Biogen Idec Sets Date for Showdown With Icahn, Proxy Battle Begins

The meeting date has been set, the battle lines drawn, proxy salvos lobbed. And one famous Biogen Idec board member goes unnamed. That’s the latest in the struggle between Biogen Idec and Carl Icahn. Yesterday, at long last, Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) set June 19 as the date for its annual meeting—where shareholders will chose between … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Sets Date for Showdown With Icahn, Proxy Battle Begins”

A Mighty Wind: Noble Environmental Power Files for $375M IPO

It’s not just pollen in the air these days. Renewable energy projects are blooming throughout New England. Now, Noble Environmental Power, a fast-growing wind-power company based in Essex, CT, has filed for an initial public offering worth up to $375 million. (On the heels of yesterday’s IPO filing by Lexington, MA-based web management services firm … Continue reading “A Mighty Wind: Noble Environmental Power Files for $375M IPO”

An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars

On balance, I’m a fan of all things Web. But every successful new medium disrupts or transforms the media that came before—just as the movies killed vaudeville, TV killed episodic radio, MP3s are upending the music industry, and Netflix is killing the neighborhood video store—and it’s important to recognize the value that can be lost … Continue reading “An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars”

Novartis Increases Stake in Alnylam

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), a Cambridge, MA, biotech firm working on RNAi-based therapies, said today that pharmaceutical giant Novartis had exercised an option to purchase approximately $5.4 million worth of Alnylam’s unregistered shares (i.e. restricted shares that were never offered for sale on the public market). The purchase boosts Novartis’s ownership stake in Alnylam slightly, … Continue reading “Novartis Increases Stake in Alnylam”

New Approval for Boston Scientific—Europe Sets the Pace for FDA

Yesterday we told you that Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) had got its new family of advanced pacemakers approved for sale in Europe, but that these were not available in the United States. Well, that has changed overnight. Today the Natick, MA, medical device company announced that the FDA have followed in the footsteps of the … Continue reading “New Approval for Boston Scientific—Europe Sets the Pace for FDA”

With An Offering Worth Up to $80.5 Million, Gomez Could Help Revive the Moribund IPO Market

“IPOs: Back from the Dead?” BusinessWeek asked this morning—and, as if to answer, Lexington, MA-based Gomez filed for an offering worth up to $80.5 million. (And if that combination of events bizarrely fills your head with images of the dancing zombies from the “Thriller” video, well, you’re not alone.) In its filing with the SEC, … Continue reading “With An Offering Worth Up to $80.5 Million, Gomez Could Help Revive the Moribund IPO Market”

AmberWave Buys Aonex for $7.95M

AmberWave Systems, a semiconductor technology company based in Salem, NH, is acquiring Aonex Technologies, a subsidiary of Pasadena, CA-based Arrowhead Research, for $7.95 million plus royalties. AmberWave has raised more than $90 million in funding since being founded in 1998.

From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane

Don’t call it a flying car. It’s a “roadable aircraft.” It’s named the Transition, and the first full-scale model is taking shape inside a former machine shop on an industrial back alley in Woburn, MA. Between now and late July, the 10 employees of angel-funded startup Terrafugia will be spending “a lot of long days, … Continue reading “From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane”

The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations

The MIT Enterprise Forum presents a fireside chat on how entrepreneurship is born – and how it can be passed from parent to progeny and from mentor to mentee. The speakers include: George Hatsopoulos, founder and chairman emeritus of Thermo Electron Corporation (now Thermo Fisher Scientific), which he managed from inception through its growth to … Continue reading “The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations”

Picture Grows by $3 Million at Frame Media

Frame Media, the Wellesley, MA-based provider of content for digital picture frames that we profiled last September, has raised an additional $3 million in what it’s calling a Series A-1 investment round. The round, led by Longworth Venture Partners and CommonAngels, brings the company’s total funding to $5.2 million. Digital frame owners can use Frame … Continue reading “Picture Grows by $3 Million at Frame Media”

Boston Scientific Picks Up the Pace

Boston Scientific of Natick, MA, will start selling a new line of advanced pacemakers in the European Union. The company announced today that the devices have received the CE Mark of approval from European regulators. The pacemakers, which are intended for patients whose hearts beat too slowly, are not yet approved in the United States.

Concert Strikes a Chord With Investors, Abiomed Scores a Win with Medicare, Epix Snags $7.5M from GSK, & More Life Sciences News

Is it Wednesday again already? Must be time for some life sciences news… —Lexington, MA’s Concert Pharmaceuticals raised $37 million in one of this year’s biggest Series C rounds in New England biotech. The deal was led by an unnamed public equity investor and joined by Adage Capital Management, SR One, Mediphase Venture Partners, Westfield … Continue reading “Concert Strikes a Chord With Investors, Abiomed Scores a Win with Medicare, Epix Snags $7.5M from GSK, & More Life Sciences News”

Mobile Marketing: Who’s on First, What’s on Second, and I Don’t Know What’s on the Third Screen

If you still think that e-mail and Internet are things you get on your computer, then you’re probably my age. Or maybe half my age. I got a taste of the new generation gap yesterday at Boston’s Mobile Monday event, when an audience member pointed out that for people younger than himself, the mobile phone—the … Continue reading “Mobile Marketing: Who’s on First, What’s on Second, and I Don’t Know What’s on the Third Screen”

InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A

There’s endless debate about how to encourage more innovation inside technology companies. But in Waltham, MA, there’s a startup that says, in effect, don’t bother: innovation can be outsourced to a global community of freelancers. InnoCentive was set up by Eli Lilly in 2001 as an experimental way to farm out some of the giant … Continue reading “InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A”

InnoCentive Obtains $6,500,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=213e4fe7-f765-4964-8347-f24a2bb96939&Preview=1 Date 5/7/2008 Company Name InnoCentive Mailing Address 201 Jones Rd Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description InnoCentive is an exciting new web-based community matching top scientists to relevant R&D challenges facing leading companies from around the globe. Website http://www.innocentive.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,500,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “InnoCentive Obtains $6,500,000 Series B Financing Round”

Eons Creates New Chief Product Officer Position, Looks to the Cloud for Some Services

After losing its second chief technology officer in seven months, Eons is looking to revamp the position by creating a new chief product officer job that combines technology and product development responsibilities, according to CEO Jeff Taylor. On a related front, Taylor says the company is eyeing moving some of its storage—so far done on … Continue reading “Eons Creates New Chief Product Officer Position, Looks to the Cloud for Some Services”

How Massachusetts Gets Her Groove Back

Editor’s note: Massachusetts, in the eyes of Highland Capital Partners co-founder and general partner Paul Maeder, has three problems with its startup engine. That’s okay, because Maeder has three solutions. Maeder outlined both the problems and the solutions in a talk at the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s annual meeting on Feb. 27—providing a slide-by-slide analysis … Continue reading “How Massachusetts Gets Her Groove Back”

Who Knew? Take 2: More Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders

Personal insights. Conversation starters. Gossip. Whatever the excuse, it’s high time for the second installment in Xconomy’s Who Knew? series, our wildly popular roundup of little-known, offbeat facts about the New England innovation community (and a few outside innovators with ties to the local scene). In this installment, you’ll learn who runs his own indoor … Continue reading “Who Knew? Take 2: More Strange-But-True Details of Boston’s Innovation Leaders”

CHiL Semiconductor Receives $16,700,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5928d207-98ff-47e9-aba5-78146e7b7264&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2008 Company Name CHiL Semiconductor Mailing Address One Highwood Drive Tewskbury, MA 01876 Company Description CHiL Semiconductor Corp. is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets intelligent mixed-signal semiconductors for the power management market, implementing unique digital control and striving to create energy efficient solutions. Website http://www.chilsemi.com Transaction … Continue reading “CHiL Semiconductor Receives $16,700,000 Series C Funding”

Mascoma Corporation Secures $61,000,000 Series C Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=85187e57-0d7a-44b0-9f2a-c3c73566f648&Preview=1 Date 5/6/2008 Company Name Mascoma Corporation Mailing Address 1380 Soldiers Field Road, Second Floor Boston, MA 02135 Company Description Recent advances in cellulosic ethanol R&D have led to the development of a new generation of enzymes, microbes and processes for economical conversion of cellulosic feedstocks into ethanol. With the combination of … Continue reading “Mascoma Corporation Secures $61,000,000 Series C Round”

Enterprise 2.0 Conference

United Business Media’s TechWeb, formerly the Business Technology Group of CMP, sponsors a four-day conference on the challenges and opportunities of running businesses in the Web 2.0 era. Topics include: Social Networking in Business Social Networks as New Media Microblogging & Twitter Enterprise Mash-ups Enterprise RSS & Syndication Developing a Next Generation Workforce Socializing Search … Continue reading “Enterprise 2.0 Conference”

Front End of Innovation

The Product Development and Management Association and the Institute for International Research co-sponsor a three-day conference on cutting-edge innovation methods and how they can benefit your company. Featured keynoters include Xconomist Dean Kamen, inventor Ray Kurzweil, and A.G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble. Information and registration here; conference blog here.

Let the Epic Curing Begin: Epix and Curis Earn Milestone Payments

Two Boston-area biotech companies have reached clinical milestones that will earn them a total of $10.5 million from their industry partners. Epix Pharmaceuticals of Lexington, MA, announced today that it has begun phase 2b clinical trials of its new drug for treating Alzheimer’s disease. This key step will earn the firm $7.5 million from its … Continue reading “Let the Epic Curing Begin: Epix and Curis Earn Milestone Payments”

EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services

As more states have deregulated their energy markets—giving corporations, city governments, and other organizations more choices about where to buy their electricity and gas—a new group of consulting companies has sprung up to help these organizations make wise decisions. And in the space of eight months, Boston-based EnerNOC has gone from being a non-player in … Continue reading “EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services”

Certica Raises $3.3 Million

Certica Solutions, a Wakefield, MA-based software company that helps K-12 schools comply with the reporting requirements of government funding agencies, announced today that it has closed a $3.3 million funding round. Brook Venture Partners, also based in Wakefield, led the investment round.

Leostream Channels $3M Series A Funding

Waltham, MA-based desktop virtualization software company Leostream, which lets users sign on to personalized desktop environments remotely, has completed a $3 million Series A funding round led by Meakem Becker Venture Capital, according to PE Hub, which cites a regulatory filing.

Mascoma Teams with GM, Moldflow Melds with Autodesk, Concert Scores Some Heavy-Duty Cash, & More Deals News

Last week saw several very large financing deals. Perhaps those depressing Q1 numbers gave investors a little kick in the rear? —Concert Pharmaceuticals of Lexington, MA, raised a hefty $37 million to support its work on drugs incorporating deuterium, a heavier form of hydrogen. The Series C round was led by a “leading public equity … Continue reading “Mascoma Teams with GM, Moldflow Melds with Autodesk, Concert Scores Some Heavy-Duty Cash, & More Deals News”

Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn

It turns out that old dogs can learn new tricks. For several years in the late 1990s, search company Lycos, known for its Labrador Retriever mascot, was one of the world’s most trafficked and most profitable Web portals. It scooped up other hot brands such as Wired Digital, Tripod, and Angelfire, and in 2000, Spain’s … Continue reading “Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn”

Certica Solutions Obtains $3,300,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4671e5ab-ddfb-41ac-b208-982b624bfae8&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2008 Company Name Certica Solutions Mailing Address 301 Edgewater Place Wakefield, MA 01880 Company Description Certica Solutions is the leading provider of data certification solutions, helping corporate and government organizations address specific business challenges with a structured, systematic approach to identifying, reporting and monitoring data integrity issues. Website http://www.certicasolutions.com Transaction … Continue reading “Certica Solutions Obtains $3,300,000 New Financing”

As Y Combinator Prepares to Open Summer Camp, Paul Graham Speaks

Y Combinator bills itself as “a new kind of venture firm specializing in funding early stage startups.” The company also has a different kind of headquarters, one that alternates between Cambridge, MA, during the summer and Mountain View, CA, during the winter. And, as Wade noted a few weeks ago, Y Combinator’s summer camp for … Continue reading “As Y Combinator Prepares to Open Summer Camp, Paul Graham Speaks”

Cornerstone Buys Critical Therapeutics

Lexington, MA-based Critical Therapeutics, which owns the rights to the asthma drug Zyflo and is developing other treatments for respiratory and inflammatory diseases, said today that it will be acquired by Cary, NC-based Cornerstone BioPharma. The stock-based transaction will leave Cornerstone stockholders with 70 percent ownership of the combined company and Critical Therapeutics shareholders with … Continue reading “Cornerstone Buys Critical Therapeutics”

Medicare Will Cover Abiomed Heart

Abiomed of Danvers, MA, said today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided to reimburse hospitals that give patients Abiomed’s AbioCor artificial heart, reversing a 22-year-old policy against Medicare coverage for heart replacement surgery. The self-contained, fully-implantable AbioCor unit, which has no infection-prone tubes or wires that pierce the skin, is … Continue reading “Medicare Will Cover Abiomed Heart”

Three Luminaries, Two Third Revolutions, and One Nice Suit: An Xconomy Forum on the Future of Life Sciences in New England

Leave it to a Nobel Laureate to out-quip the famously quippy Noubar Afeyan. It happened while Bob was in the middle of his (probably unnecessary) introductions of the three luminaries who had joined us Tuesday evening to lead a discussion about the future of the life sciences in New England: Flagship Ventures co-founder Afeyan, Harvard-Partners … Continue reading “Three Luminaries, Two Third Revolutions, and One Nice Suit: An Xconomy Forum on the Future of Life Sciences in New England”

GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology

In January General Motors announced an investment in Coskata, a Warrenville, IL, company that has backing from Advanced Technology Ventures of Waltham, MA, and is developing a chemical-thermal technology for making ethanol out of high-cellulose materials such as wood chips. But apparently GM wants to hedge its bets as it searches for ways to encourage … Continue reading “GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology”

Moldflow Bought for $297M

Framingham, MA-based Moldflow (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MFLO]]), a maker of software to aid in the design and manufacturing of plastic components, will be acquired by California’s Autodesk for $22 a share, or approximately $297 million, Autodesk announced yesterday.

Unbuilt Boston: The Ghost Cloverleaf of Canton

Last Halloween, a Boston startup called Untravel Media published a multimedia walking tour called “Boston’s Little Lanes and Alleyways” that guides listeners through some of the city’s oddest secret passageways and back streets. I took the tour myself, and found that its dramatic combination of photography, music, and narration taught me about a side of … Continue reading “Unbuilt Boston: The Ghost Cloverleaf of Canton”

Take Two Blueberry Jelly Beans and Call Me in the Morning: Cambridge Biotech’s Best and Brightest on Show (or Not)

I went to the Museum of Science yesterday, to see “Cambridge’s premier companies show-off their latest research and products, revealing what makes them world leaders in science!” At least, that was what the program for the city’s ongoing science festival touted. Evidently, though, just three companies reckon themselves to be among the city’s best and … Continue reading “Take Two Blueberry Jelly Beans and Call Me in the Morning: Cambridge Biotech’s Best and Brightest on Show (or Not)”

Mascoma Corporation Lands New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=710754c9-417b-4601-85ad-9d7647d60a9d&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2008 Company Name Mascoma Corporation Mailing Address 1380 Soldiers Field Road, Second Floor Boston, MA 02135 Company Description Recent advances in cellulosic ethanol R&D have led to the development of a new generation of enzymes, microbes and processes for economical conversion of cellulosic feedstocks into ethanol. With the combination of … Continue reading “Mascoma Corporation Lands New Financing”

Leostream Corp. Receives $3,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f4997f2d-70e5-4dd5-b701-bd53e3305da5&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2008 Company Name Leostream Corp. Mailing Address 411 Waverley Oaks Road Waltham, MA 02452 Company Description The Leostream Connection Broker dynamically assigns users to Terminal Services or Hosted Desktops – running on virtual or physical machines (including Blades). Website http://www.leostream.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Leostream Corp. Receives $3,000,000 Series A Financing”

Seattle Medical Technologies Lands $21,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8d231977-2528-4ff0-97d9-1bc6275cc770&Preview=1 Date 5/2/2008 Company Name Seattle Medical Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description The company is developing medical device technology. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $21,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Canaan Partners Venture Investor Frazier … Continue reading “Seattle Medical Technologies Lands $21,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

Heavyweight Hydrogen Takes $37 Million Prize for Concert Pharmaceuticals

Concert Pharmaceuticals may have found a way to help established drug substances pack a better punch. By substituting a few normal hydrogen atoms with the heavier form, deuterium, the company believes it is possible to create new chemical entities with greater efficacy and fewer side effects. And since these entities are based on proven drugs, … Continue reading “Heavyweight Hydrogen Takes $37 Million Prize for Concert Pharmaceuticals”

Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service

MozyHome for Mac, a program that backs up your personal files online, went into full production today after a long period in beta testing. For several weeks now, I’ve been using the service—which, for the moment, represents one of the only ways everyday computer users can tap into the emerging “cloud computing” phenomenon—and I’ve found … Continue reading “Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service”

ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee

It’s one of those strange ironies in consumer technology. Now that it’s possible to buy a flat-screen HDTV for under $1,000, millions of American homes boast huge, beautiful high-definition displays. But as anyone who has invested in an HDTV knows, only a fraction of the content available from broadcasters and cable systems is in high … Continue reading “ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee”

“Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million

According to a report yesterday at the financial news site PE Hub, Westwood, MA-based Turbine, publisher of graphically rich online role playing games such Lord of the Rings Online, has nearly doubled its venture capital pot through a $40 million Series C influx from Granite Global Ventures and partners. PE Hub said its report was … Continue reading ““Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million”

“Celebrity Services” Startup Gets $2.5M Credit Line

Paid, Inc., a Boston startup that provides services such as online community building, Web design, merchandising, and VIP fan ticketing to musical and sports celebrities including Patti Labele, Keith Lockhart, Doug Flutie, and the group Aerosmith, said yesterday that it has closed a $2.5 million revolving line of credit with Lewis Asset Management of New … Continue reading ““Celebrity Services” Startup Gets $2.5M Credit Line”