Paragon Bioservices, the leading private equity-backed biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with proven expertise in gene therapy and next-generation vaccines, announces today the promotion of key personnel and the addition of two industry veterans to its leadership team. Specifically, the Company appoints Philip Wills, PhD, as Chief Commercial Officer, John Conner as Chief Manufacturing Officer, and William "Bill" Thomas, Jr., PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer, and hires Randy Henrickson as VP of Manufacturing and Dermot McCaul as VP of Information Technology.

QIAGEN announced that it has received clearance for its ipsogen JAK2 RGQ PCR Kit (ipsogen JAK2 assay) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for additional use in the diagnosis of all myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which are a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature and become healthy blood cells.

On Jan. 22, 2018, Sanofi announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Bioverativ, the hemophilia and blood disorders-focused spin-off company of Biogen, for $105 per share, or a transaction value of approximately $11.6 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Sanofi and Bioverativ.

Accelerate@Babraham is designed to support the earliest stages of new life-science ventures, by providing easy-access laboratory and office space, (the ‘bio-incubator’) together with supporting programmes of business, science, finance and entrepreneurial mentoring (the ‘accelerator’) provided by strategic partners.

The ETC (Emerging Technology Centers), Baltimore City’s award-winning technology and innovation centers, announces the Accelerate Baltimore (AB) program will run for its seventh consecutive year and applications are now open. The ETC will select six tech startups for the 13-week program set to begin mid-March. The Abell Foundation has awarded ETC $250,000 in funding for this seed accelerator for the third year in a row. Based on the model of last year’s successful program, each of this year’s AB winners will be awarded $25,000 in seed stage funding, while one company will be awarded an additional $100,000 in follow on funding at the end of the program.

Richard Hughen’s first entrepreneurial experience was as Managing Director at e-learning startup LearnWare, where he says his “addiction” to startups began in earnest.  The former manager at Abbott Diagnostics, Cordis and Johnson & Johnson enjoyed LearnWare for the very reason that entrepreneurs usually get hooked: building something from scratch is exhilarating

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences industry, today commended the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Alex M. Azar, II as the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Paragon Bioservices has plans to expand to new space over the next two years to help companies develop and manufacture biopharmaceuticals.

Researchers with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine developed a new blood test able to screen for eight types of cancers.

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 an agreement with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FUJIFILM) for the manufacture of REGENXBIO’s lead product candidates, including RGX-314 and RGX-501, which will support late-stage clinical development and early commercialization. This partnership builds on the foundation of REGENXBIO’s internal manufacturing and process development capabilities.

New York City is doubling down on its long-discussed, never-realized dream of building a biotech hub to rival South San Francisco and Boston. The latest iteration of the dream comes backed by a $500 million financing package and a goal to quadruple the amount of R&D space in the city.

After nearly a year, venture capitalists nabbed their first U.S. acquisition for more than a billion dollars. And it wasn’t a tech startup. Nor was it a company on the list of known unicorns. And it had nothing to do with blockchain.

Accelerate Baltimore™ is an initiative of the ETC (Emerging Technology Centers), Baltimore’s award winning incubator, and The Abell Foundation. In its first six years, we have invested $1,025,000 in 34 companies. We are now in our seventh year with 6 innovative technology startup companies who are working to accelerate their ideas to market.

Our goal is to close the gap between innovative ideas and getting to market by providing seed capital, resources, mentors, potential partners and a collaborative community. Accelerate Baltimore runs once a year, will you be ready for our next cohort?

Paragon Bioservices (Paragon), the leading private equity-backed biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with proven expertise in gene therapy and next-generation vaccines, announces the expansion of a new process development and cGMP manufacturing facility located conveniently near Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) Airport. Growing need for broad gene therapy manufacturing capacity from its current and future client base is driving the company's investment in this new facility, which the company expects will include commercial manufacturing capabilities in 18 to 24 months.

Analysts had forecast a blockbuster year for life science mergers and acquisitions as the lower tax rate for repatriated cash kicks-in and Big Pharma continues its hunt for late-stage assets.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has released a report suggesting that pharma companies investing in emerging start-ups is now a key source of capital for biotech innovation in the UK.

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and Democrats from Montgomery County are rallying around Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s $5 billion incentive package to lure Amazon.com and a 50,000-person headquarters to the Washington suburb, but it remains to be seen whether the rest of the Democratic-majority legislature will support the package.

2018 SBIR and STTR Omnibus/Parent Grant Solicitations for the NIH, CDC, and FDA, Clinical Trial Not Allowed and Clinical Trial Required

• SBIR Omnibus/Parent Clinical Trial Not Allowed Funding Opportunity Announcement (PA-18-574)
• STTR Omnibus/Parent Clinical Trial Not Allowed Funding Opportunity Announcement (PA-18-575)
• SBIR Omnibus/Parent Clinical Trial Required Funding Opportunity Announcement (PA-18-573)
• STTR Omnibus/Parent Clinical Trial Required Funding Opportunity Announcement (PA-18-576)

New developments in traumatic brain injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment are certain to improve patient health among Soldiers, as well as improve Army readiness, said Tracie Lattimore, director of the Army's Traumatic Brain Injury program within the Office of the Army Surgeon General.

Thinking you want to make a move to an innovative new tech hub that's on the front line when it comes to education, research and business development? Forget the expected enclaves of cool like San Francisco or Brooklyn. In-the-know millennials have already moved on to the next innovation hubs.

Six months after closing its most recent funding, Protenus reported raising $11 million in Series B funding, and is planning more hiring.

NIH has launched a new series of initiatives to enhance the accountability and transparency of clinical research. ALL applications, including SBIR/STTR, proposing any specific aims that meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial must now be submitted to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that specifically states it accepts clinical trials. These initiatives target key points along the whole clinical trial lifecycle.

Virginia’s able new leaders have pledged bipartisan collaboration. Crafting a new investment strategy for the commonwealth would be an excellent place to start.

The technology industry will be a big part of Frederick County’s economic future, and the county has the young workers available to support the growth, the head of Frederick County’s Office of Economic Development believes.

Over the past few years, biotech startups have been successful at raising large amounts of capital just as they're starting out. It has led to a lot of unicorns, with multibillion-dollar-valued companies having raised hundreds of millions in their series A or B rounds.

Montgomery County has been named one of 20 potential sites for Amazon’s second headquarters, the tech company announced Thursday morning.

Qiagen said today that the US Food and Drug Administration has extended the indications for use of its Therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR kit to guide the use of Boehringer Ingelheim's Gilotrif (afatanib) for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer harboring non-resistant EGFR mutations.

A simple-to-take test that tells if you have a tumor lurking, and even where it is in your body, is a lot closer to reality—and may cost only $500.  

It was a big year for US biotechs raising cash from VCs, with flush investors sinking a record-breaking $10.5 billion into new and growing companies during 2017.

Christy Wyskiel, senior advisor to the president of Johns Hopkins University for enterprise development, has been named to the Baltimore Business Journal's Power 10, "a group of leaders, both veteran and emerging, who are making a significant impact on their companies and communities."

Since Amazon narrowed its list of potential locations for a second headquarters on Thursday from over 200 qualifying regions to just 20 finalists, colleges in those lucky cities have become more hopeful that they might reap the benefits if the huge company comes to town.

Trying to get your company into the federal marketplace? The GovCon Incubator is designed to teach you the ropes.

An international team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has developed a test that analyzes circulating DNA and proteins for the detection and possible localization of multiple early-stage cancer types.

Medicaid’s scale and complexity are unprecedented. State Medicaid leaders will need to innovate if they are to develop the capabilities that will enable them to steer their agencies into the future.

Startup Maryland today unveils video pitches from the participants in the 2017 STRT1UP Roadshow. Entrants are now in the running for the Pitch Across Maryland competition. Categories this year for the Pitch Across Maryland include:

Fan Favorite; Champions' Choice; Industries (Cyber, Manufacturing, LifeScience, Social Innovation); Overall Winner

The STRT1UP Roadshow, which is the year-long tour around the state of Maryland, celebrates the vibrant ecosystem around innovation and entrepreneurship. During the roadshow, entrepreneurs climb on the Startup Maryland video bus to deliver a 2-4 minute video pitch summarizing their venture and opportunity. Each presenter receives a link to a professionally-edited version of their video for free and then all the videos are posted on the Startup Maryland YouTube channel as part of the Pitch Across Maryland competition. The following link takes you to where participant videos can be found in Playlists based on the location/tour stop at which 2016 companies pitched: