Follow the Money

Tocagen went public last week to the tune of $85 million. The company offered 8.5 million shares at $10 per share, and plans to use the funds to finance clinical trials for its gene therapy treatment for recurrent high-grade glioma, a difficult to treat form of brain cancer.

Venture Funding Down for Q1 in San Diego

The quarterly report from National Venture Capital Association and Pitchbook, analyzing the venture funding across the country, is out. In the first quarter of 2017, 37 companies brought in around $350 million. Last year in the same quarter, 75 companies brought in $574.5 million. Life science companies received the bulk of the funding in those deals, capturing all of the top ten deal spots. San Diego followed the national trend where funding slowed, but not all areas did. Seattle saw 33% growth from the same quarter last year.

Cirius Moves to San Diego

A Michigan-based biotech company, Cirius, has decided to move its administrative headquarters to San Diego to take advantage of the local talent pool and to help move through clinical trials. The company has hired new executives and identified office space in Carmel Valley. Cirius is fresh off a $40 million capital raise, giving it the ability to make the move and focus on the clinical trials. The company is currently in the testing phase for a liver drug to address non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis.

San Diego’s Human Capital

FDi Magazine’s recent report on American Cities of the Future listed San Diego sixth in human capital and lifestyle. The study of cities in North and South America contains numerous rankings on economic potential, cost effectiveness, connectivity, and business friendliness. San Francisco topped the overall list of major American cities, and made the business friendliness top 10 list. While that might be a bit surprising, this next highlight is not. No California city made the cost-effective list.

Sparkling Startups

Geektime.com just published a list of what it called 10 Sparkling Startups in San Diego. The list included: Soci, AttackIQ, Mitek, Noble Environmental Technologies, Ossic, Clarify Medical, Raken, TapHunter, Grolltex, and Apmetrix.

Pivots and Opportunities

Dev Bootcamp has launched a scholarship program offering 24 scholarships (four in each of its six locations) for members of underrepresented communities. The organization states, “We have launched the DBC Access Fund to further our commitment to improving access to technology skills training for people of all backgrounds and to expand the pipeline of qualified and diverse tech talent.” Applications are due April 30.

San Diego Venture Group is now accepting applications for its Cool Companies recognition.

Be There or Be…

• SDSU Lavin Entrepreneurship Center LaunchIn
  Wednesday, April 26, 4–7 p.m. in Montezuma Hall, Aztec Student Union
  Companies meet prospective candidates for internships and full-time positions

Tags: Blogs, Startup Buzz, Tocagen, Venture Funding