For small businesses currently participating in the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, understanding intellectual property (IP)—including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights—is necessary to protect your ideas, products, and product names in today’s knowledge economy. This series of seven 90-minute webinars, organized by the USPTO and the U.S. Small Business Administration, has been designed to specifically address the most common IP issues facing small businesses funded by the SBIR and STTR programs. They not only cover all aspects of IP protection, but will also help you understand your IP data rights under the SBIR/STTR grant or contract.

Space is limited to 200 people per webinar, so early registration is advised. Please note these webinars are open only to small businesses currently engaged in either Phase 1 or Phase 2 of the SBIR/STTR programs (link is external).

Part 1 considered Dr. Kelvin Stott’s characterization of the innovation crisis in the pharmaceutical industry (here, here) and found his technology-based solution wanting. Improved productivity will require a new business model, one with transformative potential.

What you get

Participants selected for cohort three will receive: *

• A two-year fellowship – Includes a personal living stipend of up to $90,000/year depending on education and experience, along with health insurance and travel allowance
• Lab access and research funding – In addition to unparalleled access to facilities, equipment, and expertise at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, fellows receive $200,000 of R&D funding to support collaboration opportunities with researchers across the lab.
• Business mentors, entrepreneurial training, and networking – Participants receive access to experienced business mentors, entrepreneurial training programs, and exclusive networking opportunities. Innovators are also exposed to a wide range of leaders from academia, industry, government, and finance that can serve as advisors and partners.

*All support is subject to performance and availability of funds.

Eligibility criteria

For acceptance into the program, applicants:

• Must have PhD or equivalent experience
• Must be focused on energy or manufacturing innovation
• Must leverage ORNL R&D capabilities and have an impact on the Department of Energy (DOE) or Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) mission
• Must be willing to relocate to the Knoxville-Oak Ridge area
• Must be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident at time of application

To learn more or to apply, please visit: https://innovationcrossroads.ornl.gov/.

World-leading innovation

Discovery crosses industries, border and boundaries in MoCo

After a pair of key milestones this year, a startup working on a new way to treat cancer is opening an office in Baltimore city.

ImmuCision BioTherapeutics is taking office and lab space in the space at the University of Maryland BioPark at 801 Baltimore St.

Class has just begun, but U.S. News & World Report has already issued its report card for the nation’s best colleges.

And some familiar local names are up near the head of the class.

The Frederick Innovative Technology Center Inc., a technology incubator in Frederick, received the most money in fiscal year 2019 grant awards from the Rural Maryland Council's Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund.

A company started by former executives from Kite Pharma has raised $120 million to develop the next generation of CAR-T therapies.

A critical stage for most first-time entrepreneurs is getting their idea developed into at least a prototype to validate their technology. This process costs money, which professional investors are not willing to contribute, since their interest is in scaling a proven product and business model into a growth business. Investors want potential for a large and timely return, with reduced risk.

Register now for our 6th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium on Sunday, Sept. 23, in Philadelphia-- one day before The MedTech Conference powered by AdvaMed as we co-locate again this year.

Join the conversation as our experts dive deep into the topic “Using Real World Evidence to Drive Pediatric Innovation”

Program highlights include a live podcast of “BioTalk with Rich Bendis” featuring Vasum Peiris, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Pediatrics and Special Populations, Food & Drug Administration.

SERAXIS Inc., a privately held regenerative medicine company today announced the successful production of stem cell derived pancreatic cells capable of regulating blood glucose in rodent models of insulin dependent diabetes.

Four new grants will help to move scientific discoveries and technologies out of the lab and into commercial products that improve patient care and enhance human health. Awards for Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator Hubs for Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states will total almost $2 million in the first year and potentially more than $13 million over three years, pending the availability of funds. The grants are managed by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology scientists have received grants from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program to support new technology product development projects in Maryland. The projects, averaging $90,000 in value, each feature a collaboration between University System of Maryland faculty members and Maryland companies. Projects are jointly funded by both MIPS and participating companies. All funding goes to the university research.

In growing a health-focused startup, Sebastian Seiguer sees the need to keep using technology in new places, as well as validate the results of the work that’s already being done.

Federal funding for S&E R&D grew by $7.2 billion from 2002 to 2016, reaching more than $31.6 billion. This represents a 29.4 percent increase during the period, or approximately 2.0 percent per year, according to an SSTI analysis of data from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Among states, California ($4.3 billion), New York ($2.4 billion), and Maryland ($2.3 billion) received the most in federal funds for S&E R&D in 2016, while Baltimore ($2.0 billion), New York City ($1.7 billion), and Boston ($1.3 billion) led among metropolitan areas.

You can’t walk around Washington D.C. for long without meeting somebody who is involved in politics. The same is true for STEM jobs in the D.C. suburb of Gaithersburg, where one in every five employees in the city works in a STEM-related profession. The median salary for those employees is nearly $90,000, which is approximately $37,000 greater than the median income for the city overall.

University Startups are invited to apply to present at the next Global Corporate Venturing / Global University Venturing event in Houston, TX on November 8-9, 2018. Five startups will pitch to a room of approximately 50 corporate venture groups at this event. University Startups looking for their first investment or later rounds can apply. Startups presenting receive a one-day complimentary pass to attend the conference.

If you are a university with an active startup creation program, this is a must attend event to learn from international thought leaders about best practices in Global University Venturing. See below for the discount code to register.

Startups applying to the NCET2/GCV Showcase will also be considered for investments from the National Angels. The National Angels was specifically created by NCET2 to invest in the Best University Startups. The National Angels invests in companies in the following technical areas: Pharma/Med, Chemicals & Clean Tech, Advanced Manufacturing, and Information & Communication Technology. Investments range from $150,000 to $2 million.

HOW TO SUBMIT: Send your non-confidential pitch deck to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Submissions reviewed weekly. Final deadline for NCET2/GCV Houston Showcase is September 30, 2018.

For Dr. Carol Nacy, co-founder and CEO of Rockville, Maryland’s clinical-stage antibiotics developer Sequella, it all started with a fascination for things unseen.

Ben Young and Greg Coleman had their 15 minutes of fame when they shook hands with Mark Cuban on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Then they had another moment in the spotlight, when that deal fell through.

Jeeva Informatics Solutions (Jeeva), a premier healthcare and life sciences informatics company with the vision to democratize precision medicine at community level, is participating this week in the inaugural Total Exposure Health 2018 conference at Bethesda, MD. The conference aims to bridge exposure health with precision medicine.

The Montgomery College Germantown Campus is celebrating its 40th Anniversary on Tuesday, October 16th at 12:30 PM in Globe Hall. The Germantown community day will be on March 30th from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM.

MIT has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as an Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Node, and awarded $4.2 million in order to develop programs and resources that will accelerate the translation of fundamental research to practical applications.

Insect larvae-based feed additive/vaccine maker shifts focus to farmed shrimp These trays show R&D scale growth conditions for the insect larvae VakSea uses to produce its immune-boosting proteins.

Industrial IoT solutions innovator Machfu announced today that it is moving its corporate headquarters from the Germantown Innovation Center’s award- winning incubator program to commercial Class A office space in Rockville, Maryland. Machfu’s new headquarters will encompass 5,000 square feet of The Grove 270, a LEED Gold certified and Energy Star-awarded office complex.

Rare blood disorders are on VERALOX Therapeutics Inc.'s "hit" list. The company, a small molecule drug discovery and development firm based in the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. (FITCI), launched in September 2017 with a mission to develop a first-in-class therapeutic targeting rare immune-mediated blood disorders, beginning with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and HIT with thrombosis (HITT). These life-threatening diseases have a high mortality rate and often require limb amputations due to complications. The drug, VLX-1005, is the only therapeutic in development that strikes at the source of HITT and has performed impressively in clinically relevant animal models. Additionally, it has demonstrated preservation of insulin secretion and promotion of beta cell survival in newly-diagnosed type I diabetes patient samples, providing significant opportunities for market expansion into diabetes.

Insect larvae-based feed additive/vaccine maker shifts focus to farmed shrimp These trays show R&D scale growth conditions for the insect larvae VakSea uses to produce its immune-boosting proteins. Courtesy photo. Vaccinating aquatic animals is a time- and labor-intensive activity that also comes at great cost to aquaculture operators, most of whom would prefer to avoid...

When: Thursday, September 20, 2018 4:00 - 7:00 PM EST

Where: Columbus Center 701 E Pratt St Baltimore, MD 21202

Join us in envisioning a future that weaves together big data scientists with makers, medical doctors with apparel designers, cut & sew craftsman with artificial intelligence coders. An evening of looking back on the textile mills that once built our city and seeing the new mills of tomorrow filled with smart garments, technical textiles and wearables. Visit the displays of Baltimore companies with athletic apparel, high fashion and medical devices made with functional textiles. Most importantly, see how this new fabric of Baltimore engages you.

Silver Spring-based United Therapeutics Corp. announced Tuesday that it will pay a California company $95 million to develop a new form and delivery method of its flagship Remodulin drug to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension.

BrainScope today announced that it has been awarded a research contract by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) valued at $4.5 million to create and integrate ocular capabilities into its handheld, multi-parameter mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and concussion products. 

In healthcare, immersive technology has a number of benefits. Many of these have been demonstrated in a number of ways, whether that is through distracting from pain, or helping to train new doctors. One of the most promising is how virtual reality (VR) can assist in surgery. This technology is being introduced to the Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C.

You have one week left to submit your proposal for our $100K pediatric pitch competition focused on pediatric cardiovascular devices that meet a significant unmet need. The submission deadline is Sept. 10.

If chosen as a finalist, you will have an opportunity to pitch your device to our distinguished panel of judges on Sept. 23 as part of our annual pediatric device symposium.

A new space designed to promote student entrepreneurship is open near Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus as the school welcomes students back to campus this week.

A George Mason University researcher is heading a scientific team that has received a sizable Department of Defense grant to combat the threat of a South American disease that can cause long-term neurological problems and even death.

Orthopedics company Stryker announced Thursday that it is buying K2M Group Holdings, a maker of 3-D printed implantable, minimally invasive spine products, for $1.4 billion. Analysts reacted positively pointing out that while a small player K2M will help to boost Stryker’s spine division that has not been performing well as of late.

When: Thursday, September 6, 2018 from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT

Where: Columbus Center - Baltimore 701 E Pratt St Baltimore, MD 21202

Join us for this exclusive CEO Talks panel event on September 6th in Baltimore!

The second installment of the #CEOTalks event series will bring you insights from local company executives on the game changing technologies they are bringing to market to address one of the greatest public health threats of our age; Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR). 

Bringing new treatments to market in this field is made harder by a unique set of market conditions and investment hurdles that executives need to navigate to be successful.