12/16/08

Axeda Buys Questra

Foxborough, MA-based Axeda announced today that it has acquired Questra of Redwood City, CA. Both companies make software-as-a-service systems that allow software administrators to remotely upgrade and service enterprise IT systems and software. The terms of the acquisition were not published.

EMC Appoints Leader for Decho, Cloud Services

Storage giant EMC (NYSC: EMC) of Hopkinton, MA, said today that veteran software executive Harel Kodesh has been appointed president of the company’s Cloud Infrastructure division and CEO of Decho, a new subsidiary formed in November from the combination of EMC’s Mozy and Pi divisions. Kodesh is the former chief products officer at Missouri-based telecommunications billing provider Amdocs, and helped to create the Windows CE embedded operating system for Microsoft as vice president of its Information Appliances Division. As Greg reported in November, Decho will focus on cloud-computing-based approaches to managing individuals’ digital information.

ATV Promotes Energy Leader Friendly

Waltham, MA-based Advanced Technology Ventures has promoted New England clean energy maven Andrew Friendly to principal, the firm announced today. Friendly co-heads the Renewable Energy Business Network and serves on the New England Clean Energy Council’s advisory board. He also represents ATV on the boards of AltaRock Energy and Solar Junction. His promotion came as ATV promoted two figures in its Palo Alto office, including naming Tom Rodgers as partner.

12/15/08

TransMedics Pulls IPO

TransMedics has nixed plans for an IPO worth up to $86 million, citing unfavorable market conditions. The Andover, MA-based firm, which first filed for the offering in September 2007, develops systems for transporting organs for transplant.

Mass Life Sci. Center Picks Waltham

The Massachsuetts Life Sciences Center—the agency in charge of the $1 billion stimulus plan for the state’s life sciences industry—announced today that it plans to lease 5,855 square feet of office space in Waltham, MA. Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the center, said in a statement that the new office in the suburbs is accessible and costs less than other locations that were considered. The agency plans to maintain an office in Boston, where it now operates.

Konarka Gets $45M from Total

Lowell, MA-based Konarka, which is developing a process for making solar photovoltaic cells on flexible plastic, said today that it has secured a $45 million investment from Total, a Paris-based international oil and gas conglomerate. Konarka also said it has signed a bilateral R&D agreement with Total, which will become its single largest shareholder (owning 20 percent of the startup). Coincidentally, $45 million is the same amount Konarka raised from a group of private investors for its “Power Plastic” product one year ago.

Tysabri Patient Diagnosed With PML

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) said today that a patient has been diagnosed with a rare, and often fatal brain infection called PML while taking natalizumab (Tysabri). The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, which markets the drug along with its partner, Ireland-based Elan, said the patient was in Europe, has a history of taking other immune-suppressors for multiple sclerosis, and had been on Tysabri for more than two years. The patient is being monitored.

Fairchild Slashes 1,100 Jobs

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) of South Portland, ME, said last week that it will cut its worldwide employee base by 1,100 jobs, or about 12 percent, as part of a restructuring plan intended to help the chipmaker weather the economic downturn. There was no word on how many of the layoffs will affect Fairchild employees in Maine, but Fairchild said the cuts would not affect its strategic R&D projects. We’ve updated the Boston Tech Layoff Tracker accordingly.

FDA Approves BSX Renal Stent

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), the Natick, MA-based medical devices giant, says that the FDA has approved its stent for certain patients who undergo surgeries to remove plaques from their renal arteries. The stent is designed to prop open renal arteries, which are the main source of blood to the kidneys.

12/13/08

TechTarget Cuts 76, Shutters Two Magazines

Needham, MA-based technology media publisher TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) said in an SEC filing Thursday that it plans to cut costs by laying off 76 employees, or about 12 percent of its total workforce. The company also said it will shut down its two print publications, Storage Magazine and Information Security Magazine. We’ve updated the Boston Tech Layoff Tracker with the new information.

12/12/08

25 Workers Let Go at GT Solar

GT Solar (NASDAQ: SOLR), a maker of equipment for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells, said today that it will lay off 25 production workers at its Merrimack, NH, plant. The cuts, a reaction to requests from GT Solar’s customers for delayed shipment of solar furnaces, represent just over 8 percent of the company’s work force. We’ve added this information to the Boston Tech Layoff Tracker.

Sonus Networks Cuts 50 Employees

Westford, MA-based Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS), which makes servers, switches, and software for Internet-based residential and business telephony, said yesterday that it will lay off 50 employees, or roughly 5 percent of its global workforce, as part of a cost-management plan. The company did not say how many of the affected employees worked from the Westford headquarters. We’ve updated our Boston Tech Layoff Tracker accordingly.

GSK Pays Synta $15M

Lexington, MA-based cancer drug developer Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNTA) announced it has earned a $15 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline. The pyament is part of a deal inked last October and worth up to $1.1 billion that focuses on Synta’s elesclomol, which is currently in Phase 3 testing as a treatment for metastatic melanoma.

Momenta Raises $24.1M From Select Investors

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, the Cambridge, MA-based developer of generic versions of complex drugs, said today it has received commitments from investors to bet another $24.1 million on the company. The investors are buying 2.8 million shares at $9 a share. The money will be used for manufacturing, clinical trial costs, and potential acquisitions of companies and technologies, the company said.

Lightwave Power Closes Series A Round

Lightwave Power, a Cambridge, MA, startup developing a roll-to-roll process for manufacturing solar cells on flexible substrates, said today that it has closed a Series A financing round led by Quercus Trust, a stealthy Southern California investment group. 21Ventures of New York was named as a co-investor. Lightwave’s announcement did not disclose the amount of the investment, but a report in Earth2tech puts it at $13 million.

12/11/08

Panacos Pharma Plans Layoffs

Panacos Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PANC), a Watertown, MA-based developer of drugs for HIV, announced that it plans to immediately reduce its workforce to 15 workers from 33 employees to manage its capital while the firm seeks such strategic options as a financing, partnership, sale of the company, or sale of certain assets. Last month Panacos said that it agreed to repay $17.9 million of a $20 million loan from Hercules Technology Growth Capital and that it would consider restructuring the company, among other options.

Semprus Raises 8M Series A Round

Semprus BioSciences, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of antimicrobial coatings for medical devices, has raised $8 million in a Series A financing round, according to Mass High Tech. MHT reports that 5AM Ventures, which has an office in Waltham, MA, and Pangaea Ventures, of Vancouver, co-led the round.

Salary.com to Buy Genesys

Salary.com, the Waltham, MA-based compensation and personnel-management software firm, announced that it has agreed to acquire human resource-management software provider Genesys Software Systems, which has an office in Methuen, MA. Salary.com, which expects to close the deal by December 17, has agreed to buy the company for a total of $6.8 million in cash and stock as well as up to $2 million in additional payments to Genesys stockholders and option owners depending on how well the business performs over the 12 months after the deal closes. Full details of the buyout agreement are in this SEC filing.

Alnylam Forms UCSF Collaboration

Alnylam Pharmeceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY), a Cambridge, MA-based developer of RNA-interference (RNAi) drugs, says it has formed a collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, to explore the use of RNAi therapeutics to treat eye tumors. In previous research, scientists have found that RNAi treatments silenced a gene linked to the survival of eye tumor cells.

12/10/08

FDA Panel Votes Down Acusphere Drug

An FDA advisory panel voted 16-1 (with one panelist abstaining) against recommending approval of Watertown, MA-based Acusphere’s (NASDAQ:ACUS) heart imaging agent, citing abnormally low blood pressure and other reported side effects of perflubutane polymer microspheres (Imagify) as concerns, the AP reports. The imaging agent is intended for use in diagnosing heart disease. The FDA is not obligated to follow the guidance of the advisory panel.