Category: Business conditions
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VCs Expect More Deals in 2011, but Not for Science
A survey of U.S. venture capital (VC) investors shows expectations of more investments for entrepreneurs in 2011 across all company stages from initial seed funding to later stage rounds. More VCs expect investments to increase in technology-related companies, however, rather than those based on scientific discoveries. The survey of 330 VC investors was conducted in…
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Taiwan Chip Maker to Raise R&D Nearly 40%
The Taipei Times reports today that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in Hsinchu, Taiwan plans to raise its research and development spending by 39 percent next year to NT$50 billion (US$1.63 billion), due to more aggressive competition in TSMC’s market. TSMC is the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer. At present, the company does not directly…
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Health Care Systems to Share Practices on Quality, Costs
Six health care systems in the U.S. announced today a collaboration to improve health care quality while reducing costs. Participating organizations — representing networks of hospitals, clinicians, and researchers — include Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Cleveland Clinic, Denver Health, Geisinger Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, and Mayo Clinic. The Collaborative, as it is called, promises to share data on…
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Journal Highlights African Health Innovations
A supplement to the open-access journal BMC International Health and Human Rights devotes its entire issue to health innovations in sub-Saharan Africa, which offers case studies of local initiatives. The papers, relating the experiences of projects by institutes and companies in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda provide lessons from successful…
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Rare Earths in the U.S.: More Than You Think
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an agency of the Department of the Interior, says rare earth elements in the U.S. are not all that rare. Rare earths are 16 metallic elements with similar properties that are used in the manufacture of many of high-technology applications, such as high-strength magnets, metal alloys for batteries and light-weight…
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Report: U.S. Scientific Dominance Slipping
A study from Thomson Reuters, Global Research Report: United States, released today (12 November), found that research output from the United States has been surpassed by that of Asia and Europe. The report is based on an analysis of research papers in the most influential journals, as indexed by Thomson Reuters in the Web of…
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Biotech Company Consolidates, Cuts Workforce 13%
Biogen Idec, a biotechnology company in Weston, Massachusetts, says it will focus its R&D and manufacturing efforts in the field of neurology, cutting its expenses and workforce in the process. The restructuring announced today (3 November) will mean closing its San Diego, California site, and consolidating its Massachusetts operations. The company says it will concentrate…
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Chip Sales Continue Gains in September
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports today (1 November) that semiconductor companies booked worldwide sales of $26.5 billion in September 2010, a gain of 2.9 percent from August when sales were $25.8 billion. Sales for the third quarter of 2010 came to $79.4 billion, a 6.1 percent increase compared to the second quarter when sales…
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Defense/IT Developer Expanding R&D Labs, Staffing
Dynetics, a developer of defense/aerospace and IT systems in Huntsville, Alabama said Thursday it plans to add a new R&D and prototyping facility to its current Huntsville location. The company says it expects to hire 350 new workers over three years to staff the facility, but gave no timetable for when construction work begins. The…
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Houston Biomed Incubators to Collaborate, Combine Labs
Two business incubators in Houston, Texas aimed at biomedical start up companies, have agreed to collaborate and share facilities. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and BioHouston Inc. announced an agreement yesterday that calls for greater collaboration between the organizations’ technology incubators and consolidation of services. The UTHealth incubator is known…