Avalon Ventures

Avalon Ventures’ Kevin Kinsella Sees a Way Through the Recession

May 1st, 2009

By Juha-Pekka Tikka

XCONOMY – San Diego’s Avalon Ventures is among a handful of homegrown VC firms that remains an active investor in early stage companies in the region, even though overall venture funding is anemic right now. But Avalon founder Kevin Kinsella sees a healthy resurgence of venture activities—and even some IPOs on the horizon. “The situation is what it is,” Kinsella tells me, “but we continue to see opportunities in venture capital.” (more…)

How ‘Jersey Boys’ Became One Of A VC’s Best Investments

April 29th, 2009

By Lorie Konish

WSJ Blogs – After seeing a rehearsal for a new musical in La Jolla, Calif., in October 2004, venture capitalist Kevin Kinsella came away with one conclusion: He had to invest in it. (more…)

Amira’s Drug Discovery Team, Pioneers of Hit Asthma Treatment, Take Aim at Pulmonary Fibrosis

March 18th, 2009

By Luke Timmerman

People with pulmonary fibrosis have a pretty raw deal. Scientists don’t really know what causes this lung-damaging disease, and there’s no really effective FDA-approved treatment. The disease makes it hard to breathe, and kills an estimated 40,000 people a year. That’s a bigger killer than some far better known culprits like prostate cancer. (more…)

Online Behavioral Targeting Pioneer Turns To TV

March 6th, 2009

By Joe Mandese

MEDIA DAILY NEWS Dave Morgan, one of the pioneers of so-called “behavioral targeting” in online media, has shifted his focus to Madison Avenue’s 800-pound gorilla, television. Morgan, who founded behavioral targeting firm Tacoda, and ultimately sold it to Time Warner’s AOL unit, has launched Simulmedia, a company he says will focus on helping TV programmers improve their audience ratings by “lifting the effectiveness” of their promo spots and tune-in advertising. (more…)

Otonomy Tunes in to Biotech’s Sound Opportunity: Diseases of the Ear

March 6th, 2009

By Luke Timmerman

XCONOMY Driving down Prospect Street in La Jolla one day in January 2008, Jay Lichter got so dizzy he had to pull over. After a stop in the ER, he ended up in the office of Jeff Harris, the chief of ear, nose, and throat surgery at the UC San Diego. The diagnosis: Meniere’s (Men-yay’s) disease, an inner ear fluid imbalance that leads to episodes of severe dizziness, vertigo, and gradual hearing loss. (more…)

Dave Morgan to Launch Simulmedia, A New Company That Will Improve Impact of TV Program Promotions

March 5th, 2009

Gets Early Funding from Avalon Ventures and Union Square Ventures

NEW YORK (March 5, 2009) Dave Morgan, who founded, developed and sold TACODA and Real Media today announced that he will launch a new company outside of the Internet industry. His new venture, Simulmedia, will help television companies improve ratings by lifting the effectiveness of their tune-in programming spots. (more…)

Social Games: Interview With The CEO Of Zynga

February 24th, 2009

By Atul Bagga
Think Entertainment: Gaming   [ View as PDF ]

THINK SUMMARY: We had a chance to interview Mark Pincus, the CEO and Founder of Zynga, one of the leading social gaming companies, with about 20 games across seven social networks and 30 million monthly unique users. We believe that social gaming companies such as Zynga will benefit from the viral distribution, high reach, and continued growth of social networking sites. In addition, we believe that the Generation Y’s comfort level with Internet and virtual worlds could drive spending on virtual goods, which could benefit online gaming companies such as Zynga that are trying to monetize users through virtual goods model. (more…)

Carolus Therapeutics Wants to be King of Cytokine Targeting

January 20th, 2009

By Anette Breindl
Science Editor

Their company may be young and, for the time being, mainly virtual, but the folks at Carolus Therapeutics do not shy away from thinking big. It’s named after Carolus Magnus, or Charlemagne, who in the first century A.D. founded an empire that eventually encompassed much of Europe. Carolus’ scientific co-founders are located in Aachen, Germany, the main residence of the original Carolus. The company’s business operations are in the New World, and headquartered in San Diego. Carolus was founded in 2007 with seed funding from Avalon Ventures, where Carolus CEO Jay Lichter also is managing partner. (more…)

Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc. expands its Scientific Advisory Board and appoints Dr. Paul Anderson, Professor Jerold Chun and Professor Andrew Tager

January 8th, 2009

San Diego, CA – January 8, 2009 — Amira Pharmaceuticals, a small molecule pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and early development of compounds to treat inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Anderson, Professor Jerold Chun and Professor Andrew Tager to its Scientific Advisory Board. This further strengthens the Board that includes Professor Frank Austen (Professor of Respiratory and Inflammatory diseases, Harvard Medical School), Professor Sally Wenzel (Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh), and Professor Joseph Witztum (Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego). (more…)

Research Published in Nature Medicine Shows Disruption of Chemokine Interactions Inhibits Atherosclerosis in Mice

January 5th, 2009

San Diego-Based Carolus Therapeutics Focuses on Discovery and Development of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Based on Collaborators’ Findings at RWTH Aachen University in Germany (more…)