Investors Dump Anadys Shares on Report of Itchy Side Effect

Did three cases of skin rash prompt Anadys shareholders to act rashly? The company’s stock crashed today after investors interpreted the cases as a warning sign that the company’s hepatitis C drug might not be as safe as expected. The shares (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) fell 40 percent to $3.51, making it the biggest percentage decliner on … Continue reading “Investors Dump Anadys Shares on Report of Itchy Side Effect”

Arena Lays Off 130 Employees After Weight Drug Disappointment

San Diego’s Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) said in a regulatory filing today it’s laying off approximately 130 employees, or 31 percent of its U.S. workforce, over the next four weeks. Check Xconomy’s San Diego layoff tracker here to see our running tally of local tech sector layoffs. In its SEC filing, Arena says, “We believe it is … Continue reading “Arena Lays Off 130 Employees After Weight Drug Disappointment”

Sequenom Reorganizes its Genetic Analysis Business, Trims Workforce

San Diego-based Sequenom said today it’s laying off 30 employees, or 12 percent of its workforce, as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative in the company’s genetic analysis business. The company, which has developed a proprietary, high-performance system for precisely analyzing genetic material, says the restructuring was necessitated by the “continuing weak outlook in 2009 … Continue reading “Sequenom Reorganizes its Genetic Analysis Business, Trims Workforce”

LookStat Closes $500K from Founder’s Co-op, Other Investors

Seattle-based LookStat, which develops Web-based analytics, workflow automation, and earnings tracking software for the microstock photography industry, says it has closed a $500,000 Series A financing round from Founder’s Co-op and individual investors in the Seattle and San Francisco areas. Xconomy broke the preliminary news of the funding (but not the amount) last month, while … Continue reading “LookStat Closes $500K from Founder’s Co-op, Other Investors”

Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market

San Diego-based Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent, a provider of stem cell research products headquartered in Cambridge, MA, have joined forces to offer new developments in so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology for research purposes. The joint effort could provide Fate with a new source of money to develop drugs based on the same technology. … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics and Stemgent Team Up to Offer Stem Cell Advances to the Research Market”

Anadys Hepatitis C Drug Shows Potent Effect in Small Study

San Diego-based Anadys Pharmaceuticals generated a ton of buzz almost four months ago when it offered an early peek at data suggesting its hepatitis C drug might be working, and now a presentation of the full data appears to reinforce the first impression. Anadys’ lead drug candidate, ANA598, was able to wipe out more than … Continue reading “Anadys Hepatitis C Drug Shows Potent Effect in Small Study”

Powerspan Raises $50 Million

Portsmouth, NH-based Powerspan, which is developing electro-catalytic oxidation systems that remove pollutants from flue gas at coal-fired electrical plants, said today that it has closed a new $50 million financing round led by new investors George Soros, Tenaska Energy, Inc., AllianceBernstein LP, and Persimmon Tree Capital. Existing investors NGEN Partners LLC, The Beacon Group, The … Continue reading “Powerspan Raises $50 Million”

San Diego’s Receding Tide of Venture Funding Reveals Ailing VCs

Venture investors like to talk about transformative change. But it’s becoming increasingly evident that San Diego’s venture capital community is itself in a period of transformative change. The figures we reported this week on local venture investments for the first three months of 2009 were gloomy enough, with $194.6 million going into 15 deals, according … Continue reading “San Diego’s Receding Tide of Venture Funding Reveals Ailing VCs”

GreatPoint in Deal with Dow

Cambridge, MA-based GreatPoint Energy, which is developing technology that converts coal into cleaner-burning natural gas, said today that it has struck an agreement with Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: [[ticker:DOW]]) giving Dow the right to buy natural gas generated at GreatPoint’s facilities. Dow was the lead investor in GreatPoint’s $103 million equity financing round in 2007, … Continue reading “GreatPoint in Deal with Dow”

GlycoFi Figures Heavily into Drug Giant Merck’s Follow-on Biologics Plans

We’ve seen it before. A large pharmaceutical company buys a small biotech firm, the acquired startup ships its science and technology to the big buyer, and we never hear about the little company again. But GlycoFi, a Lebanon, NH, life sciences startup acquired by U.S. drug giant Merck for $400 million nearly three years ago, … Continue reading “GlycoFi Figures Heavily into Drug Giant Merck’s Follow-on Biologics Plans”

That Giant Sucking Sound? Talent Drain from the Northwest (and Rest of the Nation)

If you want to understand the important local and national trends in talent flow, you need to know Davis Bae. The founder and managing attorney of the Bae Law Group in Seattle, which specializes in immigration law, works with many local startups and employers in the tech community on their immigration and recruiting plans. I’ve … Continue reading “That Giant Sucking Sound? Talent Drain from the Northwest (and Rest of the Nation)”

Amgen Shows Pipeline, Dendreon Revs Up Second Drug, Asemblon Raises $2.9M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Cancer research is one of the strengths of the Seattle biotech cluster, and a few companies showed off some of their progress at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Denver. No earth was shattered, because most of this involves early-stage clinical trials and animal experiments, but it’s usually a good indicator of what’s … Continue reading “Amgen Shows Pipeline, Dendreon Revs Up Second Drug, Asemblon Raises $2.9M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Five Intriguing Green Startups Seek Angel Bucks on Earth Day

[[Updated 9:30 am Pacific with winners]] I wasn’t around for the first Earth Day back in 1970, but I figure it’s safe to say there weren’t any investment forums celebrating the capitalist pursuit of opportunities in the green revolution. It occurred to me, on Earth Day 2009, that it’s pretty remarkable to see how far … Continue reading “Five Intriguing Green Startups Seek Angel Bucks on Earth Day”

TopCoder—Crowdsourcing Software Long Before Crowdsourcing Got Cool

Can competitions and prizes get you to the Moon? Google thinks so—it’s backing the $30 million Lunar X Prize, which will be awarded to the first privately funded team that sends a remote-controlled robot to the Moon, drives it 500 meters, and collects video of the trip. Back here on Earth, the $10 million Archon … Continue reading “TopCoder—Crowdsourcing Software Long Before Crowdsourcing Got Cool”

Powerspan Corporation Secures $50,000,000 Series D Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b3364226-f7af-4925-8c07-95791ed49721&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2009 Company Name Powerspan Corporation Mailing Address 100 International Drive Portsmouth, NH 03801 Company Description Powerspan develops and commercializes proprietary, multi-pollutant control and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology for electric power plants. Website http://www.powerspan.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $50,000,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds Purposes The investment will … Continue reading “Powerspan Corporation Secures $50,000,000 Series D Funding”

EPS Corp Receives $30,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0f64b46f-3b64-4601-a20f-ac91c2419369&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2009 Company Name EPS Corp Mailing Address 150 Paularino Avenue Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Company Description EPS measures its success by implementing efficiency and environmental benefits that are quantifiable, achievable, and sustainable. The company’s strategic and innovative three-step process provides accurate, and measurable energy usage data for plant and executive … Continue reading “EPS Corp Receives $30,000,000 Series B Funding”

LookStat Lands $500,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba433c5f-09ac-44a2-931b-7630ca4a456c&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2009 Company Name LookStat Mailing Address 2722 Eastlake Avenue E Seattle, WA 98102 Company Description Lookstat is a web service that lets you track your online sales by image at multiple sites. Automatically. Lookstat is currently in beta and our current focus is on portfolio performance tracking. While the service … Continue reading “LookStat Lands $500,000 Series A Financing”

April Think Tank: New Entrepreneur Opportunities in Cloud Computing

The Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN) is putting on a cloud computing think tank event. Info and registration here. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Cloud computing has come of age and this change represents new opportunities for entrepreneurs to enable companies to not just leverage cloud resources for scale but to move all of their computing requirements … Continue reading “April Think Tank: New Entrepreneur Opportunities in Cloud Computing”

NuVasive Acquires New Jersey Spine Disk Maker

San Diego medical device company NuVasive (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUVA]]) said today it has purchased Rockaway, NJ-based Cervitech in a in cash and stock deal that could be worth as much as $80 million, if the FDA approves Cervitech’s cervical disc replacement device. NuVasive agreed to pay $47 million upfront and another $33 million depending on FDA … Continue reading “NuVasive Acquires New Jersey Spine Disk Maker”

Insitu Wins $30M Canadian Contract

Bingen, WA-based Insitu, a developer of unmanned aircraft systems, announced today it has received a one-year, $30 million contract from the Canadian government to provide technologies to support Canadian forces’ operations in Afghanistan. The contract, which includes two additional one-year options, specifically calls for small unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Insitu was … Continue reading “Insitu Wins $30M Canadian Contract”

Illumina Anticipates Purchasing Slowdown

San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) CEO Jay Flatley told analysts and investors that some researchers “are beginning to wait a little while to do the next version of the genome-wide association study before the next-generation (equipment) ships.” The anticipated slowdown is expected to be temporary. Illumina makes sophisticated machines that enable scientists to do full … Continue reading “Illumina Anticipates Purchasing Slowdown”

Qualcomm in Settlement Talks With Broadcom, Postpones Q2 Financials

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) said today it is in advanced IP settlement discussions with rival chipmaker Broadcom of Irvine, CA, and the San Diego wireless giant postponed the release of its second-quarter financial results that was scheduled today. “Hopefully, this is a good thing,” says James Brehm, an information and communications technologies analyst with Frost & … Continue reading “Qualcomm in Settlement Talks With Broadcom, Postpones Q2 Financials”

First Wind Secures $376M For UT Project

Royal Bank of Scotland is leading a group of investors providing $376 million in financing for Boston-based First Wind‘s project to build a 97-turbine wind farm in Milford, UT, the company announced today. The other lenders include Banco Espirito Santo, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, CoBank, HSH Nordbank, KeyBank, Société Générale and Credit Suisse. Separately, First … Continue reading “First Wind Secures $376M For UT Project”

Redfin Moves Into New Markets in NY, CA

Seattle-based Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, said today it has expanded into New York state (Suffolk County, partners in Westchester County, and search in other areas) and central California (El Dorado, Placer, and Sacramento Counties). The move is part of Redfin’s strategy to reach every major real-estate market in the United States.

Pop Goes the (Venture) Weasel…

So the first quarter venture funding data were just released and the news for entrepreneurs was decidedly bad. It is pretty clear the party for “easy money”—particularly for cleantech companies–is emphatically over. Venture-backed companies raised only $3.9 billion in Q109, which is basically half what they raised this time a year ago. New England companies … Continue reading “Pop Goes the (Venture) Weasel…”

Mpire Makes Strategic Shift, Unveils Ad-Optimizing Service

Seattle-based Mpire is rolling out a new online-ad optimizing service today, aimed at letting advertisers, marketers, and publishers more accurately assess how well their ads are working. Matt Hulett, Mpire’s CEO, is announcing the technology, called AdXpose (Xconomy loves names with “X” in them), at the AdTech San Francisco conference this morning. But this isn’t … Continue reading “Mpire Makes Strategic Shift, Unveils Ad-Optimizing Service”

DemandWare Raises $15 Million

Woburn, MA-based DemandWare has closed a $15 million Series D funding round, according to a regulatory filing cited this morning by Mass High Tech and PE Hub. The company, which offers hosted e-commerce storefronts for companies such as Zabars and Barneys, obtained the funding from Waltham, MA-based North Bridge Venture Partners and Cambridge, MA-based General … Continue reading “DemandWare Raises $15 Million”

Maxwell Gets Work for Hybrid Electric Bus

San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MXWL]]) said today it has begun supplying its energy-storage devices to three transit bus makers in China under purchase orders totalling $13.5 million. Maxwell says its BoostCap ultracapacitors will be used to boost the energy efficiency of the hybrid diesel-electric buses. According to Maxwell’s president and CEO David Schramm, deliveries … Continue reading “Maxwell Gets Work for Hybrid Electric Bus”

NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz

NewPath Networks, a Seattle-based provider of wireless infrastructure, has reeled in $30 million to fuel its continued growth, according to a statement today. New York private equity firm Charterhouse Group invested $20 million in NewPath, and Denver-based venture group Meritage Funds provided the rest of the money. NewPath, founded in 2004, is capitalizing on consumers’ … Continue reading “NewPath Lands $30M in Deal to Expand Wireless Network Biz”

Mayo Clinic Adopts MS HealthVault

The Mayo Clinic, the highly regarded hospital based in Rochester, MN, has agreed to offer patients an electronic medical records program based on Microsoft’s HealthVault platform. The program will allow patients to store medical information electronically, and receive individual guidance based on it from Mayo Clinic physicians and healthcare staff. Microsoft doesn’t say how many … Continue reading “Mayo Clinic Adopts MS HealthVault”

Zenobia Therapeutics, Inspired by Warrior Queen, Focuses on Developing Drug for Parkinson’s Disease

Zenobia Therapeutics is an example of San Diego’s great biotech circle of life. Vicki Nienaber, Zenobia’s founding president and chief scientist, started the specialized drug discovery company almost 11 months ago, after learning that Japan’s Rigaku Americas Corp. was closing ActiveSight, its San Diego-based biotech research division. Nienaber found lab space at the La Jolla … Continue reading “Zenobia Therapeutics, Inspired by Warrior Queen, Focuses on Developing Drug for Parkinson’s Disease”

Infinity Halts Trial of Lead Cancer Drug, Tysabri Sales Short of Projections, Myomo Slashes Staff, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

It’s not all bad news this week for New England’s life sciences firms (my headline notwithstanding), but there certainly were a few somber notes. —Infinity Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:INFI]]) of Cambridge, MA, halted a late-stage trial of its lead cancer drug among patients with relapsed forms of malignant stomach tumors after interim results showed that more patients … Continue reading “Infinity Halts Trial of Lead Cancer Drug, Tysabri Sales Short of Projections, Myomo Slashes Staff, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Phase Forward Buys Waban for $14M

Phase Forward (NASDAQ:[[ticker:PFWD]]), a Waltham, MA-based provider of data management software for clinical trials and drug safety, says that it has acquired Waban Software for $14 million in cash. Waban, based in Cambridge, MA, and with offices in Mumbai, India, sells software for automation and compliance of clinical trials analysis and reporting. Waban, which will … Continue reading “Phase Forward Buys Waban for $14M”

Chumby The Clumsy Goes Global

Chumby is a cute little digital device with a strange story. Duane Maxwell, Chumby’s co-founder and vice president of software development, laughs as he says it began a couple of years ago when Steve Tomlin, a managing member of San Diego’s Avalon Ventures, was staying in a hotel. “They always have an alarm clock on … Continue reading “Chumby The Clumsy Goes Global”

Dataupia Helps Consumer Giants Tackle Big Data

Foster Hinshaw has a theory. The most successful consumer-oriented companies—the Wal-Marts, Amazons, L.L. Beans, and Staples of the world—are successful not just because they understand their customers, but because they can operationalize that understanding. They collect massive amounts of information about past transactions and store it in data warehouses, and they actively mine those warehouses … Continue reading “Dataupia Helps Consumer Giants Tackle Big Data”

Xconomy Forms Partnership With Seattle Times To Strengthen Tech, Life Sciences Coverage

Xconomy’s coverage of technology and life sciences in Seattle is growing fast, and now we’re getting another lift. My colleague Greg Huang and I are happy to say our company has secured a partnership with The Seattle Times, the owner of the most-read local news website in the Northwest. This is the second syndication deal … Continue reading “Xconomy Forms Partnership With Seattle Times To Strengthen Tech, Life Sciences Coverage”

Zango Shuts Down, Sells Assets

Bellevue, WA-based Zango, an adware maker that refocused its business on a toolbar gaming system last year, has officially closed down, says co-founder Ken Smith in his blog. San Francisco-based Blinkx, a video search firm, has acquired some of Zango’s assets, according to reports in ComputerWorld and TechFlash.

Asemblon Raises $2.9M To Make Hydrogen Fuel Cheaper Than Gas

[[Update with Buddy Ratner comment, 7 am Pacific]] Asemblon, a Redmond, WA-based developer of technology for storing hydrogen fuel, has raised $2.9 million in the first installment of a Series C financing round, Xconomy has learned. The investment is being led by RAB Capital, a London-based hedge fund, and Sojitz Trading of Japan, says Asemblon … Continue reading “Asemblon Raises $2.9M To Make Hydrogen Fuel Cheaper Than Gas”

Parasol Therapeutics Moves to Neighborhood with $3.25M in Seed Funding—Hunting for Universal Therapeutic to Battle Drug-Resistant Flu

Parasol Therapeutics, a stealthy biotech startup co-founded by MIT bioengineering professor Ram Sasisekharan, has raised $3.25 million in a seed round of venture capital to develop new treatments and diagnostics initially for influenza, says Alan Crane, a general partner at Polaris Venture Partners and chairman of Parasol. On top of taking on the global flu … Continue reading “Parasol Therapeutics Moves to Neighborhood with $3.25M in Seed Funding—Hunting for Universal Therapeutic to Battle Drug-Resistant Flu”

Asemblon Inc Obtains $2,900,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=60769647-db1f-4961-b2a7-cc9a00c2b2ca&Preview=1 Date 4/22/2009 Company Name Asemblon Inc Mailing Address 15340 NE 92nd St Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description Asemblon, Inc. is a Seattle area company specializing in the emerging field of self-assembled monolayers or SAMs. Our two areas of business are the production of high purity alkanethiols for use in SAMs and … Continue reading “Asemblon Inc Obtains $2,900,000 Series C Funding”

Ausra Receives $25,500,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8cbac5fa-522f-4060-aa36-3361b19de138&Preview=1 Date 4/22/2009 Company Name Ausra Mailing Address 303 Ravendale Drive Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Ausra develops and deploys utility-scale solar technologies to serve global electricity needs in a dependable, market competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Website http://www.ausra.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $25,500,000 Transaction Round Series D Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Ausra Receives $25,500,000 Series D Financing”

Beceem Communications Receives $20,000,000 Series E Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9c0cf32f-5398-457e-ab95-b0c559f7b48e&Preview=1 Date 4/22/2009 Company Name Beceem Communications Mailing Address 3960 Freedom Circle First Floor 1 Santa Clara, CA 95054 Company Description Beceem Communications Inc. was founded in October 2003 with the goal of building a wireless technology company offering semiconductor solutions for the wireless broadband market. Beceem is the leading supplier of … Continue reading “Beceem Communications Receives $20,000,000 Series E Financing Round”

Cognex Cuts 85 Staff

Cognex, a Natick, MA-based company that makes machine-vision sensors and systems for industrial automation, announced cost-cutting measures today that will include executive pay cuts and the elimination of 85 employees and contractors. “Unfortunately, conditions have deteriorated beyond what we had anticipated last fall, and because we currently see no sign of improvement in the near … Continue reading “Cognex Cuts 85 Staff”

Kryptiq Sells Product Line to Portico

Hillsboro, OR-based Kryptiq announced today it has sold off its health plan network management software, called Choreo, to Blue Bell, PA-based Portico Systems. Financial terms were not released, but Kryptiq is using proceeds from the sale to expand its core services for healthcare providers. Kryptiq’s collaborative software lets providers share healthcare information with patients, labs, … Continue reading “Kryptiq Sells Product Line to Portico”

User Interfaces, Cloud Computing, and Ray Ozzie—A Guide to the Season’s Tech Events

It is high season for tech gatherings in Seattle. The next couple of weeks will feature a dizzying array of events chock-full of compelling computing content, not to mention top-tier networking. How is a busy entrepreneur, researcher, or investor to choose which ones to attend? Let Xconomy be your guide… —This Wednesday, April 22 (yes, … Continue reading “User Interfaces, Cloud Computing, and Ray Ozzie—A Guide to the Season’s Tech Events”

Xconomy Wins Its Twitter Struggle–How Wade Reclaimed Our Good Name

After a months-long struggle, Xconomy has finally evicted the squatter who usurped our namesake account on Twitter. It took perseverance, Zen, and knowing folks in high Tweeting places to pull it off. But as of last night, Xconomy is on the Twitter air. Thank you Bijan. Thank you Twitter. And thanks to CNET for the … Continue reading “Xconomy Wins Its Twitter Struggle–How Wade Reclaimed Our Good Name”