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Tue. Jun. 19, 2012 Mass Eye and Ear proposal would realign Storrow Drive, build park over garage The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is set to unveil a bold proposal next week that would reshape a twisting section of Storrow Drive and create new parkland on what are now parking lots.	Advertisement
Alnylam gets orphan status for drug candidate CAMBRIDGE — Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it received special regulatory incentives for a drug designed to treat a potentially fatal neurodegenerative disease. Alnylam said its drug candidate ALN-TTR02 received orphan drug status. That means if Alnylam’s drug is approved, competing products won’t be allowed on the market for up to seven years. The Food and Drug Administration grants orphan drug status to therapies that could treat diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US.
Bedford’s iRobot unveils $700 vacuum-cleaning Roomba Bedford’s iRobot Corp. said Tuesday that it is beefing up its line-up of vacuum-cleaning robots with a $699.99 model called the iRobot Roomba 790. The new model includes a redesigned faceplate, room-to-room navigation features, and a wireless command center that allows the user to control various cleaning tasks and functions from virtually anywhere in the home.
Mainstream media barred from attending BIO keynote featuring former treasury secretaries Paulson, Rubin The Biotechnology Industry Organization has banned mainstream media from covering Tuesday’s keynote luncheon at its annual convention in Boston featuring a discussion between former US Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson Jr. and Robert Rubin. BIO is allowing trade press to cover the event, and a BIO spokesman said that media access is determined on a case by case basis. BIO chief executive Jim Greenwood is slated to moderate a conversation between the two former US officials on global economic challenges.
Mass. officials unveil research study on throat cancer at the Biotechnology Industry Organization conference Boosting the state’s international partnerships, Massachusetts officials Tuesday unveiled a multinational research study on throat cancer and a joint US-EU connected health conference set for Boston in October. State Senate president Therese Murray, a Democrat from Plymouth, made the announcement in the Massachusetts Pavilion at the Biotechnology Industry Organization convention in Boston. The research collaboration, which will be led by Dr. Ramon Franco of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, will include doctors and scientists from Finland, Northern Ireland, and the Catalonia region of Spain.
SeaChange buys assets of small Oregon firm SeaChange International Inc., an Acton-based provider of digital video systems, said Tuesday that it has purchased all assets and intellectual property from Flashlight Engineering and Consulting LLC, a small Oregon company specializing in designing and writing software for digital TVs and set-top boxes. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. SeaChange is looking to broaden its reach as Internet protocol TV, or IPTV, becomes more pervasive and consumers want video content on multiple screens, including their smartphones. This transaction aims to push that strategy forward.
Heartland renames itself Rethink Robotics, adds $30m to its coffers Heartland Robotics is announcing a big new funding round today — $30 million — and changing its name in advance of its first product launch. The Boston company will now be known as Rethink Robotics.
Mass. nuclear plant, union, reach contract deal Management at the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth and unionized workers have reached a tentative contract agreement. The Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 announced the agreement early Tuesday morning. Union membership is schedule to vote on the proposal Wednesday. Union president Dan Hurley said in a statement that the contract ‘‘has important protections’’ for the workers. Entergy executive Robert Smith called the four-year labor contract ‘‘fair and equitable.’’ No details were released. Contract negotiations had stalled over health care costs and working conditions.
Intel Capital leads Sand 9 Series C investment of $23m Sand 9 Inc., a Cambridge technology company developing precision timing products for wireless and wired applications, announced Tuesday that it has raised a total of $23 million in its Series C financing round led by Intel Capital with significant participation from Vulcan Capital. Intel Capital and Vulcan Capital join existing investors Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, General Catalyst Partners, Khosla Ventures, and CSR in the round.
Sonus Networks agrees to buy Network Equipment Technologies in deal valued at $42m Sonus Networks Inc., a Westford company that makes Internet network hardware and software, said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Network Equipment Technologies in a transaction valued at $42 million. California-based Network Equipment Technologies provides enterprise-class networking solutions in the field of unified communications. So-called unified communications systems tie together e-mail, phones, and other tools over Internet networks. Sonus is looking to transition its focus to cloud-based unified communications, and it said that this proposed acquisition is consistent with that strategy.
Crunch Brand Communications changes its name to Crunch Brands Crunch Brand Communications, a Boston marketing firm, said it is changing its name to “Crunch Brands.” In a statement, agency founder and creative director Ted Schlueter said: “Crunch Brands more succinctly captures what we do. We take brands apart and re-build them stronger.” Agency clients include Sperry Top-Sider, New Balance, and the Pan-Mass Challenge.
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