Biohealth Innovation - 525th Edition, September 13, 2022

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September 13, 2022

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Finalists Selected For 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap Competition

– Winner to be announced as part 2022 BioHealth Capital Region Forum –

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, September 12, 2022 – A panel of investor judges and anROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, September 12, 2022 – A panel of investor judges and anaudience of industry leaders will gather for the presentations of five early-stage companiesat the 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap Competition at US Pharmacopeia onSeptember 21st in Rockville, Maryland. Created in 2016, the competition highlights thecommercialization potential of biohealth technologies throughout the region and beyond.

Click here to download the PDF

Request for Proposals BioHealth Executive-In-Residence Montgomery County, MD

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) has partnered with Montgomery County, Maryland to support entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize life sciences, digital health, and medical device technologies within Montgomery County. The new BHI-County agreement will fund one or more Executives in Residence, dedicated to cultivating the local life sciences ecosystem within Montgomery County.

Background

Over a decade ago, BHI was founded in Rockville, Maryland to coordinate and amplify the county’s existing innovation assets. Since then, our work has expanded to the BioHealth Capital Region (any beyond) by connecting life sciences, biotech and healthcare stakeholders, developing entrepreneurial talent, identifying commercially relevant federal and university technology, and attracting funding for growth-stage companies. BHI’s original goal of raising the BioHealth Capital Region’s life sciences cluster ranking to one of the “Top 3 by 2023” is within reach.

Selexis and NexImmune Sign Service Agreement to Advance Multiple Immunotherapies Targeting Rare Cancers and Autoimmune Disorders

Agreement supports the development of molecules targeting acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma, human papilloma virus (HPV) associated tumors, and additional human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) that have the potential to increase immunotherapy options for patients

September 08, 2022 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

GENEVA & GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Selexis SA, a JSR Life Sciences company, and NexImmune Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing unique approaches to T cell immunotherapies, announced today that they have signed a service agreement to develop cell lines targeting rare cancers and autoimmune diseases and to advance two HLAs that can be used to expand treatments to more patients. Per the agreement, NexImmune will leverage Selexis’ SUREtechnology Platform™, a suite of cell line development technologies that significantly reduce the time, effort, and costs associated with developing high-performance mammalian cell lines.

United Therapeutics subsidiary orders up to 1,000 drones for organ delivery | Fierce Biotech

A subsidiary of United Therapeutics ($UTHR) has placed an order for up to 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Chinese manufacturer EHang. The plan is to use the UAVs, flying vehicles more commonly known as drones, to ship manufactured lungs and other organs from production facilities to hospitals for transplantation.

Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures | View Our FY22 Annual Report

I'm pleased to share with you JHTV's annual report for Fiscal Year 2022. As we returned to the office last year and The Johns Hopkins University came back to life, we wanted to celebrate the vibrancy of the innovation environment on our campuses and our connection to the broader Baltimore startup ecosystem. As we see new technologies, new companies and new alumni launch from our Homewood and East Baltimore campuses, so, too, do we see the city continue to become a growing hub for innovation.

MIMETAS appoints Dhaval Patel as Chair of the Board of Directors

LEIDEN, September 8, 2022 - MIMETAS, a global leader in organ-on-chip-based disease models for drug discovery and development, has appointed Dhaval Patel as Chair of its Board of Directors.

Dhaval Patel is Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at UCB, Belgium, clinical professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and former Head of Research for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Europe.

Former government scientist appointed first leader of ARPA-H - STAT

President Joe Biden plans to appoint longtime biologist and former government scientist Renee Wegrzyn as the first director of the nascent Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.

Biden’s announcement comes as ARPA-H advocates debate where the multibillion-dollar agency should be headquartered and which elusive disease areas should be prioritized. The president officially launched the agency in March with $1 billion in initial funding allotted by Congress, but the search for its inaugural director has taken months.

Image: Renee Wegrzyn will serve as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

NIH seeks the next generation of COVID-19 diagnostics

The National Institutes of Health has issued two new funding opportunities for diagnostic test manufacturers to develop the next generation of COVID-19 tests, with a major focus on accessibility. The funding opportunities are part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program, managed by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The new programs may award up to $300 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support the accelerated development of tests and provide regulatory guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Announces "The AMR RAPID™ Challenge" for the Infectious Disease Research Community: Find a Bacteria Resistant to APT’s Investigational Phage Bank

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. (“APT”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company controlling the world’s largest therapeutic phage library initiative and dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, today announced “The AMR RAPID™ Challenge” at the World AMR Congress. RAPID is APT’s acronym for Rapidly Adaptive Phage for Infectious Disease.

Through this challenge, APT will pay $1,000 to any individual or institution in the clinical research community that identifies a strain of bacteria (within the CDC's most serious and urgent biological threat categories -- i.e., the "ESKAPE" pathogens*) for which APT cannot demonstrate sensitivity to with its phage bank. Applicants to the AMR RAPID™ Challenge should contact RAPID@aphage.com for further information, rules, and conditions or visit phagebank.com.

Jeeva is ranked among 61 Most Promising Clinical Trials Startups with Seed Funding (United States)

Just Funded selected the organizations listed in this article based on:

Track record
Executive leadership
Market share
Innovation
ESG rating

Shannon Wolfson from BlueCloudTV Interviews Dr. Harsha Rajasimha, Founder and CEO of Jeeva eClinical Cloud. The story behind the company and the vision to increase diversity in clinical trials.

Click here to watch the video.