Genentech chairman Levinson leaves Google board, stays with Apple
A dry press release from Google this morning announced the effective-immediately departure of Genentech chairman Arthur Levinson from Google’s board of directors. Levinson remains on Apple’s board of directors, from which Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned in August.
Schmidt’s resignation leaves only climate change activist Al Gore with overlapping roles between the two companies. Gore sits on Apple’s board of directors and also serves as an advisor to Google. But Levinson’s resignation hasn’t stopped the Federal… Continue Reading
Justice Dept. investigates possible hiring pact between Google, Apple, Yahoo, others
The Justice Department is reportedly investigating major tech companies for possibly violating antitrust laws with their hiring practices. The department sent “civil investigative demands” (written requests for documents and information) to at least a dozen tech companies, including Google, Apple, Yahoo, and biotech company Genentech. The question is, have some of these companies agreed not to recruit each other’s employees?
Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney, who was confirmed to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division in… Continue Reading
23andMe gets $11M boost to decode your DNA
23andMe, the company that deciphers consumers’ genomes for them, has raised $11 million of an anticipated $24.26 million second round of capital. The company was cofounded by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The firm didn’t disclose its recent investors, but peHub noted this morning that venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures has just divested from the company. While MDV first acquired shares in 23andMe, it sold them back to the company 18 months… Continue Reading
Roundup: PG&E installs smart meters, Stewart cows Cramer, the market seesaws and more
MySpace Events get an upgrade — The network’s new event invite system takes more advantage of users’ social circles. TechCrunch has more.
PG&E smart meters get the green light — The utility will spend $467 million in taxpayer money to install the meters in California homes. The San Jose Mercury News has the story.
Student VC firms feel the burn — The downturn has dried up cash for small university-based venture firms run by students, just like their professional counterparts,… Continue Reading
Zombie patents and their toll on the healthcare system
Patents generally have a fixed lifetime, but some can linger on like zombies, thanks to clever lawyering that extends their life unnaturally.
Zombies’ cost to the healthcare system can be significant. Genentech’s Cabilly patent, for instance, should have expired in 2006, but instead stands to cost buyers of antibody drugs $1 billion or more over the next decade. We have the skinny over at VentureBeat Life Sciences.
Zombie patents — they cost the healthcare system billions, but just won’t die
I’ve been generally unsympathetic to laments that biotech and medical-device companies will suffer if U.S. patent law is reformed, and that has a lot to do with some of the grotesque but legal patent abuses biopharma companies have perpetrated over the years in order to lock out competition for as long as possible. While Big Pharma has almost certainly been the biggest offender along these lines, Big Biotech has plenty to answer for as well.
Which… Continue Reading
Genentech takes a step back from the dark side, delays Avastin restrictions
(UPDATED: See below.)
Almost two weeks ago, Genentech angered doctors and elderly patients when it announced plans to restrict access to Avastin, a cancer drug that doubles as an unapproved, but quite inexpensive, treatment for eye disease. In those conditions, which can lead to encroaching blindness when left untreated, Avastin competes with a much more costly Genentech drug called Lucentis. (For background and our take on the situation, click here.)
Now the giant biotech appears to be taking… Continue Reading
Genentech, and the temptation of the dark side
Committing your biotechnology giant to “the best interests of patients,” as Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson does on its his company’s Web page, is certainly a fine sentiment.
But what if you restrict use of a drug used by many elderly individuals to ward off encroaching blindness? That’s what Genentech did last week, when it announced new limitations on the distribution of its cancer drug Avastin. That drug is a certifiable hit — and dirt cheap —… Continue Reading
The temptation of the dark side: Genentech, Avastin and macular degeneration
(UPDATED: See below.)
Committing your biotechnology giant to “the best interests of patients [and] the medical profession,” as Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson does on its his company’s Web page, is certainly a fine sentiment. When you subsequently decide to restrict use of a drug used by many elderly individuals to ward off encroaching blindness, however, you probably shouldn’t be surprised if people begin wondering whether that commitment is anything more than an empty slogan.
Restricting access to such… Continue Reading
Personalized medicine takes a (tiny) step forward
(UPDATED: See below.)
For at least a decade, biotech futurists have been predicting that the genomics revolution will lead to medical treatments tailored to the genetic quirks of individuals. And for at least as long, we’ve all been waiting for evidence that this “personalized medicine” revolution is coming to pass.
On Monday, the field took a baby step forward when the FDA approved Selzentry, a new AIDS drug from Pfizer. Selzentry is unique in a number of ways… Continue Reading
Google invests in biotech company, 23andme, to form genetic database
Updated
In one of the more eye-opening investment moves we’ve seen lately, Google has invested $3.9 million into a biotech company run by Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s new wife.
VentureBeat’s life sciences blogger, David Hamilton, who formerly covered biotech for the WSJ, has done some digging and has the full story (see here).
Called 23andme, the Mountain View, Calif. company is run by Anne Wojcicki. It lets people take DNA tests to find out about themselves, and even… Continue Reading
Google, Genentech fund personal-genetics startup 23andMe
(UPDATED: see below.) 23andMe, a stealthy Mountain View, Calif., “personal genetics” startup, has raised a first round of funding from some heavy hitters — Google, Genentech and two blue-chip VC firms, Mohr Davidow Ventures and New Enterprise Associates.
That’s some significant megatonnage for a low-profile and potentially controversial startup, although it all starts to make sense once you realize that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is newly married to 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki. In addition, Genentech CEO Art… Continue Reading
Noxxon Pharma draws $50M for aptamer drugs
Noxxon Pharma, a Berlin-based biotech, raised 37 million euros ($50 million) to help push its first aptamer-based drug candidates for kidney and eye disease into clinical trials.
The main new investors included TVM Capital, Sofinnova Partners, and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Aptamers are short stretches of DNA or RNA — generally known as oligonucleotides — that are designed specifically via an evolution-style process to latch onto a specific protein or other biological target. Because their drug… Continue Reading
Intradigm, a gene targeting co., raises $16M
Intradigm, a Palo Alto biotech company that is using a technology called “RNA interference” (RNAi) to target genes while providing oncology medical treatments, has raised $16 million in a first round of funding.
It has also moved to Palo Alto, from Rockville, Maryland, driven by the need for better research and development talent, it said.
The round, which occurred in May 2006 was co-led by Alta
Partners and Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Existing investors Emerging Technology Partners (ETP) and… Continue Reading