admin

Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVAX), a clinical-stage vaccine company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of recombinant nanoparticle vaccines and adjuvants, today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $200 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior unsecured notes that will mature on February 1, 2023 (the Notes). The Notes will be offered and sold only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Novavax also expects to grant the initial purchasers of the Notes an option to purchase up to an additional $30 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes, solely to cover over-allotments.

The UM BioPark-based PathSensors, Inc. has been awarded a new firm fixed price contract through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the design and development of a CANARY® detection system for biosecurity. The focus of phase I of this research contract will be on the development of biosensors for Abrin and Ebola. The research supported by this contract will further enhance the robustness of the CANARY® technology opening up a broad range of deployment opportunities for quick and accurate detection of harmful pathogens.

ImmunoCellular (NYSEMKT:IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, focusing on immunotherapies for cancer. The company said the agreement includes three projects, which together have the potential to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell, T-cell, and combination immunotherapies for cancer and lead to enhancements to both of ImmunoCellular’s dendritic cell and Stem-to-T-cell platforms. IMUC fell to $0.24 at closing on Tuesday, at the bottom of 52-week range $0.21 – $0.73.

Available lab space in Montgomery County’s I-270 corridor has dropped to levels not seen since before the Great Recession struck in 2008, according to the latest update from Rockville-based commercial real estate group Scheer Partners.

That’s after a remarkably active year for biotechs in 2015, said Matt Brady, a Scheer vice president who specializes in office, research and development, and industrial leasing. “People grabbed up a lot of space in a really short amount of time. That’s the story here,” Brady said.

Since the World Health Organization started raising alarms about the mosquito-born Zika virus spreading throughout the Americas, deep-pocketed pharmaceutical companies have been racing to find a vaccine.

But a seven-person biotech company based in Rockville, Md., is trying something different.

The president and executive director of Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) has resigned and the agency’s chief operating officer has been promoted to president. TEDCO announced Thursday that Robert Rosenbaum, who has served as the quasi-government agency’s leader for the past five years, would step down effective immediately to “pursue other interests.”

For more evidence that tech is moving into the mainstream economic conversation for Baltimore, look no further than the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore’s annual report. The 2015 edition was published earlier this month.

Dubbed the Apollo Therapeutics, the new fund will see the three pharma companies work with Imperial College London, University College London and the University of Cambridge. Together they aim to “significantly improving the speed and potential of university research being translated into novel medicines”.

Leidos Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LDOS) CEO Roger Krone describes his company’s new agreement to combine with Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) Information Systems & Global Solutions business as a landmark moment for the government services space. “I am convinced that this transaction is the kind of event that is often sought after but rarely found,” Krone said in a conference call Tuesday after the $5 billion deal was announced.

Alexandria is the largest and leading urban office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations. The firm currently has more than 19 million rentable square feet of operating properties, as well as development and redevelopment projects under construction, with another 11.6 million square feet in near-term and future ground-up development projects. Alexandria was the first to pioneer this niche under CEO Joel Marcus’ vision when he founded the company in 1994. Since then, the firm has established a dominant market presence across the industry in locations such as Greater Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland and Research Triangle Park.

The Food and Drug Administration aims to ensure hackers can’t remotely access or control medical devices, and it’s asking the private sector to do more to protect those devices.

Earlier this month, FDA issued draft guidance directing manufacturers to conduct “postmarket” evaluation of their devices, ensuring device security vulnerabilities won’t affect clinical performance.

While fourth-quarter venture capital funding slid in most industries amid fears of an economic slowdown, biotechnology investment sprinted ahead. The question is how long the run can last.

Total U.S. venture funding reached $72.30 billion in 2015, its highest level since 2000, despite fourth-quarter investment declines in consumer services, information technology, and other markets, according to industry tracker Dow Jones VentureSource.

Tarveda Therapeutics, Inc., formerly Blend Therapeutics, today announced that it has secured $38 million in Series C financing co-led by new investor Novo A/S and existing investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The company also announced the change of its corporate brand to clearly highlight the company’s differentiated approach to treating cancer.

The 2016 Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the opening of the nomination period for FLC positions!

This year the FLC will elect five national positions: Finance Officer, Recording Secretary, and three Members-at-Large; as well as Regional Coordinators and Deputy Regional Coordinators for the Midwest, Far West, and Mid-Atlantic regions.

If you are a Consortium Representative or Consortium Participant, you are welcomed and encouraged to nominate yourself or someone else. The nomination period will run from Wednesday, January 27 through Friday, February 26, 2016.

Hospitals and health systems are clinging tenaciously to the belief that their economic survival depends on their embracing continuous quality improvement and Lean methods. After all, in a time of ratcheted-down reimbursement, the need for a little belt-tightening and quality improvement seems obvious.

The 100 Rising Stars in this, the inaugural Global Corporate Venturing awards, represent the top 1% of the industry.

Global Corporate Venturing (GCV) selected these stars as representing the brightest prospects, and those who have already been changing the industry. The selection process involved researching more than 10,000 industry professionals across more than 1,000 corporate venturing units to identify these stars. GCV was looking for those below the top rank of the venturing hierarchy in long-established units, based on their deals, career development so far, being an heir apparent and being the glue in the unit.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016 – National Press Club 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor Washington, D.C.

Kauffman Foundation President and CEO, Wendy Guillies, will present the 2016 State of Entrepreneurship Address highlighting an actionable policy agenda for renewing economic growth. “America’s New Entrepreneurial Growth Agenda” will present recommendations culled from some of the nation’s foremost thinkers on how to foster dynamism, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity.

Following the address, a panel of contributors will present recommendations from “America’s New Entrepreneurial Growth Agenda,” and policy leaders will share their own insights.

Partners HealthCare is expanding its Innovation Fund from $35 million to $100 million, the Massachusetts health system announced today at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

The fund, which was launched as an experiment in 2007 with funding from Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, provides startup capital to early stage life sciences companies. To date, it has funded 25 companies. This second fund, at $100 million, is geared in particular towards therapeutics startups – with aims to provide early seed investments.

Texas Medical Center added a second class of startups to its accelerator program and acknowledged that it has tweaked its approach.Although the second group will focus on digital health, the next cohort starting in July will be devoted to medical device innovation.

As a result of research performed by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of a drug to treat the deleterious effects of radiation exposure following a nuclear incident. The drug, Neulasta®, is one of a very small number that have been approved for the treatment of acute radiation injury.

The research was done by Thomas J. MacVittie, PhD, professor, and Kim Hankey, PhD, Study Director, both in the Preclinical Radiobiology Laboratory at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology’s Division of Translational Radiation Sciences (DTRS). The investigators did their research in a non-human clinical model of high-dose radiation. Ann M. Farese, MA, MS, assistant professor in the same lab and department, also contributed to the work.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced the anticipated executive management team of Aptevo Therapeutics Inc., Emergent’s planned Biosciences business spin-off company. Members of the Aptevo executive management team will be appointed to their positions effective upon completion of the tax-free spin-off of Aptevo, expected to occur in mid-2016.

“We are pleased to have such an experienced and talented group of individuals to lead Aptevo Therapeutics,” said Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. “These individuals possess the expertise, commitment, and passion to build on the successes of Emergent’s biosciences business for it to grow as a stand-alone publicly-traded company.”

DATE: Wednesday, February 10, 2016

LOCATION: Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 800, Rockville, MD 20850

Southern Maryland’s Energetics Technology Center (ETC-MD) announces it is opening Montgomery County’s newest technology business incubator as part of the ETC-MD TechFire incubator network at the former National Labor College located at 10000 New Hampshire Avenue. This incubator is sponsored by the Army Research Labs and is purposed to serve companies interested in commercializing ARL developed technologies although other technology companies will be considered as well. Find out how you can work successfully with the Army Research Lab at this informative session.

The White House has awarded Robert E. Fischell, ScD, a member of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) Board of Visitors, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor for technological achievement bestowed by the president of the United States. Previous recipients have included such luminaries as Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak (Apple Computer, Inc.), Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. (Bechtel Group, Inc.), David Packard (Hewlett-Packard Company), Clarence L. Johnson (Lockheed Corporation), Edwin H. Land (Polaroid Corporation) and Edith Flanigen (Union Carbide).

This is an opportunity to hear from NIST’s leadership about their important mission, a multi-million dollar laboratory expansion, cybersecurity implementation, and vendor opportunities in construction and IT.

Participants will also have the opportunity to meet representatives from many of the NIST Operating Units and contracting officials at exhibitor tables, speak one-on-one with the panelists, and network with fellow government contractors.

Roche will partner with the Lead Discovery Center (LDC) to identify and advance drug discovery projects intended to address diseases of unmet medical need across several areas. The value of the collaboration and the diseases to be addressed were not disclosed by the LDC, which announced the partnership today.

British pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline is reportedly discussing terms of a medtech joint venture with US chipmaker Qualcomm.

Talks between the two companies to form a partnership to develop medical technology are “preliminary and nothing has been decided”, reports Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources privy to the information. The Financial Times says the deal could be worth as much as $1 billion, and GSK reportedly has hired lawyers to help negotiate the terms of the joint venture with Qualcomm. If confirmed, FT expects the companies “to pool financial and human resources in a joint effort to develop new technology for use in the pharmaceuticals industry.”

WIB has collaborated with BioProcess International (BPI), the biopharmaceutical industry´s leading scientific publication, to publish a four-part WIB/BPI special report series in 2016. The mission of this special report series is to provide a unique and interactive platform to reach and educate women (and all professionals) working in the life sciences with insight, mentorship, and leadership support through all stages of career development. Each edition of the WIB/BPI special report series will focus on critical issues all biotechnology professionals need to know, understand and manage in order to climb the corporate ladder and achieve the highest levels of leadership.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced an expansion of its Research & Development (R&D) investment strategy to include early-stage companies on the leading edge of scientific innovation, providing them with both equity and access to resources for research in promising areas aligned with Pfizer’s core interests. The first four investments of the newly focused initiative include $46 million in financing to companies at early stages of the discovery process that are actively exploring Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs), immuno-oncology, neurodegenerative technologies and gene therapy. Additional opportunities will continue to be identified by Pfizer’s scientific leadership through their active involvement, and Pfizer will help recipient companies fully explore their platforms in the hopes of advancing new therapeutic pathways.

Welcome to ARP Network Quarterly Notes! Our goal is to keep you informed about ARP Network and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) current information. We hope that the notes build networking opportunities for businesses to connect with ARP Network Members.

February 16, 2016 2:30pm EST

Are you a scientist, entrepreneur, business developer, investor or economic development professional working in the area of human nutrition, animals, plants or sustainable agriculture? Are you interested in collaborating with world class scientists to scale up promising technologies? If these questions resonate with you, then this is a webinar for you!

ARS utilization centers are available for establishing partnerships to scale-up ARS research into commercial processes. Each of these state-of-the-art utilization centers has a unique set of resources, facilities, technical experts and scientific research capabilities for the industrial scaleup of lab-based technologies

It’s wise to think ahead when it comes to cancer, says William Nelson, one of the nation’s leading oncologists and director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.

That includes taking steps like avoiding tobacco and tanning beds, especially when you’re young.

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama announced a “moonshot” program to cure cancer. Obama named Vice President Joe Biden, whose son Beau died from brain cancer last year, to lead the government effort, which could even have bipartisan appeal. In 2015, House Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century Cures Act, which raises funding and lowers barriers for audacious medical research. (The Senate is considering its own version.) The bill’s sponsor (and Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee), Fred Upton, tweeted his support for the Obama-Biden effort.

The Washington region could hit the billion-dollar mark in cybersecurity venture funding in 2016. Jonathan Aberman, managing director of Amplifier Ventures, a seed and early-stage venture capital fund based in McLean, said big fourth-quarter investments in cybersecurity companies helped boost overall venture funding in 2015 – and will continue to grow in 2016. He said the Washington region, a growing center for cybersecurity business and research overall, will see more big deals in 2016.

An ambitious effort to spark employment and redevelopment in Central West Baltimore is set for a public launch Monday.

The effort, called the Innovation Village, labels itself as Baltimore’s first innovation district and spans some of the areas hardest hit in April’s unrest.

Frederick software startup Luminal has raised $20 million and is changing its name to Fugue.

The Series C round was led by New Enterprise Associates, with investment from Core Capital. The new financing brings the company’s total funding to $34 million.

T. Rowe Price sunk gobs of money into companies such as Cloudera, Dropbox, Apptio and Evernote in recent years, oftentimes at lofty valuations.

Now, the giant mutual fund manager is resetting some of those bets. According to a report in The Information (subscription required), T. Rowe Price has marked down its stakes in a number of companies.

May 8 – 11, 2016 – Grand Hyatt Washington DC in Washington, DC

Health Datapalooza is a national conference focused on liberating health data, and bringing together the companies, startups, academics, government agencies, and individuals with the newest and most innovative and effective uses of health data to improve patient outcomes.

More innovation will be the determining factor in achieving greater progress. Countries’ economic and trade policies can either help or hurt global innovation. For example, policies such as robust investment in and tax incentives for research and education support global innovation. In contrast, policies such as export subsidies or forced localization harm global innovation.

To better reflect the remarkable progress and groundbreaking innovations its members achieve in healing, fueling and feeding the world, BIO – the world’s largest biotechnology trade association – is changing its name to Biotechnology Innovation Organization. The organization will continue to use the shortened, “BIO” name.

In the more than 22 years since its founding, BIO – formerly Biotechnology Industry Organization – has united scientists, entrepreneurs, policymakers and the public to advance breakthrough cures and products in fields ranging from health, food and agricultural to industrial and environmental.