide automated access to all radiology … Continue reading “eHealth Global Technologies Obtains New Financing”

Cray Wins $45M DoD Contract

Seattle-based Cray, the supercomputing company, announced today it has won three high-performance computing awards from the U.S. Department of Defense, totaling more than $45 million. Cray will provide three next-generation supercomputing systems to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio, the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center in Alaska, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and … Continue reading “Cray Wins $45M DoD Contract”

Smilebox CEO Talks New Funding, Profitability, and European Expansion

Smilebox is turning into an intriguing story of a young company grappling with the challenges of expanding to new markets and geographies. The Redmond, WA-based company just raised $2 million from its existing investors, as we reported yesterday, and the money is being used to fuel its expansion to Europe, starting with the U.K., Germany, … Continue reading “Smilebox CEO Talks New Funding, Profitability, and European Expansion”

New CEO for Magellan Biosciences

Diagnostics company Magellan Biosciences announced today it has appointed a new president and CEO, Hiroshi Uchida. Most recently serving as executive VP, CTO, and a member of the board of directors of blood transfusion technology company Fenwal, Uchida said he plans to improve partnerships and accelerate investments in development projects for Chelmsford, MA-based Magellan, which … Continue reading “New CEO for Magellan Biosciences”

Anadys Hepatitis C Drug Increases Punch Over Time (But So Does Placebo)

San Diego-based Anadys Pharmaceuticals reports that its hepatitis C drug appears to get better at wiping out the virus over time, although the company will have some explaining to do about why patients on a placebo appear to be doing almost as well. Anadys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) is announcing today that its lead product candidate, ANA598, … Continue reading “Anadys Hepatitis C Drug Increases Punch Over Time (But So Does Placebo)”

3Tier Group Finishes Map of the World’s Wind, Solar Energy Hotspots

Seattle-based 3Tier Group set an audacious goal two years ago of remapping the world to find the best spots to generate solar and wind power, and now it’s done. Of course, that means it’s time for 3Tier to show this information is truly valuable to customers. 3Tier finished its map of the world’s wind currents … Continue reading “3Tier Group Finishes Map of the World’s Wind, Solar Energy Hotspots”

Luminus Devices Nabs $19M, Aveo Sets IPO Range, Thermo Fisher Scientific Reportedly Makes $6 B Move on Millipore, & More Boston-Area Deals News

It was a good week for venture dealmaking among New England’s tech and life sciences firms. —Needham, MA-based Stata Venture Partners led a $7 million Series B financing round for NABsys, a Providence, RI-based firm developing a DNA sequencing technology that employs silicon chips for rapid electronic detection of DNA sequences. —Boston-based Battery Ventures sold … Continue reading “Luminus Devices Nabs $19M, Aveo Sets IPO Range, Thermo Fisher Scientific Reportedly Makes $6 B Move on Millipore, & More Boston-Area Deals News”