Zulily sues Amazon for alleged price-fixing and supplier coercion

Zulily vs. Amazon: In a collision of two stories we’ve been tracking closely, crumbling online retailer Zulily sued Amazon on Monday, based in part on allegations in the Federal Trade Commission’s separate antitrust lawsuit against the e-commerce giant. 

• Zulily alleges that Amazon made it impossible to compete on price without jeopardizing its relationships with key suppliers, quoting the FTC in saying that Amazon tried to “destroy” Zulily by punishing sellers whose products were offered at lower prices by the smaller online retailer. Read more.

• More on Zulily: We caught up with Mark Vadon, the veteran tech entrepreneur and executive who helped launch Zulily in 2009, about how the company got off the ground and the impact of former employees on the Seattle startup ecosystem. Read more.

“The epicenter of AI”: It’s not Silicon Valley, according to CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer, who recently visited Seattle and, in a “Tales from the Emerald City” segment, expressed a bullish take on AI initiatives by Microsoft and Amazon. Read more.    

AstraZeneca to acquire Icosavax for up to $1.1 billion: A spin-out from the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design, Icosavax is developing vaccines that resemble naturally occurring viruses. Its lead product targets respiratory viruses. Read more.

Pfizer wins regulatory OK for Seagen deal: The pharma titan’s $43 billion acquisition of the Seattle-area biotech giant will close this week. Pfizer will restructure its operations to incorporate the 3,300-person company. Read more. 

Blue Origin ready to launch again: After a year on hold following a rocket engine malfunction, Jeff Bezos’ space venture is planning to send its suborbital spaceship on an uncrewed research mission as early as Dec. 18. Read more.

Wizards of the Coast layoffs: A new round of cuts at Hasbro affected employees at its Renton, Wash.-based subsidiary. Read the memo from Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks.  

The Seattle City Council will vote today on a resolution asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall Kia and Hyundai models that lack engine immobilizing, anti-theft technology. The move follows a January lawsuit filed by the City against the automakers, alleging the auto thefts harm public safety. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Bristol Myers Squibb is paying $800 million to Redmond, Wash.-based SystImmune in a deal worth up to $8.4 billion. (Fierce Biotech)
• Seattle Mariners owner and wireless industry pioneer John Stanton is getting criticism for not being more transparent about the team's struggles and future. (Seattle Times) 
• Bill Gates writes about Brazil's healthcare system and potential lessons learned for the rest of the world. (GatesNotes)