MedImmune, the R&D arm of AstraZeneca, will make an immediate payment of $10 million to the Israeli cancer immunotherapy company. Israeli cancer immunotherapy company Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN; TASE: CGEN) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with MedImmune, the biologics R&D arm of AstraZeneca. The agreement will facilitate the development of bi-specific and multi-specific immuno-oncology antibody products.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is delighted to recognize Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., with the 2018 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences for discovery of the enzyme cyclic GMP‐AMP synthase (cGAS) and its corresponding pathway, which solved a century- old mystery about DNA. Long before DNA was known to be a genetic material, scientists knew that it could activate the body’s immune system to fight infections. However, they did not understand the cellular process that occurred to trigger this response until Dr. Chen’s discovery. The cGAS enzyme and its DNA-sensing pathway are the catalyst for the critical immune response that defends the body against viruses, bacteria and tumors, but surprisingly, they also can inflict autoimmune disease. Now in its sixth year, the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be presented to Dr. Chen at the FNIH Award Ceremony hosted by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on May 16, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

Senseonics Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: SENS), a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of Eversense®, a long-term, implantable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system for people with diabetes, today announced a favorable outcome of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Devices meeting on the Eversense system. The panel, comprised of independent medical experts, voted unanimously, 8 to 0, that the benefits outweigh the risks, voted unanimously, 8 to 0, that the system is safe, and voted unanimously, 8 to 0, that the system is effective.

Adding to the growing momentum in Prince George’s County, WeWork, a global leader in coworking with more than 200 locations in 21 countries around the world, has selected College Park for its first location in the State of Maryland. As part of a new partnership model, this will be the first WeWork on a college campus, located in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District.  

Altimmune, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALT), a clinical-stage immunotherapeutics company, today announced positive data from its Phase 2a study of NasoVAX intranasal influenza vaccine and provided an update on its Phase 1b study of HepTcell targeted immunotherapy in chronic hepatitis B infection. Results from the Phase 2a study of NasoVAX™ intranasal flu vaccine in 60 healthy individuals showed 100% seroprotection in the mid- and high-dose groups. Results from the Phase 1b study of HepTCell in hepatitis B infection showed that HepTcell was well tolerated at all doses tested, while the unblinded T-cell immunogenicity results were inconclusive.

Johns Hopkins University is launching a new concentration in Regenerative and Stem Cell Technologies within the Master of Science in Biotechnology. Students will become knowledgeable about areas including regenerative medicine, cell therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering.

Co-working space company WeWork is opening its first location in Maryland and it’s where the future of business lives: on a college campus.

WeWork will open on the campus of the University of Maryland College Park this fall, in the university’s rapidly expanding Discovery District.

When: Thursday, April 19, 2018 4:00 - 7:00 PM EST

Where: Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures 1812 Ashland Avenue Baltimore, MD 21205

Deerfield Management is an investment management firm, committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. Partner and Hopkins alum, Brian Bizoza, MD will talk to their investment strategy and their work advancing early technologies from major academic institutions.

The purpose of the administrative supplement is to provide support for NIH-funded investigators to participate in an entrepreneurship training course, the Concept to Clinic: Commercializing Innovation (C3i) Program.  The C3i Program is designed to provide medical device innovators with the specialized business frameworks and essential tools for successful translation of biomedical technologies from the lab (concept) to the market (clinic). Through this program, the NIH fosters the development and commercialization of early-stage biomedical technologies by engaging investigators who are interested in better understanding the value of their innovation in addressing an unmet market need. The curriculum and customized mentoring provided by the C3i Program are intended to guide investigators as they assess the commercial viability and potential business opportunity for their innovation. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH Scientific/Research staff for more information about the program before applying.  

The American South is not all barbecue and shrimp and grits. It turns out that there are plenty of interesting startup companies in the region, and where there are startups, there are investors too.

Dr. Sisir Dutta, a former genetics professor at Howard University, has established the Center for Human Genomic Medicine and Research. The nonprofit center is a new tenant at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) is buying Novartis (NOVN.S) out of their consumer healthcare joint venture for $13 billion, taking full control of products including Sensodyne toothpaste, Panadol headache tablets, muscle gel Voltaren, and Nicotinell patches.

Cerecor, Inc. (NASDAQ: CERC) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Peter Greenleaf as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Greenleaf has served on the Company's board since May 2017. He brings to Cerecor over two decades of biopharmaceutical experience, having most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and led the company's acquisition by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals for $1.2 billion. Throughout his career, Mr. Greenleaf has demonstrated a track record for creating shareholder value through solid commercial execution and efficient drug development.

You're a student, and you've got an idea for a new app. It's handy. It's intuitive. It solves some commonplace problem you've encountered yourself too many times to count. This idea of yours is going to take off, you know it.

The SnapPath® Cancer Diagnostics System is the only diagnostics system that can generate purified populations of live solid tumor cells from live, unfixed samples in an automated and standardized manner. SnapPath preserves the molecular integrity of these living cells for exposure outside the human body to targeted therapies. This enables the generation of PathMap® Functional Signaling Profiles, which are highly predictive of individual solid tumor response to targeted therapies and combinations, because they are based on the dynamic, predictive signaling information available only from live cells. BioMarker Strategies has been granted patents on both of these important technologies in the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan, and patent applications are pending elsewhere. (Photo: Business Wire)

Created in 1974, the Federal Acquisition Regulation provides “uniform policies and procedures for acquisition” to ensure integrity, fairness, and openness in federal procurement. And for over 40 years now, federal agencies have implemented numerous contract writing and support systems. But no one technology has made it dramatically easier for contracting officers or industry.

The Emmes Corporation today announced the completion of a pivotal clinical trial for a new product developed by IDx that could help in detecting diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in the United States.  IDx-DR is a fully autonomous AI-based diagnostic system that analyzes images of the retina for signs of diabetic retinopathy, providing instructions for follow-up care based on the level of disease detected. IDx-DR has been granted expedited review by the Food and Drug Administration.

Montgomery County continues to experience a steady rise in employment since 2014, a positive change from stagnant growth in prior years. Montgomery County recorded over 550,000 employees, an increase of 2.6% from last year and trended above the then year average of 516,360. Montgomery County’s unemployment rate continued to contract and ended Q3 2017 with a rate of 3.2%, down from 3.3% from November 2016.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced executive management changes that continue to align its organizational structure to its long-term strategy and to the achievement of its near- and long-term growth objectives. Specifically, effective today, the company’s board of directors promoted Robert G. Kramer Sr. to the newly-created position of president and chief operating officer, and appointed Richard S. Lindahl as the company’s new executive vice president and chief financial officer.

NexImmune, an emerging leader in the field of antigen-directed immunotherapy, today announced that Scott Carmer has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Carmer has served as NexImmune’s Chief Operating Officer since 2015. In addition, Kristi Jones has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, and Alan Roemer has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The state of Maryland and the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp. (AAEDC) announced today their support of Paragon Bioservices’ new commercial manufacturing facility under development in Anne Arundel County and the addition of 200 new jobs over the next four years. Earlier this year, Paragon, a leading biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with expertise in gene therapy and next-generation vaccines, announced plans to lease 150,000 square feet in the BW Gateway development on Harmans Road.

Akonni Biosystems Inc. and Chinese in vitro diagnostics company, Righton, announce a commercial agreement that enables Righton to sell Akonni's products for nucleic acid purification and molecular diagnostics to researchers, clinical laboratories, and hospitals in China. The products to be sold include TruTip®, Akonni's best-in-class sample preparation technology, which is low-cost and simple, yet highly effective at purifying DNA and RNA from the most difficult sample types. In addition, for diagnostic applications, Righton plans to commercialize Akonni's TruDiagnosis® system based on the proprietary TruArray® multiplexed diagnostic solutions. Righton has made an equity investment of $7.5 million USD in Akonni's series D fundraising round bringing the total investments in the Series D round to $13.9 million USD.

The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Tuesday a county matching fund for businesses that receive federal grants.

Councilmember George Leventhal spearheaded the grant, which was co-sponsored by the eight remaining council members.

WellDoc®, a leading digital therapeutic company, announces today the formation of its scientific advisory team whose expertise spans cardiology, health behavior, endocrinology, primary care and pharmacy-based diabetes education and care. Richard Katz, MD, Janet Duni, RN, BSN, MPA, CCM, Pablo Mora, MD, Nancy D’Hondt, RPh, CDE, FAADE, Edwin Fisher, PhD and Charlene Quinn, PhD have each been involved in WellDoc’s digital health journey with product enhancement, evaluation, or implementation and have been asked to now formally serve as scientific advisors to the company.

Pharma major Lupin announced the launch of its Carbidopa Tablets 25mg having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier.

Lupin’s Carbidopa Tablets, 25mg is the generic equivalent of Aton Pharma, Inc.’s Lodosyn® Tablets, 25 mg. It is indicated for use with carbidopa-levodopa or with levodopa in the treatment of the symptoms of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (paralysis agitans), postencephalitic parkinsonism, and symptomatic parkinsonism, which may follow injury to the nervous system by carbon monoxide intoxication and/or manganese intoxication.

A biotech company founded by Johns Hopkins researchers to develop new drugs to fight cancer said this week that it is raising $40 million in Series A funding.

The round for Dracen Pharmaceuticals was led by Deerfield Management Company, a New York–based firm which invested $36 million in the round.

USC researchers have launched a massive scientific effort to construct a detailed, virtual 3-D model of the pancreatic beta cell and its components — a global project that aims to one day curb the worldwide rise of diabetes.

Eighteen companies ranging in maturity and focus, from software building to bag making, will be housed in the newly renovated HQ by the end of the month.

A pair of bio-oriented spaces in Baltimore are looking to provide extra help to scientists building companies out of discoveries.

The Inner Harbor–based Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) and Baltimore Under Ground Science Space (BUGSS) have a new partnership, according to leaders from both spots.

TEDCO announced investments from its seed fund in five startups this week, including three from Baltimore.

Taken together, the latest funding from Maryland’s quasi-public agency backing early-stage companies totals $1.2 million. Here’s the funding breakdown:

Johns Hopkins University led all U.S. universities in research and development expenditures for the 38th consecutive year in fiscal year 2016, spending $2.431 billion on projects like fighting dengue, finding the functional age of cells, and explaining why the universe is making fewer stars.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

The National Capital SoPE Chapter is moving its meeting to the newly established Inova Personalized Health Accelerator located at 3225 Gallows Road Room C17, Fairfax, Virginia, 22031. We will meet in the Conference Center on the Inova Campus. Our first meeting for the Spring 2018 lineup will be: RED FLAGS in Healthcare/Life Science Due Diligence - What Every Investor and Entrepreneur Should Know!

CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASI), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing high quality, cost-effective pharmaceutical products and innovative oncology therapeutics to patients, announces today a $50 million private placement. The Company has entered into definitive securities purchase agreements pursuant to which the Company will issue 15,432,091 shares of its Common Stock with accompanying warrants to purchase 6,172,832 shares of its Common Stock. The purchase price for each share of Common Stock and warrant is $3.24.  The warrants will become exercisable 180 days after issuance at a $3.69 per share exercise price, and will expire five years from the date of issuance. On March 19, 2018, the consolidated closing bid price per share of Common Stock was $3.19.

Our country faces an ever-growing number of challenges in the 21st century, but all too often our political dialogue can’t even begin to scratch the surface. While Washington remains mired in its usual partisan fights, entire communities across the country — especially in the Midwest — have been locked out of an economy that has moved away from the manufacturing base that helped build the strongest middle class the world has ever seen.

Friday, May 18, 2018 7:30AM – 3:00PM

Largest Regional Small Business Procurement Conference

MCCC GovConNet Procurement Conference gives over 800 attendees the unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and meet directly with key purchasing agents from a variety of prime contractors and federal, state, and local government agencies.