Investment firm Heritage Group has closed its second innovation fund and now counts 15 healthcare organizations as limited partners.

The $220 million fund is the latest example of how health systems and other industry players are taking an active role in piloting, investing in and mentoring young digital health companies as technology continues to reshape healthcare delivery. It is among the largest pools of funds for healthcare technology investments, and the combined approach allows the group to make larger investments in later-stage companies than they might otherwise do on their own.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian government has shown that it understands the need to develop innovation in the country’s health care sector.

Baltimore was a major site in the effort to develop an Ebola vaccine. Two years later, a leading Johns Hopkins researcher is looking to apply a major discovery to the Zika virus.

J. Thomas August, a JHU pharmacology and molecular sciences professor, formed Pharos Biologicals in December. The company received a license to develop DNA vaccine technology called the LAMP for influenza and flaviviruses from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty attributes the company's success to sticking to the tried-and-true business model of investing in research and development and not transitioning to an acquisition model.

Witty told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday that the key is to be patient and to see the value of investing in innovation.

Lita Nelsen is one of the most influential power brokers in the drug industry — and yet there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of her.

That’s because she ran one of the country’s largest and most successful technology transfer offices, an unglamorous yet essential go-between for universities and startups. And any time a venture capitalist, a pharmaceutical company, or a tech titan wanted to cash in on an invention at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, each had to go through her.

Orthopedic surgeons are relying more and more on 3-D printing to build replacements for their patients’ defective or worn out bones.

This year surgeons around the world will implant tens of thousands of 3-D printed replacements parts for hips, knees, ankles, parts of the spine, and even sections of the skull.

As we await the decision from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the petition backed by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and others urging that the march in provision of the Bayh-Dole Act be used to control drug prices, it’s worthwhile to recall the time the agency followed similar advice. That resulted in a smack down by Congress and the courts after a band of universities, an innovative small company and a conscientious federal employee refused to be bullied, altering the course of government.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Please join us for the award ceremony where we announce the three winners of the Innovation into Action Challenge—a new initiative to support innovations with the potential to make a difference in the lives of people in emerging nations. At stake is a tailored package of support designed to accelerate the winning innovations’ deployment in the field, including $100,000 in funding, market testing on DAI’s overseas projects, access to a network of accelerator professionals, and technical mentoring to refine the innovator’s pitch, product, or service.

Today, Stewart Edelstein, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove, released the following statement:

“On behalf of the entire Universities at Shady Grove (USG) community, I want to thank the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Hogan for reinstating $36.7 million in funding for the construction of our Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education (BSE) facility. With this secured funding, the Universities at Shady Grove plans to break ground later this year on the new facility.

WIN $5,000 IN THE BIOHEALTH CAPITAL REGION LOGO COMPETITION

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 20

The biohealth industry in Maryland, Virginia and DC needs a strong identity and brand that will help it grow and attract the best talent in the world. We have a new name, tagline and wordmark…

…but we need an icon that captures the spirit of the industry and the region.

Anyone from an organization (college, company, PR firm, etc.) based in Maryland, Virginia or DC may submit an entry.

More information and submission instructions are at http://www.competition.regionalbiotechforum.com/

Maryland got an infusion of West Coast tech money recently. It’s going toward a new spot for College Park students to study the latest in digital technology.

Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe provided $31 million to the University of Maryland College Park. The 36-year-old’s name is now on the school’s new Center for Computer Science and Innovation. Iribe’s fellow cofounders are also included in the naming of the center, who gave a combined $7 million. It will include the 300-seat Michael Antonov Auditorium and a rooftop garden called Andrew Reisse Park.

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:

• Notice of Changes in Expiration Date of Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24)
• (NOT-OD-16-085) National Institutes of Health
• Notice of Correction of the Funding Opportunity Announcement Number for RFA-OD-16-007 "Improving Physical Infrastructure to Enhance Animal Model Research: Revisions of Center Grants (P51)"
• (NOT-OD-16-086) Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic 
• Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure ProgramsImproving Physical Infrastructure to Enhance Animal Model Research: Revisions of Center Grants (P51) 
• (RFA-OD-16-007)
• Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs
• Application Receipt Date(s): August 1, 2016, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on this date.
• Improving Physical Infrastructure to Enhance Animal Model Research: Revisionsof Research Project Grants (R01)
• (RFA-OD-16-008)
• Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of 
• Research Infrastructure Programs
• Application Receipt Date(s): August 1, 2016, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on this date.
• Improving Physical Infrastructure to Enhance Animal Model Research: Revisions of Research Project Grants (R24)
• (RFA-OD-16-009)
• Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs
• Application Receipt Date(s): August 1, 2016, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant  organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding  opportunity announcement are due on this date.

The old adage that money doesn’t change everything could well be said of this year’s Top 10 U.S. biopharma clusters as listed by GEN. Nearly all regions saw significant increases in NIH funding (thanks to the $2 billion boost agreed upon by Congress for the current fiscal year) and in venture capital or “VC” funding (thanks to a market that was bullish on biopharma until this fall).

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced an agreement to feature Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)-funded early-stage biomedical companies in an expanded Innovation Zone at the 2016 BIO International Convention. The Innovation Zone companies, focused on drug discovery, diagnostics and other therapeutic platform technologies, will have dedicated exhibit space and participate in BIO’s One-on-One Partnering™. Select companies will make 15-minute company presentations in the BIO Business Forum.

VividCortex, the database performance monitoring company that helps enterprises understand and optimize workloads across hybrid, distributed databases, today announced it has raised an additional $4.5 million in a Series A funding. The fast-growing company, which is profitable and grew revenues 8x last year, will use the funds to accelerate product development and sales.

Read more ...

AbbVie will buy venture-backed startup Stemcentrx  for $5.8 billion, beefing up the biopharma giant’s portfolio of cancer drugs.

The sale could be worth $4 billion more if  San Francisco-based Stemcentrx meets development milestones. Plus, as Business Insider reported, the startup has $400 million in the bank, potentially making the entire deal worth $10.2 billion.

The Energetics Technology Center, Inc. (ETC) and the Army Research Labs (ARL), under its recent Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA), are pleased to announce the opening of a new incubator , TechFire ARL, in Silver Spring, MD.  This new facility, located in the former National Labor College at 10000 New Hampshire Avenue, will focus on providing start-up and joint collaborative workspace for entrepreneurs, ARL researchers and university faculty.

Roger Jeffs will step down as president and co-CEO at United Therapeutics Corp. as part of an executive shakeup at one of Greater Washington’s largest bioscience firms.

Biopharmaceutical research has never been for the faint of heart. For small biotech companies working on the absolute edge of innovation, one clinical trial can literally mean the difference between closing up shop or commercializing a breakthrough, life-saving medicine. And even for big pharmaceutical companies, setbacks have always been inevitable – the nature of discovery means that success comes only after years of trial and error.

How can we detect ovarian cancer before it’s too late? Can we make wounds heal faster? What are the alternatives to bariatric surgery for people with type 2 diabetes? Is there a way to reduce complications and cost in reconstructive surgery?

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) held a grand opening for its Community Engagement Center in West Baltimore at 1 N. Poppleton St. on Saturday, April 16, including a spring community festival to introduce the neighborhood to the center and its valuable services. Maryland’s First Lady Yumi Hogan was a guest at the grand opening, assisted with the ribbon-cutting, and spent the day with community members at the spring festival.

Baltimore is in line to have two schools that offer a career pathway program developed by IBM.

Gov. Larry Hogan signed a bill into law on Tuesday that provides framework and funding for P-TECH in the state. The Pathways in Technology Early College High School program follows a model of partnering with companies to provide students with STEM skills so they are immediately ready for a job. Starting the program in 9th grade, the students receive a high school diploma, associate’s degree and additional workforce training.

Emergent BioSolutions has filed a supplemental Biologics License Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to scale up production of its anthrax vaccine BioThrax. BioThrax is the only FDA-approved anthrax vaccine for humans. It's primarily produced for and purchased by the U.S. military, and has been in distribution since the 1970s.

If academic discoveries turn out to be wrong, one drug company wants its money back.

That’s the tough-minded proposal floated today by the chief medical officer of Merck & Co., one of the world’s 10 largest drug companies, as a way to fix the “reproducibility crisis,” or how many, if not most, published scientific reports turn out to be incorrect.

May 8-11, 2016 - Grand Hyatt Washington DC in Washington, DC

Health Datapalooza is the gathering place for people and organizations creating knowledge from data and pioneering innovations that drive health policy and practice, and generate market value. Conceived as part of a public/private movement to liberate and use health data, the Datapalooza continues its tradition of engaging patient and consumer voices, and bringing national and international leaders from the C-levels of business and government together for engaging discussions.

We're excited to invite you to join us for the 2016 Health Datapalooza – the meeting that brings data to life in ways that matter in health and health care. This year's meeting finds us even closer to the reality of using data, analytics, and technology to re-define how we deliver and pay for health care. Come hear how data sharing, use, and transparency fuels innovative applications and business models that are building momentum towards a vibrant health information economy that drives high value health care.

Presented by the Tech Council of Maryland, Bio+Tech16 reflects the changing landscape where life sciences and technology converge by bringing together more than 500 professionals in both fields so that they may meet and forge new partnerships that will lead to great new discoveries. Bio+Tech16 is the first event of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region that brings together the life science and technology sectors to meet and leverage the talents of the other to grow their organizations and their industry.

A simple blood test to detect early signs of cancer. A noninvasive way to screen pregnancies for common genetic conditions. An app store for your genetic information. Illumina, a San Diego-based gene-sequencing hardware and software behemoth with a market capitalization of $22 billion, is working on all these initiatives—and more.

University tech transfer offices play a central role in the biotech ecosystem, as the successful commercialization of an academic discovery is the aspiration of many young startups. Navigating–and optimizing–this tech transfer process is therefore critical to the health of the biotech sector.

Incubators aren’t just for startups and entrepreneurs with a business idea. A new film incubator at Johns Hopkins University will look to cultivate new ideas for producing films and give a voice to local filmmakers and visual artists. The program, called the Bold Voices, New Paradigms Incubator, is part of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Media Studies, which was launched by a $1 million grant from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation.

Hello Tomorrow is a global non-profit headquartered in Paris that aims to accelerate science & tech innovation by empowering startups with cash prizes and connections with investors and industrials. It was created in 2011 by Xavier Duportet & Arnaud de la Tour. Hello Tomorrow is supported by the French public and private sectors, but remains an independent organization governed by entrepreneurs.

Novartis (NOVN.S) is discussing options with banks for selling its near $14 billion (9.7 billion pounds) stake in rival Roche (ROG.S), potentially providing cash for new deals, though a sale is not imminent, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Merely 5 percent of healthcare organizations worldwide are “operating at the highest level of digital health innovation proficiency and expertise,” according to a report from digital health consulting firm Enspektos. That means the vast majority have yet to scale and share their innovations, even within their own walls.

Dr. Jay Bradner, a decorated cancer researcher from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, turned heads last year when he accepted a top job at Novartis, one of the world’s largest drug makers. Academics jump to industry all the time, but Bradner made his name with a move pharma almost never makes: When he discovered a potentially cancer-fighting molecule, he just gave it away.

University of Maryland will break ground Saturday on a new computer science building made possible by a $31 million donation from a student-turned-technology entrepreneur.