Boston Scientific Buys Intelect

Natick, MA-based medical devices giant Boston Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) said today that it has acquired Intelect Medical, a developer of neuromodulation technologies for deep brain stimulation. Boston Scientific, which already owned an equity stake in Intelect, is buying the firm for about $60 million in cash. Intelect’s technology is expected to complement Boston Scientific’s existing deep … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Buys Intelect”

Omeros Gets Drugs for Bleeding

Omeros (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMER]]), the Seattle-based biotech company, said today it has obtained an exclusive license from the University of California to a series of new drug candidates for controlling traumatic bleeding and surgical bleeding. The compounds, which are known as antifibrinolytic agents, are supposed to be safer than Bayer’s aprotinin (Trasylol), which was withdrawn from … Continue reading “Omeros Gets Drugs for Bleeding”

Elemental Teams Up With Intel, Looks to Improve Video Delivery to Devices

Interesting news from the video world today. Portland, OR-based Elemental Technologies says it has been working with Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]) for the past year to make its video-processing software run on the chip giant’s new “Sandy Bridge” microprocessors, which blend traditional processing with graphics capabilities. The two companies are demoing the technology at the Consumer … Continue reading “Elemental Teams Up With Intel, Looks to Improve Video Delivery to Devices”

Oren Etzioni, Leading UW Computer Scientist and Entrepreneur, Comments on “Cyber Stalking” Suit

Oren Etzioni, the Internet search expert at the University of Washington and founder of Farecast, has been sued by a Seattle attorney who accuses him of cyber stalking in connection with a divorce case, according to a report by The Seattle Times. Etzioni sent a series of anonymous e-mails to attorney Mabry DeBuys, who represented … Continue reading “Oren Etzioni, Leading UW Computer Scientist and Entrepreneur, Comments on “Cyber Stalking” Suit”

$12M for Life Image

Life Image, a Newton, MA-based firm, has apparently found more investment to support its business of providing software for the exchange of digital medical images via the Internet cloud. The firm told the Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner that it has boosted its Series B round—which Xconomy first reported in September—to $12 million with investments from … Continue reading “$12M for Life Image”

Five Technology Trends to Watch in 2011

“Real” 4G Mobile broadband. Verizon recently launched its 4G LTE network (via laptop modem cards). The Verizon network speed dwarfs the “4G” networks being advertised by Sprint and T-Mobile. Verizon’s 4G will be users’ first taste of true mobile broadband and will further drive mobile data usage and the percentage of time users spend on … Continue reading “Five Technology Trends to Watch in 2011”

Todd Park, HHS Tech Chief, Headlines Xconomy’s Health IT Evening on Feb. 9

Got plans for the evening of February 9? If you’re involved or deeply interested in health IT, and how the digitization of medicine could improve the healthcare system, then join us and sign up here for Xconomy Xchange: HHS CTO Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT. Park, who is the keynote … Continue reading “Todd Park, HHS Tech Chief, Headlines Xconomy’s Health IT Evening on Feb. 9”

Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 2, Changing the Equation in Machine Translation

When science fiction fans think about language translation, they have two main reference points. One is the Universal Translator, software built into the communicators used by Star Trek crews for simultaneous, two-way translation of alien languages. The other is the Babel fish from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which did the same … Continue reading “Inside Google’s Age of Augmented Humanity: Part 2, Changing the Equation in Machine Translation”

NeuroMetrix Announces Staff Cuts, Strategy Change

NeuroMetrix, a Waltham, MA-based diagnostics and medical device company, announced today that it plans to focus its business around diabetes and the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, a complication of the disease. The company’s website says it developed products for diagnosing and treating peripheral nerve disorders and for providing regional anesthesia and pain control. NeuroMetrix is … Continue reading “NeuroMetrix Announces Staff Cuts, Strategy Change”

MindShift Gets Alpheon

MindShift Technologies, a Waltham, MA-headquartered provider of IT management and Internet cloud services, announced it has acquired Alpheon, a provider of IT services to healthcare organizations. MindShift, whose technical operations are in Fairfax, VA, said the acquisition of Morrisville, NC-based Alpheon will bring healthcare clients access to its cloud technology and enable it to better help … Continue reading “MindShift Gets Alpheon”

Qteros Raises $22M More, Signs Deal to Commercialize Biofuels

The biofuels industry is still chugging along in Massachusetts. Marlborough, MA-based Qteros said today it has closed $22 million in the first tranche of its Series C financing. The investors in the round were not disclosed, but Qteros said both new and existing ones participated. The company’s previous backers include Battery Ventures, Venrock Associates, Long … Continue reading “Qteros Raises $22M More, Signs Deal to Commercialize Biofuels”

Labtiva Laps Up $2M

Cambridge, MA-based software maker Labtiva has brought in $2 million in equity-based funding, according to an SEC filing.The startup, which works out of the Polaris Venture Partners Dogpatch Labs, is in private beta mode for its online software for scientists, according to its website.

AVI Partners With Karolinska

AVI Biopharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVII]]), the Bothell, WA-based developer of RNA-targeted therapies, said today it has formed a collaboration with leading scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden to find new treatments for extensively drug resistant forms of tuberculosis known as XDR-TB. Funding and research support is provided by both parties, and intellectual property resulting from … Continue reading “AVI Partners With Karolinska”

Zafgen Weight Loss Drug Shows Promise in First Human Test

People working on new drugs for obesity had a pretty crummy 2010 on the whole, but now an intriguing startup in Cambridge, MA, called Zafgen is starting the new year with a bang. Zafgen is announcing today that its experimental weight loss drug for severe obesity was well-tolerated, and able to help people lose about … Continue reading “Zafgen Weight Loss Drug Shows Promise in First Human Test”

SCVNGR Scares Up $15M, Genocea Gets $35M, Zeo Zeros in on $12.3M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

2001 is off to a running start for dealmakers in New England’s tech and life sciences sectors, it seems. —Cambridge, MA-based Genocea Biosciences pulled in a tidy $35 million in a Series B funding round. The vaccine developer, a spinout of Harvard, saw contributions from new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, MP Healthcare Venture … Continue reading “SCVNGR Scares Up $15M, Genocea Gets $35M, Zeo Zeros in on $12.3M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Five Things To Look For In The Coming Year In Healthcare/Life Sciences

1. Data‐Driven Healthcare. In 2011 and into this next decade, the rate of data generation from biological measurement will continue to accelerate. Making sense of this deluge of data from sources as disparate as electronic medical records, biometric sensors, population statistics, environmental factors, and genomics will be the interesting part! Nimble start‐ups that can aggregate … Continue reading “Five Things To Look For In The Coming Year In Healthcare/Life Sciences”

Daily Grommet, With New Financing (and Attention), Looks to “Pour Fuel on the Fire”

A quick update from one of the darlings of the Boston consumer tech scene. Lexington, MA-based Daily Grommet says it has raised just over $475,000 in financing as an extension to its $3.4 million Series A round last April. The new money came from the company’s existing angel investors, including John Landry, Nancy Peretsman, LaunchCapital, … Continue reading “Daily Grommet, With New Financing (and Attention), Looks to “Pour Fuel on the Fire””

Labtiva Lands $2,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8645ee37-80bc-4edd-ab8d-ba53491c9886&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name Labtiva Mailing Address 222 3rd St., Fourth Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description The company is developing research management tools for the life sciences and academic literature industries. Website http://www.labtiva.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Labtiva Lands $2,000,000 New Round”

Qteros Garners $22,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9e7b1761-ed0d-46b9-8323-ec94a25fd1a1&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name Qteros Mailing Address 100 Campus Drive Marlborough, MA 01752 Company Description SunEthanol is commercializing a breakthrough discovery with the potential to enable ethanol manufacturers to produce ethanol from biomass (plant life) in a simple and cost-effective manner, thereby reducing our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels while helping … Continue reading “Qteros Garners $22,000,000 New Financing”

Access 360 Media Lands $12,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9874b966-d115-4276-980d-f7ddeb6aa129&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name Access 360 Media Mailing Address 2951 28th Street Santa Monica, CA 90405 Company Description ACCESS 360 Media is a media network that connects to over 30 million young adult consumers (P12-34) each month, in the places and through the communication platforms that matter most to them – … Continue reading “Access 360 Media Lands $12,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

SoloPower Garners $51,575,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=30649ecb-1f7e-4342-a379-3b570ce71100&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name SoloPower Mailing Address 5981 Optical Court San Jose, CA 95138 Company Description SoloPower, Inc. is a technology leader in the field of thin film photovoltaics (PV) for low-cost module manufacturing and delivery of solar electricity for a variety of uses including grid-connected commercial, residential and distributed power … Continue reading “SoloPower Garners $51,575,000 New Round”

Turn Lands $20,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=83da4d9c-6dc6-4a3c-a48f-8e16f4b6b16f&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name Turn Mailing Address 835 Main St. Redwood City, CA 94063-1901 Company Description Our mission is simple: to deliver the most effective advertising in the world. But how we do it is what makes this company so revolutionary. With careers spent at companies like AltaVista, Ask Jeeves, Overture, … Continue reading “Turn Lands $20,000,000 Series D Financing”

RootMusic Obtains $2,331,652 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b1575a64-1202-4bb4-89c3-af926a8c21a0&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name RootMusic Mailing Address 1233 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Company Description The company has created software that allows users to better promote their music bands on Facebook. Website http://www.rootmusic.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,331,652 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “RootMusic Obtains $2,331,652 New Financing Round”

Life Image Garners $6,800,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bcb26ce2-cc48-44b4-8341-e2d514392c09&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name Life Image Mailing Address One Gateway Center Newton, MA 02458 Company Description Life Image, Inc. is a venture-backed startup company developing Web-based applications and services that help eliminate the problems associated with lack of access to patients’ medical-imaging history.The founders of the company are veterans of this … Continue reading “Life Image Garners $6,800,000 Series B Funding Round”

GroupMe Garners $10,600,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3b8c32b0-38f3-4dd7-bf86-1b6aea99da3a&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name GroupMe Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10001 Company Description Ever send a text message to multiple people? Wish your friends could reply all? GroupMe enables you to organize and communicate with the groups of people in your life that are important to you. Website http://www.groupme.com Transaction … Continue reading “GroupMe Garners $10,600,000 Series B Round”

33Across Obtains $9,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ce120389-6323-4158-819e-a62a2278bfbb&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name 33Across Mailing Address 460 W. 34th Street 14th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description 33Across has developed breakthrough technology that uses social graph data to dramatically improve online marketing. Website http://www.33across.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes The company … Continue reading “33Across Obtains $9,000,000 Series B Round”

LogicTree Lands $836,855 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c927894a-ec7e-45da-a131-af44b56825fb&Preview=1 Date 1/5/2011 Company Name LogicTree Mailing Address 1525 Market Street Denver, CO 80202 Company Description LogicTree Corporation provides innovative speech-enabled solutions that give callers access to information through natural sounding spoken language and functionality far beyond legacy Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. Website http://www.logictree.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $836,855 … Continue reading “LogicTree Lands $836,855 New Funding Round”

Qualcomm Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Atheros Communications

[Updated 1/5/10 11:15 am. See below.] It’s official: Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire San Jose’s Atheros Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHR]]) at $45 a share, or roughly $3.1 billion. The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies, but must still clear the necessary regulatory requirements. Atheros … Continue reading “Qualcomm Reportedly in Talks to Acquire Atheros Communications”

HowRandom Targets College Students With Website For Anonymous Chats

At a time when Facebook ranks as the most-used social networking site on the planet, a couple of young San Diego entrepreneurs are trying to establish their own niche in an expanding universe of social networks, online chat rooms, and Internet forums. Co-founders Jon Cook and Jason Humphries have created HowRandom as an online forum … Continue reading “HowRandom Targets College Students With Website For Anonymous Chats”

Follica Co-Founder and Team Find New Clues About Male Baldness

Hold on to your toupees. Scientists have spotted a trend in scalp samples from men with pattern baldness that could lead to a new way to treat hair-loss. The discovery hits close to home for Follica, a startup focused on hair-loss treatments, whose scientific co-founder was one of the main researchers behind the new findings. … Continue reading “Follica Co-Founder and Team Find New Clues About Male Baldness”

Genentech Licenses AMRI Compounds

AMRI (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMRI]]), the Albany, NY-based pharmaceutical service provider, said today that biotech giant Genentech has taken a license to a number of drug candidates AMRI has derived from natural product sources. Genentech, the South San Francisco-based unit of Roche, will get exclusive rights to develop multiple antibacterial product candidates, which an AMRI spokeswoman says … Continue reading “Genentech Licenses AMRI Compounds”

$3M Assist for Assistly

San Francisco-based Assistly, a 2009-vintage startup in the “social CRM” space alongside companies like Get Satisfaction and Zendesk, said today that it has raised $3 million in new funding. The money came from Bullpen Capital, Index Ventures, Social Leverage, True Ventures, and individual investor Kenny Van Zant. The company, which offers a collaborative Web-based desktop for customer … Continue reading “$3M Assist for Assistly”

Redstar, From ATG Founders, Reveals Funding Strategy, Sets Up Office Space, Looks to Hire Entrepreneurs

Redstar, the stealthy new venture from the founders of e-commerce software maker Art Technology Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARTG]]), is coming a bit more out of the woodwork. Redstar, which has been described by co-founder and ATG veteran Jeet Singh as “a company that builds companies,” has moved into a temporary space in Harvard Square this week … Continue reading “Redstar, From ATG Founders, Reveals Funding Strategy, Sets Up Office Space, Looks to Hire Entrepreneurs”

Ann Arbor Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials Acquired by Ultra Electronics Holdings

Adaptive Materials, an Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of solid oxide fuel cells for use by the military and in recreational vehicles, has been acquired by UK-based Ultra Electronics Holdings. Adaptive Materials announced in a news released today that it will continue to develop and manufacture its propane-powered fuel cell systems from its current Ann Arbor … Continue reading “Ann Arbor Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials Acquired by Ultra Electronics Holdings”

Skytap, Fresh Off Boston-Led $10M Financing, Seeks to Make Cloud Computing Work Better

[Update: 3:45 pm] Turn on a TV, and you’ll see Microsoft running commercials touting something few men on the street know much about—cloud computing. So if the concept is starting to go mainstream, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of Seattle’s early movers in the space, Skytap, has already made some serious headway … Continue reading “Skytap, Fresh Off Boston-Led $10M Financing, Seeks to Make Cloud Computing Work Better”

Vaccine Innovations That Will Expedite Access for the Next Generation of Treatments

As viral pandemics and drug resistant bacteria become more common, it is imperative that the pharmaceutical industry increases its efforts to develop truly revolutionary treatments to combat infectious diseases. One area of focus is the development of new prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. When a pandemic strikes, the traditional vaccine development and manufacturing process is cumbersome … Continue reading “Vaccine Innovations That Will Expedite Access for the Next Generation of Treatments”

Motorola Splits in Two, But No Word Yet on Mobility’s New HQ

Motorola, which began business in Chicago 83 years ago as the Galvin Manufacturing Co., is officially splitting into two separate companies today: Motorola Solutions (NYSE: [[ticker:MSI]]) retains the company’s mainstay public-safety radio, bar-code scanner, and RFID businesses, while Motorola Mobility (NYSE: [[ticker:MMI]]) gets the cell phone and cable set-top box businesses. I had expected Motorola … Continue reading “Motorola Splits in Two, But No Word Yet on Mobility’s New HQ”

PneumRx Raises $33M

PneumRx, a Mountain View, CA-based maker of a medical device that restores elastic recoil in the damaged lung tissue of patients with emphysema, said today that it has raised $33 million in working capital from European venture firms Forbion Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision. The round was also joined by existing investors Adams Street Partners, … Continue reading “PneumRx Raises $33M”

Creating the Next Silicon Valley—The Chilean Experiment

I spent two weeks of December in Chile as a guest of Professor Cristóbal García, Director of EmprendeUC at the Catholic University of Chile, which just signed up a 3-year collaboration partnership with Stanford’s Technology Ventures Program. I did a keynote on innovation hubs at the newly created DoFuture program, spoke at Santiago’s Startup Weekend … Continue reading “Creating the Next Silicon Valley—The Chilean Experiment”

$7M for Satori Pharmaceuticals

Satori Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, has raised $7 million in equity funding, according to an SEC filing. The funding is part of Satori’s previously disclosed $22 million round of financing, according to an e-mail from company director Daphne Zohar, a managing partner at PureTech Ventures in Boston. Satori’s investors … Continue reading “$7M for Satori Pharmaceuticals”

Xoma Nabs $35M Upfront Deal

Xoma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XOMA]]), the Berkeley, CA-based developer of targeted antibody drugs, said today it will receive a $35 million upfront fee from France-based Les Laboratories Servier for the right to co-develop a new anti-inflammation treatment. Xoma could receive as much as $470 million in milestone payments through the partnership, and a “mid-teens” percentage cut of … Continue reading “Xoma Nabs $35M Upfront Deal”

Foundation Medicine and Novartis Collaborate

Foundation Medicine, a Cambridge, MA-based personalized cancer medicine firm, said today it will conduct a pilot collaboration with the drug giant Novartis. The companies will work together to optimize Foundation’s cancer genome panel to fit Novartis’s needs, according to Foundation. Based on the pilot, Foundation and Novartis will determine whether to commercialize the test. The … Continue reading “Foundation Medicine and Novartis Collaborate”

SCVNGR Scoops Up $15M for European Expansion and More Game Mechanics

Seth Priebatsch strikes again. The wunderkind CEO’s location-based gaming startup, SCVNGR, announced today it has raised $15 million in a new venture financing round led by London-based Balderton Capital. SCVNGR’s existing investors, Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners, also participated in the round, which was raised at a valuation of just over $100 million, according … Continue reading “SCVNGR Scoops Up $15M for European Expansion and More Game Mechanics”

Internet Commerce Pioneer Seeks to Crack Secretive Culture With Cancer Commons

[Update 7:10 am 1/5/11] Cancer patients share their personal ups and downs all the time on Facebook and who knows how many Internet message boards. Now if one Silicon Valley entrepreneur gets his way, scientists and physicians will start sharing their experiences in treating cancer in ways that might actually help them come up with … Continue reading “Internet Commerce Pioneer Seeks to Crack Secretive Culture With Cancer Commons”

CQuotient, With $3M from Bain, Looks to Help Retailers Adjust to Customers’ Buying Behavior

There’s certainly no shortage of intriguing new tech startups around town. One stealthy company that has come to light in the past week is CQuotient, a Belmont, MA-based developer of analytics software for retailers. The startup confirmed it recently raised $3 million in Series A financing from Bain Capital Ventures. Founder and CEO Rama Ramakrishnan … Continue reading “CQuotient, With $3M from Bain, Looks to Help Retailers Adjust to Customers’ Buying Behavior”