JLABS is taking the lead in exploring new and innovative approaches to vaccinations with their upcoming event, “Breaking Dependencies on Seasonal Vaccines to Address Infectious Diseases.” This forward-looking program is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at JLABS in Washington, DC, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
The event aims to examine the potential of technology to break the dependence on annual or seasonal vaccinations and provide more durable and reliable solutions for preventing infectious diseases such as coronaviruses, influenza, and rhinoviruses. Through innovation, there is an opportunity to enhance the impact and acceptance of vaccinations, achieve more consistent and impactful outcomes, and limit the spread of infectious diseases across large populations, regardless of risk level.
BioHealth Innovation is proud to announce that Rich Bendis, Founder and CEO, will be participating in the upcoming International APEC Dialogue on Strengthening the Resilience of the Medical Product Supply Chain in the Asia Pacific.
Rich Bendis will be sharing his expertise in Panel Session Four: “The U.S. Capital Region’s Role in Enabling Global Medicines Supply Chain Resilience.” This session offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into building a robust and resilient medical supply chain on a global scale.
This important event, cosponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), is aimed at accelerating efforts to strengthen medical product supply chains in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Ensuring the resilience of these supply chains is a critical topic that impacts global health.
The program will take place on April 25 and 26, 2023, and will be a hybrid event, offering attendees the option to participate both in-person and virtually. The event will be held in conjunction with the USP Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Chapter Meeting, which is scheduled for April 27, 2023.
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with experts and industry leaders in the field of medical supply chain resilience. Register now to attend in-person or virtually at the following link: https://cvent.me/2wVPXE
April 20, 2023 / By Katie Maney
Musculoskeletal injury (MSKI) is the most common form of medical injury experienced by Service members. Clinical interventions for MSKIs lack objective measures to determine their effectiveness, putting affected military personnel at risk of further damage if they return to duty before fully recovering.
George Mason University bioengineer Dr. Parag Chitnis, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering and a member of the Institute for Biohealth Innovation (IBI), and his team are developing quantitative assessments that can both prevent and monitor MSKIs in Service members.
In partnership with Cephasonics Ultrasound, an ultrasound systems and technology company in California, and Infinite Biomedical Technologies, a biotechnology company in Maryland, the team has been selected by the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command to receive nearly $3M from the United States Department of Defense, awarded through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC). The award will support the team’s development of wearable, compact, and hands-free ultrasound systems to assess rehabilitation and recovery from MSKIs through measurements of muscle structure and function during physical activity, with a specific focus on knee injuries.
“MTEC aims to facilitate prototype advancement in support of the Warfighters’ MSKI needs, “ said Dr. Lauren Palestrini, MTEC’s chief science officer. “We are excited to issue this award to the team at George Mason University and believe it has the potential to make great strides in military health and ultrasound research.”
Prior to this award, Dr. Chitnis and Dr. Siddhartha Sikdar, a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and a member of the IBI, formed the Training and Recovery Augmented with Ultrasound Myography and Assessment (TRAUMA) program. With funding from the Department of Defense’s Military Operational Medicine Research Program, TRAUMA’s goal is to develop ultrasound systems that can be used to evaluate MSKIs in dynamic settings. The award from MTEC enables the team to further advance their ongoing research.
Discovering treatments for patients that currently have no available disease-modifying options is the priority of Gain Therapeutics. Specifically, there is a large unmet need for patients suffering from protein misfolding disorders that alter enzyme function.
What is Gain Therapeutics approach to drug discovery?
The pipeline begins with Gain’s agnostic discovery platform for Site-Directed Enzyme Enhancement Therapy (SEE-Tx). This is a computational platform, as opposed to an artificial intelligence (AI) system. This is preferable for multiple reasons. First, AI needs a large amount of data while SEE-Tx starts with a 3D protein structure to find novel binding sites within the protein. SEE-Tx can use the already published 3D protein structures solved by cryo-EM, or alternatively, the platform can utilize 3D structural predictions from the AlphaFold Database. After the platform identifies new binding sites on a previously undruggable protein, it can also compute the druggability of the identified allosteric binding site using quantitative predictions as opposed to discovery approaches using AI technology that cannot be interpreted. Importantly, any targeted sites will allow for protein function to be restored without interfering with the active sites of the enzyme and its substrate.
The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill that would establish a Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) fund to promote job growth and minority inclusion in the sciences.
Both chambers passed House Bill 781 earlier this month, which establishes the Equitech Growth Fund to send state funding to projects that expand the economy through infrastructure investment and create a diverse workforce through job training programs. The bill, which is awaiting Gov. Wes Moore‘s signature, would require $5 million annually in the state budget from 2025 through 2033 to pay for the fund. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately say whether Moore would sign the bill when contacted Thursday.
The fund would invest in public, nonprofit and private entities to attempt to stimulate employment opportunities in the technology industry. The specific mechanics of the fund, such as what stage of companies it will focus on, and whether the fund will give out money in a specific ratio of loans, grants and/or equity investments, is still undecided, TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall said.
A 2023 report by TEDCO found that Maryland’s job growth in the high tech industry lags behind other states, ranking 28th in the country in annual job growth rate in the sector at 1.6% annually over the past 10 years. The report says that, while Maryland is the country’s 15th largest economy by gross domestic product (GDP), the state’s GDP growth is below the national average and “Maryland’s high-tech industry will need to grow much faster to increase Maryland’s real GDP growth rate over the next 10 years.”
“The governor has said it best: We are asset-rich, but strategy-poor,” LeMaile-Stovall said.
Winners will be revealed at the celebration on April 27th
The Maryland Tech Council (MTC) is proud to announce the ICON awards finalists for its annual Industry Awards Celebration. The event honors individuals and companies in the life sciences, technology, and government contracting industries that have made a significant impact in their respective fields. This year there were ninety-three nominations in eleven categories. Two new award categories have been added this year: Investor of the Year and C-Suite of the Year. The winners will be announced live on April 27th at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Click here to learn more about the event.
“The Maryland Tech Council is excited to present this year’s ICON Awards. The finalists highlight the best and brightest in the fields of life sciences, technology and government contracting. We are looking forward to hosting Maryland’s greatest night of networking and celebrating the winners,” said IAC committee Co-Chair and Corporate M&A Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, Nicole Islinger.
BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is proud to announce that US Pharmacopeia (USP) will be hosting the 9th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum for the second year in a row on September 19th and 20th, 2023. In addition to this flagship event, USP will also host the 8th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap Competition on September 20th and the 6th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference on September 21st.
“We are looking forward to once again hosting the BioHealth Capital Region Forum. As an integral part of this dynamic region, USP is deeply committed to fostering innovation and collaboration across the BioHealth space. USP eagerly anticipates bringing together leading minds and stakeholders to advance our shared vision for the future.” said Anthony Lakavage, J.D., SVP of Global External Affairs at USP.
The Greater Rockville Chamber of Commerce’s Chief Executive Officer, Marji Graf, serves on Rockville Economic Development, Inc’s (REDI) Board of Directors. REDI congratulates GRCC on their recognition, and is grateful for the continued involvement and guidance of Ms. Graf.Annapolis, Md., Apr. 3, 2023 – The Maryland Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (MACCE) named Greater Rockville Chamber President and CEO Marji Graf its 2023 Maryland Chamber Executive of the Year.
“Marji is an exceptional leader and was selected as MACCE’s 2023 Chamber Executive of the Year because of her many notable accomplishments on behalf of the Greater Rockville Chamber of Commerce,” said Bill Chambers, MACCE President. “Marji helped the Greater Rockville Chamber, and its members deal with the many challenges of the pandemic, while still focusing on their program of work and making a difference for her members and her community.”
Among the numerous accomplishments noted in Marji’s nomination, standout achievements included diversifying and expanding her chamber’s programming, increasing its fiscal stability, and developing new, innovative responses to attracting and retaining members. “She is a dedicated
leader with a positive attitude and innovative spirit. Her commitment to the Chamber’s success was evidenced by adding new events, advocating for local businesses, and leading an effort to develop and implement values–based dues in 2022,” stated Laura Nash, Board Chair of the Greater Rockville Chamber and Relationship Manager and Vice President of West Financial Services.
An active member of MACCE, Marji is currently serving in her second year on MACCE’s Executive Board as Treasurer. Previous to moving to Maryland five years ago, Marji was a chamber leader in New England where she served as President of the Vermont Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and President of the New England Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.”
Deka Biosciences (“Deka”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered at 20271 Goldenrod Lane in Germantown and focused on developing novel cytokine therapies to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases, announced that the first subject has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial of DK210 (EGFR) at NEXT Oncology in Fairfax, Virginia. The Phase 1, first-in-human, multicenter clinical study seeks to characterize the safety, potential efficacy and evaluate possible biomarkers of response to DK210 (EGFR) in patients with advanced solid cancer(s) who are expressing epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) (NCT05704985).
Per the press release: “We are beyond thrilled to begin the clinical trial of DK210 (EGFR), marking our first program to enter clinical development,” said John Mumm, Ph.D., President and CEO of Deka. “Importantly, we anticipate that the results of the study will confirm the clinical safety, pharmacokinetics, exploratory efficacy and correlative biomarker responses to our first DiakineTM, establishing a solid foundation for the expanded use of this treatment in cancer patients.”
Click here to read more via The MoCo Show.