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Tue. Jun. 12, 2012 Liberty Mutual renews sponsorship of Boston’s Fourth of July concerts through 2015 Liberty Mutual Insurance, a Boston-based global property and casualty insurer, announced Tuesday that it will renew its sponsorship of the Boston Pops Fourth of July Fireworks display and concert through 2015. The three-year sponsorship agreement totals about $8 million. The new sponsorship agreement will preserve a 39-year tradition that offers a free concert to an estimated 500,000 people who visit the Charles River Esplanade on the Fourth of July. Liberty Mutual has been the event’s sponsor since 2005.	Advertisement Sign up to receive daily deals from Boston.com in your inbox.
Chelsea broker charged with securities violations Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin on Tuesday charged a Chelsea broker with defrauding investors of an estimated $1 million by selling them purported high-interest bonds and promising them Facebook stock.
Mass. Office of Travel & Tourism awards new ad contract to Connelly Partners Connelly Partners said Tuesday that it will continue to be the ad agency of record for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, an assignment it has held since 2008. The state tourism office, known as MOTT, periodically puts its ad business out for bid and conducts an ad agency review. Connelly Partners prevailed during a recent ad agency, and it has been awarded another contract from MOTT. The new contract has a maximum term of up to four years.
Alere recalls more heart and drug tests on manufacturing flaws Waltham-based Alere Inc. is recalling 897,000 tests used to detect heart attacks and drug use because of quality control flaws, doubling the number of products the company said should be withdrawn from the market. The 650,000 cardiology tests are used to diagnose heart attacks and manage heart failure, while 247,000 Triage Tox tests are used by hospitals to identify 11 different substances including acetaminophen, cocaine, and marijuana. Most of the products were manufactured last year, the company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Genzyme seeks approvals for MS drug Genzyme, the Cambridge biotechnology unit of French drug maker Sanofi SA, said Tuesday that it submitted applications to US and European regulators for Lemtrada, a drug candidate designed to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis. Genzyme is developing Lemtrada in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare. In a late-stage clinical trial, Lemtrada improved disability scores in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, when compared with results from an older treatment.
UK’s Xenetic Biosciences will open small drug development office in Massachusetts Xenetic Biosciences plc, a British drug company with a focus on developing treatments for rare diseases, plans to relocate its drug development operations to Massachusetts and hire up to six employees in the Bay State before the end of the year. The announcement was made jointly by the company, the office of Governor Deval Patrick, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth. Xenetic Biosciences said it expects to have about 20 Massachusetts employees by the end of 2013.
Shares of A123 Systems soar on technology news Shares of A123 Systems are jumping in premarket trading after the embattled electronic-car battery maker said it has developed new lithium ion technology capable of operating in extreme heat or cold. A123 says its Nanophosphate EXT technology is designed to significantly reduce or eliminate the need for costly heating or cooling systems. The Waltham company said it expects to begin producing battery cells that include the technology in the first half of 2013.
Health Advances expands Weston office Health Advances, a consulting firm specializing in health care strategy, is expanding the size of its corporate headquarters by more than 40 percent, said a broker involved in the lease transaction. The broker is Cassidy Turley FHO, a commercial real estate services firm with offices in Boston. Located at Nine Riverside Road in Weston, Health Advances is extending its current lease at Riverside Office Park for an additional seven years and will now occupy 31,832 square feet of space there, an increase of 9,907-square-feet, Cassidy Turley FHO said.
Pending single-family home sales rose in May, Mass. Association of Realtors says Bay State single-family homes put under agreement in May went up again for the 13th straight month on a year-to-year comparison basis, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said Tuesday. In May, 5,267 single-family homes were put under agreement, up 32 percent from the number in May 2011. May was the first month that more than 5,000 homes were put under agreement since the association started tracking pending sales data in January 2009. In a separate report, the Warren Group noted that mortgage activity is up sharply.
Tokai Pharmaceuticals gets fast-track status for prostate cancer drug candidate Tokai Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge biopharmaceutical company, said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration has granted fast-track status for its lead drug candidate, a potential treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Fast-track designation is reserved for the review of experimental drugs that treat serious or life-threatening conditions. In general, regulators spend about 10 months reviewing a drug candidate before issuing a decision. Getting fast-track status means that Tokai could get a decision in six months.
Developer pitches new design for Filene’s site A glass skyscraper at the former Filene’s department store in Boston would rise to 606 feet under a plan released Monday that calls for a dramatic new peak on the city’s downtown skyline with offices, stores, and 500 homes. The new design by Millennium Partners calls for a taller and more slender version of the building previously proposed by Vornado Realty Trust and Boston developer John B. Hynes III. That building failed to move forward due to financial problems, leading Millennium to buy into the project earier this year.
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