Author Archives: Steve Dickman
Biogen Idec Lets Stromedix Do the Hard Part
For anyone wondering about the value that can be added by entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to the drug discovery and development process, look no further than Stromedix, acquired on Feb. 14, 2012 by Biogen Idec for up to $562 million ($75 million up-front). The kicker: Stromedix acquired STX-100, its primary asset, from Biogen Idec in 2007 for well under $5 million. Talk about added value. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
“Quant” VC Correlation Ventures: VC’s New “Dream Date”
Those venture capitalists lucky enough to remain in the drastically smaller pack are constantly cruising for the perfect co-investor. Like the perfect spouse, it’s hard to imagine finding it all in one person: Quick decision. Even if it is a … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Startup Targets Sweet Spot for Consumer Health: Connecting You With Your Data
By Steve Dickman, CEO, CBT Advisors One secret to both improving consumer health and making money in healthcare IT is the feedback loop: providing a person with her own data as a way to improve compliance and performance. Once she … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Partnering360: A New Social Network Aims At Biotech – And Succeeds
We recently test-drove Partnering360, a new social network for biotech and pharma executives that meets a real need. Here we give details on what makes us think this network will succeed and describe some of the challenges to its growth. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Big Pharma Attempts to Extend Own Lifespan by Activating Sirtuins
Can drugs that supposedly “activate” a controversial target – sirtuin proteins – stop or even reverse the aging process? A new report this week said “No.” Sirtuin activators, it said, do not extend lifespan in roundworms and flies and earlier studies that said they did were flawed. Nonetheless, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into developing drugs to hit these targets Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Hacking Ourselves: “Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life” by Marcus Wohlsen
Garage biologists are busily “hacking” their own genomes and cooking up a variety of novel and potentially useful wetware inventions some of which, despite their cheap and kludgy origins, might change the world profoundly, much as mainstream biotechnology has. Is this for real? The new book “Biopunk” by Marcus Wohlsen helps to sort this out. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge
Now that the Sanofi acquisition of Genzyme is nearly done – the New York Times is reporting that it may well be announced before the Sanofi board meeting on Wednesday – we look to the aftermath. Instead of just laying off the entire R&D team – which until recently accounted for $800 million in annual spending – why not set up a corporate venture fund to save at least part of the talent base and build an even bigger bridge to the Boston biotech community?
Read the post and comment on my suggestion on Xconomy here or copy-paste the link:
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2011/02/07/how-sanofi-could-start-off-on-the-right-foot-in-cambridge/?single_page=true
Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Bugs 1, Humans 0: “Antibiotics: The Perfect Storm” by David M. Shlaes
Steve Dickman’s review of “Antibiotics: The Perfect Storm,” an entertaining book on the rise of super-resistant bacteria and industry’s inadequate attempts to combat them. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Lilly’s Big Buy of Avid Anticipates Alzheimer’s Therapies That Actually Work
In one of the highest-value acquisitions of a private, venture-backed healthcare company this year, Eli Lilly & Co. announced on Nov. 8 that it had acquired Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a Philadelphia, PA-based company with a Phase 3 imaging agent that can … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Convergence West Highlights: From iPhone Sequencing Apps to Funding Innovation in Biotech
The VCs that are still investing in biotech “are more interested in in funding innovation today than at any time in the last 15 years,” said VC Bryan Roberts of Venrock. Futuristic sequencing app: “Integrate the sequencer into your iPhone, wave it around and see the genomes of all the pathogens swirling around you all the time,” said Eric Schadt, CSO of recently IPO’d sequencing star Pacific Biosciences. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
