BioFactura, Inc., an emerging Maryland biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing company, announced today entry into a non-exclusive license agreement with Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA), a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, relating to one of the biosimilar product candidates that Momenta is developing. As part of this non-exclusive license agreement, BioFactura is developing a cell line using its NS0-based StableFastTM Biomanufacturing Platform, a proprietary system to rapidly generate stable cell lines that have the potential to lower cost, produce follow-on biologics and are single-use technology compatible. The companies are actively working together to further optimize productivity. Momenta has the right to obtain an exclusive research and commercial license to StableFastTM for clinical development and commercial manufacture of the undisclosed biosimilar product candidate.

WeddingWire Inc., the leading global online marketplace for the wedding and event industry, has announced plans to expand its corporate headquarters in Montgomery County.

Currently located in Chevy Chase, WeddingWire is confirmed to lease a total of 68,000 square-feet of space in the county to accommodate its continued growth. As part of the expansion, the company plans to add 200 new jobs to its existing workforce of more than 350 local employees.

The next CONNECTpreneur event is September 28 at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda. More info at connectpreneur.org

There’s a 40% discount code just for eBiz Alert subscribers: Enter CODE: MOCO when you register at http://connectpreneursept2016.eventbrite.com.

This event’s Fireside guest is Seth Goldman, Founder and TeaEO, Honest Tea.

There will be a terrific VC panel including Moderator: Eric Koefoot, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Public Relay, CEO and Publisher, US News Ventures, Founder and CEO, Five Star Alliance; AJ Jaghori, CEO Solebrity; Founder HelloLoCo; Beth Johnson, Founder and CEO, RP3 Agency; Jeannette Lee, Founder and CEO, Cyper; Founder and CEO, SYTEL.

Wed, Oct 26, 2016 at 5:30 PM - Columbus Center 701 East Pratt Street Baltimore, MD

1st Pitch Life Science is coming to Baltimore for the first time. Hear what happens AFTER a start-up company presents to an investor group! Usually after a pitch, the investors have a closed-door discussion to decide whether the opportunity merits further investigation and possible investment. 1st Pitch Life Science (http://www.1stpitchlifescience.com) offers presenters and audience members the chance to hear what happens in those closed-door discussions, and to learn what really matters to investors.

You and your company team will be competing against other biotech companies to win the coveted BioBowl Trophy and bragging rights! Come out, Team Build and Network with some friendly competition!

Date: Thursday, October 13, 2016 Time: 4:00 - 6:30 PM (TBC) Location: Bowlmor – 15720 Shady Grove Rd, Gaithersburg MD 20877

For more info, please contact Sarah Meisheid at MeisheidS@medimmune.com or 301-398-2431

Next Proposal Deadline October 14, 2016

Market-driven new technology and innovation leads to new products and new jobs. Creating jobs in innovative Maryland companies is what the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program has been doing for 27 years: bringing the inventive minds and extensive laboratory resources of the University System of Maryland (USM) to bear on creating the new products that feed the growth of Maryland businesses. Since the program’s inception in 1987, MIPS–enabled products have generated sales of $30.3 B. MIPS is nationally recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a model program for best practices in transferring technology and is a proven program that contributes significantly to job creation and high tech product development in Maryland.

TEDCO announced today its Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) program has awarded $18 million to more than 180 commercialization projects and 45 start-up companies since its inception in late 2012. Awards were given across a variety of industries, including therapeutic, software, medical devices and engineering.

“MII is the only program in Maryland that supports the transition of technology from the academic research laboratory through product development to commercialization in a start-up company,” says John Wasilisin, President and COO. “The program has been a game changer for innovators at Maryland’s research universities to take the next step in becoming entrepreneurs.”

Date: September 30 – October 1, 2016 - 20200 Observation Drive, Germantown, MD 20876

Collaboration and Innovation in Bio, Medical, & Pharmaceuticals

You are cordially invited to the Korea – US Cooperative Conference for Life Science (KUCCLS). The main goals of KUCCLS 2016 are to:

The two-day conference will attract over 250 biotechnology and life science leaders in Korea & US, who join together for networking and partnering meetings to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships in the area of R&D, commercial business of Bio, Medical, and Pharmaceuticals. Seats are limited. Register today!

For Martine Rothblatt, nothing is off limits. Not even death.

The founder of Sirius XM Satellite Radio and United Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: UTHR) is the quintessential innovator who lives life asking the question: “Why can’t we?”

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

For over 10 years the Sartorius Stedim Upstream & Downstream Forum has provided an exciting venue for presentations, networking and discussions focusing on the latest applications and technologies.

This year the event continues to build the collaborative bridge between Upstream/Downstream Bioprocessing by bringing specialists from your peer group who will share their experience by presenting best practices, applications and techniques to address the bottlenecks at the interfaces of upstream and downstream. Seize the opportunity of this unique venue and book both events as a package.

The Department of Health and Human Services has entered strategic partnerships with a Roche Group subsidiary and The Medicines Co. to develop antibiotics against multi-drug resistant infections.

HHS’ office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response forged the partnerships with the two companies through other transaction authority under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006, HHS said Wednesday.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health landed a $95 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to analyze data from a program aimed at understanding how the environment influences health beginning in the womb.

The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) has received $4,999,994 in federal funding through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase the number of minority students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The funding was announced by U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) on Wednesday.

The Medicines Co on Wednesday said it will receive up to $132 million in U.S. government funding for development of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections, seen by health officials as a critically important need.

At Microsoft’s research labs around the world, computer scientists, programmers, engineers and other experts are trying to crack some of the computer industry’s toughest problems, from system design and security to quantum computing and data visualization.

A Pasadena-based real estate company that has grown into a world-class developer for science and technology campuses is expanding its reach into the life science industry.

Alexandria Real Estate equities — an urban office real estate investment trust that was founded in 1994 — has put up buildings in virtually every major city where life sciences are studied in the United States, according to Xconomy.

NEA Partner Sara Nayeem, MD will serve on the Best Legal Frameworks for VC Investments Panel on Thursday, September 22 in DC at the International Bar Association Meeting.

The International Bar Association programme will feature more than 200 substantive legal sessions, workshops and panels, including topics on current events and contentious issues facing the profession. The committee sessions will offer the chance to hear from the best experts in the field. The conference will also feature sessions presenting the lessons and achievements of each of my Presidential Task Forces: on Climate Change Justice and Human Rights, the Judicial Integrity Initiative, Human Trafficking, and Independence of the Legal Profession.

Precision medicine is fundamentally changing the way therapies are being developed. Its targeted, customized approach to health care has a widespread impact on everything from genomics to medical devices, and as a result it is creating new business models for enterprises across the sector. Importantly, precision medicine provides the backdrop for researchers as they explore how genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors interact in our bodies to foster health or develop disease.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his pediatrician wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, announced this week that their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will fund a $3 billion effort to cure all diseases. Mark Zuckerberg announced in December 2015 that he was going to give away 99 percent of his wealth. But instead of forming a traditional charity, he bequeathed his Facebook shares to his own Limited Liability Corporation, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Herndon, Va.-based cybersecurity startup accelerator Mach37 has unveiled the five companies chosen for its fall cohort. The startups will get $50,000 investment and spend 90 days in intensive programming where mentors will help them learn how to get their products to a market-ready point, teach them how to attract private investors and prepare for scaling up their companies. The program also serves to connect the startups with some of the very people who might be the potential investors.

Virginia Bio, the statewide non-profit association representing the life science industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia, announced that it will support the growth and expansion of the Biosciences industry via its upcoming September 29 event, Women Building Bio: The XX Factor. Virginia Bio is actively collaborating with academic institutions as well as regional and global businesses to expand the industry’s footprint in the Commonwealth and beyond. As a partner in the BioHealth Capital Region campaign inclusive of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, Virginia Bio is focused on accelerating the region’s progress towards the goal of becoming "top 3 by 2023” among the biotech clusters in the U.S.

It would raise the stakes even higher, but that didn't stop Jay Flatley, Illumina's then chief executive, from sending in vials of his own saliva and blood to the company's newly opened lab. It was January 2009, and Illumina's scientists were about to embark on their first mission to sequence a whole human genome.

This comprehensive lecture/laboratory course is ideal for those bench and research scientists who have a fundamental background in PCR and are looking to gain a thorough understanding of and hands-on exposure to the Real Time, Quantitative and Digital PCR processes.

Learn from the experts in the fields of Legal, Finance, Biotech, and Regulatory Affairs as to what to look out for and how best to avoid those pitfalls. Bring your personal stories to share with other SoPE members and connect with healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs with a passion for bringing new technologies to our patients.