BioTime announces new subsidiary

BioTime announces new subsidiary

Local biotech firm BioTime has announced the creation of a new subsidiary. The subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, will work toward creating cancer treatments based on stem cell technology.

According to a company press release, a private investor has purchased three million common shares of OncoCyte for $2 million, representing an initial 15 percent stake in the new company. The unnamed investor may also purchase three million additional shares for $2 million on or before April 15, 2010, based on an agreed initial market capitalization of approximately $15 million.

More from the release:

OncoCyte’s new therapeutic strategy and goal will be to utilize human embryonic stem cell technology to create genetically modified stem cells capable of homing to specific malignant tumors while carrying genes that can cause the destruction of the cancer cells. This therapeutic use of human embryonic stem cells differs from most proposed industrial uses of stem cell technology in that OncoCyte’s goal is not the stable engraftment of the cells to regenerate tissue function, but rather a use of the unique properties of stem cells as a tool to eliminate malignant cells.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States.

BioTime is the maker of Hextend, a blood plasma expander used on the battlefield, for surgery and other uses.

BioTime announces new subsidiary

UTStarcom, Starent settle patent infringement suit

UTStarcom, Starent settle patent infringement suit

UTStarcom, Starent settle patent infringement suit

Local networking equipment maker UTStarcom and Tewksbury, Mass.-based Starent have settled a patent dispute, the companies reported Thursday.

UTStarcom had accused Starent of infringing on several of the former company’s patents. Starent, which is reportedly about to be acquired by Cisco Systems, will pay the Alameda firm $3.5 million for unlimited, royalty-free access to its patents.

The payment will settle suits UTStarcom lodged in federal court in 2005 and 2007, a company press release says.

The organization, which has provided comprehensive business training, loans and ongoing support to low income women who want to start and build sustainable, profitable businesses since 1988, has partnered with the San Francisco Business Times to recognize women-owned businesses throughout the county (they’ll recognize one business in each city, including Alameda).

They’re looking for business owners who have been successful despite the barriers women business owners face, who exemplify how business ownership and leadership are beneficial for women, who have a positive impact on the community and who advance their field through innovation.

Applications are due in by August 28, and winners will be selected on September 3. To submit a nomination, click here. Winners will be recognized in various media and events through October.

Lucky for us.

The couple packed their bags and headed across the estuary to Alameda, and promptly fell in love with a beautiful building on Webster Street and the eclecticness of the West End, both of which Monica Trejo said deserved something special.

So Trejo and her husband personally took the space’s four dilapidated walls and built an oasis with tile floors, a hammered tin ceiling and a neat garden patio that comfortably seats 40. Their cafe opened on July 4. And just a few weeks in, Trejo’s already on a first-name basis with some of her customers (and has their usuals memorized).

Visitors are greeted by a shelf of candy-colored cupcakes and other yummy-looking baked goods and an inviting expanse of earthy pottery. In addition to coffee, drinks, fruit and pastries, the cafe’s menu includes quiches and sandwiches (and my personal favorite, soft ice cream).

Wescafe also does catering and rents its patio space out for parties. And yes, they have free Wi-Fi.

Monica Trejo said the cafe will host Friday night movies on said patio, and that she hopes to be able to have live music as well.

Wescafe is at 1536 Webster Street, and their phone number is 522-7200. Their hours are from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

We’re becoming part of the East Bay Green Corridor Partnership, which is working together to try to bring and support green businesses here in the East Bay (and to pull in money that the cities likely couldn’t get on their own to do it).

The partnership was founded in December 2007 by the cities of Oakland, Richmond, Emeryville and Berkeley and the University at California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This past month, seven additional cities and other entities were added, including Alameda.

So far, the group has pulled in $76 million, much of it for the lab to study underground contaminant cleanup and also for the school and lab to work on how to better capture carbon and store it underground, according to this bit in the San Francisco Business Times.

In discussing the reasons for selecting the cities that were invited to join the partnership this go-round, Michael Kaplan, Berkeley’s economic development manager, told The Daily Californian that Alameda has “a lot of industrial land to accommodate green tech companies.”

DeWeerd at The Dock

A tipster e-mailed earlier this week to let us know that Tiny’s, the cute little candy shop on Webster Street, and its companion Dock Cafe, have closed. I headed over there myself and peered in the window of two closed shops, and their contents were entirely cleared out.

I talked with Dock owner Wendy DeWeerd in March, and she told me it took her and her husband two years to get the cafe up and running. It was there about 15 months. Tiny’s opened on Webster Street in 2004, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

I tried calling DeWeerd to ask what happened but couldn’t reach her for comment.

The closure comes on the heels of the Webster Pharmacy’s move to Safeway and the continued closure of Tillie’s diner (still hoping to hear back from them about their fate).

On the plus side, though, Webster’s got a new cafe, Wescafe, on the way, and their new Saturday farmer’s market. (And over on Park, Yogofina finally opened and there’s a new kiddie store called Tot Tank slated for what was a Hallmark shop).

Just got word that chipmaking giant Intel is going to acquire local tech firm Wind River Systems Inc. for $884 million.

Under the deal, Intel will acquire all of Wind River’s outstanding common stock for $11.50 a share. The Alameda-based company, which makes embedded devices (that’s software that sits on the chips folks like Intel make), will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel.

Wind River spokesman Bryan Thomas said there are no plans to move the company out of Alameda. Per Thomas:

There will be minimal impact to our business functions and organization structure since we’ll be a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel. We are – and will remain – Wind River based in Alameda. There are currently no plans to move or close any Wind River offices, including headquarters in Alameda.

From Intel’s press release:

“This acquisition will bring us complementary, market-leading software assets and an incredibly talented group of people to help us continue to grow our embedded systems and mobile device capabilities,” said Renee James, Intel vice president and general manager of the company’s Software and Services Group. “Wind River has thousands of customers in a wide range of markets, and now both companies will be better positioned to meet growth opportunities in these areas.”

“Our combination of strengths will be of great benefit to Wind River’s existing and future customers,” said Ken Klein, Wind River Chairman, president and CEO. “As a wholly owned subsidiary, Wind River will more tightly align its software expertise to Intel’s platforms to speed the pace of progress and software innovation. We remain committed to continuing to provide leading solutions across multiple hardware architectures and delivering the same world-class support to which our customers have grown accustomed.”

Founded in 1981, the company has more than 1,600 employees worldwide. Its revenues for last year were just shy of $360 million.

Intel’s stock was up slightly, to $16.10, on the news; Wind River’s rise to $11.54 represents a gain of more than 44 percent.

For the more technically inclined, here’s a rundown from a trade paper I just got.

“We’re going to be an independent pharmacy inside a grocery store,” Clark said.

When asked about the reason for the move, Clark opened his wallet and pulls out a photograph of two smiling, blue-eyed babies – his grandkids – who he’d like to spend more time with. “I’ll be working 40 hours a week instead of 80,” he said.

Clark took over the pharmacy, one of the last indies in town, in 1973. He said it has occupied the corner of Webster and Lincoln since the 1920s.

He said he looked for a buyer to keep the pharmacy at its current location for six months, but in an economy that’s been tough on small businesses, he wasn’t able to find one. So he’s taking over Safeway’s in-house pharmacy instead.

He said his pharmacy will have the same phone number, will take the same insurance, and will still offer free prescription delivery. And Clark will still be there, to let folks know where their prescriptions are.

But Clark said he’ll miss his Webster Street location, which is adorned with comfortable-looking chairs, celebrity photos and books (including two copies of “The Family of Man”).

“You’ll no longer be a western ender,” one of Clark’s customers, who he knew by name, told him Tuesday.

“I’ll always be a western ender,” Clark replied.

Oh, and I just remembered that a reader asked a few weeks ago what was going on with the Longs Drugs out on Bay Farm Island. I looked into it and it seems Longs is becoming CVS. Hope that helps!

The forums are from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 19 in the council chambers at City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue; 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 26 in the community room of the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street; and from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28 at East Ocean Seafood Restaurant, 1713 Webster Street.

“I think everyone is concerned about the current economy and how it affects our community,” development manager Eric Fonstein said.

Fonstein said the city is looking for low-cost to no-cost ways the city can help local businesses in the very near term.

Alameda recently lost its last two car dealers, which were among the city’s top sales tax generators, and several of the biotech businesses that populate the Island’s business parks have suffered in the down economy.

The city’s most recently issued quarterly fiscal report showed sales taxes are projected to be slightly less than anticipated for this fiscal year, coming in just shy of $5 million.

The company showed first quarter diluted earnings per share of 23 cents, an increase of 53 percent from the previous year, on a net income of $3.1 million for the quarter. This time last year, it earned $2.1 million, or 15 cents a share.

Peet’s posted net revenue increases of 7 percent, from $67.1 million in the same period last year to $72.1 million for the current quarter, which ended on March 29.

Company executives said their earnings are strong because they decided to maintain their position as a premium roaster, eschewing a move toward cheaper coffee and discounting activity occurring at grocery stores. The company has also slowed its retail expansion, with just two new stores open this quarter, compared to nine in the same quarter last year.

They also attributed the gains to operating efficiencies and strong sales of premium beans, including the company’s Anniversary Blend and Sumatra Blue Batak.

The company has said it is hoping to build 10 new retail outlets this year and to distribute its wares into 1,000 new stores. So far, it has moved its products into 200 new stores.

A recent price increase did little to impact the company’s sales, company executives told reporters in a conference call.

“The stability and performance of our retail stores over the last several quarters … reflects the strength of the brand and the loyalty of the customer base,” Peet’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Cawley said. “That’s what we’re focused on, is continuing to satisfy our core of dedicated, loyal customers.”

Company officials expect net revenue to increase by 10 to 13 percent this year.

The Associated Press reported that shares closed earlier up $1.38, or 6 percent, at $24.52.

The company opened a roasting plant here on the Island in 2007.