A Zika vaccine candidate co-developed by Emergent BioSolutions and Valneva has turned up positive early-stage results, laying the groundwork for a potential technology transfer to Emergent.

Market conditions for venture funding remained very strong in the third quarter of 2018. Deal size and pre-money valuations across all equity rounds decreased slightly but still remained high by historical standards. Median pre-money valuations inched down across the board in Q3 2018. The decline in median amounts raised was more significant, with Series B financings taking the most significant hit, and with the median size falling nearly 50% from the prior quarter. However, more post-Series A financings were up rounds, reversing the decline seen in the first half of 2018.

Between clinical objectives, financial concerns, patient needs and complex payer dynamics, there seem to be too few hours in the day for healthcare executives to address the diverse set of organizational goals they are tasked with accomplishing.

GlycoMimetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLYC) announced today dosing of the first patient in the company’s Phase 3 clinical trial of uproleselan (GMI-1271) in relapsed/refractory AML. The trial’s protocol provides for administration of the investigational drug in combination with MEC (mitoxantrone, etoposide and ara-C) or in combination with FAI (fludarabine, ara-C and idarubicin), both of which are standard of care for this indication in the United States. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to GlycoMimetics for uproleselan in this patient population. The company anticipates the initiation of two complementary Phase 2/3 trials from two leading clinical consortia in early 2019.

Results from a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of Emergent BioSolutions' (NYSE:EBS) Zika vaccine, VLA1601, showed a favorable safety profile for all doses and schedules tested and encouraging immunogenic activity.

IBBR researchers recently received $3.9 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a multi-specific, single agent antibody therapeutic against HIV-1 to block virus infection and to clear the reservoir of HIV-infected cells from the body. Dr. Yuxing Li, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Fellow at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), will lead the project, in collaboration with colleagues Dr. Qingsheng Li, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Dr. Keith Reeves, Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Paragon Bioservices, Inc. (Paragon), the leading private equity-backed biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with proven expertise in gene therapy and next-generation vaccines, today announced it was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500™ for 2018, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Additionally, Paragon was named #8 to the Baltimore Business Journal's Fast 50 for the second year in a row.

There’s no doubt that now is an exciting time for health IT. Many forward-thinking software companies are applying predictive models to create solutions that can improve hospital operations and clinical outcomes. As president and CMO of a Silicon Valley-based healthcare company using data science to improve core processes in healthcare operations, I believe there are a few major elements that health IT companies must incorporate as they continue to evolve to address the needs of our trillion-dollar healthcare system. Here’s what I believe needs to happen in 2019:

Amazon announced its HQ2 decision last Tuesday, splitting the decision between Crystal City and New York. But an earlier competition to site the nation’s capital makes the HQ2 contest seem like a cakewalk.

Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) and United Therapeutics (UTHR) announced on Nov. 15 that the two companies have reached a deal on the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Ralinepag. The $1.2 billion deal is the type of deal that many Arena investors have anticipated.

Johns Hopkins spinout AsclepiX Therapeutics raised $5 million in new funding that will assist in development of new treatment for eye diseases that are leading causes of blindness in adults.

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, and PwC US, are proud to release the 2019 California Life Sciences Industry Report. With over 350 data points, this 2019 Report provides a snapshot of California’s life sciences community, and how the world’s largest life sciences cluster remains a global hub for innovation, creating high-wage jobs, bringing new therapies and technologies to patients, and attracting significant investment from venture capitalists, the NIH and more.

Telehealth is changing the face of healthcare, and Medicare must adapt, said the CMS administrator.

Innovation is vital to the evolution and sustainability of the American healthcare system, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working to be part of the transformation, according to its administrator.

The audience seated in an intimate ballroom at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) on Nov. 9 turned its attention to a small stage at the front of the room. The stage filled with red light as Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, PhD, MS, a research associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW), entered from behind a black curtain off to the right.

Advanced analysis of genomic data integrated with electronic medical records and other data sets, combined with effective reimbursement strategies and full data-regulatory compliance, will distinguish winning diagnostics companies.

Virginia emerged as a winner in the fierce, nationwide competition to house a headquarters for Amazon. The commonwealth stepped up with a standout higher education package, including a new Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria, which will be located less than two miles from Amazon’s new location in Arlington.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: RNN), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies to improve outcomes in cancers that are difficult to treat, today announced that Douglas J. Swirsky, who has served as Rexahn's president and chief financial officer since January 2018, has been named the company's president and chief executive officer and appointed to the company's board of directors effective immediately. Peter D. Suzdak, Ph.D., chief executive officer, has departed the company and resigned as a member of its board of directors.

SERAXIS Inc., a rapidly growing regenerative medicine company today announced the publication of important trial considerations for SR-01, its pluripotent stem cell-derived islet therapy for insulin-dependent diabetes.

Gene editing company CRISPR Therapeutics and cell-based medicines and life sciences firm MaxCyte have expanded clinical and commercial license agreement into oncology.

Today’s announcement that Amazon has selected New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for the company’s new headquarters is a win for Montgomery County. Amazon will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations, with more than 25,000 employees each in location.

Groundhog Day?

This month, Forbes reported that venture capital investments in healthcare startups hit record highs, despite the infamous dissolution of Theranos. While this implies it is still a buyer’s market, hundreds of quality early stage-health technology companies ready for funding are not securing investments. At Inova Personalized Health Accelerator (IPHA), we researched this trend in our Health Tech Early Stage Funding Report, which we published this month. As reported in VentureBeat earlier this year, Rick Gordon, director of IPHA, detailed a troubling trend at the pre-seed and seed stage investment level for health technology startups – early stage health technology investments are declining.

NextCure Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing the next generation of immunomedicines for cancer and other diseases, today announced the completion of a $93 million series B equity financing. The financing was led by Hillhouse Capital Management and Quan Capital, and included Bay City Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Ping An Ventures, Taiho Ventures LLC, ArrowMark Partners and NS Investment. All existing investors also participated in this financing, including Canaan Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Pfizer Inc., Sofinnova Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments. Additionally, Eli Lilly and Company invested $15 million in this financing in conjunction with the discovery and development partnership announced on November 5, 2018.

After a highly competitive site selection process that had communities across the U.S. touting their qualifications, Amazon has selected New York City and Arlington, VA, as the locations for the company’s new headquarters. Amazon will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations, with more than 25,000 employees each in New York City and Arlington. The new locations will join Seattle as the company’s three headquarters in North America.

When the FDA issued its first approval for a gene therapy for an inherited disease nearly a year ago—a cure for a type of blindness—it was heralded as breakthrough, a moment decades in the making. With dozens of other genetically engineered therapies moving through clinical trials, the long-promised era of personalized, gene-based medicine seemed to be at hand.

New York City and Northern Virginia will be the homes for Amazon.com Inc.’s second and third headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter, ending a more than yearlong public contest that started with 238 candidates and ended with a surprise split of its so-called HQ2.

Seth Goldman was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, and throughout his life, he dreamed of ideas to pursue. That tendency was enhanced when he crossed paths with Yale School of Management Professor Barry Nalebuff while pursuing his graduate degree in business administration. The student impressed the professor with his insights, and his willingness to productively debate ideas in class. A couple of years after business school, Goldman went for a run in New York City, entered a convenience store, and despite his thirst, was not impressed by the usual suspect beverages on offer.

Leaders within the biopharma industry have long enjoyed the pride of knowing that their work improves millions of lives and offers great benefits to humanity.  They share a collective sense of accomplishment around the eradication of diseases and improvement of daily living.

Google has hired Geisinger Health CEO David Feinberg to oversee its many health care initiatives, reporting to AI chief Jeff Dean and working closely with CEO Sundar Pichai to organize Google’s various health-related ventures.

Senseonics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: SENS) a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of a long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system for people with diabetes, today has announced that the Eversense® Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) System has received FDA approval for qualified health care providers to be trained and certified to provide patients with the highly accurate sensor that lasts up to three months. Previously, the sensor insertion and removal procedure could only be performed by trained physicians.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) and MaxCyte today announced the expansion of their existing relationship by entering into a non-exclusive commercial license agreement that will allow CRISPR Therapeutics to deploy MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation® Technology to develop CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies in immuno-oncology.

BHI congratulates Lily Qi on her election to the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 15 in Montgomery County. Lily was one of the founding members of the working group who was instrumental in launching BioHealth Innovation well before her appointment to the Board in 2016. She has been a champion for advancing the biotech industry and is looking forward to being a strong partner for the biohealth industries in Montgomery County and Maryland.

Lily ran a highly competitive race and won 2nd place both in the Democratic Primary among nine contenders (including two incumbents) and in the General Election where there were six total candidates. She became the first Chinese immigrant elected to the Maryland Legislature.

Please join us in congratulating Lily Qi as we look forward to great things from her in her new role.

The original location of 1776 is closing at the end of the year. 1776 plans to leave its current D.C. location at 1133 15th St. NW after the prominent incubator network couldn’t reach an agreement over lease renewal terms with the building’s owner, DivcoWest. The lease will expire on December 31.

Geisinger president and CEO David Feinberg is moving to tech giant Google, where he will help coordinate its moves in the healthcare space, according to CNBC.

A $25,000 prize will be awarded to one of the 10 new Social Innovation Lab members at the end of the cohort session.

New Enterprise Associates has closed a deal to sell $1.3 billion of interests in about 20 portfolio companies to a new fund managed by a new venture capital firm headed by two former NEA executives, multiple sources with knowledge of the transaction have said.