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It’s been over a year since Mayor Muriel Bowser broke ground on the new Inclusive Innovation Incubator based on Howard University’s campus, and now the space is getting ready to open its doors.

The incubator which, as the name suggests, aims to host and support diverse entrepreneurs, will officially open to the public with a “Week of Welcome” starting April 17. The week will feature a total of 30 events in the space — everything from coding classes to meetups and even a class on fitness for entrepreneurs. Most events are free and will give the D.C. startup (or would-be startup) community a chance to get a feel for the place.

CSSi LifeSciences™, a trusted partner from discovery to commercialization for biologics and vaccines, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with the Prince William Science Accelerator, the only public-private commercially available wet lab space in Northern Virginia. The partnership promotes the development of new businesses and the retention and expansion of existing businesses within the county’s growing and diverse life sciences community, through CSSi LifeSciences’ technical assistance, regulatory, clinical and commercial assessment for all Prince William Science Accelerator tenants.

Redox, the leading integration platform for digital healthcare applications and health systems, announced today that the Intermountain Healthcare Innovation Fund has invested $1 million as a follow-on to the company’s recently announced Series B, bringing the final closing to $10 million. The round was led by RRE Ventures with participation from .406 Ventures, HealthX Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, and Dreamit Ventures.

Student and faculty entrepreneurs have until April 14 to apply for the first round of funding from the University System of Maryland’s new $25 million venture fund.

Entrepreneurship is a thrilling roller coaster ride. There are highs, but there are also lows. What isn’t talked about enough is the struggle that so many entrepreneurs face pursuing success. How do you navigate through the tough times? Where do you turn?

What do you do when you hit rock bottom?

Towards the end of last year I explored the growth in intrapreneurship in our organizations. The concept of intrapreneurship is one that has been around for some time, but it is one that is growing at quite a pace as organizations attempt to leverage and empower employees to create and innovate.

Whilst there are many organizational levers that can be deployed to help employees to innovate, there is also a growing appreciation that this is something that can be taught.

Scientists and policy-makers have long argued that public investments in science have practical applications. Using data on patents linked to U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants over a 27-year period, we provide a large-scale accounting of linkages between public research investments and subsequent patenting. We find that about 10% of NIH grants generate a patent directly but 30% generate articles that are subsequently cited by patents. Although policy-makers often focus on direct patenting by academic scientists, the bulk of the effect of NIH research on patenting appears to be indirect. We also find no systematic relationship between the “basic” versus “applied” research focus of a grant and its propensity to be cited by a patent.

WalletHub recently analyzed innovation nationwide to compile a list of the Most Innovative States. Maryland ranks second among the 50 states and Washington D.C. in WalletHub’s report, reinforcing what many in Maryland already know: Innovation thrives here. Here are five reasons why innovation flourishes in Maryland.

You’re invited to LM’s greatest event of the year! Join us on Tuesday, June 6 as we present the 2017 graduating Core, Senior and Emerging Leaders classes. Meet the newest community members, interact with our honored Award Recipients and network with key influencers in the region. A delicious dinner and an open bar are included.

Four years into its existence, Cydan Development, New Enterprise Associates’ orphan drug startup accelerator, has notched its first big win. Vtesse, the first company to emerge from Cydan, has been sold in a deal valued at $200 million.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SCMP), a Rockville, MD-based maker of a drug to treat various bowel conditions, will acquire Vtesse for $170 million in cash and 2,782,678 shares of Sucampo, which closed at $11 apiece on Friday. Vtesse’s shareholders—New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Bay City Capital, Pfizer Venture Investments, and Lundbeckfond Ventures—could also get royalties on sales if Vtesse’s experimental drug, VTS-270, ever reaches the market. The drug candidate is designed to be a potential treatment for the rare genetic condition Niemann-Pick Type C1 disease, which mostly affects children.