|
Adventist HealthCare on Monday named Terry Forde its new president and CEO.
The Gaithersburg-based hospital system had already tapped Forde its interim leader following last month’s announcement of CEO Bill Robertson’s planned departure. In February, Robertson said he would leave for a new position with MultiCare Health in Tacoma, Wash. Robertson, 54, had been Adventist's CEO since April 2000.
back to top 
QIAGEN N.V. QGEN has posted its 2013 Annual Report on its website at http://www.qiagen.com/About-Us/Investors/Financial-Information/Financial-Reports .
QIAGEN's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 04, 2014, a copy of which can be found on the website of the SEC at www.sec.gov or in the "Financial Information" section of the "Investors" section of our website at http://www.qiagen.com/About-Us/Investors/ . QIAGEN will provide printed copies of the 2013 Annual Report to shareholders free of charge upon request. To obtain a printed copy of the 2013 Annual Report please contact: IR@qiagen.com.
back to top
Maryland has a lot of technology interests, but Baltimore tech leader Jason Hardebeck thinks there’s room for one more: health IT.
Hardebeck, the former executive director of gb.tc, is heading up a new accelerator, DreamIt Health Baltimore. The accelerator is wrapping up its first cycle and Hardebeck thinks the program’s early success is a sign that health IT has a big future in Baltimore.
back to top
Noble Life Sciences (Gaithersburg, MD) and IBT Bioservices (Gaithersburg, MD) announce a newly optimized cotton rat model for preclinical studies of influenza therapies and vaccines. The companies jointly developed the model of influenza infection in the cotton rat.
Cotton rats are a vital tool to study influenza infection because adaptation of human influenza strains is not required for virus replication in the respiratory tract. Moreover, virus infection results in histopathological lesions in the lungs that are similar to those seen during natural infection of humans.
back to top
GlaxoSmithKline plc today announces a major 3-part inter-conditional transaction with Novartis AG involving its Consumer Healthcare, Vaccines and Oncology businesses (the “Transaction”). In summary:
- GSK and Novartis will create a new world-leading Consumer Healthcare business with 2013 pro forma revenues of £6.5 billion. GSK will have majority control with an equity interest of 63.5%
- GSK will acquire Novartis’ global Vaccines business (excluding influenza vaccines) for an initial cash consideration of $5.25 billion with subsequent potential milestone payments of up to $1.8 billion and ongoing royalties
- GSK will divest its marketed Oncology portfolio, related R&D activities and rights to its AKT inhibitor and also grant of commercialisation partner rights for future oncology products to Novartis for an aggregate cash consideration of $16 billion (of which up to $1.5 billion depends on the results of the COMBI-d trial)
- GSK shareholders to receive £4 billion capital return funded by net cash transaction proceeds and expected to be delivered via a B share scheme
- Transaction expected to be accretive to core EPS from first year, reflecting execution of intended B share scheme, and thereafter with growing contribution from 2017 as projected cost savings and new growth opportunities are delivered
- Transaction is expected to complete during the first half of 2015 subject to approvals
back to top
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced that it has initiated manufacturing of BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) consistency lots in Building 55, following review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Manufacturing and Non-Clinical Study Protocols submitted by the company supporting the Building 55 comparability program. The goal of the comparability program is to generate data that will show BioThrax manufactured at large scale in Building 55 is comparable to the BioThrax currently manufactured in the approved facility, Building 12. BioThrax is the only FDA-licensed vaccine for the prevention of anthrax disease.
“Emergent is pleased to have reached an agreement with FDA that now enables the final steps towards securing approval of Building 55 for large scale manufacturing of BioThrax. This progress could not have been achieved without the successful collaboration between the company, FDA, and BARDA,” said Adam Havey, executive vice president and president, biodefense division at Emergent BioSolutions. “This multi-year effort to expand our manufacturing capability is intended to address the U.S. Government’s stated need for this critical medical countermeasure in the Strategic National Stockpile. We look forward to our continued partnership with the government to bring this program to completion.”
back to top
View Presentation
back to top
 Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will lead a business mission to India on November 13-22, visiting New Delhi and Bangalore, with opportunities for delegates to also visit Hyderabad and Raipur. The mission will offer Montgomery County companies in several technology and services sectors the opportunity to experience first-hand the substantial opportunities that exist in one of the fastest growing, large economies of the world.
back to top
 PathSensors, Inc. is a growing biotechnology company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company is developing products for the rapidly evolving field of pathogen detection. We are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of Director of Biosensor Development. The successful candidate will be responsible for design, development and continuous improvement of our portfolio of biosensor products.
back to top
A new $1.7 million lab at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is designed to teach students about science through experience.
The 3,000-square-foot Science Learning Collaboratory in UMBC’s Meyerhoff Chemistry Building, is a partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which paid for the project. UMBC students will take classes in the new lab during the school year and Howard Hughes will use the space during the summer. The university unveiled the new space Monday.
back to top
Heart disease is the #1 killer of humans — claiming more lives than car accidents, war, famine, and natural disasters.
So it’ll come as good news that scientists at Johns Hopkins have found a drug that acts by stopping any hardening of the arteries, and prevents fat from clogging up blood vessels.
back to top
 With a pinch of history, a dash of pride, and a heaping helping of collaboration, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Jay A. Perman, MD, put forth a winning recipe in his first annual State of the University Address.
Speaking at a packed School of Nursing auditorium on April 24 that included dignitaries such as University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor William E. Kirwan, PhD, Perman discussed UMB's recent achievements and the challenges it will confront in the coming year.
back to top
In our lead up to the 2014 USA Science and Engineering Festival, we at Lux are proud to present our second TouchCast interactive video. The video excerpt below comes from Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Technology Report’s recent full-length interview with Dr. Bahija Jallal, Executive Vice President of MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca. Dr. Jallal shares with us a bit about MedImmune, her background, and the company’s partnership with the USA Science and Engineering Festival.
back to top
Before April 16, 2014, NIH permitted one resubmission (A1) of an unfunded application (see NOT-OD-09-016). The extension on the NIH grant number could follow the pattern (A0, A1). A first-time submission is informally referred to as an A0, and the first resubmission is known as an A1. Any virtual A2s would be flagged by the NIH Center for Scientific Review.
For all application due dates after April 16, 2014, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, applicants may submit the same idea as a new (A0) application for the next appropriate new application due date (see NOT-OD-14-082).
Resubmissions (A1) must be submitted within 37 months of the new (A0) application (see NOT-OD-10-140). For more details on the Resubmission Policy, visit the Resubmissions webpage and the Guide Notice, NOT-OD-14-074.
back to top
The impact of federal budget cuts compounded by the challenges of securing funding for biotechnology companies has led to a growing trend of drug development. Scientists are turning to crowdfunding for biotechnology as a way to scrape up money.
A concept for a nonprofit crowdfunding website for medical research hatched at Lehigh Valley StartUp Weekend last fall is moving ahead.
back to top
 FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014 8:30 am, Rockville, Maryland
The biomanufacturing industry faces an unprecedented challenge with the emergence of biosimilars. The pathway to approval for biosimilars is a fluid process and several key aspects are still not determined. The University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will deliver a one-day symposium on the current trends of characterization and production of biosimilars. On Friday, June 13, 2014 at 8:30 am join the thought-leaders, policy-makers, and creators of biosimilars as we present current trends, ideas, and predictions.
back to top
For decades, large companies have gone shopping in Silicon Valley for startups. Lately, the pressure of continuous disruption has forced them to step up the pace.
More often than not, the results of these acquisitions are disappointing.
What can companies learn from others’ failed efforts to integrate startups into large companies? The answer: There are two types of integration strategies, and they depend on where the startup is in its lifecycle.
back to top
When Bryan Sivak joined then D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration as chief technology officer, he was fresh from building his own business. Five years later, Sivak has become something of a government-embedded entrepreneur. He left the District to become Maryland’s first chief innovation officer in 2011. He is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services. There, he manages the IDEA Lab, a series of programs that reward innovation, bring private sector leaders into the agency, and provide employees with time and money to pursue ideas. The effort aims to infuse a sense of entrepreneurship in the risk-adverse temperament of government.
back to top
Herndon-based APX Labs has raised $10 million from New Enterprise Associates to bring its software platform for Google Glass and other wearables to manufacturing, health care and other enterprise customers.
The Series A investment from NEA embodies the prediction that the near-future of smart glasses lies in the enterprise, whether that be the sort of heads-up displays offered by Google Glass or more substantial augmented reality overlays provided by ( noticeably less sleek) devices like the Epson Moverio. APX, through its flagship product Skylight, provides both the user interface and the back-end software that could, for example, give assembly line workers data on an individual part as it crossed they field of view.
back to top
On an industrial park next to Liverpool's John Lennon airport, drugs companies are involved in research that is driving a new frenzy of multibillion-dollar takeover deals. The focus on this Merseyside site is on creating what could be the next big thing for the sector: biological medicines, derived from living organisms.
In laboratories here and around the world, the quest for the latest blockbuster drug has sparked another flurry of deal activity. Last week saw GlaxoSmithKline of the UK and Swiss rival Novartis agree a multibillion dollar swap of assets, while it emerged that another British firm, AstraZeneca, has been the subject of a £60bn approach from US group Pfizer. And every participant is seeking a deal that will yield a clutch of medical bestsellers.
back to top
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 finalists have a lot to celebrate. They've built their dream companies. Expanded. Innovated. And now EY is recognizing them for their achievements. Help us congratulate these outstanding entrepreneurs. Join us at this years event and see who will take home top honors.
back to top
Johns Hopkins University is among the 50 wealthiest universities across the globe.
The university’s endowment value in 2013 was $2.987 billion — good for 29th on the list of the wealthiest universities, according to higher education website nonprofitcollegesonline.com.
back to top
Maryland’s strength in the technology sector is making it one of the fastest-growing exporters of high-tech goods and services in the U.S.
Maryland ranks eighth on the list of the nation’s fastest-growing exporter of high tech goods, according to a recent report from Technology CEO Council, a public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. More than 9.5 percent — or $24.425 billion — of the state’s GDP can be attributed to the tech sector.
back to top
Here I am presenting opportunities to those engaged in research for electric and other advanced vehicles, to engage in research related to their own research, earning some money for their efforts, as well as helping their country. Note: Some of these are restricted to American citizens, or certain “Permanent Resident” or “protected” foreigners. Others require watchful tracking of what the foreigners do.
The current DoD Small-Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Solicitation, 2014.2, will be open until June 25. There is a large selection of topics available. I will be selecting and rating many of these, to make it easier for readers to select topics of interest. This may take a week or so, because I first must visit the NY Auto Show and write a blog about it.
back to top
Principia Biopharma Inc., a South San Francisco-based developer of small molecule drugs within the fields of autoimmune disease and oncology, has raised $50 million in Series B funding. Sofinnova Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Morgenthaler Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners, OrbiMed, SR One and Mission Bay Capital. The company previously raised $40 million.www.principiabio.com
back to top
Maryland’s efforts to build out the local cybersecurity economy seem to be working. Cybersecurity startup Luminal recently announced a move to Maryland from West Virginia, and will be rewarded by a $600,000 investment from InvestMaryland, the state’s venture fund. With this investment, Luminal closed a total of $3.82 million in a Series A round of funding including Core Capital Partners and New Enterprise Associates.
As CivSource has reported Maryland has launched several initiatives aimed at growing the local cybersecurity economy, including tax incentives, investments and a research partnership leveraging local universities and the military. Maryland is building on its proximity to a number of critical defense assets and the federal government to attract new cybersecurity entrants. The state of Virginia is also working on a similar effort.
back to top
Cultural fit, bundling potential and a focus on work force optimization.
If your healthcare startup meets all or even two of these criteria, you’ll have a better than average chance of attracting attention from GE Healthcare.
Mike Swinford, President and CEO Global Services at GE Healthcare, explained the thinking behind three recent acquisitions as well as how the companies helped GE make more money.
back to top
The pharmaceutical industry is regaining its swagger, as companies turn to big and sometimes daring deals to expand and reshape their operations.
On Tuesday alone, pharmaceutical companies announced $74 billion worth of potential deals, including an unorthodox $45.6 billion bid for Allergan, the maker of Botox, and a flurry of swaps and sales between Novartis of Switzerland and GlaxoSmithKline of Britain.
back to top
The potential for crowdfunding, as defined in the JOBS Act, to fundamentally change the nature of capital formation is tremendous, potentially opening up avenues to investment and borrowing that were previously only available to a small segment of the investing community, let along the general public. And one sector that could see truly revolutionary change is health care.
back to top
|
