Andreessen Horowitz, a Menlo Park, CA-based venture capital firm, has launched its $450m second bio fund.

Bio Fund II will focus on investing in companies at the intersection of biology and engineering.

Immunotherapy draws the lion's share of attention from top VCs, but startups focused on other types of cancer therapies, such as protein targeting, are also starting to gain recognition.

Scientists at George Mason University have developed a nanotechnology that for the first time can measure a sugar molecule in urine that identifies tuberculosis with high sensitivity and specificity, setting the stage for a rapid, highly accurate and far less-invasive urine test of the disease that could potentially prove to be the difference between life and death in many underdeveloped parts of the world.

Governor Larry Hogan today announced a series of new initiatives to spur job creation and economic growth in Maryland and further establish the state’s leadership in key STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) industries. The governor was joined by Commerce Secretary Mike Gill, Labor Secretary Kelly Schulz, University System of Maryland Chancellor Robert Caret, Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver, and numerous officials from the counties benefiting from the governor’s expanded jobs initiative.

Tech firms leased more office space in D.C. over a recent 12-month period than the prior year, while coworking spaces signed on for fewer square feet.

Those trends come according to the latest DC Development Report, which was released by the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership at the organization’s annual meeting on Tuesday. WDCEP partners with commercial real estate services firm CBRE on the report, and the results come from a “development census” taken in August.

Are you interested in investing in Montgomery County's future workforce? Sign up to be a career experience host for WorkSource Montgomery's Summer RISE program at Summer-rise.com! 

Play a key role in a successful initiative that provides Real Interesting Summer Experiences to rising Montgomery County Public School's juniors and seniors. Last summer, the program supported career exploration and industry insights for more than 360 students with the help of over 185 host organizations.  Summer RISE 2017 hosts had rewarding experiences, saying their students were professional, creative, engaged and motivated to learn.  

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday proposed expanding a state tax break for manufacturers that create new jobs, calling for lawmakers to extend the credits to more industries and jurisdictions.

In the world of D.C. funding, it seems like not much has changed. In 2016, our list of the top 8 venture capital deals for D.C. startups fell between $20 million and $100 million. In 2017, that range for the top 15 falls between $20 million and $190 million, with big name investors swaying the top ranks.

Five years after getting started with a $32 million Series A, the crew at Allakos in San Carlos, CA are getting a $100 million mega-round to put their lead drug to the test.

Martine Rothblatt has already made a career out of chasing firsts — be it with creating Sirius satellite radio or more recently racing to make her Silver Spring biotech, United Therapeutics Corp., the first to manufacture an unlimited supply of human organs.

Today, the Greater Washington Partnership (the Partnership), a civic alliance of CEOs that together employ more than 175,000 workers in the region, released a new report that outlines why developing, attracting and retaining digital technology workers will be imperative for the Capital Region’s future growth and economic competitiveness.

If you were overwhelmed by the news in 2017, you aren’t alone. Every day seemed to bring monumental developments in all spheres of current events, from international relations and gender inequality to health care and domestic energy policy. Science was at the forefront often, so we’ve catalogued the two most important developments in each of five topic areas based on our editor’s top picks and our most popular articles. If getting the daily news feels like drinking from a fire hose, this list can help you stay focused on the science developments that matter.

Efficiency is all about making the optimal use of your resources. For Life Sciences organizations, efficiency is all about their sales forces reaching the right physician at the right time with the right message. Yet, the current tools are woefully inadequate.

Fresh off receiving $125,000 in new funding from a TEDCO initiative to back more Maryland incubators, Annapolis-based FounderTrac named members of its 2018 cohort last week.

BioHealth Innovation is partnering with Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures to provide assistance to faculty innovators and entrepreneurs interested in applying for federal SBIR/STTR funding.   Whether you are located at Johns Hopkins, another university off campus location, don't miss the the opportunity to learn more information about this type of funding, sign up now for office hours at JHU Fast Forward, December 12^th, 11-2pm, 1812 Ashland Ave, by appt: Book Time or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Wound monitoring technology startup Tissue Analytics has established an eight person office in Kansas City, Kansas following its hire of former Cerner staffer there who set up the office as part of his new role as vice president of sales, according to a story by the Kansas City Business Journal.  It marks an expansion for the company which previously was based out of one office in Baltimore.

GlaxoSmithKline will scout for deal opportunities in cancer medicine, as well as immunology, as the drugmaker seeks to rebuild its presence in oncology, its new head of pharmaceuticals told Reuters.

For many companies, universities have become essential innovation partners. However, companies often struggle to establish and run university partnerships effectively.

A pitch competition held in Annapolis last week had an eye toward innovation on the farm – whether the growing was on land or water.

For the first time, the Rural Maryland Council Summit included the AgPitch Competition. Westminster-based MidAtlantic Farm Credit was an organizer of the Dec. 1 event. The pitch competition featured five entrepreneurs.

Even though the federal government avoided a shutdown last week — at least temporarily — continued uncertainty in the nation’s budget process could hurt Maryland’s economy.

Congress agreed Thursday night to a spending bill that will keep the government funded and running through Dec. 22, but the short-term extension may not do much to ease concerns in a state where so many workers and jobs are tied to federal spending.

“The American Angel (pdf),” a new comprehensive national study released yesterday, provides a detailed picture of angel investors--who they are, where they live, and how they make investment decisions.

BioBuzz: What is ATOM and why should people know about it?

Jim: It is a public–private consortium designed to improve the oncology drug discovery process by bringing together the expertise and resources of the FNLCR, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), GSK, and the University of California–San Francisco (UCSF).

VLP Therapeutics was established in 2013 with the mission to develop innovative medical treatments which can transform traditional vaccines and targeted antibody therapies to address global unmet medical needs. Its vision is to combat 21st century global public health problems through its revolutionary next generation i-αVLP technology platform. VLP is currently developing vaccines to treat cancer and infectious diseases such as Malaria and Dengue Fever.

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it finally has a full team in place at its vaccine hub in Rockville and is ready to take on some of the region's most well-known biotech competitors with part of its product lineup.

University of Maryland, Baltimore startup Harpoon Medical was acquired by Edwards Lifesciences for $100 million, Edwards announced Wednesday. The deal could rise to $150 million if Harpoon meets pre-specified milestones. Harpoon's primary product is a device designed to facilitate beating-heart, minimally invasive, echo-guided mitral valve repair. Clinical trials have shown that the product leads to positive safety

TearSolutions, a Charlottesville-based biotechnology startup just received an $8.5 million shot in the arm, courtesy of the VTC Innovation Fund and Pharmstandard International, one of Russia’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

A new innovation space from the University of Maryland, Baltimore is opening inside the historic Lion Brothers building on Hollins Street.

About 6,200 square feet of the 38,000-square-foot building will be dedicated to offices, class/meeting rooms and coworking space geared toward supporting entrepreneurship and technology startups. The new space will be called the GRID, an acronym for Graduate Research Innovation District, and will be housed in the revamped former Lion Brothers Co. clothing and embroidery factory near the university's BioPark campus.

For the first time in five years, federal funding for higher education research and development increased in both current and constant dollars, according to recently released data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. In FY 2016, universities reported $72.0 billion in total R&D expenditures, a 4.8 percent increase from FY 2015. Of this amount, more than half (54 percent) came from the federal government. Institutionally financed research represented 16 percent, the second largest source of R&D funds at universities in FY 2016.

Epidarex Capital ("Epidarex"), an early-stage, transatlantic life science venture fund, today announced that its portfolio company, Harpoon Medical, Inc. ("Harpoon"), a pioneer in beating-heart repair for degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR), has been acquired by Edwards Lifesciences for up to $250 million. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Edwards paid $100 million in cash for Harpoon at closing on December 1, 2017 with a potential for up to an additional $150 million in pre-specified milestone-driven payments.

The Emmes Corporation today announced its statistical and data management support of a clinical trial that offers new hope for children with cerebral palsy (CP).  Stephen Wease and Dr. Beth Blackwell joined a team of prominent researchers from Duke University Medical Center to test whether umbilical cord blood would improve motor skills function in children suffering from the disorder. 

The move is welcome news for Prime Minister Theresa May, who has struggled to win over large sections of industry as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

Proteros biostructures GmbH today announced that the Company's Supervisory board had appointed Dave Lemus, previously a non-executive director at Proteros, as Executive Vice Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Proteros Biostructures GmbH. Additionally, he will serve in the role of Non-Executive Board Chairman of Proteros USA, Inc., the Company's newly formed subsidiary in the U.S.A., where he will be based.

A Rockville-based research and development company working on a cheap and fast diagnostic test for infectious diseases will be the first tenant of Inova Health System's new accelerator that officially opened Thursday.

When the 13 teams that made up Fed Tech’s fall 2017 cohort took the stage for their first pitch night in September, it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing.

The entrepreneurs, some of whom had been introduced to their assigned technology just days earlier, struggled to pronounce long scientific words or, in some cases, explain what the technology is at all. The task wasn’t easy, but the entrepreneurs didn’t get a pass either. “You gotta tell me what you do,” the group of rowdy mentors lobbed at one team. “Tell me who cares.”

A reindeer with a red glowing nose.

A heart, two sizes two small, that suddenly grows three sizes.

A trip to the past and to the future — all in one night.