Xconomy Boston —  After joining AstraZeneca’s Boston Bio Hub incubator last year, Gatehouse Bio is now teaming up with the pharma company to identify potential drug targets in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Under the collaboration, expected to last multiple years, Gatehouse will use its sRNAlytics platform to identify small RNA (sRNA) signatures, which the company says help in diagnosing and subtyping diseases from human samples. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Jay A. Perman will take over as chancellor of the University System of Maryland in January as Robert L. Caret steps down six months earlier than planned.

Caret had decided not to seek another five-year contract, and the system’s Board of Regents announced it had chosen Perman, the University of Maryland, Baltimore President, to succeed Caret in June.

But on Friday, the Board of Regents announced that University of Maryland, Baltimore’s provost and executive vice president, Bruce Jarrell, will take over as the interim president of the university early next year. In a letter to the University of Maryland, Baltimore community, Perman said that the Regents “has set my start date” as Jan. 6.

Image: https://www.umaryland.edu/

Ben Wu, the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce, has been named as the new CEO for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation.

MCEDC is a public-private economic development nonprofit for the county.

The Montgomery County agency’s board of directors announced the appointment in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. Wu’s first day is Dec. 18.

Image: Ben Wu, Maryland's deputy commerce secretary, has been named as the new CEO for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. PHOTO FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Newswise — The rise of additive manufacturing – or as it's more commonly known, 3D printing – has enabled the rapid production of complex parts across many domains. As the techniques have become more refined, the semiconductor industry has taken note. But until recently, no one's been able to form single-crystal materials – the building block of semiconductors – with traditional additive manufacturing processes.

Image: Johns Hopkins APL Takes 3D Printing of Electronic Parts to the Next Level

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes today announced that it is part of a team of medical centers, universities and private industry supporting the development of a "universal influenza vaccine" that could provide longer-lasting protection than current vaccines and combat a wider variety of influenza viruses.

Gaithersburg, MD and Cambridge, MA – December 4, 2019: MaxCyte, the global cell-based therapies and life sciences company, and KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using its proprietary CRISPRomics® discovery platform to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, announced today that the companies have entered into a new development and commercialization agreement. Under the agreement, KSQ gains rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® technology and ExPERT™ instruments for the advancement of KSQ’s engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (eTIL™) programs, which the company is developing for the treatment of PD-1 refractory solid tumors.

A Maryland-based biotechnology firm seems to have solved a puzzling issue for drug targeting and delivery that may usher in an era of gene therapies for neurological disorders. Rockville, Maryland’s REGENXBIO’s NAV Technology Platform provides the ability to treat neurological disorders by targeting specific disease-related genes or gene products. Their patented technology glides across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) without triggering the patient’s immune system as with unengineered adeno-associated virus (AAV)-derived vectors, providing localized gene delivery with few side effects.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

In May of 2018 Kite Pharma, a Gilead Company, announced the opening of a new Neo Antigen Facility in Gaithersburg, MD. Less than one year later in April of 2019, the company, announced that it was building a new biomanufacturing facility on a 20-acre site in Frederick, MD. Since then, Kite has been diligently working to build a world-class leadership team at both sites to achieve an important mission.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

EMMes has announced the development of a vaccine for the flu that is “universal influenza vaccine”.  EMMes is the part of a team including medical centers, private industry, and universities that support the development of a vaccine. The vaccine provides protection for a long time as compared to currently available vaccines. Moreover, it is capable to fight against a wide range and variety of influenza. The news was announced in ROCKVILLE on Dec 2, 2019.

Image: https://askhealthnews.com

Full-house, standing room only at our 'Launching Life Sciences Innovation in Baltimore' event co-hosted by LifeBridge Health and The LaunchPort at Rye Street Tavern. Thank you to MARYLAND BUSINESS INCUBATION ASSOCIATION and Weller Development for your support.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative (http://commonfund.nih.gov/) through the Office of the NIH Director, Office of Strategic Coordination (https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/). All NIH Institutes and Centers participate in Common Fund initiatives. The FOA will be administered by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) on behalf of the NIH.

A biotech startup that’s backed by Silicon Valley’s well-known Y Combinator accelerator has ties to Baltimore: GEn1E Lifesciences is working to commercialize a treatment for inflammatory and age-related diseases that was developed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and is partnering with a Baltimore-based startup that also grew out of UMB collaboration.

Image: Dr. Ritu Lal is CEO of GEn1E Lifesciences. (Courtesy photo)

We're bringing together neurotech companies, academic researchers and federal labs to network and collaborate.

Image: https://www.eventbrite.com

Montgomery County has a new top economic development official: Benjamin Wu, formerly a top adviser to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Wu will take over as the president and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Dec. 18, according to a news release. The group has been searching for a new leader ever since David Petr, its inaugural CEO, left this fall.

Image: Benjamin Wu will take over as the new head of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation. DBED

GERMANTOWN, Md. - Sept. 10, 2019 - PRLog -- Primetime Life Sciences, LLC,  a Maryland based pharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of new and smart treatments, announced today that the company has successfully met the Phase I grant milestones, and has been awarded Phase II funding of $2.63 million from a Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The SBIR program supports scientific excellence and technological innovation by encouraging small businesses to engage in translation research and bring innovative treatments.

Alex Trebek appeared well en route to surviving pancreatic cancer this past summer when his doctors followed up his initial successful chemotherapy with an undisclosed immunotherapy. That move backfired.

“I was doing so well. And my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer. So we were all very optimistic. And they said, ‘Good, we’re gonna stop chemo, we’ll start you on immunotherapy,” Trebek said September 17 on ABC’s Good Morning America. “I lost about 12 pounds in a week. And my numbers went sky-high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed.”

A pair of Baltimore teams focused on medication use are joining forces in the quest to ensure patients follow their prescribed plans.

Tech company emocha Mobile Health and the Baltimore-based University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions are collaborating to offer a medication review that combines pharmacists and a mobile app. This will be offered as emocha expands to hospitals, health systems and health insurers, said CEO Sebastian Seigeur.

“This is now our standard,” he said.

Image: Telehealth at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy's eHealth Center. (Courtesy photo)

NextGen Venture Partners reported Tuesday that it raised more than $42 million for its second fund, nearly double its initial haul three years ago.

The $42.68 million in new funding comes about a year after the venture firm first indicated plans to raise a fund, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Though, those efforts were delayed by its acquisition in early 2018 by Baltimore investment giant Brown Advisory. While Tuesday's filing lists Brown Advisory CEO Michael Hankin as the top executive, NextGen co-founders Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson both remain managing partners, per the website, and still work in the D.C. area, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

As of yesterday, the XBI biotech index has not only reversed last month’s slump but reached the full-year high it set in April. And that’s despite the fact that drug pricing rhetoric has hardly subsided, and next year’s presidential election remains as unpredictable as ever.

Image: https://mailchi.mp

Venture capital has something of a reputation as a boys’ club, but there are women making their mark in this field. In particular, five women have been singled out for their contributions to the life sciences industry.

Bio Buzz selected five women venture capitalists who are considered “trailblazing investors shaping the future of life science investing” in the BioCapital Hotbed Community, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

A consortium of leaders from Boston’s biggest research institutions are joining forces on advancing biological manufacturing and innovation. 

Executives from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Alexandria Real Estate Equities will serve as the board of directors of a planned $50M center of advanced biological innovation and manufacturing, the group announced Monday.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Joseph Williams Harvard University's Widener Library

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) today announced the expansion of its Scientific Advisory Board. The NFCR Scientific Advisory Board includes Webster Cavenee, PhD, Chair; Frederick W. Alt, PhD; Ruggero De Maria, PhD; Kanaga Sabapathy, PhD; and Peter Vogt, PhD.

The mission of the NFCR Scientific Advisory Board is to provide scientific, strategic, and clinical guidance and direction for NFCR basic science and translational research programs. Directed by Webster Cavenee, PhD, the NFCR Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of leaders in cancer research who have made significant breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, scientists who are committed to furthering NFCR's unwavering commitment to funding research that will cure cancer—all types of cancer.

Greetings!

We would like to invite you to a special event to join other industry leaders and peers to celebrate a year of growth within our entrepreneurial ecosystem and the greater Biohealth Capital Region.

Several of the region's top startup executives will participate in an engaging discussion and share the lessons they have learned along their journeys in building their past and current companies.

Greetings!

We would like to invite you to a special event to join other industry leaders and peers to celebrate a year of growth within our entrepreneurial ecosystem and the greater Biohealth Capital Region.

Several of the region's top startup executives will participate in an engaging discussion and share the lessons they have learned along their journeys in building their past and current companies.

Happy Thanksgiving from Rich Bendis and the BHI Team!

Headwinds ranging from an expected renewal of political wrangling over the price of prescription drugs to increasing pressure on sales of established treatments have largely, but not entirely, kept pharmaceutical companies from enjoying the increases of their biotech counterparts, as reflected in the share prices of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) consisting of pharma equities.

The Netherlands has officially delivered the new Amsterdam headquarters to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The new office, located in the Zuidas area of Amsterdam, will enable EMA to continue carrying out their activities by assessing medicines without any interruption. Minister Bruno Bruins (Health, Care and Sports) complimented all parties involved with this special achievement, as the new build was completed within a very short time frame: “It is a beautiful and important achievement that EMA will be able to move in this new building in time as promised. Built at a high pace and in a very short time frame.

Image: https://investinholland.com - from video

Dr. Stacy Fisher, a cardiologist with the University of Maryland Medical System, had a patient with an aortic abnormality. He was not getting enough blood flow through one of the vessels that feed the brain. Because of the narrowing, Fisher recommended surgery to move the vessel where it could get better blood flow. The patient, who ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) last Thursday, November 14, conducted its latest Salisbury Award Competition for Entrepreneurial Translational Research. This event featured 16 individual cancer research projects from 15 institutions, selected from among a total of 36 applications. It concluded with an evening ceremony at which finalists were recognized, the winner and runners-up were named and the founding Salisbury family of NFCR was honored.

Image: Representatives of the 16 selected cancer research projects, among 36 applicants, who participated in the Salisbury Award Competition. - https://www.nfcr.org

Configo Health, a company developing artificial intelligence-powered data analytics solutions for pediatric healthcare facilities, launched Nov. 18 with the announcement of Texas Children's Hospital and Children's National Hospital as founding investors.

Configo Health extracts administrative data from pediatric hospitals to create a comprehensive dataset of near-real-time benchmarked data. The HIPAA-protected information is available for use by patients, public ratings organizations and pediatric care facilities, which can use the compiled performance data to reduce readmissions and improve outcomes.

The A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland has produced remarkable engineers, scientists, life science professionals and entrepreneurs that have shaped the Biohealth Capital Region (BHCR) for well over a century. 2019 marks the Clark School’s 125th anniversary as one of the most important STEM talent pipelines in the region and nation.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

I have spent decades as a health-care executive and pediatric surgeon. I am often asked to reflect on the biggest advancements that have been developed to save children’s lives. 

While I can acknowledge that there are many technologies available to surgeons today that did not exist when I first began operating, I can’t ignore the fact that innovation in medical devices and technology for children continues to occur much more slowly than it does for adults. 

Image: https://thehill.com

It's the first expansion outside of the U.S. for the Loudoun company.

Image: Crystal Icenhour is the CEO of Aperiomics in Sterling. Credit -   JOANNE S. LAWTON

After a long suspenseful day, University of Maryland, Baltimore County earned the top spot as national winner of the U.S. Department of Energy's CyberForce Competition.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced University of Maryland, Baltimore County as the national winner of DOE's fifth CyberForce Competition™, held on November 16, 2019 at 10 of the national laboratories across America. The competition challenged 105 collegiate teams to build simulated energy infrastructure and defend it from cyberattacks. Regional first place winners were recognized by each participating laboratory.

Image: CAPTION The team from University of Maryland, Baltimore County won the national DOE CyberForce Competition over the weekend, besting more than 100 teams from 10 national laboratories across the country. CREDIT Argonne National Laboratory

BLACKSBURG, VA (WVNS) — A program at Virginia Tech empowers students with knowledge and skills to build or launch companies. According to a release, the Apex Center for Entrepreneurship is on track to engage more than 3,000 students across the college campus.

Apex Director Sean Collins shared that the center is building the 21st century workforce, and is helping entrepreneurs work in cross-functional teams, navigate ambiguity, assess risk, and build new technology fluency.

Image: https://www.wvnstv.com