We saw several San Diego biotechs raising cash over the past week, which might be a sign that some green shoots are emerging in the regional economy. Read up on that and the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —Less than three months after its debut, San Diego’s new West Wireless Health Institute says … Continue reading “Qualcomm Exec Helps Start Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance, Lawsuit Entangles La Jolla Pharma, Sorrento Raises Cash & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
ClickFuel Raises $2.5M
Boston-based ClickFuel, which offers Web-based services that help small and medium-sized businesses manage Internet marketing campaigns, said today that it has raised $2.5 million in a Series A round led by Chicago-based Baird Venture Partners. Launched last month, ClickFuel is led by Steve Pogorzelski, a former senior executive at career site Monster Worldwide.
Boston Scientific CEO Retires, Replaced by Former Zimmer Boss
[Updated with CEO pay packages, 9:52 am Eastern] Boston Scientific president and CEO Jim Tobin is retiring, and will be replaced by Ray Elliott, the Natick, MA-based medical device maker said today in a statement. Tobin, who has led the company (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) for a decade, will turn 65 in another two months. The change … Continue reading “Boston Scientific CEO Retires, Replaced by Former Zimmer Boss”
Cell Therapeutics Ships App to FDA, Targeted Genetics Cuts Again, Sanofi CEO Looks to Biotech & More Seattle Area Life Sciences News
We had a smorgasbord of life sciences news this week, featuring updates on Northwest companies developing drugs, devices, vaccines, and scientific instruments. —Cell Therapeutics has bet the company on pixantrone for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and this week it hit one of its key goals for the year, by turning in its new drug application to the … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Ships App to FDA, Targeted Genetics Cuts Again, Sanofi CEO Looks to Biotech & More Seattle Area Life Sciences News”
ClickFuel Inc Receives $2,500,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9cc94120-3d4c-4771-a5b1-3e574a815823&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name ClickFuel Inc Mailing Address 580 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118 Company Description At ClickFuel our business is helping companies generate more business at an affordable cost by leveraging the power of the Internet. We do this by giving local businesses the ability to reach the right people … Continue reading “ClickFuel Inc Receives $2,500,000 Series A Funding Round”
Yapta, Inc. Garners $2,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7270b917-6951-49fa-aad5-d0f10732c6e8&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name Yapta, Inc. Mailing Address 315 1st Avenue S Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Our purpose is to make it easy for you to secure the best airfare deals available on the Web. We do this by giving you a tool to “tag” the trips you like while … Continue reading “Yapta, Inc. Garners $2,000,000 Series B Funding”
PhysioSonics, Inc Receives $2,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a3c6c7fe-a4a8-4c67-b538-813ff9790448&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name PhysioSonics, Inc Mailing Address Undisclosed Undisclosed, WA 98100 Company Description PhysioSonics, formerly known as Allez PhysiOnix, is a privately held company, founded in 2000 with technology developed at the University of Washington. The company has developed and patented a number of new technologies including an ultrasound-based technology … Continue reading “PhysioSonics, Inc Receives $2,000,000 New Financing Round”
Spiracur Obtains $20,300,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=62f8303f-f15d-49e3-9e14-8e52218390d6&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name Spiracur Mailing Address 1180 Bordeaux Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Company Description Spiracur Inc., the developer of a wound-healing technology. Website http://www.spiracur.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,300,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed
Cyan Optics Obtains $8,800,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2a7745ba-7cec-4e5a-931c-9084641076e6&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name Cyan Optics Mailing Address 1383 N. McDowell Blvd Petaluma, CA 94954 Company Description Ever increasing demand for high-bandwidth real-time services from consumers and business, places continuous pressure on public networks. Communication Service Providers recognize that their networks need to change to meet their customers’ expectations. Cyan builds … Continue reading “Cyan Optics Obtains $8,800,000 New Round”
Virsto Software Corporation Lands $7,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=422221de-6015-462d-a128-d6d3908297f5&Preview=1 Date 6/25/2009 Company Name Virsto Software Corporation Mailing Address 465 Fairchild Drive Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Virsto Software lives at the intersection of server virtualization and storage management – a strategic crossroads for the future of the data center. Our team has a rich history of successful innovation, and … Continue reading “Virsto Software Corporation Lands $7,000,000 Series A Funding”
Escapia Raises $1.6M
Escapia, a Seattle-based provider of online vacation rental software raised $1.6 million from investors, according to an announcement by the company today. Escapia, which was founded in 2000 and hosts software used by vacation rental managers to market and administer their property, is using the money to expand the capabilities of its software and accommodate … Continue reading “Escapia Raises $1.6M”
Save Energy with MS Hohm
Microsoft today announced the launch of its new energy management application, Hohm. Hohm, using licensed technology from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, calculates energy usage in a home and gives recommendations on how consumers can cut their energy and save money. The Redmond, WA-based software company said in the … Continue reading “Save Energy with MS Hohm”
West Wireless Health Institute Discloses First Clinical Trial
San Diego’s new West Wireless Health Institute today announced its first clinical research program, saying it will oversee randomized clinical trials of wireless heart monitoring technology developed by San Jose, CA-based Corventis. The institute, which announced its presence less than three months ago, was established to advance healthcare by helping medical device makers and others … Continue reading “West Wireless Health Institute Discloses First Clinical Trial”
EMC Opens Research Arm in Cambridge, Joins MIT Media Lab as Sponsor
EMC has joined the growing ranks of major information technology companies boosting their R&D presence in Kendall Square, creating EMC Research Cambridge, a small research arm near MIT. It has already moved the headquarters of RSA Laboratories to the new outpost, and has signed on as a corporate sponsor of the MIT Media Lab. The … Continue reading “EMC Opens Research Arm in Cambridge, Joins MIT Media Lab as Sponsor”
Cell Therapeutics Files Cancer Drug Application, In Nick of Time
Cell Therapeutics has bet the company on an experimental drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and today it hit a critical deadline in the nick of time. The Seattle biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today it turned in its application to the FDA for clearance to start marketing the drug in the U.S., meeting its goal of … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Files Cancer Drug Application, In Nick of Time”
Amnis Rolls Out Souped Up Scientific Tool, Just as Customers Start Feeling Flush
Seattle-based Amnis spun out of the University of Washington a decade ago, fired up about developing a new type of sophisticated imaging instrument with potential to enable all kinds of cool experiments in the lab. Yet it never really caught on in a big way, and nobody has yet published a groundbreaking paper in Nature … Continue reading “Amnis Rolls Out Souped Up Scientific Tool, Just as Customers Start Feeling Flush”
SugarLabs Releases Sugar on Stick
SugarLabs, the Boston-based organization leading the development of Sugar, the open-source operating environment originally developed for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s XO Laptop, said today that it is now distributing a self-contained version of Sugar that boots from a thumb drive. Called “Sugar on a Stick,” the product was described in detail by SugarLabs … Continue reading “SugarLabs Releases Sugar on Stick”
Biogen and Fellow Boston-Area Biotechs Ready for Biogenerics
Boston-area biotech companies have kept a close eye on how U.S. regulators decide to govern the approval of copycat versions of biotech drugs. Now I’m seeing more signs that some of these companies could actually become major players in the business of making biogenerics (which are also called biosimilars, follow-on biologics, and other names, depending … Continue reading “Biogen and Fellow Boston-Area Biotechs Ready for Biogenerics”
RealNetworks Rolls Out Novel Media Player, Moves Deeper into Mobile and Social Space
Seattle-based RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) announced today the first new version of its RealPlayer media software since May 2007. This beta version of RealPlayer SP lets you download video in any format and quickly put it on your mobile phone or portable media player—whether you have an iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry Storm, Palm Pre, or any of … Continue reading “RealNetworks Rolls Out Novel Media Player, Moves Deeper into Mobile and Social Space”
Life Science Leaders Converge in Newport, PubGet Gets Your Paper Faster, I-Therapeutix Eyes $15M Prize & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Our Seattle compatriots have all arrived in Boston for XSITE. We wish we could say they brought the rain with them, but in fact, Boston has been far wetter than Seattle all month. The week’s life sciences news, however, isn’t quite the downpour you’ve all been dealing with outside. —Wide-roaming correspondent Ryan McBride took in … Continue reading “Life Science Leaders Converge in Newport, PubGet Gets Your Paper Faster, I-Therapeutix Eyes $15M Prize & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
TARIS Biomedical Obtains $15,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4bd9322e-60fb-4710-aecd-98dd20e516ba&Preview=1 Date 6/24/2009 Company Name TARIS Biomedical Mailing Address 99 Hayden Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description TARIS Biomedical Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with deep domain expertise in therapeutics and drug-delivery, is focused on local minimally-invasive drug-device convergence products. The TARIS core technology and development efforts are being applied to disease … Continue reading “TARIS Biomedical Obtains $15,000,000 Series A Funding”
Escapia, Inc. Receives $1,600,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2cf2e9e6-8bd9-4338-b401-947c84ef4805&Preview=1 Date 6/24/2009 Company Name Escapia, Inc. Mailing Address 2101 4th Ave. Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description EscapiaONE and the Escapia vacation rental software suite, will enable you to save time, cut costs, and participate in a greater percentage of your guests’ vacation budgets through integrated multi-ledger trust accounting, fantastic installation and … Continue reading “Escapia, Inc. Receives $1,600,000 New Funding Round”
UCSD Research Review: Center for Network Systems
This two-day review of research will be held at the Computer Science and Engineering Building at U.C. San Diego. The agenda includes talks by UCSD’s industrial affiliates about their companies’ current research challenges and concerns. Review sessions will cover CNS research challenges and progress, graduate students’ work, research poster sessions, and informal interactions with faculty … Continue reading “UCSD Research Review: Center for Network Systems”
Backchannelmedia Clicks to Market
Boston-based Backchannelmedia said this week that it’s moving from an extended period of beta testing to launching commercial operations in the New York area. The company, whose motto is “TV and the Internet finally just click,” has created a system that allows TV viewers to click using their remote controls in response to special onscreen … Continue reading “Backchannelmedia Clicks to Market”
Microsoft Hires Three New Internet Execs
Redmond-WA-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) is not letting the economy slow it down, hiring three new executives focused on Web search and Internet from Sunnyvale, CA-based Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]), according to a report in TechFlash and confirmed by Microsoft. Kevin Timmons has joined the data center group of Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services, according to a blog … Continue reading “Microsoft Hires Three New Internet Execs”
Secrets to the Startup
The San Diego Software Industry Council is offering a workshop on laying the foundations for starting your own company. The required resources have never been less expensive, from talent to hard assets. If you’ve thought about branching out on your own, come and learn or reinforce the basics of how to prepare your startup for … Continue reading “Secrets to the Startup”
Making it Succinct and to the Point
Biocom, the San Diego life sciences association, has organized a one-day workshop on how to plan and execute a perfect presentation. The session covers such topics as keeping things audience-focused, and being clear and concise. Training is provided through one-on-one coaching and presentations to a small group. Online registration is here.
One Day Til XSITE: Just A Few Seats Left, but Plenty of Innovation to Go Around
This is it. After two months of all-out effort here at Xconomy, we are just about ready to rock and roll with XSITE 2009 at Boston University. The event starts first thing tomorrow morning, so we are down to the wire. We have over 350 people registered and fewer than 20 tickets left (get yours … Continue reading “One Day Til XSITE: Just A Few Seats Left, but Plenty of Innovation to Go Around”
TruFan Swings For the Fences
Rafe Anderson is moving up into the big leagues. His sports social media network, TruFan, officially goes national today. TruFan grew out of a collection of websites—Sawxheads, Celtsheads, and Blackandgoldheads—which focused solely on Boston teams. Now the national network will include 122 communities for clubs across the country, spanning Major League Baseball, the National Football … Continue reading “TruFan Swings For the Fences”
Amazon Buys SnapTell, Madrona Backs Animoto, MDRNA Works Out Tech License, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It has been a fairly busy start to the summer in the Northwest. In the past week, we’ve seen a number of deals in software, Internet, displays, biotech, and energy. —Portland, OR-based Reductive Labs raised a $2 million Series A round led by True Ventures in Palo Alto, CA. Reductive, whose founders are in Salt … Continue reading “Amazon Buys SnapTell, Madrona Backs Animoto, MDRNA Works Out Tech License, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Venter Institute Gets $8.8 Million in Stimulus Funding
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said today it is providing $42 million to The Human Microbiome Project’s three large-scale sequencing centers. One of the centers is J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, MD, with its headquarters in San Diego, which gets $8.8 million as part of the government’s economic stimulus package for research that … Continue reading “Venter Institute Gets $8.8 Million in Stimulus Funding”
Spark-funded Clear Shuts Down
Clear, a five-year-old biometric passenger identification service intended to speed air travelers’ passage through security checkpoints, shut down last night. According to the service’s website, parent company Verified Identity Pass of New York, NY, was unable to obtain credit to continue operations. Boston’s Spark Capital led a $44.4 million Series C venture funding round for … Continue reading “Spark-funded Clear Shuts Down”
CRV Taps F—edCompany.com Creator
Charles River Ventures, a venture firm with offices in Waltham, MA, and Menlo Park, CA, has recruited F—edCompany.com creator Philip Kaplan to be an entrepreneur-in-residence at the firm, VentureWire reports. Kaplan, aka “Pud,” tells the VC news service that he plans to evaluate tech companies in the context of venture investing rather than slamming them … Continue reading “CRV Taps F—edCompany.com Creator”
After the Breakup: BioMarin Says Ex-Partner La Jolla Pharmaceutical Dragging its Feet on Stock Registration
Hard times can make for hard feelings between former drug development partners, which seems to be what’s happening between Novato, CA-based BioMarin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]) and San Diego’s ailing La Jolla Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LJPC]]). Once the love was gone, BioMarin just couldn’t get rid of the La Jolla Pharmaceutical shares it owned fast enough. So it … Continue reading “After the Breakup: BioMarin Says Ex-Partner La Jolla Pharmaceutical Dragging its Feet on Stock Registration”
Why EMC Wants to Build a High Performance Data Center in Holyoke
Scene: An abandoned brick building along the Connecticut River. The image dissolves, then reforms to show a new, ultra-modern factory in its place. Move to interior shot of computers and server banks. Brilliant academics ponder the future. Highly trained young professionals walk purposefully, the future alive in their eyes. I have no idea whether the … Continue reading “Why EMC Wants to Build a High Performance Data Center in Holyoke”
Reductive Labs, Moving to Portland, Raises $2M for Open Source IT Automation
Portland, OR, is gaining an interesting new software company—and this one comes with its own venture funding. Reductive Labs, an open-source startup that helps companies automate their IT management, announced today it has raised $2 million in Series A financing led by True Ventures in Palo Alto, CA. True Ventures put in $1.75 million, and … Continue reading “Reductive Labs, Moving to Portland, Raises $2M for Open Source IT Automation”
PodCamp Boston 4
PodCamp Boston is a new media bootcamp that promises to benefit experienced twitterer and social media neophyte alike. They write: “PodCamp is driven by what YOU want to learn and share. Twitter? Sure. Blogging? Definitely. Podcasting? By the bucket. More important, we want you, as you register, to consider leading a session in which you … Continue reading “PodCamp Boston 4”
Pubget Speeds Up Science Journal Searches, Provides Marketing Tools
Ramy Arnaout, a clinical pathologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, believed he and his colleagues were wasting precious time performing Web searches for scientific journal articles. Time would be better spent curing diseases and treating patients. So he developed an application at first to use on his own computer to speed up … Continue reading “Pubget Speeds Up Science Journal Searches, Provides Marketing Tools”
Reductive Labs Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=09422e71-94e1-4431-8044-d0e5d008be17&Preview=1 Date 6/23/2009 Company Name Reductive Labs Mailing Address Undisclosed Portland, OR 97201 Company Description Reductive Labs provides next-gen IT automation, enabling IT organizations to manage infrastructure as code so they can provide higher service levels with less staff. Reductive Lab’s flagship offering, Puppet, significantly improves the automation and management of IT … Continue reading “Reductive Labs Obtains $2,000,000 Series A Financing”
ThisMoment Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17926eb5-8147-4a43-a24a-9db4ce33c6ca&Preview=1 Date 6/23/2009 Company Name ThisMoment Mailing Address 424 15th St San Francisco, CA 94100 Company Description ThisMoment is a company focusing on the idea of “You over Time.” Our service allows people to capture – both as individuals and in collaboration with their family and friends – meaningful Moments in their … Continue reading “ThisMoment Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round”
Tensilica Secures New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=63bfb533-8d72-4cc5-9ed4-9ff8cc0399f4&Preview=1 Date 6/23/2009 Company Name Tensilica Mailing Address 3255-6 Scott Blvd Santa Clara, CA 95054 Company Description Develops application-tailored microprocessors. Website http://www.tensilica.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor DoCoMo Capital
Auriga Lands $2.75 Million
Lowell, MA-based Auriga Measurement Systems says it has raised $2.75 million in additional seed funding. The wireless instrumentation and design company delivers test equipment for high-frequency, high-powered RF microwave front-ends. The company did not disclose the names of the participants in the seed round. In 2007 Ohio-based White Oak Partners put $1.5 million into Auriga, … Continue reading “Auriga Lands $2.75 Million”
Halozyme Raises $40M in Secondary Offering
[Editor’s Note: Updated in first graf at 8:10 a.m. on 6/23/09] Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. said today it priced its secondary offering at $6.50 a share, an almost 14 percent discount to yesterday’s closing price of $7.53 a share. The offering of 6.15 million shares raised $40 million, with Halozyme’s net proceeds amounting to $38.2 million. … Continue reading “Halozyme Raises $40M in Secondary Offering”
Xiant, a New Paul Allen Startup, Rolls Out E-Mail Organizer Tool
Paul Allen has still got it. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist announced today the launch of a new Seattle company, Xiant, and the public beta version of its software tools for organizing your e-mail inbox. Xiant (pronounced “Zi-ant,” which rhymes with “giant”) is being run in-house at Vulcan Technologies, the company that handles all of … Continue reading “Xiant, a New Paul Allen Startup, Rolls Out E-Mail Organizer Tool”
Successful Startups Put Some Distance Between Their HQ and Their VCs
The conventional wisdom used to be that technology startups should be located as close to their venture investors’ main offices as possible. That way, it’s easier to call on your venture partners’ experience and networks, get them to attend your board meetings, and so forth. But the conventional wisdom may be dead wrong. Private equity … Continue reading “Successful Startups Put Some Distance Between Their HQ and Their VCs”
Cytori Raises Cash In Stock Sale
San Diego’s Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYTX]]) says it is raising $850,000 today by selling shares to Seaside 88, a fund managed by Orlando, FL-based Seaside Capital Management, under a private placement agreement. Cytori, which has been developing regenerative medicine technologies for breast reconstruction and other treatments, says Seaside has agreed to purchase as many as … Continue reading “Cytori Raises Cash In Stock Sale”
Vical Hits Milestones
Vical, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VICL]]) the San Diego biotech developing DNA vaccines for cancer and infectious disease, says it has received a $1.5 million milestone payment from Merck for its early stage development of a cancer vaccine based on Vical’s technology. In a statement, Vical CEO Vijay Samant says, “We have leveraged our technologies through license agreements … Continue reading “Vical Hits Milestones”
AdReady Powers Yahoo Display Ads
Seattle-based AdReady has teamed up with Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]) to deliver self-serve display advertising for the Sunnyvale, CA-based Internet giant. Financial terms of the partnership were not announced. The pilot program is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses reach their audiences on Yahoo (and its partner sites), which has 165 million users in the … Continue reading “AdReady Powers Yahoo Display Ads”
Fidelity to Shutter $500M PE Unit
Boston-based financial giant Fidelity Investments plans to close its private equity unit next month due the unit’s inability to raise funds through debt financings, Reuters reported this morning. The closure of the two-year-old private equity unit, which is called Fidelity Equity Partners and manages $500 million in assets, will have no impact on Fidelity Ventures, … Continue reading “Fidelity to Shutter $500M PE Unit”
Microvision Gets $15M Investment
Redmond, WA-based Microvision (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MVIS]]), a display technology company, announced today it has received a $15 million investment from Taipei-based Walsin Lihwa, a wire and cable manufacturer. The deal comes in the form of a sale of common stock to Walsin Lihwa’s subsidiary, Max Display Enterprises Limited, as well as a warrant to purchase more … Continue reading “Microvision Gets $15M Investment”