Life-science briefing: Tuesday, April 1, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Oxford NanoLabs takes in £10M for sequencing tech (PDF release)
Alure Medical raises $4.5M for plastic-surgery implants (release)
Bone-disease biotech Therosteon spins out of research institute, raises funds (PDF release)
Genome-analysis toolmaker BioTrove files for $75M IPO (Edgar)
RNAi developer Tekmira acquires Protiva, ends litigation (release)
Oxford NanoLabs takes in £10M for sequencing tech – U.K. based Oxford NanoLabs, yet another startup developing high-speed genome-sequencing technology, raised £10 million in a new funding round. The company said only that its… Continue Reading
Fast, cheap gene-scanner BioNanomatrix gets $5M
BioNanomatrix, a Philadelphia developer of genome-analysis systems, raised $5.1 million in a first funding round. Investors included Battelle Ventures, Innovation Valley Partners, KT Venture Group, Ben Franklin Technology Partners and21Ventures.
BioNanomatrix is developing a single-molecule imaging and analysis system that the startup says is ideal for reading DNA sequences. The startup still isn’t divulging many details about its system, although the Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that the company’s “nanofluidics” technology could potentially read all three billion bases from a single DNA molecule without chopping it… Continue Reading
Q&A with MDV’s Bill Ericson: On PacBio’s origin, why Gattaca isn’t our future, and throwing out your statins
Bill Ericson doesn’t see much cause for pessimism about the dawning Genomic Age. The Mohr Davidow Ventures partner, who’s helped resuscitate the firm’s life-science practice since he came aboard in 2000, believes the widespread dissemination of genetic information will be a virtually unalloyed good, opening up a wealth of opportunities for more effective medicine, lower healthcare costs and individual empowerment — not to mention investment opportunities for those prescient enough to seize them. (See here… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008
TODAY’S HEADLINES:
Metabolic-disease biotech NGM Biopharma raises $25M (peHUB)
Heart, HIV drug maker Numerate acquires assets of Pharmix (release)
Next-gen sequencer VisiGen promises $1,000 genome by late 2009 (Genome Technology)
CalciMedica raises $5.5M for autoimmune drugs (VentureWire)
Cancer-drug e-marketplace OneOncology raises funds (release)
U.K. biotech Hunter-Fleming acquired by Newron for €8M (release)
Intertek acquires Ireland’s Bioclin Labs, a contract research organization (release)
Metabolic-disease biotech NGM Biopharma raises $25M – South San Francisco-based NGM Biopharmaceuticals (Web site under construction), a biotech developing new drugs for… Continue Reading
Pacific Bio, yet another contender for the $1,000 genome
More than a half-dozen startups and established companies are in hot pursuit of the “$1,000 genome,” a Holy Grail for those who believe fast, cheap genome sequencing will revolutionize medicine. The latest is Pacific Biosciences, a formerly secretive Menlo Park, Calif., company that just spilled its guts to the NYT over the weekend. We take a look at the company, its technology and the competitive landscape in this piece over at VentureBeat Life Sciences.
Pacific Bio lifts the veil on its high-speed genome-sequencing effort
Competition to analyze human genomes faster and cheaper — a subject I’ve discussed at length here and here — keeps heating up. The latest shot came yesterday, when Menlo Park, Calif.-based Pacific Biosciences granted the NYT an exclusive look at technology it says should eventually make it possible to sequence a genome in just a few minutes for under $1,000.
Although the “$1,000 genome” is a purely arbitrary goal, it’s become a Holy Grail of sorts… Continue Reading
Intelligent Bio-Systems stakes out new ground in the gene race — a $5,000 genome by late next year
The cost of sequencing human genomes is dropping steadily, from several hundred million dollars a decade ago to $100,000 or so today, thanks to a bevy of entrepreneurial companies that have attacked the problem of making the process faster and cheaper with gusto. We’ve looked at several of the newer upstarts in the field, most recently Complete Genomics and Bionanomatrix, Genome Corp. (seventh item), and Genomic Diagnostics (fourth item).
Now another startup is preparing to establish… Continue Reading
Complete Genomics and BioNanomatrix rev up the fast, cheap and out-of-control genome race
Things are starting to get crowded in the race to sequence entire human genomes quickly and relatively cheaply — usually meaning somewhere in the territory of $1,000 per genome, compared to the $100,000+ it costs with current technology. At least four startups have taken on the $1,000 genome challenge, two of which have already been acquired by larger companies. (See details at the end of the first item here.)
Last week, two relatively new venture-backed startups… Continue Reading