BioHealth Innovation Weekly for January 7, 2025

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January 7, 2025

Building Montgomery County’s Future: Economic Growth and Innovation with MCEDC’s Bill Tompkins on BioTalk

In this episode of BioTalk, Bill Tompkins, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), discusses the strategies driving Montgomery County’s position as a leading bioscience hub. Bill highlights MCEDC’s role in reinforcing the region’s standing as the third-largest bioscience cluster in the U.S. and shares insights into the new Institute for Health Computing. He also introduces two new venture funds—the Technology Innovation Fund and the Founders Fund—designed to accelerate innovation and support local entrepreneurs.

Bill outlines MCEDC’s priorities for the upcoming year, emphasizing economic growth, investment opportunities, and fostering collaborations that make Montgomery County a thriving ecosystem for business and life sciences.

Listen now via your favorite podcast platforms:

Apple: https://apple.co/4j6AA0e
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4iXajSl
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3W3Tb3i
YouTube Music: https://bit.ly/3W9hixH
TuneIn: https://bit.ly/427OmtP

Arnold Consultancy & Technology, LLC Awarded $357,000 Phase I Grant to develop a Health Economic Model Marketplace

National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a $357,000 SBIR grant to Arnold Consultancy & Technology, LLC to develop an open source model marketplace.

MIAMI BEACH, FL, UNITED STATES, December 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New cancer drugs have long been at the forefront of research and debate about rising healthcare expenditure in the United States; researchers and decision-makers rely on evidence to support fair pricing and ensure patient access. HE models support stakeholders in decision-making about the most cost-effective care for the available resources. Annually, stakeholders spend an estimated $1B on health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), much of it to create and recreate health economic (HE) models. Global government bodies use these models to formulate response and reimbursement decisions, aid resource allocation and suggest value-based pricing for new therapies. Sharing models by making their “source code” openly available would mitigate these problems, but prior initiatives to promote model sharing have had limited success in part because model authors fear the loss of their intellectual property and are not paid for their models being deposited.

Children’s National SPARK Symposium and Ribbon-Cutting Launch

Children’s National Innovation Ventures is hosting the Symposium on Pediatric Medical Countermeasures (MCMs) and the SPARK for Innovations in Pediatrics Launch and Prize Competition—a premier event under the BARDA Accelerator Network 2.0. This exciting gathering will focus on advancing pediatric-focused MCMs, featuring insightful discussions and a live competition where finalists will pitch their groundbreaking solutions for a chance to secure non-dilutive funding from SPARK.

The event will also include a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially launch the SPARK Hub, followed by a cocktail reception to celebrate this milestone in pediatric innovation.

BioHealth Innovation (BHI) is a proud partner in this initiative, supporting efforts to drive advancements in pediatric medical countermeasures and foster impactful innovation.

Event Details:

Location: Children's National Research and Innovation Campus, 7144 13th Pl NW, Washington, DC 20012
Date and Time: Tuesday, January 28, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

For more information, visit https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/2p7f9t5.

Join us in celebrating this important step toward transforming the future of pediatric healthcare!

IonQ Completes Acquisition of Qubitekk, Solidifying Leadership in Quantum Networking

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), a leader in the quantum computing and networking industry, today announced the completion of its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Qubitekk, Inc., a prominent quantum networking company. The acquisition brings Qubitekk’s esteemed team, advanced technology, and extensive patent portfolio into IonQ’s operations, solidifying IonQ’s position at the forefront of quantum networking and computing.

Quantum networks are poised to become important infrastructure, with the potential to drive transformative applications in sectors such as defense, finance, and energy. These networks facilitate highly secure communication between multiple quantum nodes using entangled qubits. The technology also enables precise timing synchronization, a transport layer for quantum sensing, and a backbone for distributed quantum computing. With the development and 2022 launch of the EPB Quantum Network in Chattanooga, Tennessee—the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S.—Qubitekk has established itself as a leader in quantum networking.

Germantown's Precigen Seeks FDA Approval with Priority Review for New Treatment for Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis in Adults

Precigen has submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA, seeking priority review for PRGN-2012, which could become the first FDA-approved treatment for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP)—a rare and chronic disease currently managed through repeated surgeries. PRGN-2012 has received Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug Designations from both the FDA and the European Commission. The application, submitted under an accelerated approval pathway, is backed by Phase 1/2 study data showing over 50% of patients achieved Complete Response and more than 85% experienced fewer surgeries in the year following treatment. PRGN-2012 was also well-tolerated, with no dose-limiting toxicities and no severe treatment-related adverse events.

MEDTECHDRIVE Q&A: Few medical devices are designed for children. An FDA-Children’s National collaboration aims to change that.

Kolaleh Eskandanian, chief innovation officer at Children’s National Hospital, said the partnership is meant to address the many challenges with developing devices for children and infants.

Published Jan. 2, 2025 - Elise Reuter, Reporter

A collaboration between a children’s hospital and the Food and Drug Administration aims to address challenges in developing medical devices for children and infants.

Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., struck a five-year research collaboration with the FDA’s Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories (OSEL) to build regulatory science tools to help evaluate pediatric devices.

The partners will use de-identified clinical data, multimodal imaging and machine learning to develop open-source tools that can be used to design and test devices more efficiently.

Spotlighting Growth and Collaboration in Life Sciences—Insights from Rachel Rath, Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC

BHI is excited to highlight Rachel Rath’s recent LinkedIn Post, where she reflects on her first 90 days as Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC. Rachel, who recently joined the BHI Board of Directors, discusses the Mid-Atlantic’s strengths—including its talent pool, investor activity, and opportunities for deeper collaboration.

We look forward to continuing to work with Rachel and JLABS to drive growth and innovation in the BioHealth Capital Region.

90 Days In: Reflections on an Evolving Life Science Landscape in the Mid-Atlantic

December 30, 2024

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

Time flies when you’re having fun! My first 90 days as Head of JLABS @ Washington, DC (JLABS DC) have been both energizing and eye-opening. While I’ve spent nearly 20 years in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia), been part of Johnson & Johnson and the JLABS team for 5 years, and been based at JLABS DC since the site opened, it’s been fulfilling to move from a global role into a role that allows me to deep-dive into the local ecosystem that I call home. The DMV region and broader Mid-Atlantic region boast incredible strengths, but these first few months in the job have underscored the work that remains to unlock the region’s full potential. Here are three reflections as I recognize the strengths of this region and look at how JLABS DC can continue to help spur the region's trajectory:

Advancing Biomedical Innovation: ARPA-H’s Transformative 2024 Highlights

BHI is proud to support ARPA-H through its Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA), providing EIR commercialization services to advance groundbreaking technologies. Notably, BaySpec, one of BHI’s clients, was awarded ARPA-H’s first SBIR grant to develop cutting-edge diagnostics. Andy Kilianski, Program Manager at ARPA-H, recaps key 2024 milestones, including AI-driven drug discovery, RNA therapies, and the $204M APECx biologics program. These efforts underscore ARPA-H’s commitment to accelerating biomedical innovation.

Portfolio Views from 2024
Andy Kilianski
Program Manager at ARPA-H

December 30, 2024
Happy Holidays Everyone!

2024 was a BIG year for my team and our investments in the biomedical and biotechnology ecosystem. Our goal is to invest in transformative technology that allows biomedical R&D to be predictive of human outcomes, in ways that are currently impossible. I want to capture some of our key milestones (in semi-chronological order) to highlight the amazing work already underway with our team at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) . My team and our performers have been incredibly diligent and dedicated to get us to this point. There are a lot of efforts soon-to-be-announced from us as we head into next year, including the kick-off of the CATALYST program mid-2025.

Governor Moore Signs Executive Order to Bolster Maryland’s Economic Competitiveness

DEC 20, ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today signed an executive order to strengthen Maryland’s business climate and catalyze more economic growth in the state. The governor signed the order during a visit to the Frederick Hotel and Conference Center project site in Frederick—a public-private development project that is expected to generate $1.5 billion in new private sector spending over the next 25 years, more than 200 jobs, and more than $4 million in state and local tax revenue annually.

I-Mab Focuses on Advancing Givastomig as Lead Cancer Therapy in Clinical Development

ROCKVILLE, MD, Jan. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- I-Mab (NASDAQ: IMAB) (the "Company"), a U.S.-based, global biotech company, focused on the development of precision immuno-oncology agents for the treatment of cancer, today highlighted its strategic outlook for 2025 and a re-prioritization of resources, with a focus on advancing its lead program, givastomig, a CLDN18.2 x 4-1BB bispecific antibody, targeting first-line metastatic gastric cancers, with further potential in other solid tumors.

PQE Group Receives Certifications from ISO/IEC 27001 and A Women’s Business Enterprise

Italy, December 23, 2024. PQE Group is proud to announce its most recently-received official recognitions: ISO/IEC 27001 and A Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Certifications, which provide additional reasons to recognize PQE Group’s extensive capabilities; the ISO/IEC 27001 provides clients assurance that their information management systems are risk-aware and that PQE Group’s solutions can proactively identify and address weaknesses; the WBE Certification ensures that PQE Group has met the stringent eligibility criteria to be classified as a women-owned enterprise.