Much of the week’s life sciences news was dominated by the bickering of Biogen Idec and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. A few other interesting things happened, though. Those first: —Merrimack Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, revealed it had raised a tidy $60 million in a Series F round from Credit Suisse First Boston Next Fund, Crocker … Continue reading “Vertex Moves Hepatitis Drug Forward, Merrimack Rakes in $60M, Biogen and Icahn Trade Barbs, & More Life Sciences News”
Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Days Three and Four)
London, Cambridge, and Manchester: Tuesday and Wednesday, June 10-11 * I am a day behind, so two days in one entry. We spent Tuesday morning at Imperial College London, then took an hour train ride to Cambridge for an evening event at St. Catherine’s College (one of 39 colleges at Cambridge). Wednesday, we were in … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Days Three and Four)”
WidgetBucks Obtains $10,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fd681551-95ed-45ba-b844-f72bdf93fe91&Preview=1 Date 6/12/2008 Company Name WidgetBucks Mailing Address 1725 Westlake Avenue N. Seattle, WA 98109 Company Description WidgetBucks features pay-per-click shopping widgets that help our customers make money fast. They instantly display the most popular products based on buying trends of 100 million shoppers. Website http://www.widgetbucks.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “WidgetBucks Obtains $10,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
Codon Devices “Streamlines” Operation, To Focus on Synthetic Biology
Codon Devices is switching strategic gears. The privately held Cambridge, MA-based company, which makes genes for large drugmakers running experiments, said today in a statement that it has “streamlined” its operation to put more of its resources into product development partnerships for its synthetic biology program, which engineers new biological products with potential to do … Continue reading “Codon Devices “Streamlines” Operation, To Focus on Synthetic Biology”
Madrona Venture Group Closes $250 Million Fund, Its Largest to Date
Times are good for at least one of the area’s tech-focused VC firms. Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group announced today that it has closed a $250 million fund, the largest in its 13-year history. Returning investors include the Kauffman Foundation, the University of Washington, the University of Virginia Management Company, and Investure, while new investors include … Continue reading “Madrona Venture Group Closes $250 Million Fund, Its Largest to Date”
$60 Million More for Merrimack Pharma
As if we needed more validation of the local biotech scene, Cambridge, MA-based Merrimack Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has raised $60 million in a Series F round of private equity financing. This latest round follows a $65 million Series E financing announced in April 2006. The investors in today’s round include Credit Suisse First … Continue reading “$60 Million More for Merrimack Pharma”
Headhunter’s Weapon Snares $26 Million
If you’re both profitable and growing at a rate of 400 percent for three years in a row, do you still need outside financing? Yes, says Arthur Papas, CEO and co-founder of Bullhorn, a developer of software for the recruiting and staffing industry. The Boston-based company just raised $26 million in new financing, in a … Continue reading “Headhunter’s Weapon Snares $26 Million”
Langer Wins Millennium Technology Prize, World’s Biggest Innovation Award
Robert Langer is $1.2 million richer today. Langer, a renowned tissue engineer and drug delivery expert at MIT (and an Xconomist), has won the Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki. It’s the world’s largest award for technology innovation, and is given to developers of a technology that “significantly improves the quality of human life, today and … Continue reading “Langer Wins Millennium Technology Prize, World’s Biggest Innovation Award”
Three Seattle Companies Accept Webby Awards
At the 2008 Webby Awards in New York City last night, three Seattle-based companies accepted their prizes. I Can Has Cheezburger? won awards in both the “weird” and “humor” categories (I still have no idea what this website is about). Zillow won in the “real estate” category. And Farecast (recently acquired by Microsoft) won in … Continue reading “Three Seattle Companies Accept Webby Awards”
What to Do When Rover Resents Roomba
When I got an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner a few years ago, my dog’s first reaction was mild curiosity, followed by total disinterest. He was clearly intelligent enough to understand that the gadget wasn’t alive—and that therefore it wasn’t a rival or a threat. Alas, some people’s dogs just aren’t as smart. An article in … Continue reading “What to Do When Rover Resents Roomba”
The Clean Dozen: First Class of Cleantech Fellows Comes to Boston
Back in April, we reported on the New England Clean Energy Council’s new fellowship program, which is designed to train experienced businesspeople in the art of cleantech entrepreneurship. Now the NECEC has announced its charter class of fellows who will take part in the pilot this summer. It’s a three-month, half-time classroom program that will … Continue reading “The Clean Dozen: First Class of Cleantech Fellows Comes to Boston”
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Cultivating Successful Businesses Around Universities in Boston
We all know the startup culture is rich around MIT and the Boston area. But what are the real reasons, and how can you successfully access and incorporate the innovation spawned in the great universities in the region? This panel, put on by the Office for Science and Technology of the French Embassy and the … Continue reading “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Cultivating Successful Businesses Around Universities in Boston”
PeopleAhead Has Forward-Looking Take on the Online Job Board
The Web has been around for long enough that many online businesses that once seemed revolutionary have begun to look routine, tired, even fundamentally flawed. In many industries, there is an emerging second generation of Web businesses that hope to supplant their pioneering predecessors. Look at online comparison shopping in the financial industry, for example. … Continue reading “PeopleAhead Has Forward-Looking Take on the Online Job Board”
Stratus Launches Software for Sky-High Reliability
Computer users are a seasoned breed, accustomed to less-than-perfect service from their machines. That applications suddenly freeze, forcing you to restart your PC every once in a while, is just a reality of modern life. But for a lot of businesses it’s vital to have a high reliability in their computing systems. If a banking … Continue reading “Stratus Launches Software for Sky-High Reliability”
Bullhorn, Inc. Receives $26,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f943f60f-6fd9-4062-9e13-be333236bc07&Preview=1 Date 6/11/2008 Company Name Bullhorn, Inc. Mailing Address 33-41 Farnsworth Street, 5th Floor Boston, MA 02210 Company Description Bullhorn is the global leader in On Demand, integrated front office software for the staffing and recruiting industry. Website http://www.bullhorn.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $26,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “Bullhorn, Inc. Receives $26,000,000 New Round”
Biogen Idec’s Nominees Win Support from Shareholder Advisory Firms
Biogen Idec got a boost today in its proxy battle with billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Two big firms that advise institutional investors and mutual funds on how to vote in corporate elections—RiskMetrics Group/ISS Governance Services and Glass, Lewis & Co.—recommended that shareholders vote for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company’s slate and reject Icahn’s three nominees. … Continue reading “Biogen Idec’s Nominees Win Support from Shareholder Advisory Firms”
Eurekafest
Celebrate the inventive spirit at EurekaFest, June 25-28, presented by the Lemelson-MIT Program and the Museum of Science. Join a community of inventors and innovators at the Lemelson-MIT Awards Ceremony or see a nationwide high school invention showcase on the MIT campus. Saturday at the Museum of Science, watch live presentations of award-winning student inventions, … Continue reading “Eurekafest”
IRobot Will Build Underwater Robots for Military
IRobot, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) the Bedford, MA-based maker of robots that clean floors, scrub gutters, and defuse roadside bombs in Iraq, said today it acquired a license from the University of Washington to develop technology for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can be used by oceanographers and military planners. The UW technology, called Seaglider, uses a … Continue reading “IRobot Will Build Underwater Robots for Military”
Utility Scale Energy Storage
The New England Clean Energy Council presents a briefing session featuring a panel of experts (energy storage firm and utility executives, technologists, venture capitalists, and consultants) discussing opportunities and issues around utility scale energy storage. The session will address economic, technical, and regulatory hurdles, debate the feasibility of various storage solutions, and try to project … Continue reading “Utility Scale Energy Storage”
American Superconductor Scores Huge Contract with Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer
While New England boasts a home-grown cluster of cleantech and green energy startups, the region is also becoming a major supplier of infrastructure and equipment for green energy projects around the world. In April, Merrimack, NH-based GT Solar won a $91 million contract to supply Dutch photovoltaic manufacturer The Silicon Mine with reactors needed to … Continue reading “American Superconductor Scores Huge Contract with Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturer”
Do Takeover Efforts (Like Icahn’s Move on Biogen Idec) Harm Innovation?
When shareholder activists like Carl Icahn start banging on a company’s front door, threatening to rally investors to help them take over the company, it naturally gives management headaches. But what effect does it have on a company’s ability to innovate? It’s a good question in general, and it’s moving front and center next week … Continue reading “Do Takeover Efforts (Like Icahn’s Move on Biogen Idec) Harm Innovation?”
As iPhone 3G Launch Nears, Boston Developers Ready Their Apps
The last time Steve Jobs got up on stage and talked about the iPhone, at January’s MacWorld expo, he had a big piece of Boston-related news: local firm Skyhook Wireless had been tapped to provide the Wi-Fi-based location finding feature for the iPhone’s newly upgraded map application. As it turned out, Boston didn’t have a … Continue reading “As iPhone 3G Launch Nears, Boston Developers Ready Their Apps”
Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day Two)
London: Monday, June 9th * Day 1 started strong and stayed that way. A set of briefings and discussions at the U.K. Trade & Investment offices, a startup company pitch, coffee with Bernie Bulkin from Vantage Point Venture Partners, a trip to the House of Commons to watch their debate on the Climate Change Bill … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day Two)”
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. Secures $60,000,000 Series F Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d2cc4d3-a794-49eb-b5ae-ff57592ec0b9&Preview=1 Date 6/10/2008 Company Name Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. Mailing Address One Kendall Square, Building 700, 2nd Fl Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We are dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative therapies for the treatment of autoimmune disease … Continue reading “Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. Secures $60,000,000 Series F Funding”
Point Carbon Comes to Boston
Point Carbon, a leading cleantech analysis and consulting firm based in Oslo, Norway, has announced it is opening an office in downtown Boston. With U.S. operations already in Washington DC, the company aims to expand its network of experts and tap into the local energy and cleantech industry.
Icahn Has Ideas For Biogen. Starting With More R&D Spending
Biogen Idec has accused Carl Icahn of having no ideas on how to improve the company, so today the billionaire shareholder activist fired back. Icahn wants to boost spending on research and development, improve employee morale, mend relations with partners, and possibly cut expenses outside research, according to a memo to shareholders filed today with … Continue reading “Icahn Has Ideas For Biogen. Starting With More R&D Spending”
Let the Games Begin: Akamai To Speed Olympic Video Downloads
Having tackled the Super Bowl, Akamai Technologies is setting its sights on a more global stage—the summer Olympics in Beijing. Back in January, we reported that the Cambridge, MA-based company, which specializes in online content distribution and networking, was helping the New England Patriots and the NFL get ready for the biggest game of the … Continue reading “Let the Games Begin: Akamai To Speed Olympic Video Downloads”
Vertex’s Hepatitis C Drug Passes Test, Moving to Another Phase III
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is on a roll. The company’s experimental drug, telaprevir, helped wipe out the hepatitis C virus for more than half of volunteers in a clinical trial who had previously failed to respond to standard therapy. Shares of the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) shot up as much as 7 percent in early trading, … Continue reading “Vertex’s Hepatitis C Drug Passes Test, Moving to Another Phase III”
Third Wave Means Extra Power For Hologic
Medical device and diagnostics company Hologic (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HOLX]]) of Bedford, MA, hopes to accelerate its growth in the diagnostics market. To that end, the company today announced an agreement to put up $580 million to buy Third Wave Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TWTI]]), which develops molecular diagnostics, especially for HPV, human papilloma virus. Hologic specializes in women’s … Continue reading “Third Wave Means Extra Power For Hologic”
MoneyAisle Lets Banks Bid Against Each Other for Customers
The Web has brought comparison shopping to nearly every corner of commerce, including banking. In fact, thanks to years of advertising, LendingTree’s tagline—“When Banks Compete, You Win”—is one of the most familiar on the Internet. But now a startup in Burlington, MA, is arguing that the “competition” on LendingTree and similar financial-industry websites is often … Continue reading “MoneyAisle Lets Banks Bid Against Each Other for Customers”
Turbine Confirms $40M Round, Nuance Prices Secondary Offering, Sirtris Completes GSK Deal, & More Deals News
New England software firms had a busy week, it seems, and there were a couple of key biotech deals too. Here’s the rundown: —Boston-based OpenAir, a provider of Web-based services automation software for business groups, was acquired by Silicon Valley’s NetSuite for $26 million. —Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) sold the rights to its royalty stream … Continue reading “Turbine Confirms $40M Round, Nuance Prices Secondary Offering, Sirtris Completes GSK Deal, & More Deals News”
Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day One)
London: Sunday June 8, Noon * We knew we had arrived when we came out of the underground station at Westminster and looked up at “Big Ben” and Parliament. We really knew we had arrived when traffic from both directions (look right, then left) stopped to let us cross Abingdon Street. Four members of the … Continue reading “Man on a Cleantech Mission: A VC Visits the U.K. (Day One)”
UTC Power Tapped To Lead $22M DOE Project
UTC Power, a renewable energy company based in South Windsor, CT, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to lead a two-year, $22 million project to develop cheap, modular fuel cell systems. This is the latest in a flurry of fuel-cell activity this week, with Westwood, MA-based Acumentrics having received a $15.6 million … Continue reading “UTC Power Tapped To Lead $22M DOE Project”
Long Courtship Preceded GlaxoSmithKline’s Sirtris Acquisition
GlaxoSmithKline’s purchase of Cambridge, MA-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals—a deal completed today—was on the drawing boards long before it made headlines in late April, according to an interesting story by Boston Globe reporter Todd Wallack. “We’re getting married to someone that we’ve been dating for a while,” Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal told Wallack. Sirtris, which went public … Continue reading “Long Courtship Preceded GlaxoSmithKline’s Sirtris Acquisition”
The Conscientious Consumer’s Cell Phone Guide to Shopping
If you’re concerned about global warming, what breakfast cereal should you buy to support the company with the best record on greenhouse gas emissions? Soon, you might be able to make informed decisions on issues like that right in the supermarket aisle. “All you’ll have to do is to take out your cell phone, scan … Continue reading “The Conscientious Consumer’s Cell Phone Guide to Shopping”
Megapixels, Shmegapixels: How to Make Great GIGAPIXEL Images With Your Humble Digital Camera
Size matters, at least when it comes to the resolution of digital photos. As much as I love my iPhone, its built-in 1200×1600-pixel camera just doesn’t work for serious photography. Problem is, it’s been my only camera for almost a year, ever since my previous digicam croaked during a cross-country road trip. But a couple … Continue reading “Megapixels, Shmegapixels: How to Make Great GIGAPIXEL Images With Your Humble Digital Camera”
Finsphere Corp. Receives $10,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6092a391-6552-469e-b2eb-a5fbf758f595&Preview=1 Date 6/6/2008 Company Name Finsphere Corp. Mailing Address 505 106th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Finsphere is a well-funded, high tech, venture-backed start up founded in 2007 based in Bellevue, Washington and is currently operating in stealth mode. Its purpose is to solve a multi-billion dollar, global problem with … Continue reading “Finsphere Corp. Receives $10,000,000 New Round”
$8 Million More for Bradford Networks
Bradford Networks of Concord, NH, a developer of software for managing enterprise network access, announced that it has raised $8 million in Series B funding. The round was led by New York-based Updata Partners and also included Lexington, MA-based Windspeed Ventures.
Will “Motley Crew” Band of Financiers Drive Celts to Banner 17?
I love hoops. Bill Aulet of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, no slouch himself on the hardwood, calls me “Danger.” I like to think it’s because whenever I go up for the J, the other team is in danger—due to my dead-eye shooting. But some say, especially these days, it’s simply dangerous for other players when … Continue reading “Will “Motley Crew” Band of Financiers Drive Celts to Banner 17?”
Icahn Jabs Biogen Idec, Says Its Board Had `Very Little’ Input in Sale Process
Carl Icahn has launched a new line of attack on Biogen Idec’s credibility. The billionaire investor, in a memo to shareholders filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission early today, says the company’s public statements about its sale process last year don’t match up with internal documents it had to hand over in court. Based … Continue reading “Icahn Jabs Biogen Idec, Says Its Board Had `Very Little’ Input in Sale Process”
Nuance to Raise $100 Million in Public Offering
Burlington, MA-based speech software company Nuance Communications said today that it will sell 5,575,000 shares of common stock to the public at $18.15 per share in an offering that will close on June 10. If sole underwriter Thomas Weisel Partners exercises an option to buy additional shares, the offering could pull in as much as … Continue reading “Nuance to Raise $100 Million in Public Offering”
Vertex Cashes Out HIV Drugs, FDA Smiles on Infinity and Frowns on Indevus, Alnylam Makes Cross-Border Investment, & More Life Sciences News
Boston-area life sciences firms had mixed success navigating regulatory waters this week. Here’s the skinny on that and the rest of the week’s biomedical news. —Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) sold the rights to its royalty stream on two HIV drugs for $160 million; the Cambridge, MA-based firm plans to use the cash to help bring … Continue reading “Vertex Cashes Out HIV Drugs, FDA Smiles on Infinity and Frowns on Indevus, Alnylam Makes Cross-Border Investment, & More Life Sciences News”
Podcamp Seattle
From the event’s website: “PodCamp is an informal ‘unconference’ event where people come together to connect, learn and share about online social tools, such as blogging, podcasting, videoblogging, Twitter, wikis, virtual worlds, etc. Our Seattle event is aimed at new media enthusiasts, marketers, PR and ad people, and technologists. Curious about Twitter? Wondering where consumers … Continue reading “Podcamp Seattle”
Podcamp Boston 3
From the event’s website: “How many times have you heard this old saw: ‘The best part of a conference is the conversations in the hallway.’ What if the conference WAS the hallway? That’s the power of PodCamp Boston, the power of community, the power of conversation. The power of putting smart people from every walk … Continue reading “Podcamp Boston 3”
Rockport Capital Launches World’s Largest Cleantech Fund
Boston-based venture firm Rockport Capital is upping the ante on cleantech investing. The six-partner firm, which has focused since its founding eight years ago on cleaner and more efficient energy and production technologies, announced today that it has finished raising its third fund. It’s Rockport’s largest fund by a long shot, weighing in at a … Continue reading “Rockport Capital Launches World’s Largest Cleantech Fund”
Look Out, Comcast and Verizon: Bicoastal Startups Are Bringing Free Wi-Fi to Harvard Square (and Elsewhere Soon, We Hope)
Why isn’t there free Wi-Fi everywhere? I ask this as I sit in an Espresso Vivace in Seattle, typing away and enjoying free wireless (and a truly terrific latte—easily an 8.5 on the Huang scale). Being new to the city and still in the process of setting up connectivity, I’m acutely aware of any and … Continue reading “Look Out, Comcast and Verizon: Bicoastal Startups Are Bringing Free Wi-Fi to Harvard Square (and Elsewhere Soon, We Hope)”
Vantos Vaults Ahead with $10.6M in Series B
Look out, corporate fraudsters. Seattle-based Vantos, an enterprise investigation management firm, announced that it has raised $10.6 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Bellevue, WA-based Fluke Venture Partners, with OVP Venture Partners and Outlook Ventures also participating.
Indevus Drug Delayed by FDA Safety Questions, Shares Plummet
Indevus Pharmaceuticals got slapped down hard this morning. The Lexington, MA-based company said today it expects the FDA to formally ask for more safety data that will require a new clinical trial before it will approve Nebido, a long-lasting testosterone replacement therapy for men with low levels of the male sex hormone. Shares of the … Continue reading “Indevus Drug Delayed by FDA Safety Questions, Shares Plummet”
Acumentrics Gets $15.6M DOE Grant for Fuel Cells
Westwood, MA-based Acumentrics, which makes uninterruptible power supplies for military and industrial customers and is developing new solid oxide fuel cell system that could produce as much as 10 kilowatts of power, said today that it has received a $15.6 million, three-and-a-half-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue work on the technology. … Continue reading “Acumentrics Gets $15.6M DOE Grant for Fuel Cells”
Turbine Confirms $40 Million Series C Round
We reported on April 30 that Turbine Entertainment, publisher of The Lord of the Rings Online and other popular massively multiplayer online games, had raised $40 million in a Series C venture round, bringing its total financing to some $90 million. Now Turbine has confirmed the news, adding one bit of additional information: Time Warner … Continue reading “Turbine Confirms $40 Million Series C Round”