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ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Creatv MicroTech, a privately-held biotechnology company has pioneered a blood test for the universal screening of early stage cancer. They will present their initial clinical data showing the ability to identify invasive cancer with 87% accuracy. “We are delighted to present results from a training set of 10 different types of cancers,” said Dr. Cha-Mei Tang, Chief Executive Officer of Creatv. “The data shows that we obtained 85% sensitivity for all cancers (from 79% of patients in Stage I and increasing to 95% of patients in Stage IV), and also shows 100% specificity when tested against healthy normal controls. This represents a significant step towards pan cancer screening by a routine blood draw with high sensitivity and specificity.”

ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) is accepting proposals to lease a bio-manufacturing facility configured to produce biologicals under cGMP conditions in compliance with FDA requirements for phase I/II clinical trials. The facility is also equipped to perform process development research, pre-clinical manufacturing for material necessary to conduct IND-enabling toxicology studies, proof of concept (POC) studies, and process demonstration in advance of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) manufacturing. IBBR is a joint research enterprise between the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Image: IBBR is strategically located in Rockville, MD within easy reach of major academic, industry, and federal research laboratories, including the University of Maryland campuses, NIST, NIH, FDA, NCI, and USDA. By Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research

With the LSN Digital RESI Conference approaching quickly, Event Gold Sponsor, BioHealth Innovation (BHI), is stepping up to help lead five panels with some heavy hitters from the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) on June 8-10, 2020.

Great Investment Opportunities in the BioHealth Capital Region

While we adjust to a COVID-19 world, there continue to be great investment opportunities in the BioHealth Capital Region. Join BHCR CEOs as they make short introductions about themselves and companies. Join CEOs from American Gene Technologies International Inc., miRecule, Adaptive Phage, Healion Bio, KaloCyte, Emocha, Tailored Therapeutics, Inc.,Deka Biosciences, Inc., and Ashvattha Therapeutics, Inc.

With the LSN Digital RESI Conference approaching quickly, Event Gold Sponsor, BioHealth Innovation (BHI), is stepping up to help lead five panels with some heavy hitters from the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) on June 8-10, 2020.

Great Investment Opportunities in the BioHealth Capital Region

While we adjust to a COVID-19 world, there continue to be great investment opportunities in the BioHealth Capital Region. Join BHCR CEOs as they make short introductions about themselves and companies. Join CEOs from American Gene Technologies International Inc., miRecule, Adaptive Phage, Healion Bio, KaloCyte, Emocha, Tailored Therapeutics, Inc., DEKA, and Ashvattha Therapeutics, Inc.

The University System of Maryland (USM) Maryland Momentum Fund has invested $150,000 in College Park, Md.-based pathOtrak, a company that has developed a rapid food test for salmonella and E. coli in food.

The investment closes out pathOtrak’s $1.2 million seed round, along with a $200,000 investment from a global life sciences company with a food safety division and $310,000 from the Dingman Center Angels.

The Momentum Fund continues to invest in companies affiliated with the USM despite the COVID-19 pandemic and encourages applications through the Fund website at https://momentum.usmd.edu.

It may not be quite business as usual as the state reopens and a new sense of normal takes shape amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but a business accelerator program is pivoting to the health industry and University of Virginia students are testing out an app that could bolster contact tracing. 

Lighthouse Labs RVA, a Richmond-based accelerator program, is seeking applications for its Fall 2020 cohort. The program, which occurs twice a year, is a three-month intensive where seed-stage startups receive investment and mentoring. This cohort will place a focus on health through a partnership with the Health Innovation Consortium.

Image: Credit: Mike Kropf / Charlottesville Tomorrow

In a bid to boost its global vaccine manufacturing abilities, Gaithersburg biotechnology firm Novavax has paid roughly $167 million to buy a biologics manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic.

The company paid cash for Praha Vaccines a.s., part of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group.

Novavax expects its newly acquired plant in Bohumil, Czech Republic to provide an annual capacity of over 1 billion doses of antigen for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate starting in 2021.

Image: In this photo released by Nucleus Network/ABC, technicians prepare for a clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year. Novavax will inject 131 volunteers in the first phase of the trial testing the safety of the vaccine and looking for signs of its effectiveness. (Patrick Rocca/Nucleus Network/ABC via AP)

In 2013, Martine Rothblatt made $38 million, making her the highest-paid female CEO in the country at the time. Though Rothblatt told New York magazine that topping the list was like “winning the lottery,” it didn’t quite sit right with her. “I can’t claim that what I have achieved is equivalent to what a woman has achieved,” she said at the time. “For the first half of my life, I was male.”

Image: https://www.fastcompany.com

Johns Hopkins spinout Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. is looking to raise up to $3.5 million in new funding in support of its push to commercialize its cancer diagnostic technology.

Canton-based PGDx has already raised $2.7 million in the new round of debt and security financing, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. CEO Megan Bailey said the new funding comes from existing investors. The company is previously backed by about $147 million and its recent backers include Innovatus Capital Partners, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cowin Capital, Helsinn Investment Fund, Inova Health System, Windham Venture Partners, as well as Maryland Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Camden Partners.