Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b098b8ab-76e0-437f-8c1d-523c912e1d69&Preview=1 Date 6/1/2009 Company Name TravelMuse Mailing Address 4410 El Camino Real Los Altos, CA 94022 Company Description TravelMuse was founded by avid travelers exasperated by the fragmented and commoditized online travel experience. The team, which hails from various technology and media backgrounds, shares a passion for all things travel and a … Continue reading “TravelMuse Obtains $2,000,000 New Financing Round”
Heyzap Receives New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b2c1f429-8864-4057-93de-a3c068c2dc9f&Preview=1 Date 6/1/2009 Company Name Heyzap Mailing Address 564 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Heyzap allows any website or blog to take the most exciting flash games and put them into their website. This results in the website/blog having increased traffic, user time of site and engagement. When youtube … Continue reading “Heyzap Receives New Funding”
MashLogic Obtains $500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d344693e-3451-446a-b6c5-b2546d3f2eac&Preview=1 Date 6/1/2009 Company Name MashLogic Mailing Address 535 Middlefield Road Menlo Park, CA 94025 Company Description MashLogic is a startup in Menlo Park, CA that helps you Take Back the Web™. At a time when hyperlinks have been commercialized and only search engines offer useful links, MashLogic restores discovery and easy … Continue reading “MashLogic Obtains $500,000 New Funding”
MyBuys Obtains $7,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80b69a7c-d5a2-45db-a5d8-f56fcdbce023&Preview=1 Date 6/1/2009 Company Name MyBuys Mailing Address One Lagoon Drive Redwood City, CA 94065 Company Description Provides web-based enterprise software applications. Website http://www.mybuys.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed
Cloudera Lands $6,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99b25c7a-e76e-48ad-8c2e-fbf939c81918&Preview=1 Date 6/1/2009 Company Name Cloudera Mailing Address 1409 Chapin Avenue Third Floor Burlingame, CA 94010 Company Description Cloudera was founded to provide enterprise-level support to users of Apache Hadoop. Our founding team has deep expertise in commercial use of open source software and Hadoop. Website http://www.cloudera.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Cloudera Lands $6,000,000 Series B Round”
Antigenics, Digging Through Old Data, Sees Survival Edge for Cancer Vaccine
Some biostatisticians may scoff, but Antigenics is not giving up on its treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. The Lexington, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGEN]]) has found that nine years after its most important clinical trial began, its experimental drug appears to be helping certain kidney cancer patients live longer. The data … Continue reading “Antigenics, Digging Through Old Data, Sees Survival Edge for Cancer Vaccine”
ZymoGenetics Kidney Cancer Drug Shrinks, Stabilizes Tumors in Sickest Patients
ZymoGenetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGEN]]) is getting out of the business of developing cancer drugs, but it may have at least one potential valuable asset to put up for sale. The Seattle-based biotech company said its IL-21 drug was able to shrink and stabilize tumors in a small clinical trial of some of the sickest patients with … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Kidney Cancer Drug Shrinks, Stabilizes Tumors in Sickest Patients”
Breast Cancer Bombshell: Vulcan-Backed BiPar Wows Scientists, Helps Women Live Longer
[[Updated with scientist comment, 1:20 pm ET]] Billionaire Paul Allen made windfall profits from his investment in BiPar Sciences, and today we can really see why. The Brisbane, CA-based biotech company founded by Allen’s Vulcan investment firm said today that its drug candidate for women with an aggressive form of breast cancer was able to … Continue reading “Breast Cancer Bombshell: Vulcan-Backed BiPar Wows Scientists, Helps Women Live Longer”
OncoGenex Drug Helps Prostate Cancer Patients Live Longer in Small Study
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals’ stock has busted out from obscurity in the past couple of weeks, and today it’s showing what the fuss is all about. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) is reporting that its experimental prostate cancer drug was able to help men live longer in a small clinical trial, a finding which suggests … Continue reading “OncoGenex Drug Helps Prostate Cancer Patients Live Longer in Small Study”
Calistoga Picks Up Buzz at ASCO, Thanks to Momentum from Rival
Last Wednesday night, the top dealmaker at Seattle-based Calistoga Pharmaceuticals got a tip that one of his rivals was on the verge of striking a huge deal. Cliff Stocks, the chief business officer, told CEO Carol Gallagher he was hopeful the rumor was true—that some Big Pharma company would pay a fortune for an experimental … Continue reading “Calistoga Picks Up Buzz at ASCO, Thanks to Momentum from Rival”
Booyah Secures $5,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3fc863b2-8e06-4c78-adb6-e2563acf0948&Preview=1 Date 5/30/2009 Company Name Booyah Mailing Address 170 A University Avenue Second Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Company Description Booyah has developed an online GPS game that allows users to check in at real world locations to unlock rewards. Website http://www.booyah.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Booyah Secures $5,000,000 Series B Financing”
Dendreon Annual Shareholders Meeting
Dendreon, the Seattle-based developer of an immune-boosting treatment for prostate cancer, is holding its annual shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Belltown. Shareholders are being asked to elect two new members to the company’s 12-member board of directors, and give the company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) the ability to sell another 100 million shares of stock if … Continue reading “Dendreon Annual Shareholders Meeting”
Accessing Stimulus Dollars: Successful Case Studies
Government will play an increasingly important role in technology this year. In the federal stimulus package alone, some $19 billion is allocated for health-care information technology, some $44 billion is allocated to clean technology programs, and over $21 billion is allocated to other research and development. No longer is Washington, DC a place for just … Continue reading “Accessing Stimulus Dollars: Successful Case Studies”
MediQuest Grabs $2.3M
Mediquest Therapeutics, a Bothell, WA-based developer of topical treatments for inflammatory diseases, has sold $2.3 million of a $15 million equity offering according to a filing made today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Founded in 1994, the company is developing a treatment for Raynaud’s disease, a condition that causes numbness in the fingers … Continue reading “MediQuest Grabs $2.3M”
Response Biomedical Raises $3.9M
Response Biomedical, a Vancouver BC-based maker of quick medical diagnostic tools, has raised $3.9 million out of a total offering of $7.2 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today. The money is from a combination of equity and options. Anthony Holler and Todd Patrick, the former top executives at … Continue reading “Response Biomedical Raises $3.9M”
TorreyPines Moves to Dissolution
TorreyPines Therapeutics (Nasdaq: [[ticker:TPTX]]) plans to wind down its business after the San Diego biotech’s board of directors unanimously approved a plan to liquidate and dissolve the company. TorreyPines, which laid off most of its workforce last year, says it intends to call a special shareholders meeting to seek approval of the dissolution plan. While the board approved … Continue reading “TorreyPines Moves to Dissolution”
Modumetal Raises $1.5M-Plus from Alliance of Angels, Second Avenue, WRF Capital
Seattle-based Modumetal, an advanced materials startup, is closing a new round of equity funding worth between $1.5 million and $2 million, according to co-founder and CEO Christina Lomasney. The round includes existing Seattle-area investors Alliance of Angels and Second Avenue Partners, as well as new investor WRF Capital. Modumetal “grows” what are called nanolaminated structures … Continue reading “Modumetal Raises $1.5M-Plus from Alliance of Angels, Second Avenue, WRF Capital”
SourceForge Acquires Ohloh
SourceForge, the largest open source software development website in the world yesterday announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Ohloh, one of the biggest directories of open source projects at Ohloh.net. Based in Bellevue, WA, Ohloh was founded in 2004 and currently lists over 300,000 open source developers and products on its website. … Continue reading “SourceForge Acquires Ohloh”
Aveo Kidney Cancer Drug, Challenging Pfizer and Bayer, Passes Important Test
Cambridge, MA-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals is releasing important data today that suggests it may by on its way to developing a better way to cut off blood supply to tumors. An experimental drug from Aveo was able to at least partially shrink tumors for one-fourth of patients, and keep the cancer from spreading for a median … Continue reading “Aveo Kidney Cancer Drug, Challenging Pfizer and Bayer, Passes Important Test”
$21.4M for Tandem Diabetes
Insulin pump developer Tandem Diabetes Care has raised $21.4 million in a $52.3 million financial round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. San Diego-based Tandem specializes in new insulin pump therapy technology. Last June, Tandem raised $13 million in a Series B round led by Domain Associates and Texas Pacific … Continue reading “$21.4M for Tandem Diabetes”
A Defining Time for Bootstrapping and Survival—Lessons From Business Leaders and Baron Munchausen
When the CEO of Carlsbad, CA-based MaxLinear cited a 1785 translation of “The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen” for the term “bootstrapping,” it’s safe to say nobody in the audience knew where the discussion was headed. But MaxLinear’s Kishore Seendripu was making a point during a panel discussion on “bootstrapping a business” that was hosted … Continue reading “A Defining Time for Bootstrapping and Survival—Lessons From Business Leaders and Baron Munchausen”
Cape Cod Wind Farm Nears Final Approval
Soon, you really won’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing in Massachusetts (or one part of the state, anyway)—all you’ll have to do is look for the spinning turbines in Nantucket Sound. Last week, the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board voted unanimously to grant Cape Wind Associates all necessary state … Continue reading “Cape Cod Wind Farm Nears Final Approval”
RunMyErrand Wins a Trip to Facebookland
Yesterday social networking giant Facebook unveiled the winners of its first fbFund Rev competition, a contest to pick 20 organizations building Facebook-related social media applications for a 10-week company-building incubator program at the company’s Palo Alto, CA, offices. Among the winners was RunMyErrand, a Charlestown, MA-based startup we profiled in February. RunMyErrand.com is a “service … Continue reading “RunMyErrand Wins a Trip to Facebookland”
Three Questions on Startup Culture and Investing Strategy with Greg Huey of Alliance of Angels
We may have similar names, but we come from different worlds. Greg Huey, the new program director of Seattle-based Alliance of Angels, has a business background and more than 10 years of investment and corporate development experience. He bears little resemblance to a certain Xconomy Seattle editor, besides having an avid interest in the local … Continue reading “Three Questions on Startup Culture and Investing Strategy with Greg Huey of Alliance of Angels”
38 Studios Snaps Up Big Huge Games, EMC Buy Configuresoft, Proteon Therapeutics Picks up $12M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Evidently the word of the week for many New England’s tech firms was acquisition. —Digital Lumens of Salem, MA, raised $6.3 million in a round of equity financing. The startup, whose investors were not named in the filing, aims to make lighting products that use only 10 percent as much energy as other products. —Natick, … Continue reading “38 Studios Snaps Up Big Huge Games, EMC Buy Configuresoft, Proteon Therapeutics Picks up $12M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
EMC Scouring Boston Today for Bone Marrow Donor for Asian-American Employee
Hopkinton, MA-based EMC is throwing its weight behind a massive social media campaign to find a bone marrow donor for one of its employees, 28-year-old Nick Glasgow. The “donor drive” arrived in the Boston area today with events at EMC locations in Cambridge, MA, and Franklin, MA, where potential donors can visit to see whether … Continue reading “EMC Scouring Boston Today for Bone Marrow Donor for Asian-American Employee”
VC Hjerpe Takes Post at Kepha Partners
Venture capitalist Eric Hjerpe has become a partner at Kepha Partners in Waltham, MA, according to the VC firm. He was previously a partner and venture partner in the Waltham office of Atlas Venture, where he worked with Atlas portfolio companies such as Active Endpoints, a business process managment software firm headquartered in Waltham, and … Continue reading “VC Hjerpe Takes Post at Kepha Partners”
Celladon CEO Upbeat on Gene Therapy for Heart
Krisztina M. Zsebo, CEO of San Diego’s Celladon, went to the annual meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy to bust some scientific myths about the experimental technology. The conference is meeting this week in San Diego, and when I caught up with her before her talk yesterday, she wasted no time busting myths … Continue reading “Celladon CEO Upbeat on Gene Therapy for Heart”
Celldex to Buy CuraGen for $94.5M
Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDX]]), a Needham, MA-based developer of drugs that harness the power of the immune system to treat diseases, says that it has struck a deal to acquire CuraGen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CRGN]]), of Branford, CT, in an all-stock transaction that values CuraGen at $94.5 million. Celldex expects to gain 11 cancer antibody drugs from CuraGen as … Continue reading “Celldex to Buy CuraGen for $94.5M”
Notes On A Startup: WebNotes Goes Pro
When Ryan Damico was an undergraduate at MIT, he attended a training session at the university’s library. Ostensibly, the students were being taught how to properly organize sources for research papers. But it turned out to be a session on how to copy blocks of text from websites and paste them into Word documents, and … Continue reading “Notes On A Startup: WebNotes Goes Pro”
Can the Feds Get Into the Biotech VC Business? Bionager Wants to Make It Happen
Washington state gets more than $1 billion every year from the federal government to support biomedical research, which makes a lot of entrepreneurs wonder why there aren’t more startups being spun out each year. Now a couple of well-known Northwest life sciences entrepreneurs, Tom Ranken and Bob Wilcox, want to take a little more money … Continue reading “Can the Feds Get Into the Biotech VC Business? Bionager Wants to Make It Happen”
Diamonds Are Forever. Why Not a Drug Patent?
Tell me if this makes sense to you: —If I buy a diamond, I can own it for as long as I like; —If I produce a brand name for a product, provided that I trademark it, I can own it for as long as I would like, until and unless it becomes “generic” (like … Continue reading “Diamonds Are Forever. Why Not a Drug Patent?”
Will Quick Hit Score Big? Behind the Scenes with Foxborough’s Newest Team
There’s a company in Foxborough, MA, not two miles away from the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, where a crew of veteran online game developers is putting the finishing touches on a potentially groundbreaking new game about football. Now, I can tell you all about why the venture-funded startup, Quick Hit, is likely to dazzle … Continue reading “Will Quick Hit Score Big? Behind the Scenes with Foxborough’s Newest Team”
Modumetal Receives $1,500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cbe1d822-51f3-461c-b405-1a4c013650b9&Preview=1 Date 5/29/2009 Company Name Modumetal Mailing Address 1443 N. Northlake Way Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description The mission of Modumetal is to revolutionize the design and manufacture of automobiles, aircraft, armor and building materials in a way that has never before been realized since the deployment of mass production concepts. Website … Continue reading “Modumetal Receives $1,500,000 New Funding Round”
MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc Secures $2,300,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2e2d242c-cc03-44a3-bc5b-729893f42030&Preview=1 Date 5/29/2009 Company Name MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc Mailing Address 22322 20th Avenue SE Bothell, WA 98021 Company Description MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc. (MediQuest) is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing first- and best-in-class topical therapies in late-stage clinical development to treat patients suffering from inflammatory and infectious diseases. Using a proprietary drug delivery … Continue reading “MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc Secures $2,300,000 New Funding”
Tandem Diabetes Care Inc Garners $21,400,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ff5160ed-d2b8-4f54-94a9-df6a68d3b992&Preview=1 Date 5/29/2009 Company Name Tandem Diabetes Care Inc Mailing Address 11045 Roselle Street San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The company develops medical devices for the treatment of diabetes. Website http://www.tandemdiabetes.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $21,400,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “Tandem Diabetes Care Inc Garners $21,400,000 New Funding Round”
Facebook Funds Seattle Startups
Two Seattle-based companies were awarded part of a $500,000 grant by Facebook today. The companies, Sortuv and Vittana, are two of the 20 startups and nonprofits receiving money through fbFund, a new program designed to help startups that make social websites and software. Sortuv is a search engine designed around plain questions rather than keywords, … Continue reading “Facebook Funds Seattle Startups”
Chumby Raises $3M
Chumby Industries has raised $3 million through a combination of debt and security offerings, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The San Diego company makes a Web-enabled device called Chumby that is partly an Internet terminal, partly a stuffed toy, and partly a video player. As I reported, Chumby previously … Continue reading “Chumby Raises $3M”
Leap Increases Stock Offering
San Diego’s Leap Wireless increased the size of its stock offering to 7 million shares today and priced it near the market close of $37.79 a share, enabling the affordable cell phone service provider to raise $264 million. Leap said yesterday it intended to offer 6.1 million shares. The company also priced its $1.1 billion … Continue reading “Leap Increases Stock Offering”
Nokia CEO Says the Door to U.S. Market is in San Diego
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo says San Diego plays a key role in the Finnish mobile phone giant’s plans to stage a comeback in the U.S. market. Kallasvuo was questioned by Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg at the All Things Digital D7 conference in Carlsbad, CA, about Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) decline with U.S. carriers. Nokia … Continue reading “Nokia CEO Says the Door to U.S. Market is in San Diego”
Medsphere Raising $15M
In a regulatory filing this week, Carlsbad, CA-based Medsphere Systems says it has raised about $1.9 million of a $15 million secondary venture round. Medsphere CEO Michael Doyle told me recently that existing investors have committed $6 million for the round so far. Since it was founded in 2002, Medsphere has raised $50 million from … Continue reading “Medsphere Raising $15M”
Sterilizable RFID Tags Validated
San Diego-based Awarepoint says an independent medical laboratory has tested and validated its sterlizable RFID tags, which are designed to provide hospitals real time location tracking information about patients and medical equipment. The tests, which simulated clinical use, were done to show that Awarepoint’s battery-powered Radio Frequency Identity tags can be repeatedly cleaned, disinfected, and … Continue reading “Sterilizable RFID Tags Validated”
Washington State Biomedical Device Summit
The second annual Washington State Biomedical Device Summit will bring together leading executives, entrepreneurs, and scientists in the local medical device community on June 23 at the University of Washington Bothell. The summit is expected to include presenters from Cardiac Science, Pathway Medical Technologies, SonoSite, Philips Healthcare and other leading companies in the region. To … Continue reading “Washington State Biomedical Device Summit”
AdReady, Swype, TeachStreet Win WTIA Awards
Seattle-area software startups AdReady, Swype, and TeachStreet won “best in show” at the Washington Technology Industry Association’s Fast Pitch Forum and Tech Showcase yesterday. The winners, selected from 23 presenting companies, were voted on by the audience. The prizes include tickets to Safeco Field.
Bing! Google’s Death Knell?
Microsoft today announced the launch of its new search engine, Bing. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, will be making the official announcement this morning at the D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, CA. Bing has been the topic of many rumors and speculations in the months leading to its unveiling—mostly people wondering whether it … Continue reading “Bing! Google’s Death Knell?”
Proteon Adds $12M To B Round
Waltham, MA-based Proteon Therapeutics, which specializes in drug development for kidney and vascular diseases, announced today that it has completed a second closing for its Series B equity financing round. $12 million primarily came from new investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Devon Park Bioventures, raising the total for the round to $50 million. Vectis Healthcare … Continue reading “Proteon Adds $12M To B Round”
EMC to Buy Configuresoft, Builds on Growth Strategy
EMC (NYSE:[[ticker:EMC]]) is upping its presence in the market for software to manage both physical and virtual servers in data centers, revealing yesterday that it plans to acquire existing partner Configuresoft for an undisclosed amount. Hopkinton, MA-based EMC says the buyout further advances its strategy to offer software for managing and servicing the computer servers … Continue reading “EMC to Buy Configuresoft, Builds on Growth Strategy”
Xbox 360 Passes 30 Million Mark
Microsoft has sold more than 30 million units of its flagship console game platform, the Xbox 360, the company announced today. For the year to date, Xbox sales are up 28 percent over the same period in 2008, which is a bigger increase than those seen by Sony with its Playstation 3 and even Nintendo … Continue reading “Xbox 360 Passes 30 Million Mark”
Vulcan’s Biotech Windfall, Tekmira Tackles RNAi Delivery, The $1,000 Genome Debate, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
The usual suspects in Seattle biotech were quiet this week, but we reported on an intriguing cancer drug developer with Paul Allen’s fingerprints all over it, as well as some compelling life sciences companies from British Columbia. —Vulcan Capital, the investment vehicle that controls billionaire Paul Allen‘s fortune, quietly dialed back its biotech investing a … Continue reading “Vulcan’s Biotech Windfall, Tekmira Tackles RNAi Delivery, The $1,000 Genome Debate, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Gets New Directors (But Who Are They?), Ophthonix and Vical Raise Capital, Metabasis Cuts Back—Again, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
After months of buildup to get to yesterday’s shareholder vote to determine the makeup of Amylin Pharmaceuticals’ board of directors, a key question remains unresolved. Happily for those who like more closure, the rest of the week held more definitive news for San Diego’s life sciences companies. —The protracted proxy battle between San Diego’s Amylin … Continue reading “Amylin Pharmaceuticals Gets New Directors (But Who Are They?), Ophthonix and Vical Raise Capital, Metabasis Cuts Back—Again, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”