Fast gene sequencing in two years? Investors bet $100M on Pacific BioSciences making it happen

Fast gene sequencing in two years? Investors bet $100M on Pacific BioSciences making it happen

Representing a potential medical quantum leap similar to, but even more important than the commercialization of X-ray imaging, Pacific BioSciences has taken a whopping $100 million to make it possible to affordably map out an individual’s entire genome in a matter of minutes, and for… Continue Reading

Cardio drug maker Portola Pharmaceuticals takes $60M extension

San Francisco-based drug company Portola Pharmaceuticals has taken a $60 million extension to its third round of funding to see it through Phase II trials for betrixaban, a drug intended to prevent blood clots.

The company is also working on an antiplatelet agent called PRT060128. If… Continue Reading

ConSentry, raises $21M for a switch to rival Cisco

ConSentry, raises $21M for a switch to rival Cisco

ConSentry, a Silicon Valley startup that says its Internet network switches are more efficient than those of giant incumbent Cisco, has raised a $21 million round of funding.

Switches are components that route traffic from through the wider Internet network.

However, large corporations that buy switches to… Continue Reading

Cardiovascular biotech Portola Pharmaceuticals raises $70M, eyes IPO

Portola Pharmaceuticals, a South San Francisco, Calif., biotech aiming to develop treatments for blood clots and other heart-related problems, raised $70 million in a third round of financing dominated by late-stage and public-market investors.

Among new investors in the round were Brookside Capital; AllianceBernstein; Teachers’ Private… Continue Reading

Ketera, on-demand spend company, raises $14 million from “Coattail Ventures” and others

Ketera, a Santa Clara company that provides online software to give companies insight into the purchases they’re making, has raised $14 million more in financing.

The company called it a “mezzanine” round, suggesting it is the last round before the company gets sold or goes public…. Continue Reading