DATE AND TIME: Thu, March 8, 2018, 8:15 AM – 12:30 PM EST

LOCATION: Germantown Innovation Center, 20271 Goldenrod Lane, 2nd Floor, Germantown, MD 20876

Did you know you that, by law, you are required to file for and receive a Hazardous Use Permit* every year if you are storing, handling or using any hazardous substance in excess of 5 gallons or 50 pounds? Failure to do so could result in civil and criminal penalties.

The Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices is bringing together skilled scientists, medical doctors, health practitioners, and bioengineers who are working to research, design, and build biomedical devices to benefit humanity, while simultaneously training the next generation of innovators.

Four world-renowned universities are eyeing Hong Kong as a stronghold in Asia for developing cutting-edge stem cell research as the city’s financial chief is expected to announce incentives to make it easier for foreign research institutions to invest in innovation and technology locally, the Post has learned.

FluMist Quadrivalent has returned to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended list of flu vaccines, drugmaker AstraZeneca announced.

With federal spending on Medicaid experiments soaring in recent years, a congressional watchdog said state and federal governments fail to adequately evaluate if the efforts improve care and save money.

Tell us about the impact your research may make on the world. You could win a free pre-clinical research study valued up to $20,000 and $1,000 in cash, or additional cash prizes.  

SoBran and the Maryland Tech Council are celebrating the transformational science coming out of the Maryland and surrounding area by establishing the Innovation for Impact Prize.

A key federal committee gave its OK for pediatricians to make MedImmune's FluMist available to patients in the next flu season — a big win for parent company AstraZeneca which saw its flu vaccine's U.S. sales decimated in the last two flu seasons because of previous negative recommendations.

The Maryland Tech Council's Industry Awards Celebration will take place on May 17, 2018 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. This is our 30th year recognizing the high achievers in the regional technology, life science and government contracting industries.

A group of 100 public universities will work with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities to produce hundreds of thousands of additional degrees while also reducing achievement gaps for underrepresented student groups.

Prior research has found that drinking a glass of red wine a day may protect against cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. The latest laboratory studies by researchers in Spain now suggest that the polyphenols in red wine could also protect against the bacteria that cause tooth cavities and gum disease.

Dueling neural networks. Artificial embryos. AI in the cloud. Welcome to our annual list of the 10 technology advances we think will shape the way we work and live now and for years to come.

Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of the pharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of North America, discusses his upbringing and how it influences his leadership as chief executive. He is one of the few African-American CEOs in the Fortune 500, and shot to prominence after resigning from a council advising the Trump White House. Frazier discusses the importance of values in leadership and how Merck thinks about R&D and drug prices.

It’s great to start with a big dream as you contemplate a new business, but finding the money you need takes more than dreaming. As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. For example, I just read an otherwise impressive business plan last week from a first-timer who asked for $10 million to get started.

Johns Hopkins students have access to a new funding source designed to ignite innovative ideas that may one day develop into the next great company founded by a university student.

Our region has a vibrant innovation ecosystem that is one of the most important in the United States. Advanced technologies that drive the country’s economy are nurtured here and further developed and deployed by our highly talented workforce and entrepreneurs. People often don’t see the scale and depth of our innovation and entrepreneurship activity because they focus on the wrong metric.

Shares of Gaithersburg-based Novavax Inc. have spiked again, jumping by 18 percent during Friday trading, as the company is increasingly considered a promising acquisition target.

The big headline out of the health care M&A world today is Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche’s $1.9 billion acquisition of Flatiron Health, the Alphabet-backed, cancer-focused digital health analytics upstart that’s attempting to use real world patient information and big data to spur better oncology R&D.

Congress recently enacted the most significant overhaul to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (the Code) in decades. The legislation, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), includes a number of changes to the Code that apply to corporate and pass-through businesses. This Q&A summarizes the key tax and employee benefits changes in the Act that impact domestic emerging growth enterprises and start-ups. For additional information on the Act, see our prior alerts: Congress Passes Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and U.S. House and Senate Pass Reconciled Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Seventy-five years ago, Silicon Valley was fruit orchids and Detroit was dominating the most exciting industry in the nation. "Things can change," Steve Case said of the tidal shifts of the U.S. innovation economy.

Roche Holding will buy Flatiron Health and its cancer-focused medical records technology for $1.9 billion, as drugmakers increasingly mine data to develop new oncology treatments.

A lot of great things happened this Valentine's Day - countless couples celebrated their love with chocolate, roses, and dates. However, there was one thing that stood out to me: Under Amour CEO Kevin Plank posted his first LinkedIn article. 

Weekly NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

The following funding opportunity announcements from the NHLBI or other components of the National Institutes of Health, might be of interest:

Elon Musk's plan to build a hyperloop tunnel to allow travel from D.C. to New York in under 30 minutes appears to be gaining traction with District officials. 

The Food and Drug Administration plans to use a proposed $400 million boost in federal funding to focus on a range of innovative approaches to speed the approval of new medical devices and create a new center that would support digital health oversight and address cybersecurity concerns.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe robots could learn a thing or two from nature's most adaptable pest — the cockroach. The insect can navigate almost any terrain, thanks to over 300 million years of evolution. Scientists filmed the cockroaches running obstacle courses and captured their movements using high-speed cameras. The footage was then analyzed and adapted for a six-legged robot to repeat the movements. Researchers hope this work can eventually be used in search and rescue missions during natural disasters.

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) celebrates its 25 years anniversary this year.

Innovators Magazine is a media partner with one of BIO’S flagship annual events, the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, and we’ve distributed special Congress editions at the last two instalments, in San Diego and Montréal.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.S) said on Thursday it would buy the rest of U.S. cancer data company Flatiron Health for $1.9 billion to speed development of cancer medicines and support its efforts to price them based on how well they work.

Startup Maryland today unveiled the Overall Great Eight and other sub-category finalist for the Pitch Across Maryland Competitions. Startup Maryland is proud to showcase the finalists along with all the ventures who participated in the 2017 STRT1UP Roadshow celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship. This year's Overall Great Eight Finalist are listed below with a link to their pitch video.

Looking for a deal in your backyard? The NIH is the world's largest investor in early stage life sciences companies. Over 1000 companies annually tap into NIH’s SBIR and STTR program for nondilutive funding to the tune of $980M in FY17. Did you know the NIH maintains RePORTER, an online database, of all funded companies and projects?

Mallinckrodt plc (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced it has closed the acquisition of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, including its commercial and development assets.

The National Institutes of Health has been funding fewer clinical trials in recent years, according to new Johns Hopkins University research.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIRS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing novel biotherapeutics through its proprietary Anticalin technology platform for cancer, respiratory and other diseases, announced today the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 5,500,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $8.00 per share. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by Pieris, are expected to be $44.0 million. In addition, Pieris has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 825,000 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on or about February 16, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

Host:  UM BioPark & Wexford Science + Technology

Location:  UM BioPark The Nook Cafe 801 W. Baltimore Street Baltimore  Maryland  21201

Time: Thursday, February 22, 2018 5:00pm to 6:30pm

Mingle with BioPark tenants, our UM Ventures staff, UMB faculty and leaders in Baltimore’s technology community.

MaxCyte, the global cell-based medicines and technology company, announces that 30-year life sciences industry veteran Richard Douglas, Ph.D., has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors as an Independent Non-Executive Director.  

Is wood the next advanced material?

Scientists at the University of Maryland reported last week that they’ve discovered a way to treat wood to make it 12 times stronger than natural wood and 10 times tougher. According to Liangbing Hu, one the lead researchers in the paper published in Nature, their wood is so strong and durable that it can compete with steel, titanium alloys, and even carbon fiber–but at an infinitely much lower price point.