Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms

It’s tough times for biotech entrepreneurs in search of new funds to launch startups, with early-stage investors conserving capital for their existing portfolio companies. Yet one venture group that isn’t hurting for capital nowadays is Biogen Idec New Ventures, the San Diego-based VC arm of big biotech company Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]). Biogen this year committed … Continue reading “Biogen Idec VC Group Sees Opportunity in Tough Market, Has $100M New Allocation to Invest in Biotech Firms”

How To Invent: Tips from Patrick Ennis of Intellectual Ventures (Part 2)

Yesterday, I gave a few highlights from a lunchtime discussion with Intellectual Ventures’ global head of technology, Patrick Ennis. The Bellevue, WA-based firm, founded by Nathan Myhrvold and Edward Jung, is sometimes called an “invention company.” It has gotten a lot of attention—and stirred controversy—for buying up large numbers of technology patents worldwide. So I … Continue reading “How To Invent: Tips from Patrick Ennis of Intellectual Ventures (Part 2)”

Boston-Power Gets a Charge Out of HP, Semprus Seizes $8M, Alnylam Expands Patent Position, & More Boston-Area Deals News

How about half a dozen venture deals to brighten a dreary New England week? Those, and the rest of the Boston-area deals news, below. —Several Boston-area firms helped funnel $40 million into cellulosic ethanol startup Coskata of Warrenville, IL. The Series C round was led by the new Cleantech Venture Fund of Blackstone Group, which … Continue reading “Boston-Power Gets a Charge Out of HP, Semprus Seizes $8M, Alnylam Expands Patent Position, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Uptake Medical Corp Secures $3,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bbf44f0b-f584-452d-9334-3b662bec281a&Preview=1 Date 12/12/2008 Company Name Uptake Medical Corp Mailing Address 1924 1st Avenue, 3rd Floor Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Uptake Medical Corporation is a Seattle-based medical device company dedicated to improving the lives of patients suffering from emphysema and other types of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Website http://www.uptakemedical.com/ Transaction Type … Continue reading “Uptake Medical Corp Secures $3,000,000 New Round”

State Stem Cell Grants Awarded to Four San Diego Biotechs

Venture funding for San Diego’s life science companies seems to have slowed to a trickle, but four local biotechs are among the first companies to get grants from California’s taxpayer-funded stem cell institute. The 29-member governing board for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine voted Wednesday to approve funding of more than $19.8 million for … Continue reading “State Stem Cell Grants Awarded to Four San Diego Biotechs”

Former “Daily Show” Producer Karlin is Humorist Behind WonderGlen Comedy Site

Since October, the Internet has been abuzz with discussion about WonderGlen, a fictional TV production company whose fake company intranet is a window onto the obsessions of a staff that takes dysfunction well beyond the levels of Dunder Mifflin, the fictional paper company in NBC’s “The Office.” Much of the buzz has focused on the … Continue reading “Former “Daily Show” Producer Karlin is Humorist Behind WonderGlen Comedy Site”

Angel Groups Pull Back in 2008

It would have been a surprise—at least to me—to see any group of investors seek more deals in this turbulent economy. So it wasn’t shocking to see that many angel groups reported less deal activity in the Angel Capital Association’s (ACA) latest nationwide Angel Group Confidence Report. The Lenexa, KS-based angel association says it tapped … Continue reading “Angel Groups Pull Back in 2008”

Panacos Pharma Plans Layoffs

Panacos Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:PANC]]), a Watertown, MA-based developer of drugs for HIV, announced that it plans to immediately reduce its workforce to 15 workers from 33 employees to manage its capital while the firm seeks such strategic options as a financing, partnership, sale of the company, or sale of certain assets. Last month Panacos said that … Continue reading “Panacos Pharma Plans Layoffs”

Zino Society Life Sciences Investment Forum

The Zino Society, a group that connects angel investors with entrepreneurs, is hosting “Zino Life: Life Sciences Investment Forum” on February 24 in partnership with the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. Bruce Montgomery, the senior vice president of respiratory therapeutics for Gilead Sciences, will give a keynote address. Twelve companies will make presentations, and the … Continue reading “Zino Society Life Sciences Investment Forum”

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Gets Back Full Rights to Cancer Drugs From AstraZeneca

Infinity Pharmaceuticals is regaining full commercial rights to develop cancer drugs that block a target called heat shock protein 90. The biotech company’s partner, London-based drugmaker AstraZeneca, decided to hand back its 50 percent stake in the program to its partner Cambridge, MA-based Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) This news could be spun a couple ways. It … Continue reading “Infinity Pharmaceuticals Gets Back Full Rights to Cancer Drugs From AstraZeneca”

Semprus Raises 8M Series A Round

Semprus BioSciences, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of antimicrobial coatings for medical devices, has raised $8 million in a Series A financing round, according to Mass High Tech. MHT reports that 5AM Ventures, which has an office in Waltham, MA, and Pangaea Ventures, of Vancouver, co-led the round.

Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA

Amylin Pharmaceuticals stock shot up this morning after the company said it had some good fortune in dealings with the FDA. The San Diego biotech said it will be able file an application to market its diabetes drug, the once-weekly version of exenatide, in the first half of 2009 after all. That’s despite a warning … Continue reading “Amylin Shares Soar as Diabetes Drug Catches a Break From FDA”

Salary.com to Buy Genesys

Salary.com, the Waltham, MA-based compensation and personnel-management software firm, announced that it has agreed to acquire human resource-management software provider Genesys Software Systems, which has an office in Methuen, MA. Salary.com, which expects to close the deal by December 17, has agreed to buy the company for a total of $6.8 million in cash and … Continue reading “Salary.com to Buy Genesys”

Spark Contributes to Tumblr’s $4.5 Million Series B Round

Boston’s Spark Capital and New York’s Union Square Ventures are the lead co-investors in a $4.5 million Series B financing round for Tumblr, a tiny New York-based startup that offers a stripped down, extremely user-friendly “microblogging” platform. The investment, announced this morning, is a huge boost over the startup’s $775,000 initial financing, led last year … Continue reading “Spark Contributes to Tumblr’s $4.5 Million Series B Round”

Alnylam Forms UCSF Collaboration

Alnylam Pharmeceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALNY]]), a Cambridge, MA-based developer of RNA-interference (RNAi) drugs, says it has formed a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, to explore the use of RNAi therapeutics to treat eye tumors. In previous research, scientists have found that RNAi treatments silenced a gene linked to the survival of eye tumor cells.

Mars Postponed: Launch Delay Gives Little Company Another Chance to ‘Wow The Public’

When NASA announced last week it was postponing the launch of its next mission to Mars by 26 months, Michael Ravine says his heart sank—and then he breathed a sigh of relief.As the advanced projects manager at San Diego’s Malin Space Science Systems, Ravine says his team has been working frantically to deliver two cameras … Continue reading “Mars Postponed: Launch Delay Gives Little Company Another Chance to ‘Wow The Public’”

Healionics Scores $2.6M Angel Backing to Promote Healing Around Medical Devices

Good news this morning from Redmond, WA-based Healionics. The company, which develops technology to promote healing around implantable medical devices, has raised $2.6 million in a second round of angel financing. The cash comes from some of the Northwest’s biggest angel networks, including the Alliance of Angels, Bellingham Angels, Keiretsu, Tacoma Angel Network, and Zino … Continue reading “Healionics Scores $2.6M Angel Backing to Promote Healing Around Medical Devices”

How To Invent: Tips on Global Technology from Patrick Ennis of Intellectual Ventures (Part 1)

Why can’t big companies invent? How should inventors handle their intellectual property? And what are countries around the world doing on these fronts? I recently stopped by Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, WA, to get the scoop from Patrick Ennis, IV’s global head of technology. Ennis was a venture capitalist with Arch Venture Partners in Seattle … Continue reading “How To Invent: Tips on Global Technology from Patrick Ennis of Intellectual Ventures (Part 1)”

Seattle Genetics Drug Fights Hodgkin’s, Frazier Sounds Off on Biotech Ventures, SBRI Pushes Malaria Vaccine, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Maybe everybody’s rushing to scratch things off the to-do list before the holidays, but this was one of the busiest weeks of the year we’ve seen in Seattle biotech news. Here are the highlights. —Seattle Genetics had a big week. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said follow-up data in a clinical trial of … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Drug Fights Hodgkin’s, Frazier Sounds Off on Biotech Ventures, SBRI Pushes Malaria Vaccine, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Online Communities Meet Clinical Trials: Inspire’s Co-Founder on Social Networking, “Health 2.0,” and Trust

One thing leads to another, especially for reporters. After we published our Boston Health 2.0 Cluster story in June, I started getting a lot of invitations to attend and/or moderate local events relating the Web’s influence on the healthcare market. One such event was a weekend brunch hosted by IC Sciences executive vice president Steve … Continue reading “Online Communities Meet Clinical Trials: Inspire’s Co-Founder on Social Networking, “Health 2.0,” and Trust”

Healionics Corp. Lands $2,600,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=efab03b7-5742-45f7-b39c-a023ec929f7e&Preview=1 Date 12/11/2008 Company Name Healionics Corp. Mailing Address 14787 NE 95th Street Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description Healionics Corporation provides biomaterial solutions to research institutions and medical device manufacturers seeking to enhance the biocompatibility and performance of current and next generation devices. Website http://www.healionics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,600,000 … Continue reading “Healionics Corp. Lands $2,600,000 Series A Financing Round”

Lightwave Power Inc Obtains Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17a09045-9308-4afb-a7fb-e52901becf09&Preview=1 Date 12/11/2008 Company Name Lightwave Power Inc Mailing Address 57 Smith Place Cambridge, MA 02138 Company Description Lightwave Power, Inc. is a venture capital financed startup that was founded in January 2008 and is developing novel solar energy products based on nanoarrays and 2-dimensional photonic crystal arrays. Four founders with experience … Continue reading “Lightwave Power Inc Obtains Series A Round”

InnerRewards Secures $1,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=12a0470c-ca09-48cb-9654-27468d20abbd&Preview=1 Date 12/11/2008 Company Name InnerRewards Mailing Address 600 Townsend Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Company Description InnerRewards expects to become the definitive trusted brand for people and businesses passionate about the Wellness Lifestyle. Our complete online experience provides businesses and consumers one place to learn, conduct transactions, and collaborate. We created … Continue reading “InnerRewards Secures $1,000,000 New Round”

Bivio Networks Obtains $15,800,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=724900b8-822c-4867-93df-a4763fba1eab&Preview=1 Date 12/11/2008 Company Name Bivio Networks Mailing Address 4457 Willow Road Pleasanton, CA 94588 Company Description Bivio Networks has developed the industry’s first next generation packet handling platform that combines unparalleled scaling of network performance, processing power, and application agility. Website http://www.bivio.net Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,800,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Bivio Networks Obtains $15,800,000 New Financing”

FDA Panel Votes Down Acusphere Drug

An FDA advisory panel voted 16-1 (with one panelist abstaining) against recommending approval of Watertown, MA-based Acusphere’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ACUS]]) heart imaging agent, citing abnormally low blood pressure and other reported side effects of perflubutane polymer microspheres (Imagify) as concerns, the AP reports. The imaging agent is intended for use in diagnosing heart disease. The FDA is … Continue reading “FDA Panel Votes Down Acusphere Drug”

Alphatec Gets $30 Million in Debt Financing

Alphatec Holdings (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATEC]]), the Carlsbad parent company of medical device maker Alphatec Spine, says it has secured a $30 million credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance. The debt consists of a $15 million loan and a $15 million line of credit for working capital. The company, which designs and makes products … Continue reading “Alphatec Gets $30 Million in Debt Financing”

A Car Company at the Web Innovators Group?

Last night’s 20th meeting of the Web Innovators Group at Cambridge’s Royal Sonesta Hotel was possibly the largest ever, spilling from the usual ballroom into the adjacent conference rooms and attracting a crowd so thick that it was difficult to see the demo tables. Perhaps the high attendance was to be expected, given the layoffs … Continue reading “A Car Company at the Web Innovators Group?”

SplashCast Puts TV on MySpace, Facebook

Portland, OR-based SplashCast, an online content-syndication startup, announced it has teamed up with video service Hulu to distribute TV shows and other content on Facebook and MySpace. SplashCast’s “social TV player” software will syndicate new episodes from Hulu directly to viewers’ social-network pages. Twenty shows are currently available, and the company says “dozens more” will … Continue reading “SplashCast Puts TV on MySpace, Facebook”

Novatel President Departs

San Diego’s Novatel Wireless said today Brad Weinert resigned Monday, after serving 16 months as president of the broadband wireless company. A statement by Novatel chairman and CEO Peter Leparulo said Weinert has been an important contributor to the company’s growth since 2003. Weinert joined Novatel in 1998, and worked in various jobs until 2002, … Continue reading “Novatel President Departs”

Pentagon Awards Biofuel R&D Contract to General Atomics

DARPA, the Pentagon’s R&D funding agency, yesterday awarded a $19.5 million contract to privately held General Atomics of San Diego to make jet fuel from algae and cellulosic feedstocks. Work on developing JP-8 grade biofuel will be done at General Atomics and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Arizona State University, Blue Sun Biodiesel … Continue reading “Pentagon Awards Biofuel R&D Contract to General Atomics”

Seattle Genetics Drug Passes Safety Test, Trial Continues

Seattle Genetics said today its experimental drug for acute myeloid leukemia passed an interim safety review. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said an independent monitoring committee recommended the study continue of lintuzumab (SGN-33). Full results from the trial, which is two-thirds of the way to its enrollment goal of 210 patients, should be … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Drug Passes Safety Test, Trial Continues”

Qualcomm Executives Look for Industry Rebound Next Summer

The economic downturn means it’s likely the wireless industry will stay with third-generation, or 3G, technologies for the foreseeable future, Qualcomm’s top executives said last night during a panel discussion. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said customers of the San Diego wireless giant have pushed out their chip orders for 3G technologies because of the economic … Continue reading “Qualcomm Executives Look for Industry Rebound Next Summer”

India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 3: Of Property Markets, Both Physical and Intellectual

New Delhi, December 10—The housing meltdown in the U.S. got me thinking about the property market in India. With the dramatic urbanization and growth of Indian cities property prices have skyrocketed. In good neighborhoods in Delhi prices have increased 100x in 30 years. I met a small dairy farmer who supplied a neighborhood with milk … Continue reading “India’s Innovation Front Lines, Part 3: Of Property Markets, Both Physical and Intellectual”

Lucid Imagination Raises $6 Million for Open Source Search Support

Lucid Imagination, a startup in Newton Highlands, MA, that specializes in support and services for the open-source search technologies Lucene and Solr, has collected $6 million out of a $7.5 million Series A financing round, according to a report yesterday in Private Equity Hub. Lucid’s Series A investors include Granite Ventures and Walden International, both … Continue reading “Lucid Imagination Raises $6 Million for Open Source Search Support”

Acusphere Stock Temporarily Halted During FDA Panel on Heart Imaging Drug

(UPDATE: This story has been corrected from an earlier version, which said Acusphere stock has been “bounced” from the Nasdaq exchange. The shares haven’t been de-listed, but trading in Acusphere has been temporarily halted today while an FDA advisory panel meets to discuss whether to recommend approval of its lead product candidate, Imagify. This is … Continue reading “Acusphere Stock Temporarily Halted During FDA Panel on Heart Imaging Drug”

Targanta Faces New Challenges to Raise Cash After FDA Shoots Down the Firm’s Antibiotic

Targanta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:[[ticker:TARG]]) faces an uphill journey now that the FDA has decided to not to approve the Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm’s antibiotic oritavancin. The FDA, in summary, told Targanta to conduct an additional clinical trial to show the safety and effectiveness of oritavancin before it seeks approval again. The drug is intended to treat … Continue reading “Targanta Faces New Challenges to Raise Cash After FDA Shoots Down the Firm’s Antibiotic”

Novartis Deal Could Boost Ascent by $200M, Ariad’s Boardroom Drama Comes to Light, Targanta Takes Another Hit, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Boston-area life sciences firms made a good showing at two important meetings this week. Luke and Ryan gave the rundown on those, and took a look at a couple very interesting startups. —Ryan checked in with Frank Reynolds, spinal-cord-injury survivor and CEO of InVivo Therapeutics, about the progress of his company’s Cambridge, MA-based effort to … Continue reading “Novartis Deal Could Boost Ascent by $200M, Ariad’s Boardroom Drama Comes to Light, Targanta Takes Another Hit, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Who’s Hiring in Seattle Biotech? It’s Not All Layoffs, All the Time

(UPDATE: This story has added information at the end about openings at the Institute for Systems Biology.) Mass firings dominate the news almost every day now, yet some companies are still hiring. Since a lot of highly-skilled and experienced people have been thrown out of work lately, I thought I’d check around to see where … Continue reading “Who’s Hiring in Seattle Biotech? It’s Not All Layoffs, All the Time”

Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers

Most drugs act by interfering with signaling proteins in cells or receptors on cell surfaces. San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals has a different idea, by trying to interrupt the complex carbohydrates known as glycans, that can alter the function of proteins. This concept has been around the biotech industry a number of years, without a whole … Continue reading “Zacharon Aspires to Create a New Class of Drugs, Glycan-Blockers”

Boston-Power Strikes Deal with Hewlett-Packard to Market Longer-Lived, Eco-Friendly Laptop Batteries

After raising $70 million in venture funding and spending more than three years on the development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries, Westborough, MA-based Boston-Power has won its first big customer: It’s the supplier behind a new line of replacement laptop batteries from Hewlett-Packard. Branded as the “HP Enviro Series” but based entirely on Boston-Power’s Sonata technology, … Continue reading “Boston-Power Strikes Deal with Hewlett-Packard to Market Longer-Lived, Eco-Friendly Laptop Batteries”

Seattle-Area Social Networking Sites Roll Out Plans to Drum Up New Business

Two of the area’s more interesting social-networking startups are announcing new product offerings today. Each has been quietly building its business this year without a lot of fanfare. One plays in the professional networking arena, while the other focuses on families and friends. Both need to drum up new users in a tough economic climate. … Continue reading “Seattle-Area Social Networking Sites Roll Out Plans to Drum Up New Business”

Mobile Photo Community SnapMyLife Uploads Another $5 Million

Back in April I wrote about Mobicious, a Needham, MA, startup that once focused on publishing a directory of mobile applications but took a dramatic turn in direction by launching a free, advertising-supported photo-sharing community called SnapMyLife that’s optimized for mobile phones, especially the Apple iPhone. After just eight months, SnapMyLife has signed up more … Continue reading “Mobile Photo Community SnapMyLife Uploads Another $5 Million”

Mobicious Secures $5,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a79f7828-6e00-44ef-ba19-99a073f7d69e&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name Mobicious Mailing Address 250 First Ave Needham, MA 02494 Company Description Our goal is to be the best place to find anything for your phone – including useful texting services for weather, news and sports, the most popular music and videos, trustworthy places to buy ringtones, images … Continue reading “Mobicious Secures $5,000,000 New Funding”

Emotive Communications, Inc. Lands $6,250,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=95febc7d-09e6-482c-8f47-128f85cdd8ab&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name Emotive Communications, Inc. Mailing Address 6345 Balboa Blvd., Building 2 Encino, CA 91316 Company Description Emotive is an entertainment focused innovation company that provides real-time interactive multimedia products and services to network communication networks worldwide. The company’s “Push Ringer” product introduces active social media networking to the … Continue reading “Emotive Communications, Inc. Lands $6,250,000 Series B Financing Round”

JasperSoft Corporation Lands $12,500,000 Series E Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a18a89a1-0344-4b71-a3ad-29ec59006564&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name JasperSoft Corporation Mailing Address 539 Bryant Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description JasperSoft is the leading provider of commercial open source reporting solutions. Anchored by the world’s most popular open source reporting engine JasperReports, and its complementary commercial reporting product, JasperDecisions, JasperSoft brings customers the best … Continue reading “JasperSoft Corporation Lands $12,500,000 Series E Funding Round”

JiWire Garners $11,100,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=68197a07-d86e-4be2-9fc9-85fd98fc7b60&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name JiWire Mailing Address 220 Sansome Street 4th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 Company Description JiWire is the leading mobile broadband advertising network, delivering premium, location-driven advertising on Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. JiWire enables the mobile broadband ecosystem (wireless ISPs and device manufacturers) to monetize public mobile broadband … Continue reading “JiWire Garners $11,100,000 Series B Financing”

Anvato Obtains $2,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=007b9a49-268c-43a6-9761-b5286671f633&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name Anvato Mailing Address 465 N. Whisman Road Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Anvato applies cutting edge computer machine vision to content protection and contextual advertising. We enable content publishers to protect and monetize their content via advertising while enabling advertisers deliver more targeted messages and truly … Continue reading “Anvato Obtains $2,000,000 New Funding Round”

DecisionView Software Garners Series D Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=699be915-02c3-42c2-9729-cfa4f0b578f7&Preview=1 Date 12/10/2008 Company Name DecisionView Software Mailing Address 330 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description The company was founded with a charter to solve the number one cause of delays in bringing drugs to market: clinical recruitment performance. By converging visualization, predictive modeling and simulation capabilities within the clinical … Continue reading “DecisionView Software Garners Series D Funding Round”