Tuesday ,November 6, 2018 6:15 PM - 8:30 PM, Hotel Annapolis126 West StreetAnnapolis, MD 21401

FounderTrac invites you to Demo Day!

The FounderTrac accelerator ‘connects the dots’ by creating an inclusive environment that combines curriculum, capital, mentorship, and community. FounderTrac is an elite accelerator where impactful founders work in a high-performance environment that inspires and weaponizes them to become “fulfillionaires” (founders who achieve venture success while doing fulfilling work). FounderTrac is a Partnership between The Maryland Tech Council, LAUNCH! Annapolis, MCVC Partners and TEDCO to bring a community-based accelerator to Annapolis, MD.

OpGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPGN) today announced a collaboration with QIAGEN N.V. to advance rapid diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Strengthening OpGen’s entry into the United States market, the companies have entered into an agreement to commercialize a new solution for the detection of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens based on QIAGEN’s EZ1 Advanced XL automated nucleic acid purification instrumentation (EZ1) and kits for the United States. The EZ1 will be utilized in the test workflow for the Acuitas® AMR Gene Panel u5.47 products. The AMR Gene Panel family of rapid diagnostics tests has been designed to detect and identify multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in urine and bacterial isolates in approximately two hours. The test was developed for use with the Acuitas Lighthouse® Software for predicting antibiotic resistance and high-resolution pathogen tracking. The AMR Gene Panel u5.47 and the Acuitas Lighthouse Software are currently available for Research Use Only (RUO).

TaiRx, a joint venture between Rockville-based BioHealth Innovation Inc. and Taiwan pharmaceutical company TaiRx Inc., is looking to raise around $5 million.

The Emmes Corporation today announced that it was named one of the largest women-owned businesses in the Washington metropolitan area by the Washington Business Journal.  Emmes was ranked the sixth largest women-owned business in the Washington region, up from number seven last year.

AstraZeneca PLC’s research and development arm MedImmune Inc. spun off a small biotech startup company called Viela Bio.

Bethesda health tech company RightEye LLC is finally moving beyond the research and development phase.

Joel Marcus, chairman at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, discusses the risk of rising interest rates, how government action on drug pricing could impact the firm's pharmaceutical tenants, and exploring opportunities in the agriculture technology sector. He speaks with Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker from the Robin Hood Investors Conference on "Bloomberg Markets."

Although we’re told business isn’t personal, the reality is that business is built on relationships.

In other words, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And if the numbers tell us anything, it’s that socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs need more chances to connect to new networks that have the resources to push their businesses forward.

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced the launch of major enhancements to QIAGEN Clinical Insight (QCI) bioinformatics solutions to deliver expanded Sample to Insight workflows for clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS). QIAGEN introduced QCI Analyze Universal for full end-to-end workflow support of all major clinical sequencing platforms and assay types, along with expanded QCI capabilities for interpretation of biomarkers in immuno-oncology as well as other enhancements, at the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) Annual Meeting & Expo from November 1-3, 2018, in San Antonio, Texas.

CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE American: CVM) announced today it has received just under $8 million through the exercise of warrants to purchase shares of the Company's common stock during the past 3 months. As of October 22, 2018, CEL-SCI had 28,271,615 outstanding shares of common stock.

Neuralstem, Inc. (Nasdaq:CUR), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for nervous system diseases, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors for the purchase of 3,000,000 shares of its common stock, at a purchase price per share of $0.70, in a registered direct offering. Additionally, Neuralstem has also agreed to issue to the investors unregistered warrants to purchase up to 3,000,000 shares of its common stock. The closing of the offering is expected to take place on or about October 29, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. 

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: RGRX) ("the Company" or "RegeneRx"), a clinical-stage drug development company focused on tissue protection, repair and regeneration, today announced a clinical trial update provided by GtreeBNT, RegeneRx's partner for development of RGN-259 and RGN-137 in the U.S.:

Epigenomics AG (FSE: ECX, OTCQX: EPGNY) today announced that it has received CE Mark for its blood test to aid in detecting liver cancer among patients with cirrhosis two months ahead of schedule. The test will be commercialized under the brand name “HCCBloodTest”. In 2019, the company plans to initiate a prospective clinical trial in the U.S. for submission to the FDA. Additionally, Epigenomics is evaluating options to expedite CFDA approval in China.

The Shore Hatchery here at Salisbury University has become one of the premiere opportunities for local entrepreneurs and Friday over a dozen were making their pitch in hopes of receiving part of $200,000 in funding.

The new funding includes a $15 million investment from Palo Alto-based Meritech Capital Partners.

Wound Care Advantage, a leading provider of management and consulting services for outpatient wound care and hyperbaric medicine programs, today announced a partnership with Tissue Analytics, the world's leading mobile imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) platform for wound management. The partnership allows for WCA to leverage its clinical expertise and 17 years of clinical data with Tissue Analytics' imaging and AI to improve the accuracy of measurement during wound assessments and provide better insights into the efficacy of wound treatments to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

A growing seniors population and increasing prevalence of high-cost diseases like diabetes has generated a surge in funding for healthcare research in recent years and, along with it, demand for life science-biotech lab space.

REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq: RGNX), a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company seeking to improve lives through the curative potential of gene therapy based on its proprietary NAV® Technology Platform, today announced updated results from the ongoing Phase I study of RGX-314 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

In what can be termed as a milestone in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), a vaccine by pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) could be the first new jab against the infectious disease developed in a century.

The United States is rated as the world’s most competitive economy according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2018, which is published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The World Economic Forum sponsors the well publicized and invitation only annual meeting at Davos, in the Swiss Alps each winter.

The Prix Galien USA Committee last night honored excellence in the biopharmaceutical and medical industry for research, development and innovation at its 12th annual Prix Galien Awards Gala, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In recognition of the development and discovery of products that improve the human condition, a committee of highly accomplished scientific leaders, inclusive of four Novel Laureates, recognized winners in three categories: "Best Pharmaceutical Product," "Best Biotechnology Product," and "Best Medical Technology." This year, the Committee has chosen two winners in the Biotechnology category.

United Therapeutics is putting millions more toward an effort to pioneer organ manufacturing and transplantation.

One year ago this week, President Donald J. Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Ever since, the Trump Administration has applied an all-of-Government approach to the epidemic, allowing each agency and department to do their part to help the cause.

Gotham Therapeutics launched in New York with a $54 million Series A financing. The round was co-led by founding investor Versant Ventures, Forbion and S.R. One. The investment syndicate included Celgene Corporation and Alexandria Venture Investments.

The growing availability of real-world data has generated tremendous excitement in health care. By some estimates, health data volumes are increasing by 48% annually, and the last decade has seen a boom in the collection and aggregation of this information. Among these data, electronic health records (EHRs) offer one of the biggest opportunities to produce novel insights and disrupt the current understanding of patient care.

President Trump on Thursday blasted pharmaceutical companies for having “rigged the system” against American consumers by charging higher prices in the U.S. than they do abroad, announcing a new proposal he says will help even out those differences.

By Rich Bendis and Brian Darmody

While Maryland boasts world-class universities and many private sector firms, the major reason it ranks No. 1 in the country in per capita research spending is the presence of 74 federal research laboratories, such as the National Institutes of Health.

One of the gating factors in studying the human brain is having the ability to conduct research on actual functioning human brain tissue. As a result, many scientific studies are conducted on rodents as a mammalian proxy. The drawback to this approach is that rodent brains are different in structure and function. According to Johns Hopkins, structurally, the human brain is approximately 30 percent neurons and 70 percent glia, while the mouse brain has the opposite ratio [1].

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) awarded to Michael Fox, M.D., Ph.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School the inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists (Trailblazer Prize) at the FNIH Annual Fall Board Dinner in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fox received the Trailblazer Prize and a $10,000 honorarium for pioneering innovative techniques to map human brain connectivity that can be translated into new treatments for neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and depression. The Trailblazer Prize is made possible by a generous donation from John I. Gallin, M.D., and Elaine Gallin, Ph.D., to the FNIH.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine plans to cut the ribbon on the university system’s largest academic building ever Wednesday, a $305 million tower on Baltimore Street that officials say will vastly expand the institution’s ability to understand and treat diseases.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new antiviral influenza treatment.

Johns Hopkins’ Social Innovation Lab is kicking off a new cohort of early-stage social enterprises addressing challenges around education, health and blight, among others.

Thrombocytopenia is a big word that can carry big consequences for those struggling with rare blood disorders, especially among those using heparin to treat and prevent blood clots. But, help is on the way. The National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently awarded VERALOX Therapeutics, a small molecule drug discovery and development company, a $319,133 Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a novel therapeutic for patients suffering from heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (HIT/HITT).

AstraZeneca, and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, today announced a new multi-term agreement with Innate Pharma (Innate), building on an existing collaboration, aimed at accelerating each company’s oncology portfolio and bringing new medicines to patients more quickly. The extended collaboration will enrich AstraZeneca’s immuno-oncology (IO) portfolio with pre-clinical and clinical potential new medicines.

Developers qualify if they fill buildings with biotech and cyber firms.