The stage has been set for a disruptive return of the “Small IPO” to the private equity marketplace (Seed, Series A, B etc.). This go-around, the liquidity boom will not be the exclusive provenance of the Four Horsemen (Alex Brown Inc., Hambrecht & Quist, Robertson Stephens & Co., and Montgomery Securities), the four boutique investment banks that drove liquidity for Silicon Valley during the boom. The new incarnation of the Four Horsemen will be in the form of crowdfunding marketplaces, not investment banks.

For University of Maryland researchers, the last year has marked a series of new discoveries and innovations: a revolutionary nanopore battery with high storage capabilities, a language aptitude measuring system, and a national food safety database to improve safety measures in retail establishments, just to name a few. UMD will honor nine nominees for the most promising new inventions at the Celebration of Innovation and Partnerships event on April 29, held as part of the University of Maryland’s ’30 Days of EnTERPreneurship,’ a month-long celebration and exhibition of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Establishes centralized vaccines research and development center in Rockville

GSK, one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, announced today that they are expanding their operations in Rockville with the establishment of a centralized vaccines R&D facility. 

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) named today 12 finalists in the InvestMaryland Challenge (IMC), the State’s international business competition. The Challenge brings together startup companies from a variety of industries with investors, advisors, successful entrepreneurs and other established members of Maryland’s entrepreneurial community. There are three finalists in each of four categories — Life Sciences, IT, Defense & Security, and Sustainability & Exploration. The winner of each will win a $100,000 top prize from the State’s Maryland Venture Fund. InvestMaryland Challenge partners have contributed another $300,000 in prizes that will be awarded to others in the field of 214 applicants. Winners of all awards will be announced April 28 at an event at the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.

Health and Human Services chief technology officer Bryan Sivak announced that he will step down from the job this month.

In so doing, Sivak is not just leaving the CTO position but also the entrepreneur-in-residence post he held simultaneously. Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Tom Sullivan spoke with Sivak in 2013 about disrupting government culture with both technology and modern business practices.

Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an orphan drug designation for the Company's investigational compound, STP-206 (lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis), a live biotherapeutic being developed for the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants with very low birth weight less than or equal to 1,500 grams. The Company is currently conducting a multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for STP-206 at a number of different sites in the United States.

We're back in Baltimore thanks to The University of Maryland's Biotech Research and Education Program (BREP) who is sponsoring this BioBuzz networking event on April 9th at @HeavySeasAleHse.  Join us to share an evening with BREP and Baltimore's growing Biotech community. Heavy Seas Alehouse is located in a very accessible part of the city and has plenty of free street parking or a $4 garage directly across the street.  

Mtech's Biotechnology Research and Education Program (BREP) is the regions premier biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and biofuel research center, designed to bolster Maryland's burgeoning biotechnology industry. The program consists of two core facilities dedicated to providing supplemental research to academia, government and industry.

Start-up accelerators have become a prominent feature of the entrepreneurship landscape in recent years. New programs appear nearly every month, and in many ways, accelerator participation has become a rite of passage for budding entrepreneurs. Yet, with the proliferation of programs, the newness of the phenomena, and little to no publicly available data on outcomes for the programs and affiliated start-ups, it is hard for entrepreneurs to determine which programs are most effective and, more importantly, which specific program would be the best fit for their particular start-up’s goals. With this challenge in mind, we set out over the last few years to both foster conversation about the accelerator model, and help entrepreneurs gain visibility into the strengths of individual programs.

Strand Life Sciences today announced a partnership with MRI Global to open a reference laboratory in India and develop companion diagnostics.

The partners will conduct joint research to integrate Strand's SmartLab informatics software with MRI Global's mobile, rapid diagnostics laboratories. Strand will also act as a validation hub for new technologies that are developed, including point-of-care devices.

A Baltimore startup that's developing a medical device to treat migraine headaches is in talks to be acquired by a global medical device company.

Baltimore’s eNeura Inc. has entered into an agreement with Orthofix International N.V. that gives the Texas medical device firm 18 months to decide whether it wants to acquire eNeura for $65 million. As part of the deal, Orthofix is giving eNeura a $15 million loan to support commercialization of its migraine management device, Spring TMS.

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: 

• Request for Information (RFI): NHLBI Strategic Visioning - Developing the Research Priorities for the Next Decade
• (NOT-HL-15-252)

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Notice of Change to Award Information Regarding Allowable Requested Direct Costs in PAR-13-316 "NHLBI Program Project Applications (P01)” 
• (NOT-HL-15-256)
• 
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Notice of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Participation in PAR-15-085 "Predictive Multiscale Models for Biomedical, Biological, Behavioral, Environmental and Clinical Research (U01)" 
• (NOT-HL-15-257)

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Requests for Applications:

• Genome Sequencing Program Coordinating Center (U24)
• (RFA-HG-15-019)
• 
National Human Genome Research Institute
Application Receipt Date(s): May 29, 2015

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. ("ITI"), a privately-held biotechnology company developing vaccines based on its proprietary LAMP technology, today announces that the National Institutes of Health has awarded ITI's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant application titled, "Development of Nanoplasmid LAMP-based Peanut Allergy Immunotherapy." The work in this award will help the pre-clinical development of new and advanced therapeutic platforms for peanut allergies.

"The receipt of this grant provides validation and financial support to evaluate the innovative combination of MHC-II targeting of important peanut allergens delivered in a minimal plasmid DNA backbone. With NIH's support, we look forward to designing and evaluating new plasmid-based constructs for their immunological activity and improved safety profile, which builds off of ITI's considerable expertise in plasmid-based therapeutics for food allergies. This research has the potential to help the more than one million Americans who suffer from peanut allergies," said Teri Heiland, Ph.D., Vice President of R&D, ITI.

Chief technology officer at Health and Human Services, Bryan Sivak, is leaving the agency and retiring from federal government at the end of April, according to a department memo.

During his four years at the agency, Sivak was an ardent proponent of using technology to innovate and provide better services, both for the civilians the agency serves and for the employees internally.

Could Greater Washington be one of the big three in biotech beside other market leaders like, say, Boston?

That was certainly the rallying cry Monday as CEOs and a few hundred entrepreneurs, academics and government types packed into MedImmune's auditorium in Gaithersburg. MedImmune, the research and development arm of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), was hosting the first Maryland Regional Biotech Forum to chart a course for elevating the region's reputation into the top three by 2023. The event was also hosted by the Tech Council of Maryland and BioHealth Innovation Inc.

Biopharmaceutical venture capital investment climbed from $4.52 billion in 2013 to $5.29 billion in 2014, a 17% increase, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.

Joel Marcus, chief executive of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., has been in biotech since its early days. From 1984 to 1994, he had a law career with expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry that included time as general counsel and secretary of Kirin-Amgen Inc., a joint venture between Kirin Brewery Co. and Amgen Inc.

Maryland is no stranger to USGBC’s Top 10 States for LEED list, and every year it has a strong list of impressive LEED projects certifying across the state. Maryland was the third state in the nation for LEED in 2014 (2.7 square-feet of LEED certified space per resident) based on the strength of its 132 newly certified projects.

One project that stands out this year is Qiagen’s new North America headquarters building, which is important not only because of its impressive architecture, but also because of the building’s purpose and what projects like this one symbolize about the growing impact of the green building movement across the country. Qiagen uses its 66,735 square foot headquarters for new research in the field biotechnology as well as its North American manufacturing operations. Skanska USA, a Platinum level member of USGBC, served as the contractor on the Qiagen project, ushering the building toward LEED certification.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: PIRS)and The University of Melbourne today announced the receipt by the University of a research grant to further develop Pieris' novel protein Anticalin®-brand therapeutic, PRS-060, in immunological diseases. The grant -- which will support Pieris' Australian subsidiary, Pieris Australia, and is disbursed by Australia's peak medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) -- totals more than $AUS 500,000 and covers activities to advance PRS-060 for inhaled delivery to treat asthmatics.

WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (WX: Quote) announced that an Investigational New Drug or IND application for WuXi MedImmune's novel anti-IL6 monoclonal antibody for rheumatoid arthritis has been accepted for review by the China Food and Drug Administration or CFDA.

In September 2012, MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, and WuXi AppTec formed the joint venture WuXi MedImmune Biopharmaceutical Co. Limited to develop and commercialize MEDI5117, a novel, investigational, long-acting monoclonal antibody for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, the first such collaboration in China between a global company and a Chinese company to develop novel biologics.

Swimtag and Brain Sentry were the winners at the 2015 Sports Technology Awards, at an event where wearable tech companies dominated the nominations.

The event, which is in its second year, is set up to recognise the technology that's playing an increased role across sport – be it tracking, broadcasting or participation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Anthrasil Tuesday for treating inhalational anthrax alongside antibacterial drugs, triggering a $7 million payment to Emergent BioSolutions under a Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority contract.

A rare disease, inhalational anthrax occurs after an individual is exposed to an infected animal or animal products that have been contaminated. Infection is also possible when anthrax spores are intentionally released, leading to the inhalation of Bacillus anthracis. After the bacterium enters the body, it replicates and produces toxins, causing massive, irreversible injury to tissues. Damage can also be so severe that an infection can be fatal.

AKT IP Ventures today announced the launch of a targeted $20 million incubation investment fund that will finance the creation and operation of IP-based businesses in the mobile, multi-touch, wearables, IoT, big data and medical technology sectors. As an incubator and operator of emerging IP-based businesses, AKT IP Ventures offers a unique, constructive and creative alternative to the litigation model of patent monetization. Employing a disciplined approach to bringing IP-based technologies to market, AKT IP Ventures turns patents into viable enterprises that create jobs, generate value and bring exciting new technologies and innovations into the marketplace.

Last night in Cambridge, LSN joined Women In Bio for a Shark Tank-style pitch event. The audience heard pitches from five life science entrepreneurs. Across the table from them were four experienced early stage life science investors playing the role of “sharks”.

So what did we learn from these life science innovators and from the sharks’ cutting responses to their pitches?

David Johnson was just one minute into making his pitch when the interruptions started.

“Why do I care?” barked a bespectacled man at the back of the seminar hall. Johnson, chief executive of the California biotechnology start-up GigaGen, blinked. He had condensed his company's story into a neat ten-minute presentation for I-Corps, a nine-week course designed to teach business skills to entrepreneurial scientists like him. Now his talk was derailed.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its treatment for inhaled anthrax, triggering a $7 million milestone payment from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The company developed the treatment, Anthrasil, as part of a $160 million contract it signed in 2005 with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a part of the HHS.

Health for America is pleased to announce that Medstar will host the 2015-16 Health for America Fellowship in Washington D.C., in partnership with the global startup incubator, 1776.

The Fellowship will give a small group of exceptional young healthcare leaders the opportunity to put aside their day-to-day work and focus instead on finding high-impact, low-cost solutions for patients suffering from chronic diseases. Led by the MedStar Institute for Innovation (MI2), the 2015 Fellowship will give fellows broad access to providers, entrepreneurs, and other experts throughout MedStar, a regional not-for-profit health system advancing the practice of medicine through education, innovation and research.

BHI President and CEO Rich Bendis to Present

With 800+ life sciences companies, Over 70 federal labs and world class academic and research institutions, the biotechnology cluster in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC sets the bar for biotechnology innovation. Join us for an event that will spotlight a world class technology community that has accounted for 1/3 of all job growth in Maryland and has been a significant economic driver for the region over the past decade.

World renowned speakers, industry luminaries and commercial giants will convene for this unique Maryland Regional Biotech Forum to highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

Frederick City and the County have agreed to partner with the state to help Medimmune expand. 

Last week, the County Council agreed to participate with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development's Maryland Economic Development Assistance and Authority Fund (MEDAAF) to  provide a $1.5-million loan to Medimmune.

New Enterprise Associates expects to hold a final close next month.

Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates has secured approximately $2.57 billion in capital commitments for its fifteenth fund, Fortune has learned.

Johns Hopkins brings to mind the renowned research university and hospital in Baltimore.

The latter has been the working home to such medical lights as neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who led a pioneering separation of twins born fused together at the cranium.

That these institutions are known primarily for the work they do, not for the person whose money gave them life, would sit just fine with their founding donor.

If you listen to large tech companies, they will tell you they are in dire need of another bailout from scary “patent trolls” who burden them with frivolous lawsuits. This tech bailout will come in the form of a bill that would weaken 225 years of U.S. patent law to help big companies always win, and guarantee that small innovators and inventors will always lose.

The United States’ patent law system is at the foundation of American global success, found in breakthrough discoveries from Edison to the computer chip to recombinant DNA. Do we really need to “fix” the legal system that has enabled America to become number one in the global biotech, software, hardware, medical devices, energy, genomics, and nanotechnology industries? Patent filings are down an astonishing 40% in 2014 as a result of the first patent troll “fix” a few years ago and recent court decisions that have given away our nation’s competitive edge.

The National Institutes of Health has selected three new proof-of-concept hubs to help speed the translation of basic biomedical discoveries into commercial products, such as new drugs, devices, and diagnostics, to improve patient care and enhance health. The hubs are part of the NIH-supported Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH) program and will be funded at $9 million over three years.

Gaithersburg-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is adding a $31 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to its ongoing work developing a next-generation anthrax vaccine.

The BARDA contract is for NuThrax, a vaccine that requires fewer doses, has a higher immune response and has no need for refrigeration.

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 Update to the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
• (NOT-OD-15-079) National Institutes of Health
• Notice Regarding Requirement of Grantees and Contractors to Submit Invention Disclosures, Related Reports and Documents Via iEdison
• (NOT-OD-15-080) National Institutes of Health
• New Form To Capture Additional Indirect Costs in Multi-project Grant Applications
• (NOT-OD-15-081) National Institutes of Health
• Notice of Technical Assistance Webinar for RFA-OD-15-129 "Mobilizing Research: A Research Resource to Enhance mHealth Research (U2C)"
• (NOT-OD-15-082) Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research
• Reminder: NIH Grant Applications and the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy
• (NOT-OD-15-083) National Institutes of Health
• Notice of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Participation in PA-15-028 "Research on Eosinophil Associated Disorders (R21)" 
• (NOT-HL-15-255)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Requests for Applications:

• Molecular Imaging of the Lung - Phase 2 (R01) 
• (RFA-HL-16-001)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Application Receipt Date(s): June 15, 2015 

• Supplements to Support Interoperability of NIH Funded Biomedical Data Repositories (Admin Supp)
• (PA-15-144)

Please note that most links to RFAs, PAs, and Guide Notices will take you to the NIH Web site. RFPs will take you to FedBizOpps. Links to RFPs will not work past their proposal receipt date. Archived versions of RFPs posted on FedBizOpps can be found on the FedBizOpps site using the FedBizOpps search function. Under “Document to Search,” select Archived Documents.

The World International Patent Organization released a report Friday naming Johns Hopkins University among the top 2014 international patent applicants in the world, proving that American universities may not be losing ground when it comes to tech transfer programs after all.

WIPO took a look at overall growth in the applications for its global intellectual property services and found that together, China and the U.S. accounted for 87 percent of the total growth in filings under WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty. The PCT received about 215,000 applications in 2014 – a 4.5 percent increase over the numbers reported in 2013.