We were pleased to see the interest in our recent blog on the unique number of investigators applying for and receiving NIH research project grants (RPGs). Some of you (through the blog page or through other media) have asked about whether we have similar data for our Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. We have generated analogous figures for SBIR and STTR grants, and today’s post shares this investigation of the question, “How many unique researchers are seeking SBIR/STTR funding?”

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced the launch of the QIAsure Methylation Test, a novel CE-marked molecular diagnostic test for use in differentiating patients' risk of developing cervical cancer.

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

Notices:

• Form Correction Made for All NIH Fellowship Opportunities 
• (NOT-OD-16-106) National Institutes of Health
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• Notice of NHLBI Participation in PA-16-305 "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship for Students at Institutions With NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30)"
• (NOT-HL-16-325)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Notice of NHLBI Participation in PA-16-306 "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowship for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30)"
• (NOT-HL-16-326) 
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Program Announcements:

• Administrative Supplements for Research on Dietary Supplements (Admin Supp)
• (PA-16-319)
• Office of Dietary Supplements, John E. Fogarty International Center, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Cancer Institute, National Eye Institute, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

The venture fund working to make sweetgreen and CustomInk into household names has raised more than half a billion dollars to double down on its strategy.

The BIO 2016 Global Cluster Hub brought together cluster managers and key players from across the globe, with unique insights into the arrival of digital health within their own communities, plus opportunities to build partnerships around specific aspects of digital health.  CEBR members presented specific examples of digital health cluster support activities, alongside our global international cluster partners and we look forward to opening doors between clusters on the fastest moving sectoral development in the world.

Merck has added a month-long Silicon Valley stay to the pot on offer for start-ups participating in the next round of its accelerator programmes in Germany and Kenya. The programmes seek to support healthcare, life science and performance materials start-ups, with a particular focus on those developing digital solutions.

Rep. Steny Hoyer and other Democratic lawmakers plan to outline a broad strategy for expanding U.S. manufacturing in Baltimore on Monday, at a time when Washington has stalled on measures sought by the industry.

The Pentagon has made an unprecedented push to cozy up with Silicon Valley over the past two years, opening satellite offices on the West Coast and Boston in an effort to import fresh insight, ideas and innovation from the private sector to the military.

Digital health technology leader WellDoc® today announced results from a real-world study designed to evaluate the feasibility and reach of using a lay coach in conjunction with BlueStar® mobile prescription therapy to provide ongoing self-management support for people living with type 2 diabetes in a primary care setting. The data were featured via a poster presented today at the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) 76th Scientific Sessions, taking place now at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Omicia has raised $23 million from Roche’s ($RHHBY) venture fund and other investors. The Series B round will support the expansion of Omicia’s NGS interpretation and reporting capabilities into new sectors, including clinical trials and life science research.

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today $3.4 million in funding to support 48 Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) awards representing targeted areas of promising research commercialization, including cybersecurity, energy, data analytics, unmanned systems and life sciences.

BioLogic, the Cincinnati region's only life science incubator, is trying to turn local entrepreneurs’ ideas for improving human health into reality. Now the incubator has a new format, officially becoming a nonprofit a few weeks ago.

The incubator offers the only "wet-lab" space for lease within 100 miles, which allows startups to access expensive material and equipment typically limited to universities and hospitals.

DATE: Thursday, June 23, 2016 TIME: 8:30 a.m.

Therapeutic proteins represent a number of the currently top 10 best-selling drugs and have combined sales of almost $64 billion per year.  The enormous market potential for biosimilars or biobetters has created a crowded field of developers.   As a result, there is a growing emphasis on emerging analytical techniques and their lifecycle appropriate application.  Industrial, federal, and academic researchers will gather to discuss available open innovation resources and technological advancements for fueling biopharmaceutical development.  On Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 8:30 AM join the thought leaders, policy makers, and developers of therapeutic proteins as we present current trends, ideas, and predictions on the use of open innovation biomanufacturing resources and emerging technologies.

The University System of Maryland plans to establish a $25 million fund to invest in startup companies created by students, faculty and recent graduates.

Two Fast Forward companies have been recognized as finalists. The companies are emocha Mobile Health: a mobile health platform that streamlines the continuum of care. and Sonavex Surgical; improving outcomes for surgical patients by using cutting-edge imaging technology to provide clinicians with visualization of critical data -- directly at the point of care.

To be held June 23-24 2016 at the NCCOE facility located at 9700 Great Seneca Highway in Rockville.

There is a considerable body of knowledge, governance structures, tools and techniques that have been developed to address regional resilience from a physical infrastructure perspective.  However, there has been little done to date to understand and address cyber resilience at a regional level. Even the definition of what constitutes regional cyber infrastructure and whether that is a useful context for examining regional resilience are open questions.  As a result, a number of regional consortia, organizations, and programs have begun to focus on this regional cyber challenge and are considering options for addressing regional cyber resilience in a meaningful manner. Please join us on June 23-24 2016, for the inaugural Regional Cyber Resilience Workshop. The workshop will be held at the NCCOE facility located at 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville, MD 20850.

When Gabe Otte went to college, he already had an Apple internship under his belt. In undergrad, his computer-science professors told him to diversify and pick out another area to focus on so he wasn't bored in class, so he chose biology.

Innovation is the foundation of the 21st Century bioscience industry. It is an industry borne from scientific innovations involving techniques to understand and manage the machinery of living things. The advent of biotechnology in the 1970s, enabled work at the molecular and cellular level including moving genetic information from one living cell to another and tracing the pathways of disease. Over the last 40 years, bioscience innovation has advanced at an astonishing speed. Advances

In this exclusive video from DDW 2016, Mark Pochapin, MD, from NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses Gastro Girl, a new online platform that provides support to patients with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions.

It’s no secret that one of the biggest things holding New York City’s biotech ecosystem back is lack of lab space for startups. The problem will take a broad effort to solve, not just a few buildings or incubators. But one of the city’s biggest real estate players, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, has announced a plan today to help out.

The Maryland Department of Commerce is joining with the state’s top research universities and other life sciences partners and stakeholders to create two or more Centers of Excellence around the state to support cell, gene and regenerative therapies, as well as medical devices and 3-D printing. This partnership with The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park will help position Maryland as a leader in commercialization and clinical translation of next-generation medicines and medical devices and ensure the state remains a leader in healthcare innovation. Additional partners include the Center for Medical Technology Policy and biotechnology, pharmaceutical, contract manufacturing, and medical device companies.

Gaithersburg-based Novavax Inc. plans to create up to 850 new jobs as part of its planned Montgomery County expansion and will receive state and county financial assistance to support the growth, it was announced Wednesday.

The next Kendall Square just might be located in Allston.

The gritty Boston neighborhood, across the Charles from Harvard University’s main campus, is the site of various construction projects aimed at building up an innovation epicenter over the next five to 10 years. Just don’t tell Jodi Goldstein about the Kendall comparison.

Longitude Capital, an investment firm focused on venture growth investments in biotechnology and medical technology, closed its third fund, at $525m in partner commitments.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation recently released its 2016 Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship and found — to the authors seeming surprise — that the Washington, D.C. metro area topped a list of U.S. metro areas with the most growth entrepreneurship.

Three experts explain synthetic biology and discuss its potential to affect fields as varied as medicine, oil, agriculture, and even fragrances.

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I trained as a physician and scientist, having received both an MD and a PhD. I did my residency in pathology and about 11 years ago I decided to make the transition from academia to industry. Since then, most of my work has been focused on immunotherapy, which is a new and very exciting area of cancer research. Nine months ago I joined MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, as the head of oncology development.

The cover of Ernst & Young’s 2016 biotech report has a picture of a parachutist and the subtitle, “Returning to Earth.” According to EY, the biotech industry has experienced explosive growth over the past few years, but that appears to have slowed in 2015. On its own, a 13 percent increase in biotech revenue looks impressive – unless it’s compared to the 18 percent increase in 2014.

Imagine being 15 years from the traditional retirement age and deciding to start your own company. Or deciding to enter a completely different industry—at age 60. Or spending your twenties deferring further study to find out what really drives you.

Thursday, June 23, 2016 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. • Washington, D.C.

Join the Maryland/Israel Development Center for its second annual MIDC Day at the Israeli Embassy for an exclusive networking event and interactive panel discussion.

County Executive Isiah Leggett announced that Montgomery County is moving forward on its vision of creating a local community in East County that provides opportunities to live, work and play in a walkable, mixed use transit-oriented development. The County has reached an agreement with Global LifeSci Development Corporation (GLDC) to develop Viva White Oak, a 300-acre joint mixed use development project.

Too often, it seems, the mark of a “good” scientist is the ability to give an excruciatingly embarrassing and incomprehensible scientific presentation – the sort of presentations that litter academic conferences.

The Baltimore-area slipped 10 spots on a new report ranking entrepreneurship growth.

The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is the hottest spot in the country for entrepreneurship according to a new report from the Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship. The ranking is based on a combination of how many new startups there are, how startups in the area have scaled in the course of a decade and how many companies show rapid growth. All told, D.C. easily beats out Austin, Columbus, San Jose and Nashville, the next ranked cities, and far ahead of Boston, New York or other hubs of innovation.

Qiagen is closer to completing its DKK683 million ($104 million) acquisition of Exiqon, a provider of RNA analysis solutions, but has decided to extend for a second time the offer period for Exiqon's shares.