Sangamo Biosciences has acquired French biotech TxCell, adding an experimental technology with the potential to treat autoimmune diseases with cell therapy. Sangamo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]), of Richmond, CA, will pay €72 million ($84.31 million), or $2.58 per share, for TxCell. It expects to complete the deal later this year. The deal gives Sangamo a technology that … Continue reading “Sangamo Bags TxCell, and a Next-Gen Cell Therapy Tech, for $84M”
Promega Breaks Ground on $190M R&D Building: Slideshow
Things have been booming at Promega—literally. The Fitchburg, WI-based life science supplies business on Wednesday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 270,000-square-foot research and development facility that the company expects to open in late 2020. The event, which about 350 people attended, even included a daytime fireworks display. The fireworks were arranged to demonstrate the … Continue reading “Promega Breaks Ground on $190M R&D Building: Slideshow”
Agios Pharma’s Drug for Rare Blood Cancer Wins Speedy FDA Nod
An Agios Pharmaceuticals drug developed to treat a rare form of leukemia has received FDA approval ahead of schedule. This marks the second time in the past year that the company has won the regulatory nod for a treatment for the disease, but this is the first approved drug that’s wholly owned by the Cambridge, … Continue reading “Agios Pharma’s Drug for Rare Blood Cancer Wins Speedy FDA Nod”
Futures Command, SparkCognition, Student Loan Hero, & More TX Tech
Let’s get caught up with the latest news from Xconomy Texas. —Austin will be the new home for the U.S. Army’s Futures Command, a technology-focused reorganization of the military branch’s operations. “The command is expected to assess the future operational environment, emerging threats, and new technologies in order to develop and deliver concepts, requirements, future … Continue reading “Futures Command, SparkCognition, Student Loan Hero, & More TX Tech”
Best Reads for Casual Friday: Big Tech Businesses Gets Political
You’ve made it to Friday. Time to curl up in your cubicle, pop open one of these in-depth, entertaining reads, and catch up on some of what you missed during a busy week. This week we’re taking a look at all the political stories that are coming out of the tech world. And given the … Continue reading “Best Reads for Casual Friday: Big Tech Businesses Gets Political”
Epic Systems Pauses HQ Construction After 15 Years of Constant Growth
[Updated 7/22/18 12:48 p.m. See below.] The cranes are gone from Epic Systems’ corporate campus in Verona, WI. After more than a decade of near-perpetual expansion, the fast-growing healthcare software company is taking a break from new building construction, Xconomy has learned. Epic’s employee count has more than tripled in the past decade, from a … Continue reading “Epic Systems Pauses HQ Construction After 15 Years of Constant Growth”
Bio Roundup: Drug Prices, CRISPR Caveats, Rubius IPO Pop & More
After nearly two years of all smoke, no fire around President Trump’s promise to curtail drug prices, there’s finally some glimmer of action. Pfizer said last week it would halt its price hikes, and Novartis and Merck took similar actions this week. But we still don’t know the details of the administration’s drug-pricing policy, if … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Drug Prices, CRISPR Caveats, Rubius IPO Pop & More”
Hyundai Launches Digital Showroom on Amazon to Better Reach Customers
Replicating the car dealership experience online has historically been a challenge. Although many of us have grown to prefer the ease and convenience of shopping online, there’s nothing quite like kicking the tires of a vehicle in person. Because cars are one of the most expensive purchases many of us will make, it’s especially important … Continue reading “Hyundai Launches Digital Showroom on Amazon to Better Reach Customers”
Boston Tech Watch: Wistia, Armored Things, TowerIQ, Cignifi & More
[Updated 7/20/18, 1:08 pm. See below.] Time to catch up on the latest Boston-area tech news: —State Street (NYSE: [[ticker:STT]]), the financial services giant based in Boston, said it inked an agreement to acquire Charles River Systems, also known as Charles River Development, for $2.6 billion in cash. Burlington, MA-based Charles River provides investment management … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Wistia, Armored Things, TowerIQ, Cignifi & More”
PTC Dives Into Gene Therapy with $50M Agilis Biotherapeutics Deal
PTC Therapeutics is looking to gene therapy in a bid to broaden its pipeline, scooping up privately held Agilis Biotherapeutics in a cash and stock deal. South Plainfield, NJ-based PTC (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PTCT]]) will pay $50 million up front, plus $150 million in PTC shares, for Agilis. Agilis, based in Cambridge, MA, could get up to … Continue reading “PTC Dives Into Gene Therapy with $50M Agilis Biotherapeutics Deal”
San Antonio Sticks to Growth Playbook, Despite Turndowns by Startups
San Antonio—There’s plenty of scrutiny of whether it’s worthwhile for governments to offer incentive packages that aim to attract businesses and the jobs they bring. Still, city and state leaders across the nation continue to do it, among other efforts to bolster their business communities. Most arrangements aren’t gargantuan billion-dollar deals, like the tributes offered … Continue reading “San Antonio Sticks to Growth Playbook, Despite Turndowns by Startups”
Sputnik ATX Picks Five Startups In Second Austin Accelerator Class
Austin—Sputnik ATX, a startup accelerator that launched last year, has picked a group of five startups that will be the second class of businesses to run through the program. The early stage companies include a software-as-a-service business that connects teachers with jobs at school districts, a cosmetics maker, and other software companies (read about each … Continue reading “Sputnik ATX Picks Five Startups In Second Austin Accelerator Class”
FDA Puts Mersana Cancer Study on Partial Hold After Patient Death
[Updated, 7/19/18, 6:25 p.m. See below.] A patient has died in a clinical trial testing Mersana Therapeutics’ lead cancer drug, and the FDA has put a partial hold on the early-stage study as a result. The partial hold means that no new patients will be enrolled in the Phase 1 clinical trial. But patients who … Continue reading “FDA Puts Mersana Cancer Study on Partial Hold After Patient Death”
If the Shoe Fits: Luxury Shoe Club Launches E-Consignment Store
One in five pairs of shoes sit unworn in the average woman’s closet. So, why not sell these unused, or slightly used, pairs to someone who will wear them? That’s the view of Scott Van Valkenburgh, co-founder of Luxury Shoe Club, a Raleigh, NC-based startup that caters to women who want to buy and sell … Continue reading “If the Shoe Fits: Luxury Shoe Club Launches E-Consignment Store”
Google Partners With Zapata on Open-Source Quantum Computing Effort
Zapata Computing, a Harvard University spinout developing software to enable quantum computers, said Wednesday it’s working with Google to advance quantum computing technologies. Zapata said it’s one of the first users of Cirq, Google’s new open-source software framework for quantum computing. The initiative is yet another example of the growing investment in quantum computing research … Continue reading “Google Partners With Zapata on Open-Source Quantum Computing Effort”
Fresh Off Bristol Buyout, IFM Backers Raise $31M to Plot a Second Strike
Nearly one year ago, biotech startup IFM Therapeutics sold some of its assets to Bristol-Myers Squibb for $300 million. But IFM’s founders stuck around to try to capitalize on the startup’s remaining research. They’ve formed a Boston business, IFM Tre, that has just raised $31 million to fund some of that work. The cash comes … Continue reading “Fresh Off Bristol Buyout, IFM Backers Raise $31M to Plot a Second Strike”
Global Firm Opens Detroit Fintech Co-Working Hub to Foster Growth
What do Singapore, Bahrain, and Detroit have in common? If you answered “they’re all home to financial technology hubs,” you win a prize. Singapore is a well-known global finance capital, while Bahrain has spent the past four decades positioning itself as one of the Middle East’s bastions of commerce and entrepreneurship. Detroit is perhaps the … Continue reading “Global Firm Opens Detroit Fintech Co-Working Hub to Foster Growth”
E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet
[Updated 7/19/18, 9:59 am. See below.] If top European leaders faced a testy President Donald Trump in a series of meetings this summer, imagine the mood when the president of the European Commission arrives at the White House next Wednesday. President Trump and the European Union’s top executive officer, Jean-Claude Juncker, are slated to discuss … Continue reading “E.U. Slaps $5B Antitrust Fine on Google; Trump Blasts Back With Tweet”
Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring
In recent weeks, there’s been some local buzz about a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison students that’s getting set to participate in the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition, which will take place next week in Hawthorne, CA. This year, the team hopes to run its pod on SpaceX’s hyperloop test track, an opportunity it was denied … Continue reading “Moonshot Insights Bets on Algorithms to Address Biases in Hiring”
Juno’s Fontenot Joins Immusoft as Chief Scientific Officer
Jason Fontenot has been appointed chief scientific officer of Seattle cell therapy developer Immusoft. Fontenot most recently worked at Seattle cancer immunotherapy company Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) earlier this year in a $9 billion deal. Immusoft is researching a way of reengineering the B cells of the body into treatments for … Continue reading “Juno’s Fontenot Joins Immusoft as Chief Scientific Officer”
Corindus Vascular Promotes Douglas Teany to Chief Operating Officer
Douglas Teany has taken on a new role at Corindus Vascular Robotics (NYSE American: [[ticker:CVRS]]) as the Waltham, MA, company’s chief operating officer. Since 2016, he had served as Corindus’ senior vice president of R&D and operations. Corindus has commercialized the CorPath System, an FDA-cleared medical device that uses robotics technology in vascular procedures.
Rubius Upsizes IPO and Hauls in $241M for Red Blood Cell Therapies
Rubius Therapeutics has joined the parade of biotech companies going public, raising a whopping $241.1 million to support its approach of engineering red blood cells into off-the-shelf treatments for disease. Late Tuesday night, Cambridge, MA-based Rubius priced its offering of 10.4 million shares at $23 apiece. The company had initially planned to sell 9.5 million … Continue reading “Rubius Upsizes IPO and Hauls in $241M for Red Blood Cell Therapies”
Introducing the 2018 Innovation at the Intersection Award Finalists
From artificial intelligence (A.I.) to materials science, this year’s Xconomy Awards finalists in the Innovation at the Intersection category are bringing a variety of disciplines outside of biology to bear on tough problems in life science. The hope is that advanced algorithms, novel biomaterials, and digital technologies will make drug discovery more efficient, cancer immunotherapies … Continue reading “Introducing the 2018 Innovation at the Intersection Award Finalists”
Inari Agriculture Sprouts with Plans to Gene Edit “Personalized Seeds”
The seeds farmers plant in their fields can carry certain desirable traits, such as drought tolerance or pest resistance. Breeding or genetic engineering can produce such traits, but ag biotech startup Inari Agriculture aims to take trait development to a new level—customizing seeds to grow best in the soil and weather at the farm where … Continue reading “Inari Agriculture Sprouts with Plans to Gene Edit “Personalized Seeds””
Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm
Swim.ai, a startup developing advanced analytics software that can process data in devices at the edge of a network—such as industrial turbines or self-driving cars—announced today it raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. The San Jose, CA-based company is part of the emerging movement toward “edge computing,” or adapting devices to handle … Continue reading “Edge Computing Software Startup Swim.ai Scores $10M from VCs, Arm”
Roundup: Accelerate Michigan, U-M, Tetra Discovery Partners & More
The grind never stops in Michigan’s innovation community, even when the weather is perfect for playing hooky. Here’s a look at recent tech news from around the state: —The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, the state’s largest startup pitch contest with up to $1 million in cash and prizes at stake, is now accepting applications for … Continue reading “Roundup: Accelerate Michigan, U-M, Tetra Discovery Partners & More”
Drug Developer Kiromic Declines San Antonio’s Cash Offer for HQ Move
San Antonio — [Updated 7/23/18, 6:10 p.m. See below.] The board of directors for Houston-based immunotherapy biotech Kiromic has decided against taking a $200,000 investment from San Antonio-based economic development group, which would have required the company to relocate to San Antonio. Kiromic won’t relocate it’s headquarters to San Antonio—for the time being, at least, … Continue reading “Drug Developer Kiromic Declines San Antonio’s Cash Offer for HQ Move”
Walmart, Microsoft Deepen Partnership as Both Grapple With Amazon
The enemy of my enemy is my friend—even in the retail and cloud computing businesses. So says retail giant Walmart (NYSE: [[ticker:WMT]]) as it announced this morning a five-year partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) to use machine learning and other technologies, deepening an existing partnership between two of Amazon’s biggest rivals. “Whether it’s combined with our … Continue reading “Walmart, Microsoft Deepen Partnership as Both Grapple With Amazon”
New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society
Selling a new Web-connected thermostat or other wired gizmo to consumers without a plan to deliver the necessary security patches is not only bad business—it’s unethical. So is failing to challenge a law or tech company rule that governs work on technology products, if that rule causes unjustifiable harms to people or the environment. Those … Continue reading “New Ethics Code Urges Tech Firms and Coders To Avoid Harming Society”
Security Firm ObserveIT Grabs $33M to Get Ahead of Insider Threats
Cyber breaches caused by people within businesses and organizations, both accidental and malicious leaks, continue to multiply. Now, a Boston security startup is arming itself with more cash and enhanced technology to try and stop these insider threats. ObserveIT announced today it closed a $33 million Series B funding round from Bain Capital Ventures, Spring … Continue reading “Security Firm ObserveIT Grabs $33M to Get Ahead of Insider Threats”
City of Detroit Tests Real-World Mobility with Innovation Initiative
Michigan’s government and business leaders have worked diligently over the past few years to position the state that put the world on wheels to be major player in the development of self-driving cars. (According to a June 25 opinion piece in Forbes, Michigan has become “the Silicon Valley of mobility.”) The city of Detroit is … Continue reading “City of Detroit Tests Real-World Mobility with Innovation Initiative”
With $45M, HotSpot Takes Drug Research to New Biological Real Estate
In real estate, location is key. The same holds true in the hunt for new drugs. HotSpot Therapeutics is trying to break new ground in drug discovery by hitting locations on a protein that aren’t the conventional targets of most medicines. HotSpot is now emerging from stealth with preclinical compounds that could become new treatments … Continue reading “With $45M, HotSpot Takes Drug Research to New Biological Real Estate”
Ex-HubSpot CMO Volpe to Lead Lola, Founder Paul English Is Now CTO
[Updated 7/17/18, 11:53 am, with comments from English and Volpe. See below.] Lola, the business travel software startup led by Kayak co-founder Paul English, has brought on a new chief executive: Mike Volpe, the former chief marketing officer at both HubSpot and Cybereason. English will relinquish his CEO title to serve as Lola’s chief technology … Continue reading “Ex-HubSpot CMO Volpe to Lead Lola, Founder Paul English Is Now CTO”
Hyperloop, Cellectar, Cheeks & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist
Keep up with news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —A team of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has constructed a third prototype for a vehicle designed to zoom through an above-ground vacuum tube at speeds that can exceed 300 miles per hour, the school said. The “Badgerloop” team is one of … Continue reading “Hyperloop, Cellectar, Cheeks & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist”
Foxconn Buys Eau Claire Office Space, Partners with Advocate Aurora
Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, is making more moves in Wisconsin at it prepares to build a massive electronics factory in the southeast corner of the state. Foxconn said on Monday that it has agreed to buy one building in downtown Eau Claire, WI, and it has purchased office space in another, with the intention … Continue reading “Foxconn Buys Eau Claire Office Space, Partners with Advocate Aurora”
New Study Shows CRISPR Can Delete Big Chunks of DNA
[Updated 7/16/18 4:00pm ET, see note below] As CRISPR-based therapeutics inch closer to human tests in the U.S., academic researchers have kept up a steady drum beat about potential risks of the gene editing technique. They recently published two separate papers warning about possible dangers of CRISPR therapies, namely an increased risk of cancer. Both … Continue reading “New Study Shows CRISPR Can Delete Big Chunks of DNA”
High Alpha Raises $100M+ for Two New Funds, Adds Brad Feld to Board
High Alpha, an Indianapolis venture capital fund and startup “studio,” announced today that it has raised more than $100 million for two new funds called High Alpha Capital II and High Alpha Studio II. High Alpha Capital backs companies the way traditional venture firms do, while High Alpha Studio takes it a few steps further … Continue reading “High Alpha Raises $100M+ for Two New Funds, Adds Brad Feld to Board”
Pliant Picks Up $62M to Test Lung, Liver Fibrosis Drug in the Clinic
The cause of fibrosis, the hardening and thickening of connective tissue in organs, isn’t known and it has few treatments. Pliant Therapeutics aims to bring patients who have this chronic and life-threatening condition in the lungs or the liver a new treatment option—and it now has $62 million to test its lead drug in humans. … Continue reading “Pliant Picks Up $62M to Test Lung, Liver Fibrosis Drug in the Clinic”
Verge Genomics Nabs $32M For Computation-Heavy Neuro Drug Discovery
Two years after making her first-ever rounds of business meetings at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference, Alice Zhang has steered her biotech startup, Verge Genomics, into a $32 million Series A financing. Zhang (pictured) was notable then and now for her age—few biotech CEOs are under 30—and for her career path. She walked away from … Continue reading “Verge Genomics Nabs $32M For Computation-Heavy Neuro Drug Discovery”
Telkonet Brings on Roth Capital to Explore Sale or Other Deals
Telkonet, a small Milwaukee-area energy management and connected devices company, said this week it had hired the investment bank Roth Capital Partners “to explore strategic alternatives” with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. Jason Tienor, president and CEO of Telkonet (OTCMKTS: [[ticker:TKOI]]), said his company will likely consider a variety of transaction types after doing … Continue reading “Telkonet Brings on Roth Capital to Explore Sale or Other Deals”
With New Data, Amgen Tries Again for FDA OK of Osteoporosis Drug
More than a year after the FDA rejected Amgen’s experimental osteoporosis drug due to safety concerns, the Thousand Oaks, CA, company has teed up a new application. The Amgen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) drug, romosozumab (Evenity), is an antibody treatment meant to strengthen bones and reduce the chance that they could break. But while romosozumab did lower … Continue reading “With New Data, Amgen Tries Again for FDA OK of Osteoporosis Drug”
Best Friday Reads: Social Media Rules Us All, and Mints Billionaires
Humans have had a drastic physical evolution recently—one that has notably taken only a few years. While the evolution from hunched primates to homo sapiens took tens of millions of years, we needed only about a decade to develop an arched neck that is perennially looking down at a smartphone—presumably one with a social media … Continue reading “Best Friday Reads: Social Media Rules Us All, and Mints Billionaires”
Boston Tech Watch: Autodesk, DataRobot, Starry, Perceptive Automata
It’s time to catch up on Boston tech headlines. This week, we’re tracking acquisitions by Autodesk and DataRobot, a $100 million investment in upstart wireless Internet provider Starry, a new startup from Runkeeper co-founder Jason Jacobs, details about a stealthy autonomous vehicle software company, the first venture capital investment in Yuchun Lee’s Allego, and more … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: Autodesk, DataRobot, Starry, Perceptive Automata”
Bio Roundup: Pfizer’s Prices, Novartis Cuts, Gene Therapy Guide & More
Drug price changes typically happen either at the start of the calendar year or the beginning of the third quarter. Such changes are routine for many companies, but Pfizer took an unusual step this week by rolling back scheduled price increases on 40 of its drugs. The change of plan happened after Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Pfizer’s Prices, Novartis Cuts, Gene Therapy Guide & More”
C-Motive, Startup Developing Electric Motor Technology, Raises $750K
Cobalt is one of the ingredients in a type of rare earth magnet that, along with other rare earth magnets like neodymium and dysprosium, can be found in electric motors, smartphone batteries, and other products that are popular among consumers and manufacturers today. The price of cobalt more than doubled in 2017, according to the … Continue reading “C-Motive, Startup Developing Electric Motor Technology, Raises $750K”
Broadcom Eyes CA Technologies for $19B After Trump Axed Qualcomm Bid
Semiconductor maker Broadcom, which ended its effort to buy competitor Qualcomm earlier this year, has a new target: New York-based business software maker CA Technologies. The pair announced Wednesday that Broadcom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]), which moved its headquarters from Singapore to San Jose, CA, earlier this year, plans to pay $18.9 billion in cash for CA … Continue reading “Broadcom Eyes CA Technologies for $19B After Trump Axed Qualcomm Bid”
Zogenix Epilepsy Data Sets Up Market Battle With GW’s Cannabis Drug
Just weeks ago, the FDA approved the first ever medicine made from a derivative of marijuana, a drug from GW Pharmaceuticals for a rare form of epilepsy. Yet competition already looms from Zogenix, thanks to new data the Emeryville, CA, company reports this morning. Zogenix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZGNX]]) said that its experimental drug ZX008 succeeded in … Continue reading “Zogenix Epilepsy Data Sets Up Market Battle With GW’s Cannabis Drug”
With $112M Fund, Glasswing Looks to Drive East Coast A.I. Startups
In a sea of emerging tech venture funds, Glasswing Ventures is trying to stand out. The Boston firm announced today it has closed its debut investment fund at $112 million. That’s bigger than the “micro-VC” funds of the past decade, but much smaller than the mega-funds (often in the billion-dollar range) that have been raised … Continue reading “With $112M Fund, Glasswing Looks to Drive East Coast A.I. Startups”
Indy’s PactSafe Snags $5.5M Series A to Expand Contracting Software
PactSafe, an Indianapolis startup focused on cloud-based contracting services, announced this week that it has raised a $5.5 million Series A investment round. The round was co-led by Houston, TX-based Mercury Fund and Salt Lake City’s Signal Peak Ventures, and included contributions from Indiana’s Elevate Ventures and Singapore’s Vulpes Testudo. PactSafe, founded in 2015, sells … Continue reading “Indy’s PactSafe Snags $5.5M Series A to Expand Contracting Software”
E-Retail Startup Pointy Raises $12M, Helps Small Shops Be Found Online
Mark Cummins wondered why online search engines could help you locate a landmark halfway around the world in a second but couldn’t tell him whether the corner store had a craft beer he liked. That’s what led him to co-found Pointy, which makes a hardware device that enables small retailers to easily upload inventory onto … Continue reading “E-Retail Startup Pointy Raises $12M, Helps Small Shops Be Found Online”