Ethanol Entrepreneur Marks His Comeback

After years of disappointment, Mike Lewis is finding encouragement in small signs that business is coming back to life for Pearson Fuels. Lewis opened Pearson Fuels in a blighted San Diego neighborhood in 2003, with financial backing from the owners of a local Ford dealership, where he had worked in finance. It was part of … Continue reading “Ethanol Entrepreneur Marks His Comeback”

Illlumina Sells Four Genome Analyzers to Singapore Research Center

San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the maker of instruments for genetic analysis, said today it has sold four new Genome Analyzer machines to the Genome Institute of Singapore. Researchers there, who now have six of the machines, plan to use the tools for research of cancer and stem cells. The Singapore center counts several prominent … Continue reading “Illlumina Sells Four Genome Analyzers to Singapore Research Center”

Boston Scientific Co-Founders Sell Stock; Didn’t Mean It, Company Says

Lots of people have been selling Boston Scientific stock, and that includes the co-founders of the company. The Natick, MA-based medical device company (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) said today that co-founders Pete Nicholas and John Abele (an Xconomist) sold off about 13 million of their shares in the company yesterday, during frenzied volume of 38 million shares … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Co-Founders Sell Stock; Didn’t Mean It, Company Says”

Silicon Valley Sounds the Alarm—Sequoia Calls Emergency Meeting Warning Entrepreneurs to Brace for Financial Impact

The word spread quickly through the Silicon Valley blogosphere and around the entrepreneurial and venture worlds last night: legendary California venture capitalist Mike Moritz and the Sequoia Capital folks had called an emergency meeting of the firm’s portfolio-company leaders and told them to brace for what might well be the worst economic times they had … Continue reading “Silicon Valley Sounds the Alarm—Sequoia Calls Emergency Meeting Warning Entrepreneurs to Brace for Financial Impact”

One Year Old, Widgetbucks Steps Up Attack on Google Ads

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Widgetbucks, the online ad network from Seattle-based startup Mpire. Founded in 2005, Mpire’s story makes for a pretty compelling case study in adapting to the market. Although the verdict isn’t in yet—we’ll see how much market share it ends up taking from Google ads, for … Continue reading “One Year Old, Widgetbucks Steps Up Attack on Google Ads”

Provasculon, a Biogen-backed Startup, Testing Regenerative Medicine on Hearts

Provasculon is tackling one of the bigger ideas in regenerative medicine—how to stimulate growth of new blood vessels after they’ve been damaged by a heart attack. The Cambridge, MA-based startup hasn’t drawn a lot of attention since it was unveiled in March, but since it’s the second company that Biogen Idec has decided to bet … Continue reading “Provasculon, a Biogen-backed Startup, Testing Regenerative Medicine on Hearts”

Dendreon Stays in the Hunt, Lilly Makes Amends, Calistoga Hires First CEO, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News

Fall is in the air, at least one baseball team in an Xconomy city is still alive (Red Sox, of course) and biotech news is coming out full throttle every day. Isn’t it a wonderful time of year? —Dendreon announced that its interim analysis of the 500-patient Impact trial of Provenge wasn’t the sort of … Continue reading “Dendreon Stays in the Hunt, Lilly Makes Amends, Calistoga Hires First CEO, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”

Garamendi Takes Soft Energy Path in San Diego

California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who announced an early start to his 2010 gubernatorial bid in July, signaled his support yesterday for a new technology cluster emerging in San Diego. The new cluster is focused on cleantech and renewable energy in the cross-border region of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Baja California, which Garamendi … Continue reading “Garamendi Takes Soft Energy Path in San Diego”

Open Energy Corporation Lands $4,700,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1b8e7824-25b8-463b-8617-a50f932c7ae4&Preview=1 Date 10/9/2008 Company Name Open Energy Corporation Mailing Address 514 Via de la Valle Solana Beach, CA 92075 Company Description Open Energy Corporation is a renewable energy (RE) company focused on the development and commercialization of a portfolio of technologies capable of delivering low-risk, cost-competitive electricity, fresh water, and related commodities … Continue reading “Open Energy Corporation Lands $4,700,000 New Financing Round”

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network–Venture Northwest 2008

The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network will hold its Venture Northwest 2008 conference at the Marriott Waterfront in Portland, OR on Oct. 30. Fourteen companies have been selected to deliver presentations, and were chosen by a panel of venture capitalists, investment bankers, and representatives from professional service firms. Registration information is available here.

Broadcom Fires Another Round Against Qualcomm

San Diego’s Qualcomm and Irvine’s Broadcom continue to exchange legal blows like a pair of prize fighters in a slugfest. In the latest round, Broadcom asked a federal judge in San Diego yesterday to declare that Qualcomm’s patents and patent licenses are unenforceable. Broadcom argues that Qualcomm’s sales and marketing practices constitute “patent misuse.” As … Continue reading “Broadcom Fires Another Round Against Qualcomm”

Founder’s Co-op Raises $1.8M From Seattle Internet Entrepreneurs

Founder’s Co-op, the Seattle-based tech incubator founded by Andy Sack and Chris DeVore, has gathered a $1.8 million investment round from some well-known Seattle Internet entrepreneurs, according to this report in TechCrunch. Ben Elowitz of Wetpaint and Blue Nile, Alex Algard of Whitepages.com, and Adam Brotman of Play Network all participated in the round, according … Continue reading “Founder’s Co-op Raises $1.8M From Seattle Internet Entrepreneurs”

Nuance, Nokia in Partnership

Nuance Communications, the Burlington, MA-based maker of speech recognition software, said today it has struck a multi-year agreement with Finnish mobile giant Nokia to provide speech and predictive-text technologies for Nokia mobile devices. The two companies also agreed to work together on advanced input technologies, including open programming interfaces that outside developers could use to … Continue reading “Nuance, Nokia in Partnership”

Tech Coast Angels Fund Startup Developing Shock-Absorbing Nano Particles

AgileNano, a San Diego startup that was conceived doing research on energy-absorbing nano-composites for use in bumpers, helmets and body armor, said today it got seed funding from the Tech Coast Angels. The technology is used to minimize blunt-force trauma injuries among military service men and women and to increase comfort and protection in sporting … Continue reading “Tech Coast Angels Fund Startup Developing Shock-Absorbing Nano Particles”

Ex-Entellium Execs Charged With Fraud By Feds

Entellium’s former CEO, Paul Thomas Johnston, and former CFO Parrish L. Jones, have been arrested and charged with wire fraud, according to this story in the Associated Press. The fraud was uncovered late last month when an employee found evidence that Entellium, a Seattle software company, inflated its revenues to attract investors, according to the … Continue reading “Ex-Entellium Execs Charged With Fraud By Feds”

Torrey Pines Therapeutics Licenses Three Drugs to Cenomed

Torrey Pines Therapeutics said today that it has sold worldwide rights for three drug candidates to Cenomed Biosciences, a subsidiary of Abraxis Bioscience. Cenomed, based in Irvine, CA, will get rights to phenserine, Posiphen, and bisnorcymcerine for chemical defense and biodefense. La Jolla, CA-based Torrey Pines (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TPTX]]) stands to receive milestone and royalty payments … Continue reading “Torrey Pines Therapeutics Licenses Three Drugs to Cenomed”

Spiration Enters European Market with Device for Lung Disease

Spiration can now say it has its first marketed product. The Redmond, WA-based medical device maker said today that its partner, Tokyo-based Olympus, has started selling its device for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Europe. Spiration will manufacture the product, called the IBV Valve System, and Olympus will market it initially to select European physicians … Continue reading “Spiration Enters European Market with Device for Lung Disease”

Mozilla Adapts Skyhook’s Loki Location-Finding System for Firefox

When you open the Google Maps application on the Apple iPhone and click the “target” button, the device pulls up a local map and shows your current position as a blue dot. You could easily do the same thing on your laptop—if, that is, your Web browser could communicate with a location-sensing device in your … Continue reading “Mozilla Adapts Skyhook’s Loki Location-Finding System for Firefox”

No Appeal for Boston Scientific, No Luck for CombinatoRx Drug, No Complaints From Harvard, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

Overall, the news from Boston-area life sciences firms this past was not as much of a bummer as the first part of the headline might imply, but this first one isn’t great either… —Cambridge, MA-based Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:IDRA]]) reported that its experimental drug, IMO-2055, failed to have the desired effect on tumor size in a … Continue reading “No Appeal for Boston Scientific, No Luck for CombinatoRx Drug, No Complaints From Harvard, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

On the Road with Intellectual Ventures’ Global Head of Technology, Patrick Ennis

It’s 10:15 pm, and Patrick Ennis is in a taxi bound for the airport in Delhi, India. He’s getting ready for a 1:00 am flight to Beijing. The streets of India are legendary for displaying 2,000 years of transportation history in one place—animals, pedestrians, carts, bikes, cars, buses, trucks—and it sounds like tonight is no … Continue reading “On the Road with Intellectual Ventures’ Global Head of Technology, Patrick Ennis”

Sequenom, Fueled by Blood Test for Down’s, Aims To Be “Google of Molecular Diagnostics”

Life is good at Sequenom these days. CEO Harry Stylli was so relaxed when I stopped by for an interview last week, he was practically lying down in one of the guest chairs in his office at one point while telling me the company’s story. San Diego-based Sequenom had its breakout moment on September 23. … Continue reading “Sequenom, Fueled by Blood Test for Down’s, Aims To Be “Google of Molecular Diagnostics””

At Pixily, Cloud Computing Quenches the Downpour of Paper

I am not a David Allen disciple, but the one practice I did adopt after reading his time-management bible Getting Things Done many years ago was to start a filing system for the stacks of papers that used to cause a distracting mess around my home and office. As a result, I’ve got about six … Continue reading “At Pixily, Cloud Computing Quenches the Downpour of Paper”

Calistoga Builds Cancer Drug Strategy, Hires First CEO, Carol Gallagher

Calistoga Pharmaceuticals is growing up. The Seattle biotech company, which raised its founding $21 million round in March 2007, is announcing today it has hired its first CEO, Carol Gallagher, an executive who led the Rituxan oncology team at Biogen Idec when it crossed the $1 billion mark in sales. I stopped by Calistoga’s offices … Continue reading “Calistoga Builds Cancer Drug Strategy, Hires First CEO, Carol Gallagher”

Biochemistry Tool-Maker Roger Tsien Looks for the Pass Through the Mountains (Update: Tsien Wins Nobel Prize)

Updated, Oct. 8, 5 am PST: Roger Tsien was not only on the short list for the Nobel Prize in chemistry—he won it! See below for more details: Was it me, or did researchers’ heads whip around yesterday as I walked through Roger Tsien’s biochemistry laboratory at U.C. San Diego? If there was an atmosphere … Continue reading “Biochemistry Tool-Maker Roger Tsien Looks for the Pass Through the Mountains (Update: Tsien Wins Nobel Prize)”

The Boston-Area Obesity Treatment Cluster: Are Flood Gates Opening for Weight-Loss Drugs and Devices?

We’re not a particularly weight-conscious crew, but we at Xconomy have been noticing lately that the ranks of Boston-area firms focusing on obesity seem to be, well, growing. (See page two for our list of such companies.) Last month, for example, I profiled Lexington, MA-based GI Dynamics, which has reported progress in clinical trials with … Continue reading “The Boston-Area Obesity Treatment Cluster: Are Flood Gates Opening for Weight-Loss Drugs and Devices?”

AgileNano Garners $500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3964b190-187d-402f-93fa-ab914a163a20&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2008 Company Name AgileNano Mailing Address Undisclosed San Diego, CA 92120 Company Description AgileNano announces Agilezorb™, a revolutionary nanotechnology-based compressible energy absorbing liquid. Agilezorb is fundamentally different than foams and other competing technologies; absorbing energy on a near molecular scale instead of relying on the mechanical properties of solid materials. … Continue reading “AgileNano Garners $500,000 New Round”

Trilibis Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0cf70704-8a31-4158-86bb-126c620ed404&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2008 Company Name Trilibis Mailing Address 700 S. Claremont Street San Mateo, CA 94402 Company Description Trilibis continues to innovate and provide its customers with leading edge solutions, empowering them to generate profitable revenue within the wireless data market. Website http://www.trilibis.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,700,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Trilibis Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing Round”

Recommind Receives Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a92799d3-f59c-484e-abb4-4243edeab5e0&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2008 Company Name Recommind Mailing Address 170 Columbus Ave San Francisco, CA 94133 Company Description Recommind is the leader in sophisticated search, review and analysis software that provides the most accurate and automated tools available, giving people and organizations the information they need instantly. Website http://www.recommind.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Recommind Receives Series B Funding”

Tribilis Mobile Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5602cd42-c7b5-4b77-a3e1-c105ff416c9c&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2008 Company Name Tribilis Mobile Mailing Address 700 S. Claremont Street San Mateo, CA 94402 Company Description Trilibis Mobile was founded in 2002 by Tom Paddon. Before starting Trilibis, Paddon worked in the wireless communications industry for more than 7 years. After leaving QUALCOMM, he leveraged his knowledge of wireless … Continue reading “Tribilis Mobile Garners $5,700,000 Series B Financing”

Keith Grinstein, 1960-2008, Was Larger Than Life

The Seattle community lost a giant last week, when Keith Grinstein passed away at the age of 48. A memorial service for Grinstein, the chairman of Coinstar and a venture capitalist at Second Avenue Partners, was held yesterday afternoon in Seattle. I wanted to post a couple of thoughts from the community that I’ve gathered. … Continue reading “Keith Grinstein, 1960-2008, Was Larger Than Life”

Monster Venture Buys BitWine

Monster Venture Partners, based in Bellevue, WA, has acquired a controlling stake in BitWine, an online startup that lets users get expert advice and share knowledge. Former Expedia exec Ronnie Gurion has been named chief executive officer of Bitwine, and Rob Monster has joined as chairman of the board.

MyPunchbowl Reinvents Online Party Invitations

Everyone has a neighbor or a relative who loves to throw parties—you know, the people who make their Halloween or Christmas extravaganza bigger every year, with more lights, lawn ornaments, costumes, and food. The folks at Punchbowl Software are a lot like that: they keep overhauling their Web 2.0 party-planning website MyPunchbowl, making it fancier … Continue reading “MyPunchbowl Reinvents Online Party Invitations”

CollegeWikis Funded by Two New England Groups

The eCoast Angel Network of Portsmouth, NH, and Boston Harbor Angels of Boston are among the participants in a $2 million funding round announced today for CollegeWikis. The New York-based startup, which provides e-mail lists and group-editable wikis for student-based organizations (and bears a passing resemblance to Cambridge, MA-based Wiggio), also attracted investments from HighBAR … Continue reading “CollegeWikis Funded by Two New England Groups”

Lilly Patches Up Relationships in Seattle Biotech, Pushes TB Drug Discovery

Eli Lilly did some fence-mending today with the Seattle biotech community. Almost two years ago, the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant took over Icos, the Northwest’s most valuable biotech company, grabbing the billion-dollar erectile dysfunction drug it created and sending 365 talented local workers to the unemployment lines. It’s a story you often see with big drugmakers … Continue reading “Lilly Patches Up Relationships in Seattle Biotech, Pushes TB Drug Discovery”

Private Equity Funds Raised in New England—The Third Quarter List

Earlier today, we reported on national private equity fundraising trends through the year’s first three quarters—trends that put the U.S. on a pace to surpass last year’s record total of $313 billion raised. We were finally able to track down the list of New England funds raised (some are still open, so the figures could … Continue reading “Private Equity Funds Raised in New England—The Third Quarter List”

BSX Appeal Denied by U.S. Supreme Court

It appears that Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) will be forced to pay medical products giant Johnson & Johnson the full $703 million patent-infringement award finalized last week by the U.S. District Court of Delaware, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined yesterday to hear the company’s appeal of the case. Johnson & Johnson claimed … Continue reading “BSX Appeal Denied by U.S. Supreme Court”

U.S. Private Equity Firms On Pace For Record Fundraising Year through Q3: But Does Anyone Think It Will Last?

Last week I wrote a story about Highland Capital Partners’ all-out 20th anniversary bash here in Boston entitled, What Financial Crisis? The same title might be fitting for a piece about the data on private equity fundraising that was released today. Buoyed by a strong third quarter, private equity firms—including venture firms like Highland—are on … Continue reading “U.S. Private Equity Firms On Pace For Record Fundraising Year through Q3: But Does Anyone Think It Will Last?”

Alnylam Gets $20M From Takeda

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals said today it has earned a $20 million milestone payment from Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical as part of the collaboration formed between the companies in May. The money is for transferring documents, materials, and know-how to Takeda for developing RNA interference-based drugs. Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) has already received a $100 million upfront payment from … Continue reading “Alnylam Gets $20M From Takeda”

Vical Pandemic Flu Vaccine May Be Licensed to AnGes

Vical, a San Diego biotech company, said today it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to license its pandemic flu vaccine candidates in Japan to AnGes. Osaka, Japan-based AnGes will conduct due diligence on the program, and the companies plan to negotiate terms of a license, Vical said. The news is an “incremental positive” … Continue reading “Vical Pandemic Flu Vaccine May Be Licensed to AnGes”

Harvard Banks Record $125M Donation for New “Biologically Inspired Engineering” Institute

Harvard University has received a gift of $125 million from billionaire philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss to support the formation of a new research institute for biological engineering, The Harvard Crimson reports. The Crimson called the gift the largest in Harvard’s history, topping what had been a record donation of $100 million in April from David Rockefeller … Continue reading “Harvard Banks Record $125M Donation for New “Biologically Inspired Engineering” Institute”

Clarus Leads $60M Biolex Deal

Cambridge, MA-based Clarus Ventures led a $60 million Series D financing for Biolex Therapeutics, according to an announcement from the Pittsboro, NC-based startup. The deal was joined by new investor OrbiMed Advisors and existing investors including Intersouth Partners, Quaker BioVentures, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Investor Growth Capital, Polaris Ventures, Mitsui & Company, The Dow … Continue reading “Clarus Leads $60M Biolex Deal”

Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs Urges Entrepreneurs to “Keep Running Fast”

Irwin Jacobs is the chairman and founder of Qualcomm, the San Diego-based giant in digital wireless communications. With sales of more than $10 billion a year, Qualcomm now has a market valuation of roughly $66 billion—more than McDonald’s. Yet Jacobs, who will celebrate his 75th birthday later this month, seemed remarkably unpretentious for a wireless … Continue reading “Qualcomm Founder Irwin Jacobs Urges Entrepreneurs to “Keep Running Fast””

MPM Capital, World’s Biggest Healthcare VC Fund, Balances Startups With Stocks

MPM Capital has grown into such a colossal healthcare venture fund, it makes people who follow the industry (like me) wonder whether it can stay true to its roots. The fund, with $2.5 billion under management, has a tradition of making seed-stage bets in startup biotech companies, including winners like Cambridge, MA-based Idenix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IDIX]]). … Continue reading “MPM Capital, World’s Biggest Healthcare VC Fund, Balances Startups With Stocks”

Jeff Bezos Helps You Find a Doc, Oberon Goes to China, Imperium Gets Investment, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

Heading into the baseball battles of October (go Red Sox), the dealflow is really picking up. In the past week, the Northwest has seen deals in gaming, mobile software, healthcare, genomics, and biofuels. —Oberon Media, a maker of casual games and gaming platforms that is based in New York but has a publishing arm in … Continue reading “Jeff Bezos Helps You Find a Doc, Oberon Goes to China, Imperium Gets Investment, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

OVP, Enterprise Partners See Big Opportunity in $5,000 Human Genome Sequencing

It’s getting cheaper by the day to sequence the entire string of 6 billion chemical units of DNA that make up an individual human being. Yesterday, Complete Genomics of Mountain View, CA unveiled plans for what amounts to a democratization of genomics. It will offer a service to sequence full human genomes for just $5,000, … Continue reading “OVP, Enterprise Partners See Big Opportunity in $5,000 Human Genome Sequencing”

A Clear Choice on Science, Technology, and Innovation

Washington’s economy is one of the most technology-intensive in the nation. Software. Precision agriculture. Aerospace. Biomedicine. E-tailing. New media. Alternative energy. Public and private research institutions. Even narrowly defined, the technology sector is responsible, directly or indirectly, for nearly 50 percent of the jobs in Washington. East to west, north to south, we are driven … Continue reading “A Clear Choice on Science, Technology, and Innovation”

Mozy Launches Business Version of Mac Backup Service

Back in May I wrote about the release of MozyHome for Mac, an Apple-compatible version of the Mozy online backup service that Berkeley Data Systems launched for Windows users in 2006. Between them, Mozy (which became part of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC last fall) and Boston-based Carbonite dominate the market for online backup—but for the moment, … Continue reading “Mozy Launches Business Version of Mac Backup Service”

College Wiki Secures $2,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d3453446-77a1-465a-a4da-9a880818bbae&Preview=1 Date 10/7/2008 Company Name College Wiki Mailing Address Undisclosed Westport, CT 06880 Company Description The company operates as a Wiki dedicated to a particular college. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Richmond Global Cellular … Continue reading “College Wiki Secures $2,000,000 New Financing”