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Tue. Dec. 11, 2012 SynapDx receives $6m to advance test for the early detection of autism SynapDx Corp. said Tuesday that it has received $6 million in financing to support further development of a blood-based diagnostic test for the early detection of autism spectrum disorders, or ASD. The test is designed to identify children with ASD by age 36 months. While one child in 88 is diagnosed with autism, only two in 10 are identified by age 36 months, the Southborough company said. The financing is from North Bridge Venture Partners and General Catalyst Partners.	Advertisement
Amazon.com will begin collecting taxes in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick says Amazon.com, the huge online retailer, will begin collecting Massachusetts sales tax on purchases made by Bay State customers, starting next fall, Governor Deval Patrick’s office said Tuesday. “I value the contributions large and small employers alike make to Massachusetts’ economic vitality, and this agreement captures that,” Patrick said in a statement. “We are thankful Amazon was willing to come to the table and we will continue our conversations with them about creating jobs here. This agreement is a win for all sides, and I am pleased it promises to generate millions in long-term revenue for the Commonwealth.”
Local Whole Foods to sell Brioni’s ‘Green Cup’ coffee for single-serve brewing machines Local Whole Foods supermarket customers may soon be able to brew coffee in single-serve coffee machines without enlarging their carbon footprints, claims Brioni’s Coffee Co. Single-serve coffee machines have become increasingly popular. But according to Connecticut-based Brioni’s, much of the coffee brewed in those machines comes in a single-use plastic pod that is not recyclable. For consumers who want to be environmentally friendly and well caffeinated at the same time, Brioni’s spent two years of research in developing the “Green Cup,” which it describes as a compostable coffee pod.
Pending Massachusetts home sales rose in November Pending sales for both Massachusetts single-family homes and condominiums rose in November on a year-to-year basis, the 19th straight month of such increases, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The number of single-family homes put under agreement in November was 3,866 homes, up 28.2 percent from the same month a year ago, the association said. Last month, 1,438 condos were put under agreement in the Bay State, up 28.5 percent from a year ago.
Steward HealthCare says it `unilaterally withdrew’ from talks to buy Maine hospital group An executive at Steward Health Care System told presidents of Steward’s hospitals Monday that the Boston-based chain “unilaterally withdrew” from talks to acquire Mercy Health System in Maine after concluding Mercy had misrepresented its finances. The account given in a confidential memo from Steward director of media relations Chris Murphy, obtained by the Globe, differed from a statement Steward and Mercy released jointly late Friday afternoon saying the letter of intent to merge had been terminated because the parties “were unable to come to a definitive agreement” during negotiations.
Trial begins in Dragon software battle Opening arguments began today in the case brought by two Boston technology entrepreneurs against investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, which advised them during the sale of their company to a Dutch firm that later collapsed from a massive fraud.
Iron Mountain buys three data companies Data storage and management company Iron Mountain Inc. said it bought three companies -- IG2 Data Security, Inc. in Chicago, DATAPROS Storage and Staffing LLC in Phoenix; and Data Backup Inc. in Sarasota, Fla. Iron Mountain, which is based in Boston, did not disclose terms of the deals.
JetBlue moves into new maintenance hangar JetBlue Airways celebrated its move into a new hangar at Logan International Airport on Monday, giving the airline room to service more planes and hire 30 new technical operations workers next year. The airline has gone from 57 crew members working on 10 planes a night three years ago to 118 workers servicing 33 aircraft a night now; JetBlue plans to hire an additional 30 workers next year.
Steward Health Care System’s plan to acquire Mercy Health System in Maine falls through Steward Health Care System and Mercy Health System of Portland, Maine, have terminated a letter of intent signed last August under which Boston-based Steward would have purchased the financially struggling Catholic hospital group in its first out-of-state acquisition.In a terse statement issued late Friday afternoon, Steward said it had “entered into a period of exclusive negotiations but were unable to come to a definitive agreement” with Mercy Health. “As a result,” the Steward statement said, “the letter of intent is terminated.”
US Energy Dept. allocates grants to solar energy grid project at Fraunhofer Center The Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems is in line to receive up to $11.7 million in grants from the US Department of Energy for a project that seeks to develop technologies that will enable homeowners to select the right solar system for their homes. Based in Cambridge, the Fraunhofer Center is to receive the money over a five-year period, subject to congressional appropriations. The project looks to help reduce the cost of solar power and make it easier for American families and businesses to access clean, affordable energy.
Unemployment drops, jobs increase, but slowly Employers added 146,000 jobs in November and the nation’s unemployment rate dipped to 7.7 percent, the government said Friday.
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