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.

Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest seed fund has raised $150 million from a cavalcade of high-profile investors.

Investors in the new fund, named after Case's yearslong effort to draw more attention to nontraditional areas outside of Silicon Valley and New York, include Amazon chief and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, The Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and members of the Koch, Pritzker and Walton families, according to a release.

The landscape for the delivery of health care in the United States is changing, but the traditional care-delivery players are not the change agents. The recent announcement of CVS’s $69 billion deal to acquire Aetna brings an insurer together with a large network of primary care providers: CVS has built more than 1,100 Minute Clinic locations inside its pharmacy stores in 33 states and the District of Columbia.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation, today announced a collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal Government, Pudong New Area Government, and Shanghai Pharma Engine Company, Ltd. to launch a new Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS in Shanghai (JLABS @ Shanghai), China. The 4,400-square-meter facility will be located in Shanghai's Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and will open in Q2 2019. 

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. announced $800,000 in investments to six companies, including four in the Baltimore area.

State-backed TEDCO funnels hundreds of thousands of dollars into young, growing companies through its multiple investment funds and is backed by an annual budget of about $18.5 million. The organization's seed fund portfolio continues to grow statewide.

The Inova Personalized Health Accelerator opened its doors on Wednesday, with a ribbon cutting attended by over 300 guests. Rockville, Md.–based HeMemics was named as the first of six health technology startups that the hospital system will invest in its portfolio by the second quarter of next year.

Towson University officials are envisioning the college's new $184 million science building as essentially the exact opposite of Smith Hall, the building that currently holds most of Towson's science classes.

Inova Personalized Health Accelerator (IPHA) has selected HeMemics Biotechnologies, Inc. (HBI) as its first portfolio company. HBI is a research and development company located in Rockville, MD that develops rapid diagnostic test platforms to detect various bacterial and viral pathogens. The company's technology detects, within 15 seconds, the absence or presence of a specific virus or bacterium when an aqueous sample is placed on an electronic chip. HeMemics invented and patented "HemSol™," a method to preserve cells and biological entities for an extended period of time. The preservation method in conjunction with the low cost HeMemics prototype electronic chip and portable, battery-powered reading device are designed to be deployed for Point of Care (POC) diagnostics. Typically, pathogen detection involves laboratory analysis which delays inpatient treatment or requires a return visit for outpatients.

When Venture Capitalists (VCs) invest in startups, they are aware of risks involved in returns- it might be either mind-boggling or they might end up taking a lot of losses. But VC hits are much talked about and at the same time, not all predictions come true. Some venture capital firms make successful exits and it shows the growth of the startup ecosystem.

The internet has become a crucial gateway for accessing information. Just look around Brody Café or wherever you’re reading this piece: People are writing papers, conducting research, reading articles, buying a new pair of shoes or watching TV, all through the internet. Whether it is education, business or entertainment, the internet has become a practical necessity for us to engage in society today. For our democracy and economy to function, it is paramount that people have equal access to the internet.

Recent news surrounding the nation’s growing opioid epidemic has demonstrated how an all-hands-on-deck approach is needed when a serious national health crisis threatens the lives of Americans. The Trump administration declared opioid abuse a public health emergency, and lawmakers have enacted legislation to expand treatment and prevention programs, as well as prosecute individuals who commit opioid-related health care fraud.

In a spare bedroom of his family’s house in County Cork, Ireland, Cathal Garvey is repeating the feats that led to the dawn of the biotechnology age. He’s growing bacteria. He’s adding DNA. He’s seeing what happens.

Barbara Crews, assistant executive director for community relations at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, has been tapped to serve as chair of the board of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce.

Crews previously served the Chamber as a board member; vice chair for member recruitment and retention; and most recently as chair-elect. She has been involved with the Chamber since 2014.

An artificial pancreas to help diabetics. A pacemaker for sleep apnea.  Gene therapy for blindness. These are some of the innovations that will enhance healing and change healthcare in the coming year, according to a distinguished panel of doctors and researchers.

Investors in the Malvern biopharmaceutical company include Silicon Valley Bank.

The Princeton Review looked at more than 2,000 colleges and universities to find the best ones that will set entrepreneurs up for success.

Halcyon, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs, today announces its eighth cohort for the Halcyon Incubator program. With an acceptance rate of less than 3%, Halcyon is bringing social enterprises that focus on big ideas tackling some of the most current and prevalent societal issues today.

Thursday, January 11, 2018 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, VariQ 2600 Tower Oaks Blvd Suite 300 Rockville, MD 20852

The Maryland Tech Council’s 30th Annual Industry Awards Celebration (IAC) will recognize the companies and individuals who are making a difference in our community.  We invite you to join us for our complimentary Launch Party as we kick-off nominations for the Industry Awards Celebration at VariQ’s office located at 2600 Tower Oaks Blvd, Suite 300, Rockville, MD, 20852 on Thursday, January 11, 2018.

The Launch Party is a great opportunity for you to meet the IAC nominations committee, MTC staff and former finalist, VariQ, to learn about the nominations and awards process. Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and drinks and come see why it's important for you to showcase your company's innovation and why you need to be part of our community. Space is limited, so register today! 

When: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Where: Bar Louie 150 Gibbs St Rockville, MD 20850

Join BioBuzz and annual sponsor Biohealth Innovation, Inc. to celebrate the holiday season and last BioBuzz event of the year. The celebration will be at Bar Louie in the Rockville Town Center on December 20th, 2017 from 5 - 7pm. Only a 5 minute walk from the Rockville Metro, please join us for this exciting event.

The Emmes Corporation today announced that it was named one of the top women-owned businesses in the Washington metropolitan area by the Washington Business Journal.  The company was ranked as the seventh largest women-owned business in the Washington region, up from number eight last year.

As secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar would oversee a trillion-dollar budget, over 90,000 employees, and a healthcare system that is ground-zero for heated bipartisan politics.

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company is pleased to announce Immunomic's founder and CEO, William Hearl, Ph.D., has been appointed by Governor Larry Hogan to the Maryland Department of Commerce Life Sciences Advisory Board (LSAB).

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. and German diagnostics firm Qiagen are separately planning major investments in the U.K. The moves accompany a raft of British government measures intended to bolster the life sciences sector as the country prepares to leave the European Union.

In covering the D.C. innovation economy comes the inevitable: funding news. Trust us, there’s a lot of it floating around the D.C. metro area. Here’s a roundup of all of the major funding news from the region in November: 

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for the treatment of orphan diseases, today announced that the Company has entered an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, for PB2452 (formerly MEDI2452), a Phase 1-ready reversal agent for ticagrelor.

Complex tissues. Surprisingly simple.

Enabling you to study complex 3D tissue biology in a simple device, that’s our goal. With perfused vessels, co-culture and optimized microenvironments. So easy to use that you forget you’re working with a highly advanced 3D culture platform. With the OrganoPlate®, we believe we’ve reached that goal. Say hello to the future of 3D tissue models.

What makes the body of a person or any other organism work can for the most part be summed up in a word: proteins.

These big molecules carry out almost all processes in living organisms, including moving other molecules from one place to another, replicating DNA, conveying genetic information from genes to cells, controlling immune response, driving metabolism and building muscle. Not all protein molecules are created equal, though, and some are better understood than others.

A medical device developer has created a $10-million venture capital fund to support early stage health care companies.

Holland-based Genesis Innovation Group said today it established the privately funded cultivate(MD) Capital Fund I, LLC, which will focus on medical device and orthopedic technologies.

Avantor, Inc., a global supplier of ultra-high-purity materials for the life sciences and advanced technology industries, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of VWR Corporation (NASDAQ: VWR), the leading global independent provider of product, supply chain, and service solutions to laboratory and production customers. VWR will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avantor. Michael Stubblefield, Chief Executive Officer of Avantor, will lead the combined company.

The American Angel, a new comprehensive national study released today, provides a detailed picture of angel investors, who they are, where they live, and how they make investment decisions. Key findings include:

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today the launch of the HyperCap Target Enrichment Portfolio, a streamlined and fully integrated NGS sample preparation.  HyperCap integrates KAPA DNA Library Prep with SeqCap EZ target enrichment portfolio, and is a further expansion of the HyperCap v1.0 workflow. 

Are you seeking lab space in Maryland?  Limited incubator and small (1,200-3,400) lab space is available directly and through subleases in various locations from Montgomery County to Hagerstown, Frederick to Baltimore.  For more information regarding this space, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Rita Colwell, a Distinguished University Professor in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), has been awarded the rank of Chevalier (Knight) in the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the French Republic. Colwell was presented the Insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by Gérard Araud, Ambassador of France to the United States, in a ceremony on November 20 at the ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.