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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).

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.  

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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

SHARE For Cures (SFC), a new Washington, DC-based non-profit that makes it easy for individuals to access and securely share their health data with researchers, announced today a new partnership with BioHealth Innovation, a Maryland-based innovation intermediary focused on connecting health technology innovators and entrepreneurs with government agencies and corporations.

Through the partnership, SHARE For Cures will become an affiliate of Relevant Health, a Rockville, MD-based technology accelerator supported by BioHealth Innovation.