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• DARPA Enlists Insects in R&D Effort to Protect the Food Supply

  Farmers spend a lot of time and money trying to keep insects from damaging their crops. But the U.S. military sees some of these bugs as potential friends, not foes. A government-funded research project is studying how to use insects to... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan4/25/18

• As Telemedicine Use Booms, Doctor On Demand Raises $74M to Scale Up

  Doctor On Demand, a startup that provides telemedicine services to patients who are unable or unwilling to see a doctor in person, says it has raised a $74 million round of outside financing.

  The new cash comes as the San... Read more »

  Jeff Buchanan4/25/18

• After Facebook: Launch Seeks Social Startups With Focus on Privacy

  The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica data scandal may be the most prominent controversy the social networking company has had, but Jason Calacanis appears to call Facebook the “dark side” of social media for more reasons than that.

  Calacanis is an angel... Read more »

  David Holley4/25/18

• Next Stop, IPO? Austin’s BigCommerce Nabs $64M for Global Expansion

  Austin—BigCommerce, which sells software to allow businesses to build and run online stores, announced Wednesday that it has raised $64 million in new funding.

  The investment round was led by Goldman Sachs with participation from current investors General Catalyst, GGV... Read more »

  Angela Shah4/25/18

• Aspect Venture’s Jennifer Fonstad on Hot Areas of Tech, Diversity, & More

  Jennifer Fonstad and Theresia Gouw launched Aspect Ventures with their own money in February 2014—and have hardly looked back. “We closed our first investment that first week,” Fonstad says. The pair went on to make a number of investments that first... Read more »

  Robert Buderi4/25/18

• SMA Day: AveXis Gene Therapy Creeps Forward as Biogen Drug’s Sales Slow

  Just a few years ago, there were no drugs available for patients with the rare genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy. Now two cutting-edge therapies look headed for a commercial battle, with each data and revenue update a key moment in the... Read more »

  Ben Fidler4/25/18

• With Acorda Data, Experts Weigh the Benefits of New Parkinson’s Drugs

  Levodopa, the gold-standard medicine for Parkinson’s disease, has helped millions of patients since the 1970s manage the neurodegenerative disease.

  But there’s a caveat. Nothing is available that can slow or reverse the loss of brain cells, and what’s more, levodopa’s effects... Read more »

  Ben Fidler4/25/18

• Blockchain Gets Real? IBM Advances Projects With Walmart & Others

  For all the hype surrounding the potential for blockchain systems to transform many industries, the technology has yet to have much of an impact on businesses. But 2018 is shaping up to be a critical year for the budding sector: more... Read more »

  Jeff Engel4/25/18

• Savari Raises $12M To Connect Cars To Stoplights, Phones, Each Other

  Savari, whose technology is designed to create a shared communications web among cars, personal devices, and roadway signals, announced today it has raised $12 million in a Series B fundraising round.

  Santa Clara, CA-based Savari makes V2X technology—that is, software... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey4/24/18

• After $1.5M Series A, Upper Hand Plans to Grow Sports Management Biz

  Upper Hand, the Indianapolis startup focused on sports management software and business services, announced earlier this month that it has snagged $1.5 million in Series A funding from Houston, TX-based Park Ten Capital.

  Company co-founder and CEO Kevin MacCauley came... Read more »

  Sarah Schmid Stevenson4/24/18

• After Mishap in Fall, Madison Driverless Shuttle Demos Get Another Go

  Five months after a mishap involving a delivery truck thousands of miles away prompted the cancellation of a scheduled driverless shuttle demonstration in Madison, WI, people living in and around the city have another chance to experience the potential future of... Read more »

  Jeff Buchanan4/24/18

• With TMC3, Texas Leaders Aim to Launch Houston as Top Biotech Hub

  Houston—Texas political leaders, along with heads of the Texas Medical Center and its institutions, announced on Monday plans for a biotech-focused hub that could place Houston on the map of life sciences innovation centers.

  The TMC Translational Research campus, or... Read more »

  Angela Shah4/24/18

• Third Rock’s Cedilla Launches with $56M for Protein Stability Drugs

  As new technologies give drug developers greater insight into protein biology, more biotech and pharma companies are now emboldened to pursue what have long been dismissed as undruggable targets—the 75-85 percent of all human proteins that are beyond the reach of... Read more »

  Corie Lok4/24/18

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• Raising $56M, Revolution Medicines Drops Old Work and Turns to Cancer

  Revolution Medicines emerged three years ago to develop drugs from products found in nature and said its lead prospect would be an antifungal compound.

  Redwood City, CA-based Revolution is now focused on cancer and has raised $56 million to bring a... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan4/24/18

• FDA Panel Splits on Lilly Arthritis Drug, Backs Lower of Two Doses

  Eli Lilly said enough to convince an FDA advisory panel that its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug is effective in treating the inflammatory disorder. But on safety, the independent experts were not uniformly persuaded, and they voted to recommend approval only for... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan4/23/18

• San Antonio Healthcare Group Plans Boot Camp for Healthtech Startups

  San Antonio—A life sciences professional development and advocacy group in San Antonio, The Health Cell, is hosting a three-day boot camp for researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who want to start or join a healthtech company.

  The event is taking place... Read more »

  David Holley4/23/18

• Techstars Alexa Firms Address Settings Where Voice Is ‘Most Natural’

  Smart speakers are becoming increasingly common in our homes. Users can instruct these devices to order takeout, give the weather forecast, or turn on or off various Internet-connected devices.

  The Consumer Technology Association estimates that nearly 44 million voice-enabled assistants will... Read more »

  Angela Shah4/23/18

• Trade War Looming, 3D Printing Startup Formlabs Ups China Investment

  Formlabs sees China as one of the keys to expanding 3D printing technology’s role in manufacturing, and the Massachusetts-based startup plans to grow its business there with the help of a recent $30 million venture funding round and some new investors... Read more »

  Jeff Engel4/23/18

• Sage Postpartum Depression Drug Heads to FDA Review

  A new treatment for postpartum depression has inched closer to market.

  Sage Therapeutics this morning filed for FDA approval of brexanolone, which could become the company’s first marketed product as well as the first-ever drug approved specifically for PPD, which affects... Read more »

  Ben Fidler4/23/18

• Life Sci Veteran Garabedian Talks Up Biotech Accelerator in Texas

  San Antonio — For early stage researchers at universities and other institutions, the idea of finding enough money to bring a drug or medical device to market can seem daunting, if not entirely hopeless.

  Grants and angel networks can cover some... Read more »

  David Holley4/23/18

• Tocagen Reaches Exclusive Deal in China for Brain Cancer Therapy

  Roughly a year and a half after Tocagen (NASDAQ: TOCA) named Marty Duvall as CEO, the San Diego biotech said it has signed a deal that gives Beijing-based ApolloBio an exclusive license to its gene therapy treatment for a deadly... Read more »

  Bruce V. Bigelow4/20/18

• Using Analytics, Fitcode Aims to Connect Shoppers to Jeans That Fit

  There are few things more universal in wardrobes the world over than blue jeans. But they are also the number one item that is returned by online shoppers, says Rian Buckley, founder and CEO of Fitcode.

  “Fit is the number one... Read more »

  Angela Shah4/20/18

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• Here Are the Companies in Gener8tor’s Madison 2018 Accelerator Class

  Two companies headquartered in Florida and two others based in Gener8tor’s home state of Wisconsin are among the six startups participating in the organization’s latest for-equity accelerator program.

  Gener8tor, which invests in startups and coaches the entrepreneurs who run them,... Read more »

  Jeff Buchanan4/20/18

• Cybersecurity Innovation Is Key as Nations Move to Digital Hostilities

  As the under secretary responsible for U.S. cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration, Suzanne Spaulding was watching out for signs of vote tampering or disruptions on Nov. 8, 2016, as citizens cast their ballots for the... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey4/20/18

• Pivotal Notches $555M IPO to Boost Enterprise Software in the Cloud

  Pivotal Software is the latest to jump into an improving public market for tech companies—the San Francisco-based software business is raising $555 million in its initial public offering today.

  Pivotal said it priced 37 million shares for $15 apiece in the... Read more »

  David Holley4/20/18

• Biogen Pays $1B to Broaden Ionis Pact, Betting More on RNA Drugs

  Biogen will pay Ionis Pharmaceuticals $1 billion to expand their current partnership, doubling down on the RNA drugmaking technology that brought the spinal muscular atrophy drug nusinersen (Spinraza) to market.

  Ionis (NASDAQ: IONS) gets $325 million in cash up front... Read more »

  Ben Fidler4/20/18

• Bio Roundup: Hope for Lungs, Bradner’s Complaint, FDA Nods & More

  The biggest news this week was in oncology, hands down. Merck showed that its immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) might become a common option for many patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, but the bigger picture is that the field is moving... Read more »

  Alex Lash4/20/18

• Boston Tech Watch: Kyruus, Kolide, Nano-C, BookingBug

  Time to catch up on the latest tech headlines from the Boston area:

  —Westwood, MA-based Nano-C said it closed an $11.5 million funding round that was capped off by a $3 million investment from Ray Stata, the co-founder of Norwood, MA-based... Read more »

  Jeff Engel4/20/18

• Techstars Anywhere Inaugural Class Takes Virtual Graduation Walk

  [Corrected 4/20/09, 5:35 am. See below.] From Adelaide to Toronto, the Techstars accelerator that began in Boulder, CO, runs 39 programs in 27 cities around the world—with the prerequisite that admitted startups must relocate, if necessary, to the city... Read more »

  Bruce V. Bigelow4/19/18

• Safety Concerns Linger for Lilly’s Arthritis Drug as FDA Panel Looms

  FDA staffers have expressed significant concerns about the side effects tied to Eli Lilly’s experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib (Olumiant), which is once again up for review after the agency rejected it last year.

  Next week, a panel of independent experts... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan4/19/18

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