The D.C. area is home to a number of great startup accelerators that can really make a difference for young companies. The right program can provide the resources and advice that entrepreneurs need to transform what may be a great idea into a viable product and thriving startup. Check out a few of the newer and vertical-specific accelerator programs in the D.C. area that you should keep an eye on in 2016.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. would like to welcome Ellen Raines, the newest addition to our team! She is responsible for supporting the CEO, interacting with industry and academic institution leaders, as well as local, state and federal government officials and staff. Ellen has over 10 years of executive assistant experience with local and bioscience companies. She lives in Gaithersburg with her two teenage children and spends her free time supporting her children’s sports teams and events, teaching Pilates, swimming, biking, golfing and enjoys cooking for family and friends.

A new health technology accelerator is looking for applicants for its five month program.It is the latest in a steady growth of organizations helping entrepreneurs navigate the long sales cycle and other unique challenges healthcare industry startups face.

Relevant Health, based in Rockville, Maryland, was formed through a partnership between BioHealth Innovation, Montgomery County’s Economic Development department and Product Savvy, which will run the day-to-day operations.

BHI issued a Commercial Relevance Award to three companies as part of the Invest Maryland Challenge, Maryland's statewide business plan competition. The three companies each offer a differentiated product or service to the biohealth marketplace with an opportunity to provide significant commercial value to the health industry granting the the Commercial Relevance title..

Sickweather is a Batimore-based health information company that scans social networks for indicators of illness, allowing you to check for the chance of sickness as easily as you can check for the chance of rain.

Care Progress is a Bethesda-based company with a software platform to efficiently manage and treat cancer patients at home and maximize reimbursement through outcomes-based care management.

Tissue Analytics is a Johns Hopkins University spin-out that is transforming the common smartphone into a sophisticated medical imaging system.
BHI will offer strategic consulting services with selected companies to support the growth of these businesses and doe do using our knowledge, network and process for assisting early-stage biohealth companies. BHI is pleased to continue to partner with the State of Maryland's Invest Maryland Challenge to support the growth of emerging biohealth businesses.

New for 2015! BHI's Funding Newsletter provides a monthly snapshot of biohealth funding opportunities from federal, state, local government, and private sources that could be relevant to advance your small business. BHI's goal is to assist companies determine feasible non-dilutive funding pathways or government contract opportunities to enable biohealth businesses at multiple stages of development.

Please contact our Federal Funding Assistance program when seeking support for any of the opportunities.

Recent winners: Perceptive Navigation wins Phase II SBIR

A new business accelerator dedicated to health technology startups is launching this fall in Montgomery County's Rockville Innovation Center. Led by health and life sciences consortium BioHealth Innovation Inc., eight startup companies with health tech ideas will be selected to begin the five-month acceleration program called "Relevant Health." The program is part of a partnership with Montgomery County's Department of Economic Development and will begin in September.

The story of MedImmune, the Maryland startup that British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca bought for $15.6 billion in 2007, is an example for entrepreneurs striving for their own blockbuster deals. But MedImmune leaders say they want to go beyond leading by example.

MedImmune taps federal institute for research partnership The company, now responsible for half of AstraZeneca's pipeline of drug candidates, has signed a flurry of partnerships with federal and nonprofit labs in recent months, including deals to share resources and researchers with the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University. Through the partnerships, the company can tap the labs' brainpower and expensive equipment, and share its own resources.

The Montgomery County Department of EconomicDevelopment (MCDED) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2015 Life Sciences Impact Grant Awards. The program, introduced in December of 2014, was created to provide financial assistance to life sciences employers to retain jobs and stimulate the organic growth of the life sciences industry in Montgomery County.

"The county is committed to supporting the innovation economy,” commented Sally Sternbach, Acting Director, Department of Economic Development. “The Life Sciences Impact Grant is just one example of the comprehensive portfolio of programs that make up the MC Squared initiative."

Tao Yu, a graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, talks about his internship with Biohealth Innovation, through the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Biomedical Careers Initiative (BCI).

View the interview here.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC PINK: PIRS) (formerly Marika, Inc.), a Nevada corporation, announced today its successful completion of a share exchange transaction with Pieris AG, a German stock corporation pursuant to which Pieris AG became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The combined entity is named Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and will focus solely on the business of Pieris AG, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of its proprietary Anticalin® class of biotherapeutics. The share exchange transaction was effected on December 17, 2014, and beginning on December 18, 2014, Pieris will trade under the symbol "PIRS" on the OTC Markets.

– BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Resident Help Drive Client Progress –

ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, December 16, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, today announced recent highlights of funding achievements for clients, BeneVir Biopharm, Inc., and Perceptive Navigation, LLC. The significant progress poises both companies for clinical and/or commercial advancement in 2015.

BeneVir Biopharm, recently announced that it closed a Series A investment round with Pansend, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HC2 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: HCHC). BeneVir is a Maryland-based company founded in 2011. Based on technology developed by New York University, BeneVir is developing an advanced immunotherapeutic platform for the treatment of solid tumors that can both directly kill tumor cells and also activate the human immune system to target tumor metastases and prevent recurrence of tumors. Currently, the company is focused on advancing its lead program into human trials for ovarian, breast, and bladder cancer. BHI’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., worked as a member of the BeneVir team to enhance the commercial potential of the company by building novel intellectual property, expanding the therapeutic pipeline and identifying potential development partners.

Noble Life Sciences (Gaithersburg, MD), a provider of preclinical drug development services, today announced the acquisition of Spring Valley Laboratories (Sykesville, MD), a full service, GLP (Good Laboratory Practice)-compliant, preclinical contract research organization (CRO) for the development of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices.   

The acquisition greatly expands Noble’s services to include GLP regulatory standards, studies in small and large animals, and testing capabilities for vaccines and medical devices. Combined with Noble’s recognized strength conducting studies directed at early-stage products, the acquisition of Spring Valley Laboratories extends the Company’s suite of offerings across the full continuum of preclinical studies from initial product discovery through regulation-compliant studies for submission to FDA and other similar agencies.

BeneVir Biopharm, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a pipeline of cancer immunotherapies, today announced it closed a Series A investment round with Pansend, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HC2 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: HCHC).

BeneVir’s core technology was licensed from New York University (NYU) and originally developed by Ian J. Mohr, Ph.D., NYU Langone Medical Center. 

Thomas Kucharski (IEDC) - Ethan Byler (BHI) - William C. Sproull (IEDC)

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) was selected as an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award recipient. BHI is receiving the award in the Public-Private Partnerships category for its work to assemblethe partnership that sponsored DreamIt Health IT Baltimore accelerator program. The award, which recognizes outstanding and innovative development projects that have significantly enhanced the economic revitalization of distressed communities, states, or regions, was formally presented to BHI on Monday, October 20, during the 2014 IEDC Annual Conference in Fort Worth, TX.

“BHI is honored to be acknowledged with this award for our work with DreamIt Health in support of the DreamIt Health Baltimore program in 2014,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “This reinforces the dedication to entrepreneurship and innovation in the biohealth arena that we are constantly striving for in Central Maryland.”

Strategic Adviser for BioHealth Innovation Inc.

Tania Fernandez came to the biotech initiative through the venture capital world, where she worked in Silicon Valley and spent 16 years managing investments in companies.

What is the biggest way your day will change in your new role? My day won't really change. I am a classified workaholic. I will continue to do what I have always loved doing: working with entrepreneurs, building companies and looking for good investment opportunities in the biotech/life sciences/health care sectors. BioHealth Innovation has built a very commendable ecosystem for startups, and I look forward to the opportunity to build out that ecosystem with them as we get ready to fund raise for the BioHealth Gap Fund.

One thing you wish everyone knew about your job? I founded DreamCatcher Ventures after having spent more than 15 years in hard-core academics and a decade in venture capital financing. I have watched people get burnt either because they were not grounded enough (which translates into operational weakness) or had their head way above the clouds (which translated to being unrealistic about long-term success and sustainability of business models). I created DreamCatcher Ventures with a simple goal to "Build the foundations for dreams." That's what I want people to know about my job. This quote by Henry David Thoreau, which is the tagline for DreamCatcher Ventures, says it all: "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." For entrepreneurs there is a fine line between being stubborn and being persistent, an even finer liner between being a visionary and having unrealistic expectations. In my day-to-day job, I work with clients to bridge that. It is great to dream but you need to have your feet planted on the ground. I believe in the power of dreams combined with the excellence of execution.

BioHealth Innovation clients Alex Lai (Speed BioSystems), Matthew Mulvey (Benevir), David Cetlin (MockV Solutions), and BHI Entrepreneur-in-Resident Ram Aiyar meet with Bahija Jallal.

Dr. Bahija Jallal is Executive Vice President, MedImmune, responsible for biologics research, development and clinical activities. As part of AstraZeneca's Senior Executive Team, Bahija is tasked with advancing the biologic organisation's pipeline of drugs targeting cancer, infections, respiratory and inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders and pain. (Astrazenica Bio)

Join us in welcoming two new interns to our team!

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, announced today that venture capitalist, Tania Fernandez, Ph.D., has joined the BHI team as a strategic advisor. Dr. Fernandez will be a member of the management team for a new BioHealth Gap Fund, which will provide up to $50 million in seed and early-stage equity investments to therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and health IT companies in Maryland. Additional BioHealth Gap Fund management team members include Richard Bendis, Ram Aiyar, Todd Chappell, and Ken Malone, who each bring domain knowledge and industry access to the fund.

“Dr. Fernandez has ten years of experience as a venture capitalist in the life sciences/biotechnology industry. Her work in Silicon Valley, along with her research experience at the National Cancer Institute, makes her a tremendous asset to the BHI team,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “Dr. Fernandez brings a West Coast investment perspective, and she will have an active role in helping to manage the BioHealth Gap Fund. She will also support our BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and clients: helping our startups to grow and raise strategic funding.”

Tasly Pharmaceuticals, Inc (Tasly) and BioHealth Innovation (BHI) co-organized the first Tasly Meeting of CEOs on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at the Tasly facility in Rockville. Attendees included more than 25 CEOs and company representatives from local Maryland-based BioTech and BioPharma companies. This was the first public event conducted through Tasly and BHI's newly initiated partnership.

Tasly is an innovation-based, high-tech healthcare and pharmaceutical enterprise and world-leader in the research and product development (R&D) of Chinese herbal medicine - the leader in the natural way to modernize medicine, with a North American headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, . Tasly and BHI have a formalized partnership which aims to co- organize and coordinate joint BioHealth associated events to promote professional networking, business growth, and technology and product commercialization.

The 2014 International Biotech Summit Committee invite BioHealth Innovation (BHI) and Montgomery County to attend the three co-located international conferences that will be held on Sep 9 -12 in Shenzhen, China:

1. 2014 International Biotech Summit (September 10, 2014);
2. The 9th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-9) (September 11th-12th, 2014);
3. Shenzhen International Biotech & Health Industry Expo 2014 (SIBHIE, September 10th-12th, 2014).

Ms. Lily Qi, Director of Special Projects for Montgomery County Executive Office who was involved in establishing BHI and a native of Shanghai, is going to speak on behalf of the County and BHI for the forum, "Innovation in Policy and Regulation for Advancing Healthcare Industry." BHI and the County are also invited as an exhibitor for the SIBHIE Expo.

Richard Bendis and BioHealth Innovation were among the small businesses and individuals honored by the US Small Business Administration at the 2014 Tibbetts awards. Winners of the award have been critical in supporting the SBIR/STTR program in many different ways and are at the forefront of driving innovation. Read the full PR Newswire press release here.

The BHI SBIR/STTR Federal Funding Assistance Program offers biohealth companies support in preparing applications for federal funding inclusive of SBIRs, STTRs, and other federal government awards. Companies submit their federal funding concepts and receive pre-proposal feedback to help troubleshoot and strengthen your application. Further support from professional consultants and service providers is available to assist in improving your application.

For more information on the program, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BHI is pleased to announce the promotion of Amanda Wilson to the position of Director, Finance & Human Resources. Amanda joined BioHealth Innovation, Inc. two years ago as the Operations Manager.

Over the past two years, Amanda has transitioned BHI's accounting method from cash to accrual. She has ensured BHI compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and has represented BHI through two successful audits. In addition, Amanda has developed human resources policies and procedures and has maintained employee access to BHI's benefits package. Amanda recently completed her MBA at The George Washington University, and is able to augment her pre-existing skills through this degree.

Join us in congratulating Amanda on a well-deserved promotion!

Guest Speaker:  Rich Bendis, Founder, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc.

The chair-elect of the Economic Development Committee, Leslie Weber, welcomed MCCC members and introduced the guest speaker, Rich Bendis, Founder, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI). BHI is an innovation intermediary that connects market relevant research assets to appropriate funding, management, and global markets to facilitate the development of commercially viable biohealth products and companies.

The organization co-founds early stage biohealth companies and works directly with existing regional commercially relevant biohealth firms on their early business development milestones to accelerate commercialization.  Ninety percent of the companies BHI is working with are in Montgomery County Maryland.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced this week its selection of George Jiang, M.D., M.B.A., PMP, as its new Chinese-American Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR). Dr. Jiang, a consultant with over 15 years of experience in life science research and development and in health industry business development, will lead in the scouting of technologies and partnership opportunities in life science hubs in the U.S. and China.

"We welcome Dr. Jiang as our newest addition to the EIR program," said Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. "There is a vast opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with more Chinese corporations, and Dr. Jiang – as a Chinese American with experience as a consultant evaluating life science opportunities in China for a U.S. government agency – is in an ideal position to facilitate these collaborative efforts and the movement of new technologies along the commercialization path."

Dr. Jiang will be based at BHI headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. BHI and China Fortune Land Development Co., Ltd. (CFLD) established this EIR position in February 2014. After the two organizations met during a four-city mission trip to China for leaders from Montgomery County and the DC metropolitan area, led by Ike Leggett, County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland.

Dr. Jiang has facilitated biohealth product development across the academic, government, private and military sectors. As a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton for eight years, Dr. Jiang has health industry experience in business development, subject matter expertise, stakeholder partnerships, and project/personnel management. Previously, Dr. Jiang served as the Director of Primate Immunology at the Naval Medical Research Center. Prior to that, he was a senior microbiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He earned his M.B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University, PMP (project management professional certification) from the Project Management Institute, M.D. from Southern Medical University in Guangdong, China, and M.S. from the Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences in China.

BHI and CFLD, a company specializing in investment and operation of industrial areas in China, including science parks, created the new Chinese-American Entrepreneur-In-Residence role to:

• Evaluate life science technologies in China and U.S. markets,
• Provide a strategic plan for start-ups,
• Advise on new ventures, and
• Lead commercial strategy for mature assets.

Dr. Jiang will be BHI's 5th named EIR since the program began two years ago.

The organization is also actively recruiting for a China-USA EIR Program Intern to assist Dr. Jiang in his activities.

For questions, please contact Rich Bendis, President & CEO, 301-637-6439, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is seeking a highly talented professional to serve as its China-USA EIR Program Intern. The China-USA EIR Program Intern will support the Chinese-American Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) position, which manages the relationship between BHI and its partner, China Fortune Land Development Co., Ltd. The China-USA EIR Program Intern will primarily support the EIR through research and translation, but will also perform administrative tasks.

More Information

DreamIt Ventures, the Johns Hopkins University and John Hopkins Medicine, Northrop Grumman Corporation, BioHealth Innovation and Kaiser Permanente, are hosting Demo Day for the cohort of healthtech startups that spent the last 16 weeks in the DreamIt Health Baltimore accelerator program. The event will be held tomorrow, April 30, 2014 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sheikh Zayed Auditorium (2119A) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1800 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD.  The presenting companies will have the opportunity to briefly share their progress and future plans before an audience of several hundred investors, industry leaders, potential customers, members of the press and other colleagues. A webcast of the event will be broadcast through the Johns Hopkins UStream channel here.

“Demo Day is our capstone event, literally giving our portfolio companies a platform from which to share their stories, accomplishments to date and their roadmap for the future before a select audience of potential investors, partners and customers,” said Elliot Menschik, Managing Partner of DreamIt Health.

View Presentation

DC I-Corps, in partnership with BioHealth Innovation, Inc., has developed a new, NSF-supported program designed to foster, grow and nurture the life science innovation ecosystem in the Mid-Atlantic Region and is now accepting applications for its spring cohort, beginning on May 12th. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis up until that date.

Open to research teams and aspiring entrepreneurs from the National Institutes of Health and other federal laboratories, the free program guides researchers in exploring the commercial potential of their inventions.

Through DC I-Corps, you will:

• Learn how to assess the commercial value of life science technologies through a customer discovery process;
• Work closely with six or more real-world advisors that have startup, venture capital, and technology commercialization experience over a five-week period; and
• Come to a clear go or no-go decision regarding the commercial potential of your technology.

The program is geared towards innovations coming from medical / health / and life sciences. DC I-Corps builds upon the successful National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program. The program is jointly offered by the University of Maryland, BioHealth Innovation, Inc., George Washington University, and Virginia Tech.

For more information, please visit www.dcicorps.org/nih-bhi-program-information/

Location and Program Dates: www.dcicorps.org/nih-program-dates/

To Apply: www.dcicorps.org/nih-bhi-cohort-application

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett today announced his recommended $4.97 billion operating budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015, that begins July 1, and includes a tax-supported County government budget of $1.478 billion. The budget funds education beyond what is required by the State Maintenance of Effort Level law to meet future needs created by the skyrocketing number of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students, puts more police on the beat and reduces the County’s property tax rate.

Leggett has made creating Montgomery County’s jobs of the future one of his top priorities and over the past two years of economic recovery, Montgomery County jobs are up three percent. His FY15 recommended operating budget includes funding to repurpose the William Hanna Innovation Center to become the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. It increases Life Sciences and Incubator support by $400,000 and increases by $500,000 County funding for BioHealth Innovation, the public-private partnership to enhance the commercialization of critical research conducted in the County. This budget also increases County support for the successful Local Small Business Reserve Program and for the American Film Institute.

Fourteen of 40 companies at the William Hanna Center for Innovation at Shady Grove already have moved to new space, and county employees are working with the rest to find new homes, county economic development head Steven A. Silverman said Wednesday. The new sites include the Germantown Innovation Center and the Montgomery campus of Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, as well as private space, he said. The county is in the process of replacing its oldest business incubator with a national cybersecurity center aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology of Gaithersburg. That plan has been met with opposition from not just tenants, but several Montgomery state legislators and former County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, who is running against County Executive Isiah Leggett in the Democratic primary in June.

As we heard at our big MoCo Forecast event this morning in Bethesda, growing jobs there will require wooing those you already have. (If you have leftover Valentine's chocolate, put it to work.)

BioHealth Innovation CEO Rich Bendis (far left, as well as on the big screen as an ace ballplayer) says variety should be a big part of job growth: "A balanced portfolio of new, existing, and large anchors." Going international should also be a focus; Rich feels the county should lock down foreign tech companies who might otherwise look to Boston, Silicon Valley, Philly, or the NC Research Triangle. Rich was joined on our first panel by Ike, Technology Council of Maryland CEO Phil Schiff, and Foulger-Pratt VP Brigg Bunker.

Originally published in the Baltimore Business Journal

By Brian Darmody

Where’s the nation’s second largest concentration of academic, federal and private sector research spending? California? Massachusetts? According to the National Science Foundation, it’s Maryland, equating to billions of dollars in research investment in the Maryland economy. First place New Mexico has a relatively small rural population and presence of two major federal nuclear research labs.

But Maryland has something New Mexico doesn’t — proximity to Washington, D.C.

Washington is home to the nation’s government, but also the National Academies, technology trade associations, international corporations, embassies, media, regulatory agencies, foundations, and science agencies.

Download the presentation here

Please join Rich Bendis on Thursday, February 6th, 2014 for the 7th Annual Health IT Day in Annapolis. Learn more about Health Information Technology (HIT) and how it affects you as a consumer today and in the future. Get the chance to meet with district legislators and senators to let them know what needs to be done to further push HIT in Maryland and keep us on the cutting edge of this rapidly evolving field.