Recent posts and comments

• BioTrove Seeks Big Trove in IPO

  Just when you thought it wasn’t safe to go back in the water, BioTrove, a Woburn, MA-based maker of tools for life sciences research, braved the choppy IPO seas today in... Read more »

• Codon Devices Settles Patent Suit

  Synthetic biology startup Codon Devices of Cambridge, MA, announced today that it has reached a settlement with Blue Heron Biotechnology of Bothell, WA, in a patent suit that Codon filed against... Read more »

• 1366’s Sunny Start, Adimab’s Second Round, Constant Contact’s Second Offering, and More Deals News

  Another somewhat sluggish week, deals-wise. Perhaps everybody was too busy trying to uncover the identities of the members of the MIT blackjack team?

  —Biotech startup Adimab of Lebanon, NH, closed... Read more »

• Vertex Climbs on Encouraging Early Results From Cystic Fibrosis Drug Trial

  Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) climbed this morning after the company announced some encouraging preliminary results from an ongoing trial of VX-770, a drug for cystic fibrosis.... Read more »

• Technical Bibliophiles to Bid Adieu To Kendall Square

  Fans of browsing uber-geeky tomes on computer graphics, operating-system design, programming, and all other deeply technical matters have something of a wake to attend tomorrow afternoon. Kendall Square’s Quantum Books, which... Read more »

• Repligen Launches Trial of Imaging Agent

  Repligen (NASDAQ: RGEN) of Waltham, MA, has begun a Phase 3 clinical trial of an imaging agent that would enhance the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect abnormalities... Read more »

• Alkermes Makes Cuts, Eyegate Avoids Pokes, Codon Gets a Boost, & More Life Sciences News

  The past week was evidently on the quiet side for Boston-area life sciences firms, with a few exceptions:

  —Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS) announced it will cut 150 jobs and... Read more »

• Adimab Scores Second Funding Round in Less Than A Year

  A young biotech company founded by a pair of professors from MIT and Dartmouth has closed a Series B financing round co-led by Polaris Venture Partners and SV Life Sciences, just... Read more »

• Cancer Patient Can Use Newton Firm’s Drug, FDA Says

  Pro-Pharmaceuticals of Newton, MA, announced today that it got the go-ahead from the FDA to treat one breast cancer patient with its lead drug candidate, Davanat. The drug, a carbohydrate polymer... Read more »

• BladeLogic Scores Big, EMC Gets Another Crack at Iomega, Luminus Closes a Large Round, & More Deals News

  The word of the week for Boston-area deal-making was acquisition. You’ll see what I mean.

  —Data-center-automation firm BladeLogic (NASDAQ: BLOG) of Lexington, MA, scored an impressive $800 million in a... Read more »

• Alkermes Cuts Jobs After Lilly Deal Ends

  A week and a half after learning that Eli Lilly was ending a joint project to develop inhaled insulin, Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS) is cutting some 150 jobs and closing a... Read more »

• RXi’s Debut, Sirtris’ Surprising Deal, Hydra’s Big Financing Round, & More of the Last Week in Life Sciences

  The past week finally saw a life sciences firm debut on the stock market (although it was a spin-off rather than an IPO). That and more news below.

  —RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:... Read more »

• Bristol-Myers Squibb Unit Now Independent

  The diagnostics business unit formerly known as Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging is now an independent firm called Lantheus Medical Imaging, the N. Billerica, MA–based company announced today. The news follows the... Read more »

• Exact Sciences Puts Itself on the Block After Investor’s Prodding

  Looks like Carl Icahn isn’t the only activist investor yanking local life sciences firms’ chains these days. Just a few weeks after a California fund manager called for a sale of... Read more »

• IT Acquisitions All Around: BladeLogic, Teragram, and Maybe Even Iomega?

  Looks like somebody misread the memo about Evacuation Day and decided yesterday was Acquisition Day here in the greater Boston area. (Although Axcelis Technologies made no such mistake.)

  First, there... Read more »

• Luminus Devices Aglow With $72 Million in New Financing

  When these guys say they’re looking to expand they ain’t kidding. Luminus Devices of Billerica, MA, said a few months ago that it was working to build its LED business beyond... Read more »

• GreenFuel Strikes A Deal, Sirtris Teams with Bayer on Crops, Salient Files for an IPO, & More Deals News

  A new IPO filing, a few solid venture financings, and a decent assortment of new partnerships… Dare we call it an uptick it dealmaking? You be the judge.

  —GreenFuel Technologies, a... Read more »

• Diomed Files for Bankruptcy, Plans Sale

  Minimally invasive medicine firm Diomed (AMEX: DIO) of Andover, MA, has filed for bankruptcy, the company announced today. The firm intends to sell some of its operating assets for between... Read more »

• Hydra Biosciences Feeling No Pain, Thanks to $34 Million From Advanced Technology Ventures And Others

  Cambridge, MA-based Hydra Biosciences has closed a $34 million Series C funding round, the company said today. The round, led by Advanced Technology Ventures and joined by Polaris Venture Partners, BioVentures... Read more »

• Mello RNAi Firm RXi Pharmaceuticals Has Wild Ride on First Day of Trading

  Shares of Worcester, MA-based RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RXII) hopped on a bit of a roller coaster this morning when the company—which was spun out of Los Angeles’ CytRx to develop... Read more »