Biogen Inks $380 Million Deal With Swiss Company

Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) today announced that it has formed an alliance with a Swiss startup, Neurimmune Therapeutics, to develop antibody-based treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Under the terms of the deal, Biogen could pay up to $380 million for candidate molecules, which it will be responsible for developing and commercializing. In an interview … Continue reading “Biogen Inks $380 Million Deal With Swiss Company”

Allurent Looks to Usher in the Next E-Commerce Era

It was with some nostalgia—and thirst—that I visited the Allurent headquarters in Harvard Square last week. That’s because the rapidly growing e-commerce software startup occupies two third-floor rooms off Church Street that peer down on the abandoned digs of an old haunt of mine—the Brew Moon restaurant. It’s hard for me to drop by Allurent … Continue reading “Allurent Looks to Usher in the Next E-Commerce Era”

Massachusetts Scores High in the Patent Sweepstakes (and Other Fun Insights From New Patent Office Stats)

Among the many interesting tables published in the U.S. Patent Office’s annual performance report issued on Thursday are a state-by-state breakdown of patents issued in 2007, as well as listings of patent applications filed between 2003 and 2006 (this year’s figures on patent applications won’t be published until next month). Almost any way you parse … Continue reading “Massachusetts Scores High in the Patent Sweepstakes (and Other Fun Insights From New Patent Office Stats)”

MyPunchbowl Turns Over a New Ladle

MyPunchbowl, a Natick, MA-based online party planning company profiled here in October, is preparing for the holidays by launching an overhauled version of its website, available today. CEO Matt Douglas, who was liberally spooning out the company’s trademark red punch at TechCrunch’s Boston bash Friday night, says the new features include the ability to build … Continue reading “MyPunchbowl Turns Over a New Ladle”

MIT, India Launch Health Sciences Institute

In New Delhi today, officials from the Indian government and MIT announced an agreement to create a new Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) in India, modeled after the interdisciplinary Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST). HST director Martha Gray and M. K. Bhan, secretary of the Indian Ministry of Science & … Continue reading “MIT, India Launch Health Sciences Institute”

Pfizer Picks a Local Target, Sermo Meets Satellite Radio, and the Rest of the Recent Deals

Even though last week was a short one, there was so much wheeling and dealing that I wound up doing an extra roundup on Wednesday. But wait, there was more… Here are the deals that were announced since last we rounded up. —Boston-based RNAi therapeutics startup Dicerna finalized its $13M Series A financing led by … Continue reading “Pfizer Picks a Local Target, Sermo Meets Satellite Radio, and the Rest of the Recent Deals”

Boston Scientific Settlement Upped

Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) announced this morning that it will pay up to $240 million to cover 8,550 patient claims related to defibrillators from Guidant, which Boston Scientific acquired last year. This settlement is expanded from a $195 million agreement announced in July, and covers “substantially all currently asserted claims in the United … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Settlement Upped”

Sir2 Roads Diverged: Elixir Co-founder Joins Rival Sirtris

The MIT biologist who co-founded Elixir Pharmaceuticals in 1999 in a bid to turn his research on a gene called Sir2 into drugs that might extend lifespans has defected to Elixir’s primary rival, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SIRT]]). Both companies are developing drugs against aging-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and both are based in … Continue reading “Sir2 Roads Diverged: Elixir Co-founder Joins Rival Sirtris”

This is Personal: A Legislative Attack on Personalized Medicine

It has long been known that different individuals react to the same drug differently. Matching the right therapy with the right individual, commonly know as “personalized medicine,” could improve treatment, reduce side effects, and ultimately save healthcare dollars. This idea has captured the attention of not only research scientists, but also healthcare providers, the pharmaceutical … Continue reading “This is Personal: A Legislative Attack on Personalized Medicine”

Robotic FX Concedes it May Deserve Sanctions for Ahed’s “Improper” Actions—But Asks Court to Forego Default Judgment Against It

There was another small flurry of filings late last week in Alabama and Massachusetts courts, where Burlington, MA’s iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]) is bringing two different suits against Illinois-based Robotic FX. Most were focused on procedural matters, but a more substantive one was made on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alabama. It’s a brief filed … Continue reading “Robotic FX Concedes it May Deserve Sanctions for Ahed’s “Improper” Actions—But Asks Court to Forego Default Judgment Against It”

Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala

The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit think tank dedicated to the advanced study of new communications tools, technologies and emerging modes of communication, and their effect on traditional media, professional communications, business, culture and society. The Society’s Fellows include futurists, scholars, business leaders, professional communicators, members of the media and technologists, … Continue reading “Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala”

Pfizer Snaps Up Coley for Vaccine Boost

It’s not the Massachusetts deal everyone was waiting for—as all eyes have been on Biogen Idec and, more recently, Genzyme. But Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) finally pounced again today, announcing it’s buying former partner Coley Pharmaceutical Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:COLY]]) of Wellesley for $164 million in a move aimed at bolstering the pharma giant’s position in vaccine … Continue reading “Pfizer Snaps Up Coley for Vaccine Boost”

Boston Startup Brings Back Interactive TV—By Marrying It to the Internet

Interactive television is the hottest technology that never was. Broadcasters and cable companies have been tinkering with the idea since at least 1977, when Warner Communications rolled out a two-way service called Qube that allowed subscribers in Columbus, OH, to participate in game shows and electronic town meetings through their set-top boxes. Though it was … Continue reading “Boston Startup Brings Back Interactive TV—By Marrying It to the Internet”

Molecular Insight Aims for Straight Shot to Market with $150M Bond Financing

With a fast-tracked drug in one hand and too little money in the other, Cambridge, MA-based Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MIPI]]) recently settled on a bond financing to get one last big cash infusion before that final dash to market. The company has been around since 1997 and is working on about half a dozen … Continue reading “Molecular Insight Aims for Straight Shot to Market with $150M Bond Financing”

Recharge Your Cell Phone by Taking It For A Walk

Wilmington, MA-based @Ventures is one of the key players in an $8 million Series A funding round announced today by M2E Power, which is developing technology that could help energize mobile gadgets by transforming motion into electricity. @Ventures partner Rob Day says the Boise, ID, company is already testing portable micro-generators, the size of D-cell … Continue reading “Recharge Your Cell Phone by Taking It For A Walk”

Two New Sites to Ease Your Way Through Dating Hell

So it’s Friday night, you’re single, and you have no plans for the evening. You can clean out your refrigerator, catch the latest nail-biting episode of Deal or No Deal, or maybe, if you’re feeling courageous, go out on a crazy blind date. Time was, setting up a blind date required some matchmaking (or meddlesome) … Continue reading “Two New Sites to Ease Your Way Through Dating Hell”

Genzyme, Biogen Idec Stocks Mixed on Icahn News

Shares of Massachusetts’ two leading biotechs, Genzyme and Biogen Idec, showed a mixed response to last night’s news from SEC filings that activist investor Carl Icahn was showing increased interest in the firms. Biogen, where Icahn almost tripled his previous stake, to 8.8 millon shares, fell $0.09, to $69.92. Genzyme, where Icahn took a new … Continue reading “Genzyme, Biogen Idec Stocks Mixed on Icahn News”

Annual Patent Report Shows Growing Backlog in Key Technology Areas

The big news in the annual report from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office out today: it takes longer than ever to get a patent these days, and the backlog in patent applications continues to grow at an alarming rate. Average “pendency”—as the patent office calls the waiting period from application to issued patent—is now … Continue reading “Annual Patent Report Shows Growing Backlog in Key Technology Areas”

Inverness Prices Secondary Public Offering, Nearly Doubling Its Size

In the middle of an acquisition spree that has hoovered up some $2.5 billion worth of companies in 2007 alone, Waltham, MA-based Inverness Medical Innovations (AMEX: [[ticker:IMA]]) today priced a previously announced secondary public offering of its stock, in the process nearly doubling the number of shares offered and boosting total value of the deal … Continue reading “Inverness Prices Secondary Public Offering, Nearly Doubling Its Size”

Music and Technology in Boston, Round Two

Last month we brought you Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology, a look at the surprisingly large but previously under-reported cluster of local startups that are mixing up music, software, computing, and the Web in various innovative ways. Readers responded eagerly to our piece, and thanks to their comments and suggestions, we’ve come … Continue reading “Music and Technology in Boston, Round Two”

Verenium Files $150 Million Shelf Registration

Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]), a Cambridge, MA-based biofuel firm, filed a shelf registration statement covering the potential issuance of up to $150 million of stock, debt securities, or warrants. The filing also covers the potential resale of 3 million shares of Verenium common stock by Syngenta (with which Verenium has a strategic alliance) and its affiliates. … Continue reading “Verenium Files $150 Million Shelf Registration”

PerkinElmer-ViaCell Deal Done

Waltham, MA-based PerkinElmer (NYSE: [[ticker:PKI]]) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Cambridge’s ViaCell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VIAC]]). The $300 million deal was first announced early in October. Shares of PerkinElmer were essentially flat at midday, at $27.05.

Tucci Basking in Glow of VMware Bet—And Says Competitors Are Way Behind

Joe Tucci loves virtualization. And why wouldn’t he? Tucci is CEO of EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), which produced this year’s hottest IPO when it offered 10 percent of its virtualization subsidiary VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]) for public sale, netting the company billions (at least on paper) in the process. But at an analysts’ conference yesterday at Boston’s … Continue reading “Tucci Basking in Glow of VMware Bet—And Says Competitors Are Way Behind”

Carl Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake—Now Owns 3 Percent; Also Buys Shares in Genzyme

UPDATED NOV. 15: Billionaire investor and takeover artist Carl Icahn, who’s been trying to force a sale of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), has tripled his stake in the company, a document filed today with the SEC reveals. At the same time, he has also purchased a smaller stake in Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]), located almost around … Continue reading “Carl Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake—Now Owns 3 Percent; Also Buys Shares in Genzyme”

Dicerna Officially Founded

Boston-based RNAi therapeutics startup Dicerna is finally officially out of the gates with a finalized $13M Series A financing led by Oxford Bioscience Partners and Skyline Ventures. (I profiled Dicerna last week.) Co-founder Doug Fambrough of Oxford Bioscience Partners is Chairman and Skyline Ventures’ Stephen Hoffman is also joining the board. Dicerna’s CEO is James … Continue reading “Dicerna Officially Founded”

Berners-Lee Strikes A Blow for the Mobile Web

Browsing the Web on a mobile device such as a phone is a mixed experience at best. Some website designers provide stripped-down mobile version of their sites containing just the essential text and navigation elements; others make little or no effort to be mobile-friendly, meaning surfers have to download every annoying logo, photo, and advertisement … Continue reading “Berners-Lee Strikes A Blow for the Mobile Web”

VMware Feeling Pressure as Virtualization Becomes a Commodity

The supply of stock investors willing to pay premium prices for EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) subsidiary VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]) seemed to dry up around Halloween—perhaps, analysts are saying, because they’ve started to realize that the supply of companies willing to pay premium prices for VMware’s virtualization software isn’t infinite, either. The seemingly unstoppable stock, whose rise … Continue reading “VMware Feeling Pressure as Virtualization Becomes a Commodity”

Another Flurry of Deals—BG Medicine’s IPO, EnerNOC Trims Offering, Venture Rounds, and More

Looks like maybe we should have waited a day to post yesterday morning’s roundup of recent deals, because the rest of the day brought a flurry of new deals news. —Molecular diagnostics firm BG Medicine of Waltham, MA, set the terms for its IPO at 4.5 million shares priced between $14 and $16. Bob had … Continue reading “Another Flurry of Deals—BG Medicine’s IPO, EnerNOC Trims Offering, Venture Rounds, and More”

Amid Buying Spree, Inverness to Sell More Stock—But Some Observers Skeptical

It’s been buy, buy, buy, for the last couple of years. Then last Thursday, Waltham, MA-based Inverness Medical Innovations (AMEX: [[ticker:IMA]]) announced it plans to sell 7 million new shares—the second such offering the company has made this year. (In January, Inverness sold 6.9 million shares at $39.65 apiece.) It’s all part of a plan … Continue reading “Amid Buying Spree, Inverness to Sell More Stock—But Some Observers Skeptical”

Making the Web Mobile-Friendly

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in Cambridge, MA, today announced the release of “mobileOK checker,” software that automatically evaluates Web pages for compliance with the group’s guidelines for improving users’ browsing experiences on phones and other mobile devices. We’ll have more details about the mobileOK initiative tomorrow. Also tomorrow, W3C director Tim Berners-Lee will … Continue reading “Making the Web Mobile-Friendly”

Genzyme Arthritis Treament Approval Delayed

Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) announced today that approval of its knee osteoarthritis treatment Synvisc-One will be delayed until the second half of next year, or later, because the FDA has requested more data on the treatment. Synvisc-One combines three doses of an already approved treatment, Synvisc, into a single injection. The news marks a second recent … Continue reading “Genzyme Arthritis Treament Approval Delayed”

IBM To Buy Cognos For Almost $5 Billion; Xconomy Updates Its Local Big Blue Map

IBM announced yesterday that it would buy Canadian business intelligence software firm Cognos for nearly $5 billion, its largest acquisition in history. Cognos’ U.S. headquarters is in Burlington, MA, and the company employs nearly 400 people in Massachusetts. The staggering purchase price nearly equals the total Big Blue paid for two other state software powerhouses, … Continue reading “IBM To Buy Cognos For Almost $5 Billion; Xconomy Updates Its Local Big Blue Map”

EqualLogic’s Record-Setting Sale, ExaGrid’s Sizable Third Round, and the Rest of Last Week’s Deals

Dealmaking was a bit slower over the last week—actually eight days—but there’s still plenty to recap. And the first one is a doozy. —Network storage device maker EqualLogic of Nashua, NH, eschewed an IPO in favor of a $1.4 billion sale to Dell Computer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DELL]]). If completed, the deal with be the largest all-cash … Continue reading “EqualLogic’s Record-Setting Sale, ExaGrid’s Sizable Third Round, and the Rest of Last Week’s Deals”

Imprivata: Working Toward a One-Password World

If you think you’re drowning in computer passwords, consider the plight of some doctors today. Many medical offices have a separate computer in each exam room, with several databases and other programs running on each machine. Programs containing patient data must be password-protected, and one study found that to access this data, some doctors had … Continue reading “Imprivata: Working Toward a One-Password World”

Ensemble Discovery Completes $15 Million Financing

Cambridge-based Ensemble Discovery, which is developing therapeutics and bioassays using its proprietary “DNA-programmed chemistry” platform, has completed a $15 million Series B funding round, PE Week reported. The three-year-old company received a first tranche payment of $10 million back in January, with the remainder just announced. Participants in the round included Aeneas Venture (Harvard Management … Continue reading “Ensemble Discovery Completes $15 Million Financing”

Google Pledges $10 Million for Android Developers

Google today unveiled an early version of the software development kit for the Open Handset Alliance’s open-source Android mobile phone platform, one of the major projects among engineers at the company’s Cambridge, MA, research lab. At the same time, the company said it will spur innovation by giving away $10 million in cash prizes to … Continue reading “Google Pledges $10 Million for Android Developers”

IRobot Seeks Sanctions Against Robotic FX in Alabama Case; In Other News, the DeLorean Has at Least Two Remaining Fans

Having won a partial injunction against Robotic FX in a Massachusetts court, attorneys for iRobot last week turned their attention to the firm’s separate Alabama lawsuit against its rival. In a motion filed on Wednesday, iRobot asked that Robotic FX be held in contempt and sanctioned for founder Jameel Ahed’s destruction of evidence after the … Continue reading “IRobot Seeks Sanctions Against Robotic FX in Alabama Case; In Other News, the DeLorean Has at Least Two Remaining Fans”

Can Massachusetts Win the Life Sciences World Series?

A little while ago, I had the honor of traveling to Beacon Hill, where I testified before the joint committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. The matter at hand was House Bill number 4238, a.k.a. Governor Patrick’s Life Sciences Initiative. The hearing began just after lunchtime with a kick-off address from Gov. Patrick that … Continue reading “Can Massachusetts Win the Life Sciences World Series?”

Northeastern and Local Startup Say They Invented A Key to Google Searches—Hit Search Giant With Lawsuit

Behind every great database search is, no doubt, a patent (or series of patents). Google is the champion of searching vast databases—such as its index of billions of Web pages. And it has lots of patents. Only now, according to a report in today’s Boston Globe by Hiawatha Bray, Northeastern University and a Waltham, MA, … Continue reading “Northeastern and Local Startup Say They Invented A Key to Google Searches—Hit Search Giant With Lawsuit”

PerkinElmer Completes ViaCell Tender Offer

Waltham, MA-based PerkinElmer (NYSE: [[ticker:PKI]]) has successfully completed its tender offer for Cambridge’s ViaCell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VIAC]]), the company announced today. The company purchased more than 90% of ViaCell’s outstanding shares in the transaction, which is part of a $300 million acquisition announced early in October. PerkinElmer expects to complete the merger “promptly.”

Xconomy’s Gala Launch Party—The Photos

Xconomy is officially underway: we held our first party—the Xconomy Gala Launch Party—on November 1, a week ago Thursday, at the Broad Institute here in Cambridge. (Yes, we’ve been up since June 27, but this was our real coming out). It was a grand evening, attended by close to 250 people. Boston Scientific founder John … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Gala Launch Party—The Photos”

Website Innovation Recognized at MITX Awards

New England’s Web design and advertising community—a much larger and rowdier crowd than I had realized—piled into the grand ballroom at Boston’s Marriott Copley hotel last night for the MITX Awards, an annual ceremony recognizing the coolest examples of online design, marketing, and media. The high-tech event, sponsored by the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange, … Continue reading “Website Innovation Recognized at MITX Awards”

Bind Biosciences, My IPO Prediction, and Brain Overload at MassOpps

I just got back from MassOpps—a life sciences PowerPointapalooza put on by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council—and boy my brain is tired. In conference rooms at the Logan Airport Hilton, more than 40 companies (startups and public firms both) made their pitches to the gathered venture capitalists, investment bankers, potential partners, and hangers-on. Concurrent sessions, so … Continue reading “Bind Biosciences, My IPO Prediction, and Brain Overload at MassOpps”

Cilk Arts Commercializes MIT’s Approach to Parallel Programming

If your computer only has a single processor, you’re at increasing risk for “core envy.” The Intel Core 2 Duo chip in the latest Apple iMac, for example, contains two processors or cores, while the HP Pavilion Media Center desktop has a four-core chip. Sun has been making an eight-core version of its UltraSPARC T1 … Continue reading “Cilk Arts Commercializes MIT’s Approach to Parallel Programming”