Recent posts and comments

• CVS Teams with Microsoft, Epix Makes Another Bid at Approval, Thermo Ups RNAi Ante, & More Life Sciences News

  OK, “& more” is stretching it this week. But with the long weekend looming, Boston-area life sciences firms can be forgiven if they’re taking things a little easy.

  —The biggest prescription... Read more »

• $37 Million for Nanotech Insulation, $25 Million for ImmunoGen, $325 Million for Evergreen Solar, & More Deals News

  Aren’t things supposed to slow down in the summer? There was lots of dealmaking happening in New England last week, across life sciences and high-tech fields.

  —Northborough, MA-based Aspen Aerogels, which... Read more »

• Lessons From a Year of (Our) Startup Life

  You know how, in the excitement of a new relationship, you often find yourself celebrating dozens of little “anniversaries?” The day you met, first date, first… You get the idea. Building... Read more »

• Evergreen Solar Plans $300M Note Sale

  Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) of Marlboro, MA today announced it plans to sell $300 million worth of senior convertible notes to help fund the completion of its Devens, MA, plant... Read more »

• Health 2.0 Firms in the Spotlight, Biogen Board in the Clear, Alnylam in Asia, & More Life Sciences News

  New England’s public life sciences firms were feeling particularly newsworthy this last week, it seems. But plenty of private firms are represented in this first item:

  —Wade uncovered yet another thriving... Read more »

• RXi Plans $8.7M Stock Sale

  RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXII) inked a deal to sell just over a million shares of its common stock to institutional investors for a total of some $8.7 million. The Worcester,... Read more »

• IRobot Hired to Make Shape-Shifting Robots, Alnylam Forges Asian Connection, Navic Scooped Up By Microsoft, More Orders for Evergreen Solar, & More Deals News

  Last week was a good one for New England tech and life sciences startups trying to raise cash. But first, the shape-shifting robots.

  —IRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) of Burlington, MA, won... Read more »

• Alnylam Inks $93M Japanese Deal

  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) announced it has forged an alliance with Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kogyo to commercialize the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s RNAi-based treatment for respiratory syncytial virus in Japan and... Read more »

• Genzyme Seeks Dual Approval, Google Health Picks Another Massachusetts Partner, Biogen Shareholders To Provide Closure (Maybe), & More Life Science News

  Seems like most of the Massachusetts life sciences industry is out in San Diego at BIO this week—along with Governor Patrick—plugging the newly signed $1 billion funding bill. But... Read more »

• Will CombinatoRx Be the Next Cambridge Biotech Put on the Block?

  Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. Maybe Biogen Idec (or maybe not). Will CombinatoRx (NASDAQ:CRXX) be next on the list of Cambridge, MA, biotech firms scooped up... Read more »

• $8 Million for JazzD Markets

  Stealthy online directory firm JazzD Markets of Brookline, MA, completed a $8 million in Series A financing round from investors including Commonwealth Capital Ventures and Pilot House Ventures, according to PE... Read more »

• IRobot Dives into Underwater Robotics, American Superconductor Inks a Supersized Wind Power Deal, BCBSMA Insures Members’ Google Health, & More Deals News

  Deal-making took New England tech firms all over the map last week. Let’s start with Beijing.

  —Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) of Cambridge, MA, announced it will partner with New York’s... Read more »

• Vertex Moves Hepatitis Drug Forward, Merrimack Rakes in $60M, Biogen and Icahn Trade Barbs, & More Life Sciences News

  Much of the week’s life sciences news was dominated by the bickering of Biogen Idec and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. A few other interesting things happened, though. Those first:

  —Merrimack Pharmaceuticals... Read more »

• Turbine Confirms $40M Round, Nuance Prices Secondary Offering, Sirtris Completes GSK Deal, & More Deals News

  New England software firms had a busy week, it seems, and there were a couple of key biotech deals too. Here’s the rundown:

  —Boston-based OpenAir, a provider of Web-based services automation... Read more »

• Vertex Cashes Out HIV Drugs, FDA Smiles on Infinity and Frowns on Indevus, Alnylam Makes Cross-Border Investment, & More Life Sciences News

  Boston-area life sciences firms had mixed success navigating regulatory waters this week. Here’s the skinny on that and the rest of the week’s biomedical news.

  —Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) sold... Read more »

• $400M Contract for Foster-Miller, 65K Order for OLPC, $1B In, $5M Out for Alnylam, & More Deals News

  Sheesh, maybe it was the sheer volume of the last week’s deals that made the equipment at our Web hosting company explode. Check it out:

  —The U.S. military awarded Foster-Miller... Read more »

• Takeda and Alnylam Join Forces, Carl Icahn Makes His Case, New England Biotech is Hot (Duh), & More Life Sciences News

  Japan’s Takeda took another bite out of Boston-area biotech this week, while Ernst & Young’s numbers showed just how juicy that apple is. Here’s more on that, and the rest of... Read more »

• Evergreen Rakes in the Green, NxStage Plans Two-Stage Deal, Atlas Places Big Bet on MicroRNA, & More Deals News

  Smaller deals were the rule last week, but this first one marked an exception.

  —Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) of Marlboro, MA, inked about $1 billion worth of new long-term sales... Read more »

• Shares of Evergreen Solar Shine After $1 Billion Contract News

  Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR), a solar-power-product manufacturer that Xconomist Bill Aulet calls one of the poster children for clean-energy success, got a nice bump on the stock market this... Read more »

• A Diagnostics Non-Profit Takes the 100K Prize, Greenfuel Gets a $13.9M Bump for Algae Bioreactors, Beth Israel Teams With Google, and More Life Sciences News

  For-profit firms are the bread and butter of the New England biotech startup scene, but it was nice to see a new non-profit getting a little love last week. Here’s that... Read more »