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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a Montgomery County, Maryland innovation intermediary which translates market-relevant research into commercial success by bringing together among other things management, funding, and markets, is seeking an experienced life science professional with entrepreneurial experience to serve as its Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) financially supported by the China Fortune Land Development Company, LTD (CFLD), focused on advancing China-U.S. partnerships. The EIR will collaborate with a life science commercialization expert who has an interest in relocating to the Peptide Valley to assist CFLD in Chinese life science commercialization. BHI will work with the CFLD EIR on this recruitment as well as provide training to them. The EIR will lead in the scouting of technologies in both markets with a preliminary focus on therapeutic vaccines, antibodies, medical devices, proteins and peptides and diagnostics. Further, the EIR will build partnerships in life science hubs in the U.S. and China which support the progression of these technologies for manufacturing or at the preclinical testing stage of development, the primary focus of the Peptide Valley. This EIR will evaluate life science technologies in both markets, provide a strategic plan for start-up companies, advise on opportunities for new ventures, and lead the commercial strategy for mature assets. The EIR will oversee primary and secondary research and will provide strategic recommendations and insights on the direction of potential assets that have potential for Chinese commercialization in the Peptide Valley or other CFLD research parks.
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Each year, Speakers Platform recognizes five speakers within ten popular topic areas. Excellence in speaking is based on: expertise, professionalism, client testimonials, presentation skills and original contribution to the field. The only substantive requirement is that the candidates' standard keynote presentation fee be under $30,000USD. Once the nominees are chosen, online voters determine the final Top5 honorees. Women secured more honoree slots this year than any year in the past - almost sweeping some categories such as "Communication / Diversity". Job well done!
Over 12,000 votes were received at Speaking.com for the initial 165 nominees- from business leaders, educators, association members and others from around the world. Many voters praised the nominees for having a profoundly positive impact on their lives; a living testament to the far reach and valuable work of all the nominees. Please join us in congratulating your 2014 honorees!
Richard Bendis was listed in the top 5 in the Innovation / Creativity category. Thanks to all those who voted and helped spread the word! —Ed.
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DreamIt Ventures‘ Baltimore accelerator is adding another prestigious partner to its ranks: Kaiser Permanente will join the organization’s leadership team, alongside Johns Hopkins University, Northrop Grumman Corporation and BioHealth Innovation.
“We look forward to working with these very promising new healthcare technology companies where we can provide access to industry leading health professionals and a real world laboratory to test the usability and effectiveness of next generation technology solutions” Kim Horn, president of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc., said in a statement.
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Underwriters have snapped up another 1 million shares of GlycoMimetics Inc. stock, the Gaithersburg biotech announced this week, marking the close of its $64.4 million initial public offering.
GLYC debuted on the Nasdaq last week in the Washington region's first IPO of 2014, selling a total 8 million shares at $8 apiece. Net proceeds to the company will be around $57.4 million, much of which will pay expenses to advance one of its oncology drug candidates through the clinic.
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First there was a blizzard of new drug deals. Now comes the forecast for sunnier financial weather ahead.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot arrived at JPMorgan with a message: The pharma giant ($AZN) has beefed up its late-stage pipeline and is now ready to prove it can start to grow again in the near future as it pushes through one of the industry's most radical R&D reorganizations. As of today, AstraZeneca counts 11 drugs in late stages of development--just about double what Soriot inherited when he was named CEO a year ago--with another 27 coming up behind it. And it's mapped out a combo strategy for immunotherapies designed to get the company in the race to gain approvals and start growing oncology revenue.
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Johns Hopkins University's board of trustees has voted to renew the contract of President Ronald J. Daniels, keeping him at the helm of the nation's first research university for another five years. The unanimous board action today signaled a strong and clear endorsement for Daniels, who has been instrumental in leading and advancing the mission of the university.
The reappointment, announced by board chairman Jeffrey H. Aronson, extends Daniels' contract to 2019.
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Johns Hopkins was a city within a city.
A gleaming, state-of-the-art, wonder-what’s-going-on-in-there mansion smack in the middle of a rundown Baltimore neighborhood.
Hopkins has always been involved in Baltimore to some extent. The university and the health system employ roughly 50,000 people in the Baltimore area, making them the two largest employers here. Their construction projects inject millions into the local economy. But Hopkins’ reputation is as a world-renowned medical research giant
Johns Hopkins' quest to build bridges in Baltimore
Q&A with Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels
Q&A with Johns Hopkins Hospital President Ronald Peterson
Q&A with Johns Hopkins’ new tech transfer chief
Here's a look at some Johns Hopkins spinoffs
Johns Hopkins is making primary care a priority
Johns Hopkins' storied history in medical discoveries
Johns Hopkins' reach goes well beyond Baltimore's borders
Johns Hopkins' top priorities include EBDI, Homewood
10 fun facts about Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins lags in generating startups, new patents
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Venture capitalists more than doubled their investment in companies based Baltimore- and Washington, D.C.-area companies in 2013.
Venture firms invested more than $1.5 billion in the region in 2013, making that the biggest year for investment since 2001, according to the latest MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. Maryland companies took in 43 percent of that investment money.
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New data show that local venture-capital deals have come roaring back after the economic downturn.
Investors pumped $1.54 billion into Washington area companies last year, the largest sum in more than a decade. The figures suggest that venture capitalists may be more bullish on the state of the economy and are loosening their purse strings as a result.
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DreamIt Health, a relative newcomer to the digital health incubator scene, has proven itself no slouch at recruiting big name provider partners. It launched its first Philadelphia-based class with the support of Independence Blue Cross and Penn Medicine and brought on Johns Hopkins for its second class, based in Baltimore, last fall. Now the incubator is adding provider and payor Kaiser Permanente as an additional strategic partner. Northrop Grumman will also support the class.
As in last year’s program, companies will have access to a working space, up to $50,000 per team for living expenses, and access to a range of professional and legal services in exchange for an 8 percent stake in the company. That’s in addition to DreamIt’s signature offerings: one-on-one mentorship and introductions to local and national payors and providers.
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Gov. Martin O'Malley on Wednesday unwrapped his eighth and final budget, a $39 billion plan that increases spending on tax credits for cyber security, biotechnology and research and development while holding the line on taxes.
For fiscal 2015, O'Malley has proposed hiking the biotech and life sciences tax credit by 20 percent, to $12 million. He wants to increase the cyber tax credit by 33 percent, to $4 million and raise the credit for research and development by 12.5 percent, to $9 million.
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What would your business do with $100,000?
For more than a dozen Maryland technology startups, dreams of expansion and development are becoming a reality with the help of awards from the state-sponsored Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO).
TEDCO announced on Tuesday that 13 startups received total funding of $1.3 million, $100,000 each, between July 2013 and January 2014, through the organization’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). The companies range from i-Lighting, an InvestMaryland Challenge winner and lighting system innovator, to Graftworx, a high-tech medical device developer.
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The 8th Annual Postdoc Conference and Career Fair is April 24, 2013 at the Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center. The event draws and average of 500 postdoctoral fellows from federal and university laboratories who are finishing their fellowships in the STEM fields and are seeking professional employment. The conference portion of the event runs concurrently with the career fair, and focuses on such topics as preparing for an interview and exploring non-traditional careers. The conference is organized by a symposium of government, private, educational and economic development organizations. Company registration for the career fair portion is now open and starts at $500.
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Thursday, January 30 | 1:30 – 6:30 pm
Shark Tank is a one-of-a-kind event where industry experts pose stimulating questions to CBID MSE student teams about their medtech projects. A mid-year design project showcase and reception will follow the challenging throw down.
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A Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) and I-Corps presentation, “Linking Innovative Technology with University System of Maryland Resources,” with Mr. Joe Naft, Director, MIPS will take place on Thursday, February 6, 11:15 am – 12:30 pm in Wyle Building 1 North conference room, 22309 Exploration Dr., Lexington Park, MD 20653. This program, sponsored by The Patuxent Partnership, is free and open to the public. Check-in begins at 11:00 am; attendees are welcome to bring their lunch.
Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute’s (Mtech) MIPS program accelerates the commercialization of technology in Maryland by jointly funding collaborative R&D projects between companies and the faculty of Maryland’s public universities. With more than 500 Maryland companies participating in project awards since 1987, MIPS-supported products have generated over $25.2 billion in sales, added jobs to the region, and infused state-of-the-art technology into the global marketplace. To be sponsored by MIPS, projects must show strong potential for commercialization and economic impact. These projects cover the gamut of state-of-the-art technologies in fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, clean energy, robotics, information technology and all types of engineering.
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Five Baltimore companies are among the startups that will be the first through a new health IT accelerator in the city.
A total of nine companies from around the world were selected for DreamIt Health Baltimore’s inaugural program, which officially begins Jan. 20. The accelerator program lasts four months and includes seed funding, mentorship from veteran entrepreneurs, workspace and other resources to help participants’ businesses take off. It is designed help startup companies power through early problems and prepare for the market.
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Funding and Research Opportunities
The following funding opportunity announcements from the NHLBI or other components of the National Institutes of Health, might be of interest:
NIH Guide Notices:
Please note that most links to RFAs, PAs, and Guide Notices will take you to the NIH Web site. RFPs will take you to FedBizOpps. Links to RFPs will not work past their proposal receipt date. Archived versions of RFPs posted on FedBizOpps can be found on the FedBizOpps site using the FedBizOpps search function. Under “Document to Search,” select Archived Documents.
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Researchers and physicians at The Johns Hopkins University will collaborate with Belgian nanoelectronics research center imec to advance silicon applications in health care, beginning with development of a point-of-care device to enable a broad range of clinical tests to be performed outside the laboratory. The collaboration, announced today, will combine the Johns Hopkins clinical and research expertise with imec’s technical capabilities. The two organizations plan to forge strategic ties with additional collaborators across the value chain in the health care and technology sectors.
“Johns Hopkins has always prioritized innovative and transformative research opportunities,” said Landon King, M.D., the David Marine Professor of Medicine and executive vice dean of the school of medicine. “Our new collaboration with imec is such an opportunity, and we very much look forward to leveraging our respective strengths across the university in biomedical and nanotechnology research to improve patient diagnosis and care throughout the world.”
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American innovation, badly damaged last year by federal budget tightening and the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration, appears to be getting partial relief with the bipartisan budget deals struck last month and Monday night. The progress is praiseworthy, but it will not counteract the decades-long decline in federal funding for research and development that is so essential to our economic future and critical to accelerating treatments for today’s major health care challenges, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
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It’s rare for me to hear a panel discussion on digital health and not hear the same conversation repeated and reiterated over and over again. In a discussion between health IT company CEOs at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference, some of the most interesting points raised were the ones the healthcare industry is struggling with the most. Of course, there were a lot of sound bites too. Here are five of the most interesting digital health insights.
If you control the capital, you control the data and if you control the data, you control the product. This is a sound bite, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Providers’ relationship with their digital health companies revolves around this balance. Digital health companies are using their technology to help providers deliver better patient care. But investors have an impact in shaping business model. With the shift to outcomes-based care, data generated by digital health tools will become even more critical to care delivery.
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Thinking about Big Pharma’s relationship with the biotech industry last week at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco reminded me of an old physical education teacher I had in 7th grade.
This guy was feared for his patented “pinch.” He would grab misbehaving teenage boys by the clavicle, and squeeze so hard that his thumb and index finger almost completely wrapped around the bone. He would then drag the pimply, 100-pound punk to his office for a scolding.
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From wearable technologies that track back posture, blood pressure and brain waves to connected cars and homes, the 152,000 attendees at this year's Consumer Electronics Show were treated to some of the most innovative wireless technologies global innovation has to offer. So dazzling and ubiquitous were the wireless innovations not just on display --but in use-- that the event easily could have been rebranded as the Consumer Mobile Show.
While many gadgets offer great fun, many more actually save lives. I was honored to lead a conversation on the coming wave of mobile innovation in digital health through next generation wireless sensors which we are implanting inside our bodies called "The Internet of You." Panelists Dr. Fran Kauffman, the Chief Medical Officer of Medtronic Diabetes and Dr. Christian Holz, a Research Scientist in the mobile innovation group at Yahoo! Labs brilliantly described the progress being made in this next powerful frontier of mobile innovation.
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The approaching March deadline for individuals to enroll in a health insurance plan is a useful reminder that provisions of Obamacare will continue to roll out this year. The Affordable Care Act and related legislation are putting a huge demand on the health system, from accelerating the shift to electronic medical records to creating a need for more efficient communication tools between physician offices, patients and insurers. A handful of industry insiders offers a glimpse of the kind of targets that will shift into focus in 2014 and the groups that will be looking to buy them.
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