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President Moon Jae-in announced in May that the government would designate the biohealth industry as one of the three new sectors for future growth, help the industry account for at least 6 percent of the global pharmaceutical and medical device market share by 2030, achieve $50 billion biohealth exports, and nurture the sector as one of the five major export industries.

The announcement came during his visit to Osong, North Chungcheong Province, which has a cluster of biotech research firms.

Image: http://www.koreabiomed.com

Scientists from the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) this week proposed a new theory, based on the findings of three previously published studies, to improve the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy drugs. The theory calls for a new design for these drugs that would prevent side effects like life-threatening immune system reactions and enable a higher dose of the drug to be administered.

Image: https://www.umaryland.edu

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. and the National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded four companies a total of $448,000 to develop NIST-licensed technologies for the market, TEDCO announced Tuesday.

The NIST Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program (N-STEP) focuses on commercializing NIST research. It lets NIST researchers who have left the agency or will soon be leaving the agency to commercialize technology they researched.

Image: Money, money. In this Sept. 24, 2013, file photo, freshly cut stacks of $100 bills make their way down the line at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Eight months after Maryland Technology Development Corp. halted investments through some of its funds, the state-backed organization announced Friday it is ready to accept new applications from startups seeking investment.

TEDCO has launched a new online application process for several of its funding programs: the Rural Business Innovation Initiative, Builder Fund, Seed Fund and Maryland Venture Fund (MVF). New investments through these programs have been on hold since June, while TEDCO has enacted legislature-directed reforms prompted by a damaging audit report aimed particularly at the MVF.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is being recognized by a national news publication for groundbreaking biomedical research that “is making the world a better place.” The publication, WIRED magazine, is featuring the innovative work of UMSOM’s Samuel Tisherman, MD, professor of surgery, and the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center on a list of 19 items or advances recognized in 2019. 

GERMANTOWN, Md., Jan. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Intrexon Corporation (NASDAQ: XON), a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet, announced today that it will refocus the company on healthcare, change its name to Precigen, Inc. and, effective immediately, has appointed Helen Sabzevari, PhD, as President and CEO. The new Precigen will encompass Intrexon’s wholly-owned healthcare subsidiaries Precigen, ActoBio Therapeutics, Exemplar Genetics, and its majority ownership interest in Triple-Gene, as well as equity and royalty interests in therapeutics and therapeutic platforms from companies not controlled by Intrexon. Randal J. Kirk has been appointed Executive Chairman.  Additionally, Intrexon has executed binding agreements to sell its smaller non-healthcare businesses for $65.2M plus certain contingent payment rights and entered into an agreement to sell $35M of its common stock.  The proceeds from these transactions, combined with the company’s cash and short-term investments on hand at December 31, 2019, approximates $175 million thus attaining Intrexon’s year-end objective.

The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce and recognize a unique set of accomplished women playing vital roles in some of the most important global companies shaping the future of biotechnology. The awardees of 2019 were each selected based on a detailed review of the depth of their professional experience and the caliber of their career achievements. These women are leaders not only in title or position but based on what they’ve been able to accomplish inspiring the teams and organizations around them. They have also demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of biotech. We congratulate each of this year’s awardees of The Top 25 Woman Leaders In Biotech of 2019.

Image: https://thehealthcaretechnologyreport.com

COLUMBIA, Md. (January 3, 2020)—TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced today that its programs: Rural Business Innovation Initiative (RBII Fund), Builder Fund (Builder Fund), Seed Funds (Seed Fund) and Maryland Venture Fund (MVF) are now accepting applications for investments. 

In accordance with new statutory requirements enacted by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session, TEDCO has developed and adopted regulations governing its investment programs.  The new law also tasked TEDCO with developing an application process for its investment programs. With the new regulations in place and a compliant on-line application portal up and running, TEDCO is now able to begin accepting applications.  

2019 was an eventful year in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR), to say the least, and BioBuzz has been there to document it every step of the way.

Whether it was the retirement of the MedImmune brand, Viela Bio’s $150M IPO, the $1.2B acquisition of Paragon Bioservices, Kite Pharma’s new manufacturing site in Frederick County, Maryland, an HIV cure emerging in Maryland or our continued coverage of the region’s expanding cell and gene therapy cluster-it’s been a truly remarkable year within the BHCR.

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GERMANTOWN, Md., Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Precigen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative gene and cellular therapies to improve the lives of patients, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation (ODD) to PRGN-3006, a first-in-class investigational therapy using Precigen’s non-viral UltraCAR-T™ therapeutic platform for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (clinical trial identifier: NCT03927261). Precigen announced in Q3 2019 that it had completed enrollment for the first cohort of this clinical trial and expects an initial data readout in the second half of 2020.