Fairfax health technology company Vibrent Health hosted Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA, 11th District) at the company’s new offices for a town hall style meeting today, to talk about digital health initiatives, health care access, immigration issues and other topics of interest to Vibrent’s 140 employees.

“Congressman Connolly understands the importance of integrating health data from various sources to promote the best outcomes for individuals and for public health,” said Vibrent Health Founder and CEO Praduman “PJ” Jain. “We are eager to work with our leaders in government to continue developing digital health technology that advances health research and empowers people to live healthier lives.”

The 2018 UEDA Awards of Excellence finalists have been chosen following an extremely close competition this year. Higher education institutions and organizations across North America submit nominations annually for innovative programs that focus on developing economic prosperity in their communities and beyond. A panel of university and economic development professionals have chosen 24 finalists from the group of nominated projects.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, today announced several provisions in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifically focused on supporting small businesses in Maryland and nationwide.  The annual defense funding bill passed the Senate Wednesday. 

On the morning of Wednesday, July 25th, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee held a hearing titled The Innovation Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Barriers to Capital Access. The day’s discussion focused on various federal policies that could be pursued by Congress to increase avenues for financing innovative businesses and improve the ranking of the United States as an innovative economy.

The long wait for a White House science adviser is over. President Donald Trump announced today that he intends to nominate meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier, a university administrator and former vice-chair of the governing board of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The OSTP director traditionally, but not always, also holds the title of the president’s science adviser.

Baltimore-based Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) recently received a designation from federal regulators that’s designed to help allow patients to get quicker access to new devices.

United Therapeutics Corp. said it has received Food and Drug Administration approval for an implantable pump for Remodulin, its flagship pulmonary arterial hypertension drug.

QIAGEN N.V. and Hamilton Robotics, a privately held leader in automation and liquid handling technology, today announced a new collaboration to improve processing of QIAGEN’s QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) diagnostic test through the integration of Hamilton’s Microlab® STAR™ automated liquid handling workstation into the QFT-Plus assay workflow. QIAGEN’s fourth-generation QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus is the modern gold standard for latent tuberculosis (TB) detection.

Close proximity to a host research university — check. Sustainably designed and preferably LEED-certified buildings — check. A state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure — check. An office of commercialization — check. These used to define a cutting-edge and competitive research park. Not anymore. Today's "A list" parks, or districts, look more like towns, complete with transit, lodging, residential and retail. Besides those, the University of Maryland's Discovery District in College Park will soon have coworking space, thanks to a recent partnership among the university, global coworking provider WeWork and Chesapeake Realty Partners. 

VIP MEDIA DAY is an opportunity for local, regional and national media outlets to get a first-ever exclusive look into the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC), located in Blacksburg, VA, and adjacent to Virginia Tech.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has selected three finalists of the inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists (Trailblazer Prize): Daniel Bauer, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Jaehyuk Choi, M.D., Ph.D., Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University and Michael Fox, M.D., Ph.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. These three early-career clinician-scientists, whose work spans the fields of hematology, oncodermatology and neurology/psychiatry, are being recognized for their outstanding research contributions that have the potential to or have led to innovations in patient care. The winner will be announced and awarded the Trailblazer Prize and a $10,000 honorarium at the FNIH Annual Fall Board Dinner on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

AgriMetis, LLC is pleased to announce the opening of its new laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  The new laboratory is located at 401 Professional Drive, which is in the heart of the Maryland Biotech region along the I-270 corridor.

RESI invites global early stage companies across biotech, medtech, diagnostics & digital health to apply to their next Innovation Challenge. 

Gain excellent visibility among investors and strategic partners. 

Top 30 selected companies will showcase their technology in a poster format in the exhibit hall at the RESI Conference, September 6thin Boston. Winners will be announced and awarded during the cocktail reception, and all finalists will be featured in the program guide, on the RESI website and announced in LSN’s newsletter to a readership of 20,000+. 

It is FREE to apply. 

Attention NHLBI SBIR/STTR Phase II companies, The NIH Commercialization Accelerator Program (CAP) is now accepting applications

The deadline for submitting an application for NIH CAP is August 16, 2018 by 11:59 pm PDT.  Up to eighty (80) companies will be selected to participate in this year's NIH CAP in early September 2018.

The CAP program is designed to help recent Phase II awardees with individualized assistance in Market & Customer Discovery, Development, Business Strategy and Outcomes and Regulatory & Reimbursement Strategies to help you transition your SBIR-STTR developed product into the marketplace.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this fun networking event with colleagues throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia at the 5th Annual BioHealth Capital Region BioBowl. Co-hosted by MedImmune and BioHealth Innovation, this unique event is open to biohealth companies from throughout the region who value team building with their work colleagues and the opportunity to meet others at nearby companies. You do not have to be a probowler to participate! Prizes include the coveted BHCR Bowling Trophy and a Rubber Chicken Award. The entire BowlMor facility in Gaithersburg will be filled with BioHealth bowlers from 4-6:30 p.m. on October 11th. Come join us! Food and beverages are complimentary but pre-registration is required. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

MACH37, the premier market-centric cyber accelerator in the United States, today announced they will begin accepting applications for the Fall 2018 Cohort, which will commence on Sept. 24. Designed to facilitate the development of the next generation of cyber companies, MACH37's unique program places heavy emphasis on the validation of complex cyber problems, the development of unique solutions, and the cultivation of relationships that produce market traction and investment capital.

Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) with facilities in Collegeville and Valley Forge, reported first half 2018 results, increased their guidance for the remainder of the year and announced a major restructuring program expected to deliver annual cost savings of £400 million by 2021.

Here's another notch for Greater Washington's HQ2 belt.

The House and Senate have agreed to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019. As anticipated, the legislation addresses many small business and innovation policies. Changes relevant to tech-based economic development affect SBIR, advanced manufacturing, and partnerships with defense labs.

Rachel King, co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GlycoMimetics, Inc., testified today on behalf of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) before the Joint Economic Committee. King discussed the need to build on the success of the JOBS Act, FDASIA’s “breakthrough therapies” designation, as well as policies that provide tax relief and strengthen patent protections.

When: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 8:00AM-5:00PM

Where: Inova Center for Personalized Health 3225 Gallows Rd Fairfax, Virginia  22037 United States

Women of the Virginia bioscience community from across the state will lead this full day event offering examples of working together to build a stronger bioscience industry, stronger companies and institutions, stronger teams and networks, and stronger individuals.

GlaxoSmithKline has made a $300 million equity investment in 23andMe as part of a deal that pulls it close to the consumer genetics pioneer. The partners are contributing preclinical programs to a 50-50 collaboration that will use 23andMe’s genotypic and phenotypic data to accelerate progress. 

An incubator space is coming to Cherry Hill Mall — a change that points to the broader trend of shopping centers rebranding as destinations to do more than just buy clothes.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018 from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM, Bar Louie 150 Gibbs St Rockville, MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and Emergent BioSolutions at Bar Louie in Rockville on August 22nd. Celebrating its 20th year anniversary this year, and with five locations in Maryland, Emergent is sponsoring a BioBuzz event to thank the community that it has been a part of for almost two decades. 

With a dozen approvals for biosimilars under its belt already, the Food and Drug Administration has started a new effort to accelerate the development and adoption of the drugs.

Ascentage Pharma, a global biopharmaceutical company with a local hub in Maryland, has raised $150 million in Series C financing.

Is your biohealth company located in Maryland, DC or Virginia? Are you thinking of applying for a biohealth related SBIR grant?   Does your technology qualify?  Are you eligible?  Should you apply to NIH? NSF? to other organizations?  

Sign up now to learn more from one of BHI’s SBIR consultants. Office hours are scheduled next in Montgomery County August 8th and 15th.  (There is no fee for this service.  Depending upon your technology and stage in the business cycle, BHI may also prepay for experts to help you improve your SBIR and other non-dilutive funding applications. For more information, click here.)

Due to company graduations,  co-working and individual office space is becoming available at the Montgomery County innovation centers located in Rockville and Germantown.  Each location offers shared meeting and kitchenette/lunch room space, and affordable, flexible lease terms.  Tenants in these facilities also have access to BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Residence analysts, and other professional staff for additional support. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

RESI/Life Science Nation are hosting a day of partnering and networking at RESI/Life Science Nation’s inaugural First Coast Innovators Gathering. Biohealth incubators, accelerators, tech transfer offices, and research labs from the East Coast can promote their organizations and spinout companies to RESI’s audience investors and partners seeking to connect with the region’s earliest stage companies. Participating organizations also are able to offer their companies discounted attendance to day one. For more information, click here.

For the first time this fall, Life Science Nation (LSN) will have two days of competition as part of the RESI Healthtech Week (September 5-7, 2018). Day 1 will feature the First Coast Innovation Challenge, where the top 10 ranked companies of the First Coast tech hubs will present their technologies as a 10-minute pitch to a panel of early-stage investors. Day 2 features the traditional RESI Innovation Challenge, where the top 30 companies who apply are chosen to showcase a poster on the RESI Global Partnering Conference Exhibit Hall.  First Coast Innovation Challenge is geared toward companies which have recently moved out of the lab and are ready to target grant, angel, and seed funding. The First Coast Innovation Challenge on Day 1 complements the RESI Global Innovation Challenge on Day 2, offering greater investor exposure to companies from the earliest stage to more established startups that are looking globally and seeking funding from institutional investors.

Apply by this Friday, July 27^th to participate in First Coast Innovation Challenge.

GlaxoSmithKline is reportedly considering whether to split its business into a consumer health spin-off and standalone pharmaceutical and vaccines group.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) today visited Vibrent Health, a Fairfax, Virginia-based health technology company for a tour of the company’s new office followed by a town hall session with Vibrent’s 140 employees.

"Studying and developing new technologies is critical to improving our health care system and expanding access to more Virginians. I’m looking forward to learning more about the work Vibrent Health is doing to modernize the industry as well as hearing from their employees on how the Senate can better support innovation in the health care space," said Kaine.

Following an advisory panel recommendation on July 6, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved, under Priority Review, single-dose Krintafel (tafenoquine) for the radical cure (prevention of relapse) of Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax)malaria in patients aged 16 years and older who are receiving appropriate antimalarial therapy for acute P. vivax infection.

Venture capital investment in early-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical startups is seeing exuberance that could be classed as “froth,” but it does not appear to be in bubble territory yet.

Gaithersburg biotech startup Neuraly has raised $36 million for its potential Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease treatment, the company announced.