New England Venture Investments Showed Robust Growth in Q3

Two just-released reports showed strong venture capital activity in New England in the third quarter. The surveys, though, differed a bit on overall growth patterns and regional standings. One showed New England in second place nationwide to the Bay Area, while the other put Southern California in the No. 2 spot, ahead of New England … Continue reading “New England Venture Investments Showed Robust Growth in Q3”

Avant and Celldex to Merge

A new company focused on products that harness the immune system will be formed through the merger of Needham, MA-based Avant Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ: AVAN) and privately held, Phillipsburg, NJ-based Celldex Therapeutics. The resulting firm, to be called Avant, will be worth some $115 million, according to a press release. Both Avant Immunotherapeutics and Celldex have … Continue reading “Avant and Celldex to Merge”

Levanta Secures $8,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=34a340ab-f6ea-4983-98b4-6efcd35f362d&Preview=1 Date 10/23/2007 Company Name Levanta Mailing Address 1825 South Grant Street San Mateo, CA 94402 Company Description Levanta is a leader in on-demand Linux management and data virtualization. Levanta’s unique technology marries change control with data virtualization, delivering dramatically faster and more flexible control of Linux on commodity hardware, racks, blades, … Continue reading “Levanta Secures $8,000,000 New Funding Round”

Genzyme Comes Back to Win Bioenvision Vote—Disputed Merger to Go Forward

Bioenvision shareholders have voted to approve Genzyme’s takeover offer, paving the way for the controversial merger to move forward, the two companies announced late this afternoon. If it closes as planned, the deal—which passed after months of dispute that saw the shareholder vote extended several times—will win Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) worldwide rights to the … Continue reading “Genzyme Comes Back to Win Bioenvision Vote—Disputed Merger to Go Forward”

Deshpande Center Backs 10 Big Ideas for the Developing World

Today MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation announced grants totaling $1.03 million to MIT researchers working on ten different projects with potential repercussions for the developing world, ranging from “nanosprings” that could store power without batteries to ways of making clean-burning propane from cellulose and other forms of biomass. The center’s semiannual Ignition Grants and … Continue reading “Deshpande Center Backs 10 Big Ideas for the Developing World”

Local Cleantech Organizations Merge

As Wade predicted would happen, the Clean Energy Council and the New England Energy Innovation Collaborative have merged. The newly formed New England Clean Energy Council will strive to “accelerate New England’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean energy companies,” according to … Continue reading “Local Cleantech Organizations Merge”

Bit9 Closes $10 Million Venture Round

Bit9, a security software firm in Cambridge, MA, whose systems let users control applications and data in corporate networks, announced it has closed a third venture financing round worth $10 million. The financing brings the firm’s total raised to date to $25.8 million. The round was led by .406 Ventures, and joined by Kleiner, Perkins … Continue reading “Bit9 Closes $10 Million Venture Round”

HBS Energy Symposium

The Energy Club of Harvard Business School presents its annual energy symposium — an afternoon of discussions with thought leaders in the energy industry, hitting on topics from clean energy to carbon emissions trading, with sponsorship from McKinsey & Co., Schlumberger, Cameron Corporation, Boston Consulting Group, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the Northbridge Group, and Kleiner … Continue reading “HBS Energy Symposium”

IRobot Counters U.S. Attorney’s Office Arguments Supporting Robotic FX

In the latest salvo in the iRobot-Robotic FX legal battle, iRobot attorneys late last week took the U.S. Attorney’s office to task for its arguments in support of Robotic FX. This part of the complicated case (in which iRobot alleges, essentially, that Robotic FX’s Negotiator robot is a knock-off of its PackBot—click here for a … Continue reading “IRobot Counters U.S. Attorney’s Office Arguments Supporting Robotic FX”

Why Is It So Hard For Innovators to Keep It Simple?

I’m just back from Providence, Rhode Island, and a stimulating two days co-hosting BIF-3, the third annual summit of the Business Innovation Factory. Presenter after presenter, from all walks of life, told remarkable stories about reinventing a police department, rethinking national security, even redesigning the lowly nail, to make it more resistant to hurricanes. If … Continue reading “Why Is It So Hard For Innovators to Keep It Simple?”

All Sorts of Acquisitions, An Approval for Millennium, Venture Deals, and More

There was a lot of acquisition activity last week (not even counting the Biogen Idec excitement). Here’s more on that, along with the rest of the week’s news. —Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals announced it will pay $4.7 million, plus another $1 million in research and operating costs, for an exclusive option to buy Seattle’s Illumigen … Continue reading “All Sorts of Acquisitions, An Approval for Millennium, Venture Deals, and More”

SoundBite IPO Up in the Air After “Mugging” by Competitor

There’s no new word today on the fate of SoundBite Communications’ IPO. The Bedford, MA-based voice messaging firm was expected to price the deal Wednesday. Instead, according to an SEC filing, the company received a letter written on behalf of Universal Recovery Systems (URS) claiming that SoundBite’s technology may violate some of URS’s issued patents … Continue reading “SoundBite IPO Up in the Air After “Mugging” by Competitor”

Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care

It’s got advisors like Bob Langer and Judah Folkman, a particularly innovative strategy, and more than 15 years of research behind it. But Lexington, MA-based Predictive Biosciences is starting out by trying to be as small as it possibly can be. With just $10 million in initial financing, and that all tied to strict milestones, … Continue reading “Predictive Biosciences: A Small Startup With a Big Pedigree is Out to Personalize Cancer Care”

Think “Local”—New MIT Media Center To Build Tools to Foster Civic Engagement

You don’t have to look far to find signs that participation in local communities is on the decline in the United States. In one obvious example, overall voter turnout in local elections is at a low ebb: according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts survey only 26 percent of Americans aged 18 to 25 claim … Continue reading “Think “Local”—New MIT Media Center To Build Tools to Foster Civic Engagement”

Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc

In a move that will create one of the largest life sciences companies in Massachusetts, shareholders of both Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) and Cytyc (NASDAQ: CYTC) today approved Bedford, MA-based Hologic’s $6.2 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of the Marlborough diagnostics and device maker. The match seems a good one. When it was announced in May, analysts were … Continue reading “Shareholders Approve Hologic’s $6.2 Billion Acquisition of Cytyc”

Starbucks Taps Akamai to Support “Now Playing” Service; Our Feelings Still Hurt

I can’t decide if I think this is a further snub, or a subtle attempt to make amends. Last month, when Apple and Starbucks unveiled their “Now Playing” service—which lets iPhone- and laptop-wielding Starbucks customers wirelessly purchase whatever song happens to be playing in the coffee shop via iTunes—Wade vented his venti frustration over the … Continue reading “Starbucks Taps Akamai to Support “Now Playing” Service; Our Feelings Still Hurt”

Nuance to Buy Vocada

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN), a Burlington, MA, speech and imaging firm, announced it had reached an agreement to acquire Dallas, TX’s Vocada, which produces technology for the automated distribution of medical test results. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Boston-China Biopharma Connection

The Great Bubble is dead and gone, but like Elvis it’s still occasionally sighted. Daytraders, for instance, could have sworn it was gyrating across their screens when WuXi PharmaTech recently went public. The Shanghai-based company leaped onto the Big Board on August 9 after pricing its shares at $14 each. The stock quickly rose by … Continue reading “The Boston-China Biopharma Connection”

FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling”

Ouch. After years of waiting for the good news that would push its test into the mainstream, Exact Sciences instead just got a warning letter from the FDA. It could just be a temporary setback, but it means Marlborough, MA-based Exact (NASDAQ: EXAS) needs to have its ducks in a row to negotiate this critical … Continue reading “FDA Letter Warns Exact “That’s a Medical Device You’re Selling””

Why EMC Bought Mozy: A Leading Exec Provides More Insight

It’s Mozy’s subscription-service business model and the opportunity it provides for EMC to extend its corporate customer base—not access to the consumer market for which Mozy is best known—that was the primary motivation for EMC (NYSE: EMC) to purchase the online backup service earlier this month. That was the upshot of a conversation I had … Continue reading “Why EMC Bought Mozy: A Leading Exec Provides More Insight”

Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology

It’s one of Boston’s best-kept secrets, but the city is a mecca—perhaps the mecca—for entrepreneurs who understand both music and technology. As Xconomy has spun up over the last three-and-a-half months, we’ve been intrigued to learn about one company after another that specializes either in music production and distribution or in helping musicians network with … Continue reading “Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology”

Army Asks for $8.8 Million Worth of IRobot’s PackBots; Order Part of Existing Contract

Burlington, MA’s iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced this morning that it had received a U.S. Army order worth $8.8 million to deliver 40 of its PackBot robots, plus equipment and spare parts. The order was made on behalf of the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Redstone Arsenal—the same office that spearheaded the recent X-Bot competition … Continue reading “Army Asks for $8.8 Million Worth of IRobot’s PackBots; Order Part of Existing Contract”

Cubist Takes Option to Acquire Illumigen

Lexington, MA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals announced it will pay $4.7 million, plus another $1 million in research and operating costs, for an exclusive option to buy Seattle’s Illumigen Biosciences. Illumigen’s lead compound is a protein-based treatment for hepatitis C. If Cubist exercises its option it will pay $9 million upfront, plus development and regulatory milestone payments … Continue reading “Cubist Takes Option to Acquire Illumigen”

SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too

Talk about a colorful past. Spun out of a blood-collection business shortly after 9/11, SeraCare Life Sciences saw its fortunes skyrocket and then crash spectacularly. Now, just a few months after emerging from bankruptcy, things are a lot quieter. The biggest change at the company is a new “emphasis on quality and integrity” says CFO … Continue reading “SeraCare Rebuilding Image and a Brand New Milford Headquarters Too”

Woburn Startup Extrudes Diesel Filters Like Pasta; The Way to Cleaner Cars?

What’s the common thread between the space shuttle’s thermal tiles, log-cabin mansions in Aspen, Play-Doh, pasta makers, and diesel engines? There is one—really—but to find out what it is, you have to pay a visit to GEO2 Technologies in Woburn. The clean-energy startup has turned an industrial warehouse just off I-95 into a giant kitchen-laboratory, … Continue reading “Woburn Startup Extrudes Diesel Filters Like Pasta; The Way to Cleaner Cars?”

Genzyme Rises on Promising Campath Data and (or) Takeover Speculation

(Updated at 5:50 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 15) It was a down day for the market, but Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) shares had a nice pop on news that the company’s leukemia drug Campath had proven more effective in a Phase 2 trial than a Merck drug as a treatment for multiple sclerosis—and speculation that with … Continue reading “Genzyme Rises on Promising Campath Data and (or) Takeover Speculation”

Hologic Faces Lawsuit, OLPC Chooses a Distributor, Point Therapeutics Agrees to a Reverse Merger, and More

While we were up to our ears in court documents from iRobot and Genzyme, a whole lot of other stuff was happening in New England technology circles. —With a vote on its proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Marlborough, MA’s Cytyc (NASDAQ: CYCT) slated for this Thursday, Bedford-based diagnostics and imaging firm Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) is … Continue reading “Hologic Faces Lawsuit, OLPC Chooses a Distributor, Point Therapeutics Agrees to a Reverse Merger, and More”

Icahn Offered $23 Billion for Biogen Idec—Elan Won’t Block Sale

Carl Icahn has offered $23 billion for Biogen Idec and believes that would be a good value; meanwhile Biogen partner Elan said it would not stand in the way of the sale, Bloomberg reported this morning. In the wake of Friday’s announcement that Biogen would consider selling under the right terms, Icahn is giving out … Continue reading “Icahn Offered $23 Billion for Biogen Idec—Elan Won’t Block Sale”

What’s Wrong With Energy Investing? Part II

I had the good fortune to receive a substantial amount of feedback on my first post on this subject a few weeks ago. The feedback was productive and helped to clarify key points and in general reinforced my conviction laid out in the Part I entry. In that article, I advanced the idea that while … Continue reading “What’s Wrong With Energy Investing? Part II”

Rules Based Medicine Obtains $25,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d8945cd2-e668-4f44-aa92-0f6ae29bc277&Preview=1 Date 10/15/2007 Company Name Rules Based Medicine Mailing Address 3300 Duval Road Austin, TX 78759 Company Description Rules-Based Medicine (RBM), the world’s leading multiplexed biomarker testing company, provides comprehensive protein biomarker products and services based on its Multi-Analyte Profiling (MAP) technology platform. RBM’s biomarker testing service provides pre-clinical and clinical researchers … Continue reading “Rules Based Medicine Obtains $25,000,000 Series A Round”

“Dear Your Honor”—Some Legal Maneuverings from the iRobot-Robotic FX Files

In the course of following the mesmerizing courtroom drama of the iRobot-Robotic FX case it’s become part of our daily routine to check for new legal filings—a habit that’s grown even stronger as we wait for a decision on whether a preliminary injunction will be issued against Robotic FX. (And when we forget, our faithful … Continue reading ““Dear Your Honor”—Some Legal Maneuverings from the iRobot-Robotic FX Files”

The WPI Robotics Symposium: Engineering the Revolution

The robots are already here, but they’re coming in ever-greater numbers. WPI is holding this half-day-plus symposium to mark the launch of its new degree program in Robotics Engineering, which it says is the first such program in the country. One panel features legendary inventor Dean Kamen and Helen Greiner, co-founder and chair of iRobot … Continue reading “The WPI Robotics Symposium: Engineering the Revolution”

Biogen Idec on the Block; Icahn’s Interest in Buying the Firm Confirmed

After months of speculation that it might be an acquisition target, Cambridge biotech giant Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced this evening that it is, indeed, evaluating the possibility of a sale. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn was among an unspecified number of third parties from whom Biogen has received “expressions of interest,” the company said in … Continue reading “Biogen Idec on the Block; Icahn’s Interest in Buying the Firm Confirmed”

VMware: The Stock That Won’t Stop

The virtualization software made by VMware (NYSE: VMW) and competitors like Microsoft, Virtual Iron, and XenSource is all about hiding the details: it can make a single computer server run multiple applications on multiple operating systems, or it can make multiple computer servers look like a single server running a single application. How many machines … Continue reading “VMware: The Stock That Won’t Stop”

Bay State Led in Venture Funds Raised in First Three Quarters

The money has been flowing in the Bay State. Massachusetts venture capital firms raised $6.6 billion in the first nine months of this year, the most of any state in the nation, according to data released yesterday by Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. The total for Massachusetts firms—which between them closed 18 venture funds during … Continue reading “Bay State Led in Venture Funds Raised in First Three Quarters”