Jared Whitlock
Reporter
Phone: 858-634-4636 Extension: 3130
Recent Stories
Carlsmed Merges with Precisive Surgical
Carlsmed and Precisive Surgical are merging to develop personalized devices for spine surgery.
Financial Results ‘Disappoint’ Illumina, It Now Expects FY Revenue Growth of 6%
CEO Calls the Preliminary Results Transitory
Illumina analysts are still bullish on the company after a lowered revenue estimate prompted a stock sell-off.
Palomar, Graybill Medical Look at Possible Pact
HEALTH: Affiliations Seen As Way to Cut Costs, Avoid Duplications
Palomar Health wants to deepen ties with a decades-old private physician group in a bid to control costs and closely coordinate patient care.
Scripps Research Leading International Partnership For HIV Vaccine
NIH Division Will Provide Grant of $129 Million
An international partnership led by Scripps Research on July 10 pulled in a $129 million grant to bring a potential HIV vaccination into clinical testing.
These San Diego Biotechs Fell Hard, But Managed to Bounce Back
Biotechs recover momentum after being written off
Once pegged as goners, San Diego life sciences companies like Neurocrine, Arena Pharmaceuticals and Tandem Diabetes Care made comebacks. Their stories shed light on how to weather an industry in which companies expand and contract like an accordion based on clinical trial results.
Palomar, Graybill Medical Look at Possible Affliation
Graybill Medical Group and Palomar recently agreed to negotiate a formal affiliation agreement, a move that Palomar says isn’t so much about competition but nonetheless could ripple through North County’s health-care landscape.
Illumina Expands Startup Accelerator Program to the U.K.
An Illumina program that mentors and invests in early-stage genomics companies is expanding to the U.K.
Startups Claim Slice of a Changing Medical Device Market
HEALTH: $800 Billion Market Is Expected By 2030
The news coming out of San Diego’s medical device scene usually centers on the big dogs: Dexcom, ResMed and Nuvasive.
Alliance Healthcare Foundation Hires New Executive Director
Sarah Lyman has been hired as the executive director of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants to nonprofits that boost health care access for those in need.
Cradle Genomics Lands $17.1M Series A Round for Prenatal Testing
A startup led by former Illumina executives that wants to advance prenatal testing recently landed a $17.1 million series A round.
Trefoil Therapeutics Secures $28M Series A Round
San Diego biotech Trefoil Therapeutics recently brought in a $28 million series A round for work on vision diseases.
Analysts Stick By Illumina After Stock Sell-Off
Illumina analysts are still bullish on the company after a lowered revenue estimate prompted a stock sell-off.
StemoniX’s Growth Pushes It Into New Larger Facility
Its microOrgan Platform Provides More Human-Like Testing Opportunities
StemoniX — a San Diego biotech that grows micro organs from stem cells for drug testing — moved into a larger research facility this month.
UC Board of Regents To Receive $50M in Settlement From USC
It Was Alleged That School Poached Research Program; USC Admits Ethics Lapses
The University of Southern California will pay UC San Diego $50 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged USC improperly commandeered an Alzheimer’s
Parkinson’s Disease Drug from Neurocrine Accepted for U.S. Review
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will consider giving marketing approval to Neurocrine Biosciences’ drug for Parkinson’s disease.
Illumina Shares Fall on Lower Revenue Expectations
Illumina’s stock fell 16% in after-hours trading after the company reduced its revenue expectations for the second quarter and the rest of 2019.
Scripps-Led Effort Receives $129M Grant for HIV Vaccine
An international partnership led by Scripps Research on July 10 pulled in a $129 million grant to bring a potential HIV vaccination into clinical testing.
Ra Medical Addresses Manufacturing Issues
BIOTECH: Legal Battle Is Ahead For Company
After a $66.3 million initial public offering in September of 2018, Ra Medical Systems has tumbled.
Dementia Work Earns Bioengineer Recognition
Hsu Expands Gene Editing To RNA
A bioengineer at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies who is redirecting gene-editing technology to target dementia has been named toMIT Technology Review’s annual list of Innovators Under 35.
Conditions Improve for Proton Therapy Center
Facility Sees Uptick in Patients, Evolving Insurance Status
San Diego’s only proton therapy center has reported higher patient volumes following a campaign to reach more oncology practices and insurers slowly coming around to the cancer treatment.
Prometheus Laboratories Acquired, Set to Lay off 72 Employees
San Diego subsidiary Prometheus Laboratories is slated to lay off 72 workers after being acquired by local company Precision IBD.
Mirati Therapeutics Raises $234.3M in Public Stock Offering
Funds to Advance Lung Cancer Drug And Other Programs
Mirati Therapeutics Inc. has fresh funding to push its pipeline forward.
Conditions Improve for Proton Therapy
health: Facility Sees Uptick in Patients, Evolving Insurance Status
San Diego’s only proton therapy center has reported higher patient volumes following a campaign to reach more oncology practices and insurers slowly coming around to the cancer treatment.
Binational Care Deal Failed To Materialize
SIMNSA Had Tapped Scripps as a Consultant
Scripps Health is no longer partnering on a Mexican hospital geared toward cross-border care.
Progenity Partners with Hospital to Develop Preterm Birth Test
San Diego-based Progenity is partnering with NYU Winthrop Hospital to develop a test to determine the risk of preterm birth.
Immunicom Takes in $11M Series B Round
San Diego’s Immunicom captured an $11 million series B round to fund clinical testing of its device for cancer.
Medical Staffing Cos. Prepare for Changes
MEDICINE: Cos. Add Value, Still Expect Market Demand
San Diego companies that supply temporary nurses and physicians pushed back on a recent report predicting tougher days ahead for the industry.
Acutus Medical Brings in $170 Million
Co. Has $100M Series D, Takes $70M in Credit, VC Total to Date Is $308.2M
Acutus Medical— maker of 3-D imaging technology for heart procedures —netted $170 million June 20.
Conatus Appears To Be Out of the Race For NASH Therapeutic
Other Local, National Companies Still Pursuing A Potential $35B Market
Add Conatus Pharmaceuticals to a list of biotechs that failed in advanced liver disease. But other San Diego firms may crack the code yet.
County to Negotiate On Hospital Solutions for New Psychiatric Care
$14 Million Proposal For Tri-City Facility Is Dropped
San Diego hospitals lose millions annually in psychiatric services. Against that backdrop, where do their financial obligations in behavioral health begin and end?
County to Negotiate On Solutions for New Psychiatric Care
$14 Million Proposal For Tri-City Facility Is Dropped
San Diego hospitals lose millions annually in psychiatric services. Against that backdrop, where do their financial obligations in behavioral health begin and end?
Mirati Therapeutics Charts $203M Stock Offering
Mirati Therapeutics plans to raise to $203.7 million in a public stock offering, the company announced June 25.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals to Restructure, Lay off Employees
Liver drug developer Conatus Pharmaceuticals will cut its staff by 40% and explore “strategic alternatives,” the company said June 24.
UK Agency Asks Illumina and Pacific to Address Its Concerns
Failure of Merging Cos to Comply Would Result In a More In-Depth Analysis
A U.K. competition watchdog said on June 18 that Illumina’s planned $1.2 billion acquisition of Pacific Biosciences raises anti-competitive concerns, at a minimum delaying the deal.
Oska Wellness Takes in $5.5M Seed Round
Oska Wellness — maker of a portable device that’s pitched as a drug-free alternative for pain management – raised $5.5 million in seed funding.
Kura Gets Promising Results in Mid-Stage Clinical Trial
Co. Expects to Close $100M Public Offering to Support Oncology Therapeutic
Kura Oncology’s lead drug generated promising results in mid-stage clinical trial, the company recently said.
Kroger Deal Expands CV Sciences’ Retail Presence
CV’s CEO Says Deal Will Boost Acceptance Of CBD Products
CBD is no longer relegated to coffee shops and health food stores.
Acutus Medical Lands $170M Financing
Acutus Medical – maker of 3-D imaging technology for heart procedures – on June 20 netted $170 million.
Element Biosciences Emerges with $15M Round
Element Biosciences, another San Diego startup led by ex-Illumina talent, raised $15 million in a series A round.
UK Agency Says Illumina-Pacific Biosciences Deal Raises Concerns
A U.K. competition watchdog said on June 18 that Illumina’s planned $1.2 billion acquisition of Pacific Biosciences raises anti-competitive concerns, at a minimum delaying the deal.
Arcturus Nets $30M in Expanded Collaboration with Ultragenyx
Ultragenyx paid San Diego’s Arcturus Therapeutics $6 million in cash and is poised to invest $24 million in the company following an expanded research agreement.
MappBio Awarded $16.5 Million For Work on Ebola-Like Viruses
BIOTECH: Antibody Was Isolated in Lab
MappBio — a once-little known San Diego biotech that captured worldwide interest with experimental drugs for Ebola and other viruses — landed another big contract.
Tech Startups Tackle Mental Health Care
HEALTH CARE: Reimbursement Codes Open Door for Revenue
The mental health system is often called broken or fragmented. That’s created an opening for San Diego tech companies.
Illumina Prevails in Patent Lawsuit Against Ariosa Diagnostics
A U.K. court today ruled that Roche subsidiary Ariosa Diagnostics infringed on an Illumina prenatal testing patent, the latest in the legal saga between the two companies.
CV Sciences Inks Distribution Deal with Kroger
CV Sciences’ CBD oil will be sold in 945 Kroger-owned stores across 17 states, it was recently announced.
Synthorx, Equillium And Turning Point Discuss IPOs
Investors Said Going Public Would Bring Increase in Investments
For biotechs, what’s the path to an initial public offering like? The CEOs of San Diego companies that took the IPO plunge weighed in on this question and others during a recent Biocom panel.
Ionis Appoints Joan Herman to its Board
Joan Herman was recently named to the board of Carlsbad’s Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
Promising Results Boost Share Price of La Jolla Pharma
No New Treatments for Targeted Condition in More Than a Decade
La Jolla Pharmaceutical’s stock recently jumped after its drug candidate for regulating iron overload showed promise in preliminary clinical trial results.
Reverse Merger To Support Co.’s Cancer Candidates
Oncternal Retains CEO, Will Remain In San Diego
On the heels of auspicious clinical trial results, San Diego-based Oncternal Therapeutics completed a reverse merger with Tennessee’s GTx, it was announced June 10.
Vical to Merge With Colo.-Based Brickell Biotech
Co.to Operate as Brickell, Focus on Skin Conditions
After pulling the plug on a herpes vaccine program, San Diego-based Vical is set to merge with Colorado’s Brickell Biotech in an all-stock deal.
Prev Next