Thursday, February 3, 2011Glaukos Raises $29.5MLaguna Hills-based Glaukos, which is developing a medical device for the treatment of glaucoma, has raised $29.5M in a Series E round, the firm confirmed Thursday. According to Richard Harrison, the firm's CFO, the funding was led by Meritech Capital Partners, which contributed $16M of the round, and also included all prior investors, including Domain Associates, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Interwest Partners, Montreux Equity Partners, Orbimed Advisors, and Versant Ventures. The Glaukos managem (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: Fifteen things investment bankers won't tell youFor today's Insights and Opinions section, we have an article from Megan Lisa Jones, an investment banker, on the Fifteen things investment bankers won't tell you.
1. They don't like your company; no reason for us to say such a thing. Better to maintain the relationship and see how a company evolves.
2. That they don't like your sector; ditto from number one. The criticism also isn't constructive. You obviously do like the sector and are committing part of your life to it. Why wreck yo (More info...)
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Hulu Gears Up For Super Bowl Commercial SeasonLos Angeles-based video streaming site Hulu said this week that it is again featuring advertisements from the Super Bowl, and will be posting the commercials from Super Bowl XLV immediately after they are aired. The firm said the commercials will be posted on its Hulu AdZone, a special section of the firm's site, which also features the ads from last year, voting features, and social sharing tools.
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Geni Hints At iPhone AppLos Angeles-based Geni.com, the online family tree site, hinted this morning that it is about to release an iPhone application for the service. In a post on its blog, Geni said it was working on the "Next Stage of Genealogy" and showed a brief YouTube video with what appeared to be a Geni application running on an iPhone. No details on the app or release have been otherwise announced by the company. Base on discussions on Geni's online user forums, users of the site have been asking for an app f (More info...)
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Somaxon Sues Another Competitor Over PatentSan Diego-based Somaxon Pharmaceuticals has sued a competitor, which is looking to market a generic version of its Silenor insomnia drug. According to a legal filing files in the Delaware District Court, Somaxon is suing Par Pharmaceutical and related Par Pharmaceutical Companies over its patents. Somaxon is also suing Actavis and Mylan over their own efforts to create a generic of Silenor, and sued those firms in December.
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Buy.com Buys Social Shopping Firm DecisionStepAliso Viejo-based Buy.com has jumped into the social shopping arena, saying this morning that it has acquired DecisionStep, the developer of ShopTogether, a social shopping platform which allows users to shop together in real time. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. DecisionStep was originally headquartered in Maryland, however, wil be relocating its team to Buy.com's Aliso Viejo campus. ShopTogether allows users to shop together, make recommendations of products, chat via em (More info...)
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Outbox Enterprises Takes On Electronic Ticketing, Backed by AEGAEG, Cirque du Soleil, and Outbox Technology said this morning that they have launched a new, electronic ticketing joint venture, Outbox Enterprises. The firm said it will be jointly run by Jean-Francoys Brousseau, owner of Outbox Technology, and former Ticketmaster CEO Frederic D. Rosen. The firms said the new joint venture will allow live entertainment and sporting event venues to sell tickets to consumers from their websites, specifically cutting out ticketing "middle man". Financial details (More info...)
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THQ Launches UFC Facebook GameAgoura Hills-based videogame maker THQ said this morning that it has launched a new, UFC-themed Facebook game. THQ said it has tied with Zuffa, LLC to launch UFC Undisputed Fight Nation, a Facebook game based on the mixed martial arts organization the Ultimate Fighting Championship. THQ said the new game allows players to train in virtual mixed martial arts, and compete against current UFC fighters for career milestones and points. Zuffa produces the Ultimate Fighting Championship live events. T (More info...)
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Active Storage Adds ExecTorrance-based Active Storage, which develops data storage products for the Apple and other markets, said Wednesday that it has named Jeff Lowe as Senior Director of Strategic Market Development. Lowe is the former managing director for Media & Broadcast Technology at NASCAR Media Group. Lowe also previously was at Apple for nearly a decade. Active Storage is led by ex-Apple executives, and backed by Intel Capital, Mission Ventures, and Valhalla Partners.
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CareFusion Sells Distribution Business For $130MSan Diego-based CareFusion, which develops medical products such as pumps, ventilators, patient identification systems, and more, said this morning that it is selling its CareFusion International Surgical Products (ISP) business to Medline, for $130M. The firm's ISP business is based in Rolle, Switzerland, and has over 850 employees. CareFusion said that business has sales of approximately $440M annually. The firm said the sale allows it to fucs on growth opportunities outside the United States (More info...)
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Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Names VPSan Diego-based Somaxon Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has appointed Robert Cutler as Vice President Business Development. Cutler was most recently at Biogen Idec, having served as Senior Director Business Development, as well as Associate General Counsel. Cutler also previously was in private legal practice helping life science clients with capital raising and strategic transactions.
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