June 18, 2015 | Canadian and Israeli scientists dedicated the Alex U. Soyka Pancreatic Cancer Research Project at the Hebrew University. Launched one year ago, the Alex U. Soyka Pancreatic Cancer Research Project is an international research collaboration between the Hebrew University’s Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC) in Jerusalem, the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) in Toronto. Pancreatic cancer remains the most deadly common solid tumor in developed countries and the Project is doing all it can to discover viable treatment methods, and potentially a cure.
News Briefs
June 18, 2015
Canadian-Israeli Scientists Team Up To Treat Pancreatic Cancer
June 18, 2015
Ministry of Economy Establishes Authority For Technology Innovation
June 18, 2015 | The Israeli Minister of the Economy Aryeh Deri and the Minister of Finance Moshe Cahlon announced a new initiative to establish a national authority for technological innovation. The new authority will be the executive branch of the existing Office of the Chief Scientist, part of the Ministry of Economy.
June 18, 2015
MySizeID To Issue Public Offering On NASDAQ
June 18, 2015 | MySizeID, a company developing smart measurement technology, announced that it is planning on taking its company’s shares public on NASDAQ. The company submitted documents to the US Securities & Exchange Commission. Though the value of the offering is not yet known, MySizeID’s shares are traded in Israel at a NIS 174 million market cap ($45.6 million). MySizeID was founded by CEO Ronen Luzon.
June 18, 2015
Frutarom Acquires Taura For $70M
June 18, 2015 | The flavors and specialty ingredients company Frutarom announced its seventh acquisition this year. Frutarom will acquire Australian company Taura Natural Ingredients for an approximately total of $70 million. Taura was founded in 1973 as part of a New Zealand agricultural cooperative. Frutarom was founded in 1933 by Yehuda Araten and Maurice Gerzon.
June 18, 2015
BillGuard Releases Identity Theft Protection Tools
June 18, 2015 | The financial technology startup that protects users from “grey” credit card charges, BillGuard, announced that it will release a new feature to protect its users from identity theft. The app, which will be made available in the United States. The system will provide card fraud alerts, data breach alerts, credit monitoring and net surveillance alerts. BillGuard offers varying levels of protection, depending on the user’s designated service, some of which are paid. BillGuard was founded in 2010 by CEO Yaron Samid and CTO Raphael Ouzan.
June 18, 2015
Pluristem Receives $2.9M Grant From OCS
June 18, 2015 | Pluristem Therapeutics, an Israeli company developing placenta-based therapy products, announced that it was awarded a NIS 11 million (approx. $2.9 million) from the Office of the Chief Scientist. The grant will go towards research and development for 2015. Pluristem was founded in 2001 by Shai Meretzki.
June 18, 2015
CYREN Receives $.93M Grant From OCS
June 18, 2015 | Cybersecurity startup CYREN announced that it was awarded a government grant of NIS 3.6 million (approx. $0.93 million) from the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Ministry of the Economy. The grant will be put towards the company’s research & development expenses in developing its Cyber Threat detection platform. CYREN was founded in 1991 as Commtouch as is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.
June 18, 2015
Square Peg Capital Brings Elite Delegation To Israel
June 18, 2015 | Square Peg Capital will bring a delegation of 40 technology entrepreneurs, investors and executives to Israel with the goal of teaching them about the Israeli high-tech industry. The total worth of the delegation is valued at $150 billion. Square Peg Capital is an Australian venture capital firm that opened an Israeli office in September 2014 with plans to invest $150 million in Israeli growth-stage web and technology companies in the next 3-5 years.
June 17, 2015
Report: Insight VP Acquires Controlling Stake In Checkmarx
June 17, 2015 | According to a “Calcalist” report, Insight Venture Partners has acquired a controlling stake in Checkmarx, an app security company, at a value of $100 million. “Calcalist” asserts that Insight has acquired 60-70 percent stake in Checkmarx. Checkmarx was founded in 2006 by Maty Siman.
June 17, 2015
Report: Ramot Sues StoreDot Over License Agreement
June 17, 2015 | According to a report in “TheMarker”, Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University, will sue StoreDot in the Tel Aviv District Court claiming that the company terminated the contract with Ramot. The dispute is over the termination, initiated by StoreDot, of the license agreement held between StoreDot and Ramot. StoreDot was founded in 2012 by Doron Myersdorf, Simon Litsyn and Gil Rosenman and is developing a battery that can charge smartphones and other devices in a matter of seconds.
June 17, 2015
XLMedia Acquires Marmar Media For $7.36M
June 17, 2015 | The marketing services provider XLMedia announced that it will acquire a majority stake of 54 percent in Marmar Media for $7.36 million in cash. Marmar is a performance-based marketing platform for apps, entertainment software and gambling companies. Marmar Media was founded in 2011 and XLMedia in 2007 by Ory Weihs, Assaf Levy and Yaron Nahari.
June 17, 2015
Gett Expands Services In Britain
June 17, 2015 | Gett announced that it will expand its service to 18 additional British cities. The cities include: Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Slough, Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bradford, Hull, and Newcastle. These cities are added to the existing British locations where Gett’s taxi-hailing services are available: London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Leeds. Gett was founded in 2010 by Roi More and Shahar Waiser.
June 17, 2015
Phoenix, Fosun Group Near An Agreement
June 17, 2015 | Phoenix Holdings is set to be sold to the Chinese investment group Fosun Group for an undisclosed amount. While the parties have already agreed on a price, there are still a number of disagreements, “Globes” reports, between Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group and the Chinese buyer. Phoenix Holdings integrates the operations of the Phoenix Insurance Company and Phoenix Investments and Finances, remaining one of Israel’s leading financial institutions.
June 17, 2015
Chiasma To Raise $86M In IPO
June 17, 2015 | The Israeli biopharmaceutical company Chiasma has filed with the US Securities & Exchange Commission to raise $86 million on NASDAQ. The filing comes just three months after raising $70 million in a private placement. The offering will be led by Barclay’s Capital and Cowen & Co. Chiasma was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Jerusalem.
June 17, 2015
Sheraton TLV Awarded Green Key
June 17, 2015 | The Sheraton Tel Aviv has been awarded the Green Key Award for its application of energy and water-saving technology in the hotel. The Sheraton has applied the Phoebus system that uses new technology and existing cooling technologies to preserve energy and minimize water usage. In addition, Sheraton uses a SmarTap mixing valve that enables online control and monitoring of the use of shower water, among other water-saving technologies. The Green Key is an eco-label awarded to 2,400 hotels and hospitality venues in over 48 countries.
