The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for Technology Transfer Mid-Atlantic Region is pleased to announce the following winners of its 2019 awards:

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Monica Lopez will receive from the President of Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association the prestigious Outstanding Recent Graduate Award for bringing credit to Johns Hopkins University through outstanding professional achievements, leadership, and vision.

Image: http://www.lpnproductions.com

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arcellx, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has raised $85 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing. Proceeds will be used to advance the Company’s ARC-T + sparX programs, including clinical development of a bivalent BCMA-targeted cell therapy in multiple myeloma, and a CD123-targeted therapy in acute myeloid leukemia. The Series B will also fund earlier stage ARC-T + sparX programs for patients with solid tumors and diseases outside oncology.

Partnerships with consumer-tech firms could help medtech companies innovate and stay relevant as healthcare turns increasingly to prevention and wellness, according to a new report from Deloitte.

Executives at medtech companies may be leery of Apple and other consumer-technology companies, especially as the latter tout ever-more-sophisticated healthcare applications. But as healthcare evolves, those potential competitors may turn out to be good partners, according to a new report by accounting and consulting firm Deloitte.

The ribbon was cut today at GSK’s recently expanded manufacturing facility in Rockville, marking the completion of a $139M project that was first announced in May 2017 to support growing demand for BENLYSTA® (belimumab), a treatment for adult patients with Lupus.

Image: https://biobuzz-io.cdn.ampproject.org

Gaithersburg’s Viela Bio Inc. began publicly trading Thursday on the Nasdaq.

The clinical-stage biotech is offering 7.9 million shares of common stock priced at $19 per share, positioning the company to raise roughly $150 million. Viela (NASDAQ: VIE) is also giving underwriters the option to buy up to an additional 1.19 million shares at the initial public offering price for 30 days.

Image: Viela Bio CEO Bing Yao and colleagues rang the opening Nasdaq bell Thursday. LIBBY GREENE

Kylene Kehn-Hall, Ph.D. carefully puts on her personal protective equipment (PPE) – a Tyvek suit, gloves, overshoes and a specialized helmet with a built-in respirator designed to protect the wearer from exposure to airborne pathogens. With an almost meditative vigilance, she periodically checks herself for any potential gaps or ruptures in the material—a necessary precaution when working with the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV).

Johns Hopkins University will host the DevLab XR Accelerator 2019 from Oct. 16 to Dec. 5 in an effort to support augmented reality projects created by those in underserved communities. 

This year, virtual reality (VR) network Kaleidoscope, which organized the event, is partnering with Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at JHU and immersive media company RYOT in order to expand the outreach of the program. 

Image: VR at MICA Game Lab's Fall Arcade. (Photo by Stephen Babcock) - https://technical.ly

You and your company team will be competing against other biotech firms to win the coveted BioBowl Trophy and bragging rights!

...Until next year

Date: Thursday, October 10th, 2019 Time: 4:00 - 6:30 PM (TBC) Location: Bowlmor – 15720 Shady Grove Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Invitation to follow.

Hosted by BioHealth Innovation and AstraZeneca

“Top 3 By 2023” has been the slogan for the Biohealth Capital Region (BHCR) over the past few years adopted by many economic development and industry leaders across Maryland, DC, and Virginia.

After more than four years of organized effort across the BHCR, starting with the first Regional Biotech Forum back in 2015, there is a clearly defined strategy underway and substantial progress is being made towards achieving that goal.

In this year’s GEN Top 10 report, Alexandria Real Estate Equities executive chairman and founder Joel Marcus was quoted about what factors will most likely drive the future creation of clusters for biopharma and other emerging life sciences. 

“Clusters takeabout a generation, 25 years, to really evolve and develop,” stated Marcus, emphasizing the importance of thinking long-term for building a strong cluster.

The New Orleans BioInnovation Center is the only organization dedicated solely to advancing life science entrepreneurship through technology commercialization in Louisiana. The Center works closely with local academic institutions and other economic development entities to help develop cutting edge research, curate pilot projects with healthcare providers, and attract necessary complementary funding. 

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Redox today announced its third annual Healthcare Interoperability Summit, which will take place on Oct. 15, 2019 at the Aloft Boston Seaport Hotel. The conference brings together the most influential health IT professionals from around the country for a deep dive into one of the biggest barriers to innovation in health IT today – interoperability.

One of the largest research contracts ever awarded to the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) was announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week, to the potential tune of more than $200 million over the next seven years.

Initially, the award will take the form of a $2.5 million contract to conduct clinical testing of influenza vaccines. It could be extended from there to up to $201 million. The research will be led by Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, a professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) and the only U.S. member of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. Her research will cover the testing of improved seasonal influenza vaccines and conducting controlled human influenza challenge studies with the hopes of creating a universal vaccine for use against emerging influenza strains and improving current seasonal vaccines.

Partners HealthCare is a global leader in healthcare research and development, with an immense capacity for innovation.

Partners HealthCare Innovation is the system's business development arm that commercializes the insights and discoveries of researchers and clinicians at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and McLean Hospital, all of which are Harvard Medical School affiliates. The 125-member team was responsible for $154 million in commercial and investment income last year and at any given time is working on 2,000-plus active agreements.

Herndon, VA, Sept. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced today the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Request for Proposals (RFP) for FY2020.

The CRCF accelerates Virginia’s economic growth by supporting high-potential technology commercialization projects at Virginia's public and private institutions of higher education, technology companies, and federal labs and nonprofit research organizations. A single solicitation for approximately $2.5 million will be offered in FY2020, through five programs: Commercialization, SBIR Matching Funds, STTR Matching Funds, Eminent Researcher Recruitment, and Matching Funds.

The product would reverse the effects of chemicals that disrupt nerve function for military and other emergency situations.

Image: Bob Kramer is president and CEO of Emergent BioSolutions. COURTESY EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS

A Baltimore medical device firm that aims to prevent kidney injury was awarded the $25,000 grand prize in the Beta City Venture Capital Pitch Competition.

Renalert was chosen as the winner of the live competition that took place Thursday evening during the fifth annual Beta City, a startup demo and networking event put on by Betamore and Sagamore Ventures at City Garage in South Baltimore. About 30 companies applied to the competition this year, and Renalert was one of five finalists chosen to present their concepts to a panel of judges. This year's judges included representatives from Brown Advisory, Pitch Creator, Emerging Technology Centers, Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures and We Capital.

Image: Betamore Chairman Greg Cangialosi (middle) awarded Renalert CEO Aaron Chang (right) the grand prize for this year's Beta City Venture Capital Pitch Competition. MORGAN EICHENSEHR

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) today announced a research grant awarded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, valued at approximately $6.3 million over two years, for the continued development of AP007, the company’s sustained-release nalmefene formulation for the treatment of addiction in opioid use disorder (OUD). AP007 is an extended-release formulation of nalmefene, an opioid receptor antagonist, intended to continually release an effective dose of nalmefene for up to three months and to be administered through intramuscular injection. The award is being made under the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative, or the NIH HEAL Initiative, which was launched to improve prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction and enhance pain management.

In September 2012, when National Institutes of Health (NIH) neurologist Chris Austin took charge of a new translational science center, he faced a host of skeptics. In launching the new center, NIH Director Francis Collins said he wanted to re-engineer drug development to speed new treatments to the clinic. But some accused NIH of wanting to become a drug company or solve the pharmaceutical industry's challenges—a notion one former CEO likened to believing in fairies. It fell to Austin to prove that the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences wasn't going to compete with industry, but could give it new tools. After 7 years, the jury is still out.

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes today announced that it was ranked as one of the 100 largest private companies in the Washington metropolitan area. The ranking is compiled annually by the Washington Business Journal.

The Emmes Corporation Logo (PRNewsFoto/The Emmes Corporation)

The company was ranked as the 83rd largest private company this year. Its most recently reported revenues were more than $114 million, and about 600 of the company's 725 employees work in the Washington area.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's National Hospital and the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) announce the six winners of the $150,000 "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!" competition, each receiving a $25,000 award and the opportunity to participate in NCC-PDI's recently launched "Pediatric Device Innovator Accelerator Program" led by MedTech Innovator. The six winners, who presented medical devices designed to improve Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care, emerged from a field of 11 finalists. Each participant delivered their five-minute live pitch presentation to a panel of 25 esteemed judges during the 7th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by Children's National.

BALTIMORE, Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — KaloCyte, a preclinical-stage healthcare biotechnology company developing a synthetic, bio-inspired red blood cell substitute for use in settings when stored red blood cells are not available, has joined Baltimore’s growing biotech community as a University of Maryland (UM) BioPark affiliate. KaloCyte’s relocation from St. Louis brings it closer to major stakeholders and funders, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Small Business Program and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Army Combat Casualty Care Research Program, as well as the outstanding research and clinical communities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) campuses.

Our Senior Consultant and Cluster Lead Boaz Van Driel just returned from his fruitful visit with our collaborators BioHealth Innovation, Inc.

This trip was a vital step in laying our foundations for our expansion in the United States and we look forward to our bright, united future!

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LumaCyte, an advanced research and bioanalytics instrumentation company headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, announces the third doubling of their manufacturing and laboratory space. This expansion reflects an exponential growth trajectory for the organization. “Customer demand is driving our need for additional space and resources. We are excited by the overwhelming interest in our Laser Force Cytology (LFC) instrument, Radiance®. Biopharma and CDMO organizations are looking to drive innovative analytical solutions into their R&D and biomanufacturing processes and we are honored to be part of this important transformation,” says Dr. Sean J. Hart, LumaCyte’s CEO and CSO. Radiance® offers a unique, label-free approach to single cell analysis giving researchers significant improvements in the quality and speed of their cell-based assays. Two key application spaces driving LumaCyte’s current customer demand are rapid viral infectivity measurements for vaccine R&D and production, and label-free biomarker phenotyping for cell therapy biomanufacturing.

 Burtonsville, MD – September 19, 2019 – Facility Logix, a life sciences consulting firm providing best-in-class customized facility solutions and novel approaches to facility design, real estate construction and project management to the biotech industry, celebrates 15 years of success and continued growth, capped off with the recent grand opening of the new 75,000-square-foot Discovery and Innovation Building in Jacksonville, Florida for a major academic medical center.

Image: https://flgx.com/3069-2/

The properties are rented by primarily high quality tenants and the cash flow is well supported by long term, triple net lease contracts.

These public and private research facilities are clustered in areas where medical and technological research spending is most concentrated including the greater Boston area, San Francisco, San Diego, NYC, Seattle and Maryland.

A strong group of entrepreneurs ready and willing to innovate, fund and lead new bioscience companies is essential to the creation and sustainability of top-tier biohealth clusters. 

It is often referenced that the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) lacks a deep enough pool of qualified executive talent that is needed to sustain a larger cluster with more early-stage biotech startups. In fact, Ken Mills, CEO of REGENXBIO shared his feelings towards this void in leadership talent in a recent BBJ article, stating, “People who have experienced some success in the industry need to stay here and be the foundation for investing in new opportunities in biotech.”

Image: https://biobuzz.io

On September 17, the College of Health and Human Services kicked-off “Mason: Health Starts Here,” a first-of-its-kind transdisciplinary student cohort study to understand and improve the health of university students. Research will include a longitudinal study of a broad sample of young adults, specifically first-year Mason students, to capture the diversity of their experiences in college and how they affect their physical and behavioral health.

Image: https://chhs.gmu.edu

Alexandria has been at the vanguard of Seattle's growing commercial life science ecosystem since entering the Seattle market in 1996 and is committed to developing a new, vibrant and connected campus to accelerate the discovery and delivery of novel innovations; create quality construction, life science and technology jobs; provide critical funds to address homelessness initiatives; activate the neighborhood; and help fulfill the company's mission to advance human health

One of the biggest dangers for trauma patients during the ambulance ride is undiagnosed, internal hemorrhagic bleeding. It’s currently undetectable with methods available on the ambulance ride. You can’t see it … but a robot can.

Dr. Axel Krieger – an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering who specializes in medical robotics and computer vision – says that estimates suggest one-third of trauma fatalities likely would have survived if they had access to hospital-level of care sooner. He aims to help make that level of care standard on the way to the hospital by equipping ambulances with a medical robot enhanced by machine learning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKPc_ZbLtuk

After a generation spent shaping the growth and development of biopharma clusters, Alexandria Real Estate Equities executive chairman and founder Joel Marcus recently spoke publicly about what will most likely drive the upcoming generation of hubs for biopharma and other emerging life sciences.

“If we focus for a moment on the next life science frontier, it’s pretty clear that the sheer scale of unmet medical needs for patients suffering from diseases of the brain is quite staggering, the cost to society enormous,” Marcus told analysts on Alexandria’s quarterly conference call July 30, according to a transcript published by Seeking Alpha. He cited the growing cost of treating dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and the nation’s opioid epidemic.

AstraZeneca has successfully been striking deals at an industry-leading rate over the past five years, with a concerted surge in both out-licensing and in-licensing work, according to a new report,  Pharma Licensing Trends, 2014–18.

Analysts Datamonitor Healthcare put AstraZeneca comfortably ahead of other pharmaceutical firms, recognising the company as the most active dealmaker between 2014 and 2018, during which time it also signed the sector’s largest single deal.

Image: https://www.astrazeneca.com

Another day, another start-up making headlines about its transformational technology that's set to disrupt a traditional sector, or its scientific breakthrough that will change the treatment standard for a horrible disease. "Sounds great!" you may be thinking. "Where do I invest?" Unfortunately, you can't.

Let's face it. Most of us aren't able to invest in venture capital funds. The realm of private equity that fuels the growth of fledgling companies is reserved for endowments, pension plans, and high-net-worth, accredited investors. Is it possible for ordinary investors to gain exposure to this high-risk, high-reward arena? Yes, but only indirectly.