BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives Archives - Page 20 of 65

Oct 19 2021

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478th Edition, October 19, 2021

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October 19, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

BioHealth Innovation Appoints Aubrey Watkins III, Ph.D., M.S. to Board of Directors

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, Oct 18, 2020 – The Board of Directors of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) unanimously approved the appointment of Aubrey Watkins III, Ph.D., M.S. as a new board member. Aubrey Watkins III is a Senior Director, Corporate Development, Scientific Affairs, with Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland; where he leads due diligence and technical evaluations to facilitate mergers and acquisitions that supports the company’s growth strategy. BHI would also like to congratulate Board of Directors members Jarrod Borkat as he takes a new role at CareDx as Vice President Corporate Development, and Bob Silverman in his new role as Chief Business Officer with Rejuveron Life Sciences.

“I am delighted to welcome Aubrey to our Board of Directors,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “BioHealth Innovation and Emergent BioSolutions have had a long and productive relationship. We look forward to having Aubrey as a part of this Board to share his experience and perspective.”

A US – UK Discussion: How to Conduct Clinical Trials as Seth Toback, Vice President, Clinical Development at Novavax and Divya Chadha Manek, Director of Business Development at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) join Rich Bendis on BioTalk.

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/3BSIFjn, Google https://bit.ly/3j7YyLt, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2Z474Ec, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3DUweUz.

Divya Chadha Manek was appointed as the NIHR CRN’s Head of Commercial Business Development in 2015 then in 2020, Divya was seconded to the UK Vaccines Taskforce (VTF) which was set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to lead the UK’s search for a safe and effective vaccine. Divya was responsible for supporting global pharmaceutical companies to rapidly generate the evidence required for marketing authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines. Divya also played a pivotal role in conceptualising and developing the NHS Vaccine Research Registry.

Life Sciences Business Strategist – Open Position!

BioHealth Innovation (BHI) is an innovation intermediary that facilitates the commercialization of emerging technologies in the BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, DC and Virginia).

BHI is seeking a Life Sciences Business Strategist to join its team in Rockville, Maryland. This position provides the opportunity to leverage scientific knowledge to evaluate the commercial potential of emerging technologies and provide recommendations on go-to-market strategies.

This is a customer facing role with a focus on supporting clients in the development of commercial analyses and federal grant proposals.

Click here for more details.

Full Interview: Nearly True Tales of Innovation – Jennifer McCaney & Kwame Ulmer – YouTube

Benjamin Glenn of A Matter of Innovation sits down with Jennifer McCaney PhD, (Co-Executive Director UCLA Biodesign) and Kwame Ulmer, MD (Venture Partner Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health and BHI/NIH Entrepreneur in Residence) to discuss the new UCLA Biodesign curriculum and their landmark study which asks the question:

“What does it take to bring a novel medical technology to market in the year 2021”?

Topics include how companies large and small are currently dealing with regulatory and reimbursement, the current palette of investment strategies and the possible trend towards a US first launch strategy as the norm. The study so far has produced insightful data on medtech companies owned and operated by people of color and the detailed novel solutions borne out of experiences unique to these communities – as well as the benefits of a fresh focus on addressing unmet clinical needs as a wellspring for powerful new innovations, essential data and a better future for all.

Click here to watch the video.

BHI EIR Feedback Day October 27th. Register Now!

Are you a biohealth start-up in Maryland, DC or Virginia seeking feedback on your biohealth business idea, pitch deck, or commercialization plan? Schedule your feedback session with BHI EIRs on one of the following dates. Pre-registration is required; Sign up here tinyurl.com/EIRfeedback

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Emergent BioSolutions Announces Initiation of Pivotal Phase 3 Study Evaluating the Safety and Immunogenicity of Its Single-Dose Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate, CHIKV VLP | Emergent BioSolutions Inc.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced the first participant dosed in its pivotal phase 3 study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the company’s investigational chikungunya virus (CHIKV) virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate, CHIKV VLP, in a single dose. CHIKV VLP is the only VLP-based vaccine currently in clinical development for active immunization against chikungunya disease.

In Conversation: John Mumm, Chief Executive Officer, Deka Biosciences · BioBuzz

John Mumm, the chief executive officer of Germantown’s Deka Biosciences, describes the body’s immune system as a ballet. While the dancers take the stage and command attention, Mumm notes that it’s the symphony that guides the performance and dictates where the dancers need to be.

Tips for Small Business Applicants | National Institute on Aging

What Does a Successful Submission Look Like?

Offers Innovative solutions to a significant unmet clinical need
Provides solutions that have significant commercial potential
Corresponds to one of NIA’s research priorities
Leverages the expertise of the company/founder
Seeks funding to produce feasibility data (Phase I) or conduct product-focused development activities (Phase II)

National Science Foundation Issues Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant to The Wrightguard Innovations Corporation in Support of Novel Mouthguard Technology

BALTIMORE, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Wrightguard Innovations Corporation (TWGIC), a University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) startup company developing smart mouthguard technology designed to protect athletes, announced today that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the company an SBIR grant totaling more than $250K.

Developed by the University of Maryland’s School of Dentistry (UMSOD) faculty member Radi Masri, DDS, MS, PhD, and Michael Wright, DDS, MS, CEO and founder of TWGIC, the technology is a smart mouthguard with physiological tracking capabilities that provides real-time monitoring for a variety of biometrics, such as force of impact, pH and hydration levels, as well as body temperature. Currently in the prototyping and beta testing phase, the technology can be used to collect multi-sensor data in real time, enabling more advanced physiological analysis and a new level of safety and performance for athletes.

Pionieren in de Polder – Miniatuurorganen op een chip (Paul Vulto co-founder of BHI client MIMETAS)

For our Dutch-speaking following, there is a podcast available with our CEO Paul Vulto. In this podcast series “Pioneren in de polder”, different entrepreneurs talk about starting and growing their company in the Leiden Bio Science Park. Listen to the podcast to hear about the origin story of MIMETAS, our launching customer, and of course Paul’s musical talents! e

Q3 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor | PitchBook

Exits top $582 billion as US VC continues its extraordinary year

In nine months, the US venture capital industry turned 2021 into a year for the record books, leaving 2020’s eye-popping numbers far behind.

The Q3 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor depicts how the frenetic pace of dealmaking, exits, and fundraising has easily toppled last year’s records, as venture capital’s strength continues to support the country’s economic recovery.

Mapping the Medical Device Start-up Ecosystem | by John G Younger | Bioeconomy.XYZ | Oct, 2021 | Medium

Medical devices are ubiquitous in US healthcare— everything from the delivery room’s sterile gloves and umbilical cord clamps to the breathtakingly sophisticated neurosurgical operating room’s stereotactic navigation systems. More than ever medical devices are a fusion of hardware, software, and even synthetic living material. These are the physical tools through which new life science discoveries improve our lives.

Distrust, Fear Hamper COVID Vaccinations, Clinical Trial Diversity

TYSONS CORNER, Va., Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — As of late September, 77% of the total adult population of the U.S. had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Black and Hispanic people, however, remain less likely than whites to have received a vaccine, leaving them at increased risk of infection, particularly as the novel variant spreads.(1) Some of this hesitance to vaccination, notes Dr. Harsha Rajasimha, founder and CEO of Jeeva Informatics, is rooted in long-lost trust. “We see it in clinical trials as well,” he says. “Black and brown people need the medicines and therapies being developed but are less inclined to trust the professionals who develop them.” This is unfortunate.

Grand Opening at USM Southern Maryland (USMSM) Celebrates New, $86 Million ‘SMART’ Innovation Center to Expand Educational Opportunities, Autonomous Vehicles Research – USM

Baltimore, Md. (Oct. 12, 2021) – State of Maryland leaders will join University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor Jay A. Perman at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15 to celebrate the unveiling of the Academic & Innovation Center for the University System of Maryland (USM) at Southern Maryland (USMSM) in California, MD.

The new Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology (SMART) building is an $86 million, 84,000-square foot academic and research facility that will nearly double the educational footprint of USMSM, create autonomous systems research space, and spur economic activity and job growth.

Image: https://www.usmd.edu

477th Edition, October 12, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

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October 12, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Supernus Pharmaceuticals to Acquire Adamas Pharmaceuticals Strengthening its CNS Product Portfolio – Supernus Pharmaceuticals

ROCKVILLE, Md. and EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUPN) and Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADMS), today announced a definitive agreement for Supernus to acquire Adamas through a tender offer for $8.10 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $400 million), payable at closing plus two non-tradable contingent value rights (CVR) collectively worth up to $1.00 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $50 million), for a total consideration of $9.10 per share in cash (or an aggregate of approximately $450 million). The first CVR, worth $0.50 per share, is payable upon achieving net sales of GOCOVRI® of $150 million in any four consecutive quarters between closing and the end of 2024. The second CVR, worth $0.50 per share, is payable upon achieving net sales of GOCOVRI of $225 million in any four consecutive quarters between closing and the end of 2025. The transaction is expected to close in late fourth quarter 2021 or in early first quarter 2022.

The transaction will provide Supernus with two marketed products: GOCOVRI (amantadine) extended release capsules, the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medicine indicated for the treatment of both OFF and dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson’s disease receiving levodopa-based therapy; and Osmolex ER® (amantadine) extended release tablets, approved for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and drug-induced extrapyramidal reactions in adult patients.

WIB-Capital Region: Build Your Own Biotech Startup Toolkit (BHI’s Sarah Miller to present this Thursday October 14th)

Calling all women entrepreneurs! Whether you’re already a founder, thinking of starting your own company, or are curious to learn more about the ins and outs of launching a new venture, join Women In Bio-Capital Region and a panel of women founders to hear their experiences, learn about available resources, and ask any questions you may have. From financing to IP law to business strategy, learn from a diverse group of speakers who will share their experiences and perspectives from the world of biotech start-ups. Join us for a one-stop shop to start building your own personal biotech startup toolkit.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Completes Acquisition of Infectious Disease R&D Center in Frederick, MD | citybiz

CHATHAM, N.J., Oct. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: TNXP) (Tonix or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced it has completed the acquisition of its new research and development center (RDC) located in Frederick, Md. The approximately 48,000 square foot facility will support Tonix’s expanding infectious disease pipeline, including:

TNX-1800 – a live virus vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19
TNX-801 – a live virus vaccine designed to protect against smallpox and monkeypox
TNX-3500 – a small molecule antiviral under development to treat COVID-19
TNX-2100 – a peptide based skin test to measure functional T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Tonix purchased the RDC from Southern Research, a collaborating partner on TNX-1800 and TNX-801 development.

QIAGEN Receives U.S. Department of Defense Contract to Further Expand Production Capacity for NeuMoDx | Business Wire

GERMANTOWN, Md. & HILDEN, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)–QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that it had won a U.S. government contract to increase the production capacity for consumables used on its NeuMoDx 96 and 288 integrated PCR testing systems, an important step to support laboratory testing as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Tweet this QIAGEN was awarded a $3.4 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), on behalf of and in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to expand production capacity for COVID-19 tests running on NeuMoDx instruments at its site in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The platforms offer a unique combination of speed, flexibility, throughput and ease of use for molecular diagnostics testing, including laboratory-developed tests. By the end of March 2022, QIAGEN plans to scale up production to more than 16 million tests per year, up from the current level of about 10 million.

BHI EIR Feedback Day October 27th. Register Now!

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Christine Dingivan of Emmes – Washington Business Journal

When Christine Dingivan took her first job in biotech, she assumed she would stay a couple years and go back to clinical medicine as a practicing surgeon. But when she discovered how much she loved research, that plan changed permanently.

“It all just came together for me, but it was not the career that I set out for when I went to medical school,” Dingivan says. “When you develop a new drug and it becomes available, whether it’s for cancer or an influenza vaccine or a pandemic — like the Covid-19 vaccines — you see the millions of people that have the opportunity to benefit from that work. You can only treat so many patients in one career, and I really felt like I was making a bigger impact in a way.”

MIMETAS is Hiring!

Will YOU be the next one to join our cause to improve the drug development process utilizing human-relevant tissue and disease models? We are looking for commercial and scientific talent to join our teams in the Netherlands and the USA! We are looking for people to join us in the following roles:

In Gaithersburg, USA:

Business Development Manager
Westcoast Territory Manager
Operations Manager

In Oegstgeest, NL:

Business Development Manager
Digital Marketing Specialist
Scientific Marketing Writer
Product Manager
Field Application Specialist
Cell Culture Analyst

Do you see yourself shining in one of these roles? Apply now and we can’t wait to meet you! See the vacancies here –> https://lnkd.in/gNmZhPQ9

Women In Bio – Capital Region (Congrats to BHI’s Natsumi Takahashi-Vitiello joining WIB leadership team )

Welcome Dr. Ilana G. Goldberg, Melissa Lawrence, Samantha Black, PhD, Somayeh Hooshmand, Priscilla Fussell, and Natsumi Takahashi-Vitiello, PhD to our WIB-Capital Region Leadership Team! We are so excited to work with you!

Central Virginia to fast-track development of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing with launch of 'cluster accelerator'

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Activation Capital, a leading entrepreneurship and ecosystem development organization, announced the launch of a cluster accelerator to catalyze the growth of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D in Central Virginia. A coalition of private-public entities from Greater Petersburg and Greater Richmond helped form the accelerator, secured $2.5M in seed funding from GO Virginia and others, and appointed Activation Capital as the organizing entity – a first-of-its-kind initiative for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

NIA Small Business Funding Opportunities | National Institute on Aging

NIA participates in a broad range of funding opportunities, research and development (R&D) programs, and technical assistance that address innovations in healthy aging as well as Alzheimer’ disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD).

IonQ Becomes First Publicly Traded, Pure-Play Quantum Computing Company; Closes Business Combination with dMY Technology Group III

COLLEGE PARK, Md., October 01, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IonQ, Inc. ("IonQ" or the "Company") (NYSE: IONQ), a leader in quantum computing, completed its previously announced business combination with dMY Technology Group, Inc. III ("dMY") (formerly NYSE: DMYI), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, on September 30, 2021. Starting this morning, the common stock and warrants of the combined company, IonQ Inc., will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols "IONQ" and "IONQ.WS," respectively.

IonQ is a trailblazer in quantum computing with the world’s most powerful trapped-ion quantum computer, and is the only company with its quantum systems available through the cloud on Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. This business combination provided IonQ with $636 million in gross proceeds to fund future growth and accelerate the commercialization of its industry-leading quantum computers.

Children's National Hospital reaches 100% COVID-19 vaccine compliance

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) – Children's National Hospital in D.C. has announced that 100% of its workforce, around 8,500 team members, is compliant with its COVID-19 vaccination policy.

"Back in December when vaccines first became available, around 1,500 of those team members were hesitant to get the shot," a spokesperson for Children's National said. "So a lot of targeted work and action took place since then to get to 100% compliance…"

Image: https://www.fox5dc.com

Starting a health technology company in Baltimore? Here are 43 resources to know – Technical.ly Baltimore

The digital health sector was growing rapidly. Then the pandemic came. In this case, it was a story of growth.

Following distancing requirements and loosening regulations, telemedicine became the name of the game for many healthcare systems across the nation. It was an area where Baltimore startups could add value, whether it was the “digital front door” of b.well Connected Health or Tissue Analytics‘ work with healthcare institutions to remotely monitor woundcare patients.

New Opportunities for Job Creation in Maryland’s Life Sciences Industry BY ALISSA DUBETZ, CHARLOTTE KESTEVEN, AND AARON MELAAS

Maryland has one of the nation’s strongest life sciences industries. The state’s array of universities, federal labs, and firms employ 54,000 people, generate breakthrough discoveries, and supply a range of technologies that have been key to the COVID-19 pandemic response. Despite Maryland’s high concentration of employment in research and development (R&D), the sector’s 7.4 percent growth between 2015 and 2020 trailed other leading states such as Massachusetts (58 percent) and North Carolina (38 percent). Beyond R&D employment, the state’s life sciences manufacturing sector expanded at one of the fastest rates nationwide (31 percent), but remains relatively less concentrated than the national average, indicating significant potential for further growth. Maryland’s life sciences industry also faces competition from other states for investment, particularly in entrepreneurs and startup firms that have the potential to sustain job creation across the state.

476th Edition, October 5, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

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October 5, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Nanochon Wins BioHealth Capital Region 6th Annual Crab Trap Competition

Winning company is developing an implantable device based on 3D printing and a synthetic material, which supports and regenerates surface cartilage damage in the knee.

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, October 1, 2021 – Nanochon, a Washington, D.C. based company in the BioHealth Capital Region, applying novel materials to replicate bone and cartilage, and high-end 3-D printing to create an implant which can permanently repair debilitating joint injuries, was selected from five finalists as the company with the most commercial potential at the 6^th Annual Crab Trap Competition. This year's judges included industry leaders Sally Allain, Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC, Andrea Alms, Co-Fund Manager, BioHealth Capital Fund, Lora Green, Of Counsel, Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Troy LeMaile-Stovall, Chief Executive Officer, TEDCO, Conley Jones, Senior Associate, Alexandria Venture Investments, John Newby, Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Biotechnology Association, and was moderated by Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc.

The Crab Trap, presented virtually for the second year in the row due to the pandemic, was held on September 29^th in association with the 7^th Annual BioHealth Capital Region and 4^th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Investment Conference. Nanochon CEO, Benjamin Holmes, presented on his company's implant, which acts as both cartilage replacement and tissue growth scaffold, and is designed to be custom 3-D printed for each patient. Nanochon joins previous Crab Trap winners, BrainScope (2020), Floreo (2019), Galen Robotics (2018), LifeSprout (2017) and Sonavex (2016).

BioHealth Capital Region Forum Recap – GEN Top 10 BioPharma Clusters Update

Alex Philippidis, Senior Business Editor of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, returned to the Forum to give his annual update on the GEN rankings of the Top 10 Bio Clusters in the United States. The BioHealth Capital Region is currently ranked #4 with a goal to be Top 3 by 2023 , and Alex briefly discusses each of the 10 top clusters and discuss how they have performed during the Pandemic. He also mentions the Up and Coming Regions of the Country.

Pete Briskman, Executive Managing Director and Co-Lead for the Mid-Atlantic Life Sciences Practice, follows Alex and does a deep dive into specifically the BioHealth Capital Region’s outstanding performance over the last year.

Watch now by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV6YjIGdIhg

Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Awarded Additional $8 Million from U.S. Department of Defense for Clinical Advancement of Phage to Address Unmet Needs in Infectious Diseases – Adaptive Phage Therapeutics

GAITHERSBURG, MD, September 30, 2021 – Adaptive Phage Therapeutics, Inc. (APT), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, today announced that the Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded the company an additional $8 million for the continued development of bacteriophage therapies (PhageBankTM) for the treatment of infectious diseases. The new funding brings the total contract awarded to APT to $31.2 million.

“We are thrilled to have the ongoing support of the DoD in the advanced development of our PhageBank™ platform to treat drug-resistant infections across multiple indications,” said Greg Merril, CEO and co-founder of Adaptive Phage Therapeutics. “We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with the U.S. military to create potentially lifesaving therapies for our nation’s service members.”

BHI EIR Feedback Day October 27th. Register Now!

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Immunology Innovations QuickFire Challenge: Precision Medicine in Immune-Mediated Disease – Challenge | JLABS

Nearly 4% of the world’s population is affected by one of more than 80 different autoimmune diseases, according to the National Stem Cell Foundation, and incidence is rising.

However, of the 30 million patients diagnosed with moderate-to-severe forms of chronic immune diseases, only 5 million receive advanced therapies and only 2 million experience adequate responses.[1] A key barrier to the development of novel therapies and treatment paradigms has been the complexity and heterogeneity of these diseases, which consist of different disease states with distinct unmet medical need and biology.

Annual Awards for IP Protection Take on Outsized Significance amid a Global Pandemic – Licensing Executives Society (LES)

September 28, 2021 RESTON, Virginia—During a year of unprecedented reliance on intellectual property rights to solve massive global challenges through business collaborations, namely the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and its profound disruptions of personal and business lives, today the Licensing Executive Society (USA & Canada) announced that it is making a President’s Award and three Deals of Distinction™ Awards, along with the Frank Barnes Award. The Deals of Distinction Awards are given each year, to recognize major business transactions involving licensing, that exemplify best practices and creativity to achieve strategic business objectives, with a significant impact on advancing innovation in the industry Sectors that comprise LES. Similarly, the Frank Barnes Award is given each year to celebrate an exceptional individual who embodies the highest cultural values of LES by selflessly investing their time and expertise in developing the careers of others – an outstanding mentor.

AURP Space Day (Ocrober 21, 2021)

Blast off at AURP’s inaugural SPACE DAY with a galaxy worth of discovery. Converging state, regional and national leaders, unearth the policy and tactics to cultivate innovation clusters on the ground as a observe and investigate the skies above.

This special session will be held on Thursday, October 21, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm. immediately following the AURP International Conference (Oct 18-21). Register for the day or plan to attend the full conference. We want YOU at AURP SPACE DAY in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Download the PDF for more information.

Philophos Seeks – Business Development & Relationship Manager

Philophos, Inc. is an innovative Med Tech device company headquartered near Seoul in South Korea. We develop and manufacture quality, portable and value priced optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices for retina imaging. We have a functional prototype that is in pilot testing, and we are in the process of securing medical device approval in both Korea and the U.S. We seek a key management hire who can focus on accelerating sales, marketing and relationship development efforts for the U.S. market.

We are seeking a full-time, Business Development & Relationship Manager to represent Philophos, Inc. in the U.S.. Duties will include identifying, developing, and maintaining vital relationships as the primary role. Duties will also include supporting a variety of activities associated with launching our operations in the U.S. Our culture is a fast-paced environment that requires the ability to independently support multiple activities and manage deadlines with great coordination and communication skills with our headquarters team. Preferred traits are someone who is organized, adaptable, high-energy, a self-starter and good critical thinker who can overcome challenges. The candidate must possess excellent presentation skills including both oral and written communication abilities.

2021 Healthcare Investment and Exits Report | Silicon Valley Bank

US healthcare venture fundraising soared in 2020, totaling $17B, a 57% increase over 2019’s record.

Strong exits propelled a fourth straight record year in venture fundraising 2020 venture fundraising soared, exceeding 2019’s record with $17B in new venture funds in healthcare.
Q3 2020 surge in venture investment led healthcare to a record $52B Every sector experienced record investment this year, with 2020’s funding rising 50% from 2019.
IPOs led exit activity, and large private M&A deals resurfaced Venture-backed healthcare IPOs yielded record valuations and post-IPO performance of +100%.

50 Recipients of “Build to Scale” Program Announced

Today, EDA announced that 50 organizations — including nonprofits, institutions of higher education, state government agencies, and other entrepreneurship-focused organizations — from 26 states will receive grants totaling $36.5 million to support programs that fuel innovation and tech-based economic development. (Read full press release)

The grants are part of the “Build to Scale” program, which is administered annually by EDA. The program aims to accelerate technology entrepreneurship by increasing inclusive access to business support and startup capital.

University endowments' record returns cut both ways | PitchBook

Some of America's largest university endowments unveiled eye-popping annual gains in the past week. Duke University reported a 56% return for the fiscal year ended June 30. Washington University in St. Louis generated a 65% gain.

These top-performing endowments can thank alternative assets—in particular, venture capital—for the banner year, which is said to be the best since 1986. But that short-term success could prove to be a double-edged sword.

Most Vaccine Skeptics Change Their Minds, Study Finds — Here’s Who Didn’t

TOPLINE Most vaccine hesitant people changed their minds about getting a Covid-19 shot over time, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open Friday, offering hope as officials struggle to boost flagging immunization rates amid soaring cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Montréal’s Aifred Health wins second place at IBM AI XPRIZE competition | BetaKit

Montréal-based healthtech and artificial intelligence (AI) startup Aifred Health today won second place at the final round of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE competition and will take home a $1 million USD prize for its digital health software.

Aifred Health offers clinical solutions for mental health treatments using AI. The startup’s second-place win comes five years after it entered the XPRIZE competition along with 150 other applicants. Aifred Health was the only Canadian startup to make it to the finals of this global competition.

Image: https://betakit.com

What investors really look for when investing in a startup – Startup Daily

While there are commonalities among their criteria, startup investors don’t take a cookie cutter approach. The key to unlocking investment is understanding the stage of your startup. “In the race of life, always back self-interest; at least you know it’s trying,” the late former premier of NSW, Jack Lang, once said.

Self-interest is defined as “regard for one’s own interest or advantage, especially with disregard for others… personal interest or advantage”.

Meanwhile, to invest is to “put (money) into financial schemes, shares, property, or a commercial venture with the expectation of achieving a profit”.

BioAdvance Announces ~$7M in Recent Investments and Leadership Transition

Barbara Schilberg retiring as Managing Director and CEO;
Shahram Hejazi, Ph.D., appointed as Managing Director and CEO

Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2021 – BioAdvance, a $70 million early-stage life sciences fund with a focus in the mid-Atlantic region, announced today that it has added six new companies to its portfolio in the last 18 months and has made follow-on investments in eight of its existing companies. Combined, these investments represent a commitment of $6.875 million to the success and growth of life science companies in the region. BioAdvance also announced a transition in leadership with long-time Managing Director and CEO Barbara Schilberg retiring and Shahram Hejazi, Ph.D., appointed as incoming Managing Director and CEO effective October 1, 2021.

“Like many investors, when the COVID pandemic began, we focused on helping our existing companies survive the various disruptions to product development and product sales,” said Schilberg, outgoing CEO of BioAdvance. “Within six months, we were able to resume investing in new companies and also have a robust pipeline of opportunities in active diligence.”

Oct 12 2021

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475th Edition, September 29, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

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September 29, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

BIOTtalk: From the 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum – Dr. Tara Schwetz, Assistant Director for Biomedical Science Initiatives, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

Listen now via Google https://bit.ly/3EWtTtJ, Apple https://apple.co/3ocpP2w, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3EUALYu, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/3CGZ8Ho.

The session from the BioHealth Capital Region Forum focuses on a vision for a new science entity, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This new NIH Institute would accelerate biomedical innovation and adoption of technologies and approaches to revolutionize healthcare and medicine. Tara A. Schwetz, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director for Biomedical Science Initiatives in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She is currently on detail to OSTP from her role as Associate Deputy Director (ADEPD), National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her tenure as ADEPD, Dr. Schwetz also served as the acting Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Prior to assuming these roles, she was the Chief of the Strategic Planning and Evaluation Branch in the Office of the Director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Schwetz led several efforts while at NIAID, including conducting an evaluation of the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance to facilitate evidence-based decision-making and developing the NIAID Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Research. Previously, Dr. Schwetz served as the Senior Advisor to the Principal Deputy Director of NIH (DEPD), where she coordinated efforts such as Reimagine HHS, the NIH rigor and reproducibility activities, and the first NIH-Wide Strategic Plan. Dr. Schwetz also served in the dual role of the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Interim Associate Program Director and the Special Assistant to the DEPD. Prior to these roles, she was a Health Science Policy Analyst at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where she helped develop the National Pain Strategy. Dr. Schwetz started her career at NIH as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at NINR. She received a BS in biochemistry with honors from Florida State University and a PhD in biophysics from the University of South Florida, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Kim and the delegation for KOSME visit BHI

On September 20^th, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) hosted a delegation from KOSME, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency. Leading the overseas team was KOSME’s President, Dr. Hakdo Kim, who met with BHI board members, Entrepreneurs in Residence, and recorded a “BioTalk with Rich Bendis” podcast episode in which Dr. Kim discussed a new partnership with BHI and a Memorandum of Understanding KOSME signed with the State of Maryland.

KOSME is a Korean-government funded non-profit created over forty years ago to support small and medium enterprises in Korea. In 2001, KOSME opened the Northern Virginia-based KBDC as an outpost to support Korean companies interested in joining the US marketplace.

Philophos Seeks – Business Development & Relationship Manager

Maryland wants to ease US entry for South Korean startups – Technical.ly Baltimore

On Monday, Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan signed a memorandum of understanding with Hakdo Kim, president of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME).

Through this agreement, the two entities will work together to support Korean tech and environmentally focused small and medium-sized businesses, as well as startups, as they enter the American market. That could bring potential for the companies to join the Maryland Department of Commerce’s soft landing program, which connects companies looking to explore the U.S. with offices and resources at local startup spaces.

Image: Officials including Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan sign an MOU on Sept. 20. (Photo courtesy of Maryland Department of Commerce)

South Korea cracks world's top 5 innovators while China edges Japan – Nikkei Asia

PARIS/NEW YORK — South Korea has placed among the top five technological innovators for the first time, according to the latest global ranking, as other Asian economic powers moved up the hierarchy.

South Korea jumped from 10th place to fifth in this year's Global Innovation Index, the World Intellectual Property Organization reported Monday. The East Asian country was bested only by Switzerland, Sweden, the U.S. and the U.K.

The WIPO rankings grade 132 economies based on multiple categories. Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore stood in eighth place, unchanged from last year, while China rose two ranks to 12th.

Image: An ice carving robot at a bar in Seoul: South Korea was the highest-ranking Asian country in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index this year. © Reuters

DC welcomes the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus | WTOP

The Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus was officially welcomed to the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus on Wednesday with a visit from D.C.’s mayor and city council chair.

The partnership of Children’s National Hospital, Virginia Tech and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC will host biomedical research already underway and support entrepreneurs in early-stage companies that will work to find answers to health problems plaguing children.

Novavax EVP: It's up to policymakers to decide use of COVID-19 vaccine | Devex

A senior official for American biotech company Novavax said the company is committed to equitable COVID-19 vaccine allocation and has made a “great effort” to manufacture its vaccine in different sites across the globe. However, whether its vaccine will be used as booster shots or prioritized in countries struggling with supply will be up to policymakers, he said.

Speaking at a Devex event held on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, John Trizzino, executive vice president at Novavax, said policymakers are responsible for determining how the COVID-19 doses will be used.

George Mason University: Mason Researchers Use Scent Analysis For COVID Diagnostics | Fairfax City, VA Patch

With COVID-19 continuing to spread throughout the world, there is a demand for rapid, noninvasive diagnostics. George Mason University researchers Robin Couch and Allyson Dailey, members of the College of Science and the Institute of Biohealth Innovation, are working to answer that call with their research on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for infectious disease detection. VOCs are gases that emanate from a variety of sources, including from humans. Much like a sommelier can smell wine and determine the composition of it, Couch and Dailey have been looking at the scent prints of bacteria. They have been able to successfully diagnose mice infected with biothreat agents using this method, and were able to differentiate standard bacteria strains from antibiotic-resistant strains, as seen in Nature Scientific Reports. Mason holds a patent around the technology on the extraction and analysis of gases through the VOC extraction chamber. When the news of COVID struck the world in March 2020, the researchers embraced it as an opportunity to further test their approach on viruses.

Expand Your Horizons at Frederick’s Premiere Biopharma Lab / Manufacturing Building

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Capital Region Emerges as Undisputed Leader in War on Infectious Diseases · BioBuzz

Since 1900, there have been eight different pandemics that concerned public health across the globe, such as Zika, MERS, Ebola, Swine Flu, and others, which have led to the loss of millions of people and billions of dollars in economic losses. That’s one reason for the establishment of the Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center in Montgomery County, Maryland. When COVID broke last year, a task force urged for the formation of an organization that could peer past the current crisis and put on its prognostication hat to prepare for future threats. With its long history of thought leadership in infectious diseases and vaccines development, as well as its proximity to federal health and regulatory agencies, the BioHealth Capital Region was the perfect fit for the biodefense center.

President Biden Announces Members of President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology | The White House

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden announced 30 of America’s most distinguished leaders in science and technology as members of his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). A direct descendant of the scientific advisory committee established by President Eisenhower in 1957 in the weeks after the launch of Sputnik, PCAST is the sole body of external advisors charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House.

Women Building Bio 2021 | VirginiaBio

Join us on September 30th for the 6th year of the Women Building Bio conference. Don’t miss an event where women converge to advance the industry with all stakeholders, men and women, front and center joining forces.

Our half-day hybrid conference will offer full virtual attendance or the option for in-person viewing at one of 5 regional locations across our state. In-person requires pre-registration at a specific location and space is limited, so do not delay!

Sep 21 2021

Love0

474th Edition, September 22, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

September 22, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

BioTalk: From the 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum – Dr. Anthony Fauci

Listen to the audio as Rich Bendis, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation conducts a fireside chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) since 1984. Dr. Fauci oversees an annual budget of over $6 Billion and has advised 7 President’s on many domestic and global health issues. He has an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat many existing and emerging infectious diseases.

Listen now via Apple https://apple.co/3nNlHWH, Google https://bit.ly/3Ar0uoZ, and Spotify, https://spoti.fi/3ExxAWH

7th Annual Virtual BioHealth Capital Region Forum Recap

The 7th Annual Virtual BioHealth Capital Region Forum might be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t access it again. Go to https://eventmobi.com/bhcrforum2021 now to watch or re-watch every panel, keynote speaker, and bio byte video. Sessions include Fireside Chats with both Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Joel Marcus, Executive Chairman and Founder, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc./Alexandria Venture Investments, and Dr. Tara Schwetz, Assistant Director for Biomedical Science Initiatives, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Panels covering our forum theme of Big Bio….Big Data…. Converging range from Federal Funding, Real Estate, Developing Talent, and more.

Click here for the recap.

Viewpoint: Ready for an HQ2 redux? It's time to come together for new regional tech collaboration.

Remember the frenzy in 2017 when over 200 cities and towns across the U.S. bid to house the second headquarters for Amazon? Northern Virginia in the D.C. region won that bid ultimately.

But cities, states and regions might want to dust off those bids to enter a new $1 billion competition by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) that promises more winners across the country in applied science areas to help make the U.S. more technologically competitive and inclusive. Thankfully, this competition will look more like the Olympics with many gold, silver and bronze winners compared with the winner-take-all approach of Amazon HQ2.

EDA will grant $500,000 in technical assistance to 50 to 60 regional coalitions to develop and support three to eight projects to support a regional growth cluster this fall. Next year, EDA will award 20 to 30 regional coalitions $25 million to $100 million to implement those projects from among those that were successful in Phase One.

American Gene Technologies Appoints Dr. Robert R. Redfield as Special Advisor to the CEO | American Gene Technologies

American Gene Technologies (AGT) announces the appointment of Dr. Robert R. Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and co-founder of the Institute for Human Virology, as special advisor to AGT CEO Jeff Galvin.

Dr. Redfield is well known for his decades of dedicated work in virology, immunology and clinical research. He has helped lead collaborative research into HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic during his years as a U.S. Army physician and at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Redfield has held multiple advisory positions, including with the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He was the CDC director from March 2018 to January 2021, leading the agency through a period of historic challenges, including the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BHI EIR Feedback Day September 22nd. Register Now!

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Patient-Centric Approach to Clinical Trials Improves Outcomes for All Stakeholders

According to researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the probability of FDA approval of an industry-sponsored drug entering Phase One of the clinical trial process is 13.8%(1). A major factor in a trial’s success or failure, notes Dr. Harsha Rajasimha, founder and CEO of Jeeva(TM) Informatics, is the trial sponsor’s ability to recruit and retain patients. Current statistics show that 85% of all clinical trials are delayed during patient recruitment, and 30% are terminated early due to failure to recruit enough patients. Those small proportion of trials that do enroll the required subjects experience 30% dropout rate on an average.(2) “This is bad news,” says Dr. Rajasimha, “not just for the sponsors of these trials and the participants, but for a world in serious need of new and better tools to fight disease.”

Opinion: President Biden: Don't misuse Bayh-Dole march-in rights-Med-stat.info

In a misguided attempt to control drug costs, some Congressional leaders are urging the Biden administration to misapply a 40-year-old law that supports 6 million jobs, helped launch 15,000 start-up companies, and contributed $1.7 trillion to U.S economic output. The lawmakers — Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) — want the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Department of Defense, to misuse the march-in provision of the Bayh-Dole Act to set the price of federally-funded medicines — something the provision does not authorize. Such an action would undermine the intention of Bayh-Dole, while inflicting devastating damage on the U.S.

Visualizing the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies

If the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that in building a patient-centered future, the pharmaceutical industry plays a key role. It has to constantly find new ways to customize medicines while researching and developing new tools and drugs.

By embracing disruptive technologies like 3D printed drugs, artificial intelligence guided therapies, and preventive medicine while working with regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical companies will benefit from having a digital revolution.

Image: https://www.visualcapitalist.com

VCs make record bets on quantum computing | PitchBook

Scientists and engineers are still toiling in labs in a race to develop quantum computers that would significantly outperform traditional computers.

But that isn't holding venture capitalists back. They're pouring record-high funding into work on computing power that is still considered years away from being ready.

Investors have invested $1.02 billion into quantum computing companies so far this year. That's more than was funneled into the industry during the previous three years combined, according to PitchBook data.

Image: https://pitchbook.com

Is a variant worse than Delta on the way? Viral evolution offers clues.

Somewhere in India last October, a person—likely immunocompromised, perhaps taking drugs for rheumatoid arthritis or with an advanced case of HIV/AIDS—developed COVID-19.

Their case might have been mild, but because of their body’s inability to clear the coronavirus it lingered and multiplied. As the virus replicated and moved from one cell to another, parts of the genetic material copied itself incorrectly. Maybe the person lived in a crowded home or went out to buy food in a busy market, but wherever it happened, the altered virus was spread to others. Experts believe this singular situation in one individual is likely how the Delta variant now wreaking havoc in the U.S. and around the world was born.

Sep 15 2021

Love0

473rd Edition, September 15, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

September 15, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

7th Annual Virtual BioHealth Capital Region Forum Recap

Click here for the recap.

BioBuzz: BioHealth Capital Region Retains Strong Grip on No. 4 Spot of Top 10 U.S. Biopharma Hubs – Eyes Third Spot by 2023

As a life sciences cluster, the BioHealth Capital Region is poised to become a top-three cluster in the Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) Top 10 Biopharma Clusters ranking on the strengths of early-stage companies becoming commercial successes and the construction of millions of square feet of new wet lab space.

For 2021, the BHCR held onto the fourth-place position behind New York/ New Jersey, San Francisco Bay Area, and the greater Boston area. The latest ranking was revealed at the seventh annual BioHealth Innovation Forum. The region held onto the coveted spot for multiple reasons, including significant funding from the National Institutes of Health, available wet lab space, and patent strength protecting intellectual property.

Everyone Need Access to At-Home COVID Tests | by John Whyte, MD | Sep, 2021 | Medium

“Anyone who wants a COVID test can get one.” When that proclamation was made back in May 2020, it wasn’t true. There was a scarcity of testing supplies and limited sites, and it could take weeks to get back the results — making many of them essentially useless in clinical decision-making. The initial rapid tests on the market were a wild west of different companies who failed to ensure accuracy of their tests — -resulting in significant error rates.

Emergent to manufacture Providence Therapeutics COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidate | Seeking Alpha

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) will manufacture doses of Providence Therapeutics’ PTX-COVID19-B COVID-19 mRNA drug candidate under a five-year agreement.
The agreement is valued at $90M, and covers manufacturing services, studies to support global supply chain activities, and facility and equipment investments.
Next year, Emergent will manufacture tens of millions of doses of PTX-COVID19-B, as well as batches of PTX-COVID19-B formulated bulk drug substance that can yield hundreds of millions more doses.

BHI EIR Feedback Day September 22nd. Register Now!

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Joel S. Marcus, Executive Chairman and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc./Alexandria Venture Investments, Honored by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum for Distinction in Civic Engagement and Renewal

PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an urban office REIT and the first, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, agtech and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today announced that its executive chairman and founder, Joel S. Marcus, was honored last evening for Distinction in Civic Engagement and Renewal by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum during its Benefit Broadcast commemorating 20 years since 9/11. This prestigious recognition highlights Mr. Marcus’s many meaningful contributions to the Memorial & Museum and his unwavering support of its mission to commemorate those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993; educate the public and a new generation about their ongoing global impact; and inspire Americans and people around the world to value courage, public service, hope, empathy and resilience in the face of adversity.

Top 11 Best Selling COVID-19 Vaccines and Drugs of H1 2021

The debate over whether and how broadly to approve additional “booster” doses of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to play out this month. This much is certain: The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will discuss whether to recommend booster doses for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (COMIRNATY®, BNT162b2) meets on September 17.

Gain Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Positive Topline Data in

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GANX) (“Gain”, or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on identifying and optimizing allosteric binding sites never before targeted in neurodegenerative diseases and lysosomal storage disorders, today announced topline data from the Company’s study, conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The study, evaluating two lead Structurally Targeted Allosteric Regulators (STARs) compounds – GT-02287 and GT-02329 – for the treatment of Gaucher and GBA1 Parkinson’s Disease, demonstrated positive effects on all tested phenotypes.

Maryland Today | IonQ, UMD to Establish First-of-its-Kind Facility to…

IonQ, the leading developer of quantum computing devices, and the University of Maryland, an international powerhouse in quantum research and applications, today announced a partnership to create the National Quantum Lab at Maryland, or Q-Lab. It will be the nation’s first user facility that enables the scientific community to pursue world-leading research through hands-on access to a commercial-grade quantum computer. UMD-affiliated students, faculty, researchers, staff and partners across the country will have an unprecedented opportunity to gain experience with IonQ’s industry-leading trapped-ion quantum computer hardware and collaborate with IonQ scientists and engineers.

USP launches an Office of Organizational Culture, Equity and Inclusion Excellence headed by Chief Equity Officer and Senior Advisor Debra Joy Pérez, Ph.D.

Rockville, MD, September 13, 2021 – The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) announces the launch of a new department, the Office of Organizational Culture, Equity and Inclusive Excellence (Equity Office). Headed by Chief Equity Officer (CEqO) and Senior Advisor to the CEO, Debra Joy Pérez, Ph.D. (she/her/ella), the Equity Office will shape and implement all diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) programs and initiatives.

“Our DEIB work should always be about seeing diverse perspectives and how to approach complex problems from different viewpoints. DEIB is all about culture building, it is a way of looking at the work and the world that fosters the best workplace for our people,” said Debra Joy Pérez, Ph.D, USP CEqO and Senior Advisor to the CEO. “Evidence shows that when more diverse perspectives are included, there is more innovation, creative thinking and better problem solving—three critical drivers in applying our science to fulfill our public health mission. Our fundamental belief at USP is that equity equals excellence – excellence in our staff and excellence in our science. Only when we fully embrace the practice of equity can we benefit from the richness and talents of our staff.”

Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices Director William Bentley was named the recipient of the 2021 Society for Biological Engineering D.I.C. Wang Award for Excellence in Biochemical Engineering. This annual award recognizes individuals for their contributions to the field and to the practice of biochemical engineering through their position in industry or academia as exemplified by Professor Daniel I.C. Wang of MIT.

Wang made tremendous contributions to the biochemical engineering profession and biotechnology community, both in this country and internationally. He was a pivotal leader in developing the biotechnology industry and in shaping biochemical engineering education and training over the past five decades.

Most Detailed #Visualization of Human Cell Ever Created

Most Detailed #Visualization of Human Cell Ever Created – this 3D model of a eukaryotic cell is created using X-ray, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and cryo-electron microscopy datasets. It is an attempt to visualize the many pathways involved in cellular processes (i.e. signal transduction, protein synthesis, endocytosis, vesicular transport, cell-cell adhesion, apoptosis) as well as the great complexity & beauty of the cell’s molecular machinery.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com

Could VC Investment Spike In Life Sciences Become Too Much Of A Good Thing?

At first blush, things are looking great in the life sciences real estate market. In particular, venture capital funding is exploding, supporting new companies or expansion from existing ones that should keep demand high for properties and continue to support larger rents. But this could lead to some overheating in the property market and to a shift in the way life sciences investors want to handle real estate.

Image: Unsplash – Life sciences lab space rents are soaring as biotech VC investment in the U.S. hits record levels.

Scott Mortensen on COVID-19 Patients

his is how I see it…

We all have a choice. We all take in information. We use that information to make daily and life decisions. Some decisions affect only us, but most decisions affect us AND others.

We’ve learned throughout this pandemic that our decisions affect many others. I invite you to consider your decisions (vaccination, wearing masks when necessary, etc) and how you can help yourself AND even more importantly others. Consider it your service to others. Set aside political views and issues and serve others.

5 Questions with Bill Snider, Partner, BroadOak Capital Partners · BioBuzz

“5 Questions With…” is a weekly BioBuzz series where we reach out to interesting people in the BioHealth Capital Region to share a little about themselves, their work, and maybe something completely unrelated. This week we welcome Bill Snider, Partner, BroadOak Capital Partners.

Bill Snider is a Partner at BroadOak and leads the firm’s growth capital investing activities. Mr. Snider has more than 25 years of institutional investment experience. Prior to BroadOak, he was a general partner and co-founder of Emerging Technology Partners (ETP), LLC, a life sciences-focused venture capital firm. Before ETP, Bill was a vice president and portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, where his responsibilities included managing $2 billion of mutual fund and institutional client portfolios. He currently serves on the boards of Codex DNA, Halo Labs, Science and Medicine Group, and the MdBio Foundation. He has made more than 50 growth capital investments while at BroadOak and looks forward to making 50 more.

Sep 14 2021

Love0

472nd Edition, September 8, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here

September 8, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Dr. Xavier Barril, Gain Therapeutics, and Hartaj Singh, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Join Rich Bendis on BioTalk

Dr. Xavier Barril, Chief Scientific Officer, Gain Therapeutics, and Hartaj Singh, Managing Director and Senior Analyst, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Join BioTalk to discuss Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Drug Discovery Wall StreetAcaacs Views on this Exciting Science.

Listen Now via Apple https://apple.co/3z1rdqN, Google https://bit.ly/2X2pNPu, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2Vn2Ohx, and TuneIn https://bit.ly/38PJn41.

Less than 1 week until the VIRTUAL & FREE 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum

Last Week to Register!

Key speakers are to the right. (Tara Schwetz, Joel Marcus, Chris Monroe)

The BioHealth Capital Region Forum is free Virtual 2 Half-Day event for executive-level biotech leaders. The theme of the forum this year is “Big Data…Big Data…Converging” with panels on Big Data in Biotech, Infectious Diseases, Developing Talent, Regional Real Estate, IP Analysis and Protection, Funding, and a Fire Side Chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID Director.

The 7th Annual BioHealth capital Region Forum is organized by event partners – Association of University Research Parks, AstraZeneca, BioHealth Innovation, BRAINBox Solutions, Inc, Children’s National Hospital, Emergent BioSolutions, George Mason University, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC, Maryland Department of Commerce, and Virginia Bio. Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. Please join us for our 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow. We hope you’re able to join us!

2021 CrabTrap – Last Week to Register

Last week to register!

Discover how the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund is Accelerating Cures

New Launch-MSCRF’s YouTube Channel Highlighting Stem Cell Research in Maryland

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) is focused on identifying and fostering cutting-edge research and innovation in the field of regenerative medicine in MD. Their Accelerating Cures initiative comprises programs that help transition human stem cell-based technologies from the bench to the bedside as well as mechanisms to build and grow stem cell companies in Maryland. MSCRF is committed to accelerating stem cell research, cures and commercialization, in addition to building a collaborative stem cell community in our region.

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund was established by the State of Maryland under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006 to promote State-funded stem cell research and cures through grants and loans to public and private entities in the State.

Click Here to visit the new channel.

How FauciAcaacs Moonshot For Future Pandemics Could Build Out A Vaccine Assembly Line

Lucky is the last word that comes to mind when thinking about Covid-19, a worldwide pandemic that has killed millions, locked down entire nations and rattled world markets. But Dr. Barney Graham, a researcher responsible for key research that helped create the coronavirus vaccine,AA believes that luck played a big role in the creation of the therapeutic.

AcaAIf it was a bunyavirus or an arenavirus, we would have been lost for months or a year or two just trying to get the right thing made,AcaA he said, referencing two of the many virus families that could still spark a global outbreak.

Image: Courtesy NIAID Dr. Anthony Fauci receiving a shot of the Moderna vaccine in December 2020.

Researchers develop a machine learning-based screening tool for genetic syndromes in children

With an average accuracy of 88%, a deep learning technology offers rapid genetic screening that could accelerate the diagnosis of genetic syndromes, recommending further investigation or referral to a specialist in seconds, according to a study published in The Lancet Digital Health. Trained with data from 2,800 pediatric patients from 28 countries, the technology also considers the face variability related to sex, age, racial and ethnic background, according to the study led by Children’s National Hospital researchers.

Maryland Today | $25M NSF Award Funds New UMD-led Institute forAcaA|

The University of Maryland has been tapped to lead a multi-institutional effort supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop quantum simulation devices that can understand and exploit the unique behavior of complex quantum systems while speeding the introduction of general-use quantum computers.

Image: UMD Computer Science Professor Andrew Childs (second from left) is principal investigator in the new NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation. Photo by John T. Consoli

OneQuantum Startups – News, Ideas, and Resources – by Bijan DaBell – OneQuantum | Startup Chapter

My name is Julie Lenzer, and IAcaacm currently the chief innovation officer at the University of Maryland and also the Founding Director of the Quantum Startup Foundry. Although I am one semester away from my Masters in Machine Learning, my background is not in academia Acaa� IAcaacm actually a recovering entrepreneur and active angel investor. IAcaacve also spent the last 10 years building ecosystems for entrepreneurs through various roles, including 2 AA1/2 years in the Obama Administration as the Director for the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. IAcaacve also trained entrepreneurs and spoken around the world through various programs and my own nonprofit aimed at helping women start technology-based companies. And yes, I sleep.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Awards Isoprene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a Two-Year $2 Million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant

BALTIMORE, Sept. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Isoprene Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an early-stage small molecule oncology company developing oral therapeutics for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and other cancers, today announced that the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) NCI has awarded the company a two-year $2 millionAA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct-to-Phase II grant. This grant will support ongoing advanced pre-clinical studies intended to lead to the filing of an investigational new drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as a prelude to Phase I clinical trials. Vidya P. Ramamurthy, PhD, Isoprene’s chief scientific officer, and Vincent C. O. Njar, PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Isoprene and Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), are the principal investigators for the program.

Dr. Jean Bennett and George Migausky Join REGENXBIO Board of Directors

REGENXBIO Inc. (Nasdaq: RGNX) today announced the appointment of Jean Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., and George Migausky to its Board of Directors, effective September 3, 2021. Dr. Bennett, a leading molecular genetics researcher, is the F.M. Kirby Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine and previously served as director of the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics (CAROT) at the University of Pennsylvania. She will serve as a member of REGENXBIO’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Migausky brings more than 30 years of public company leadership and senior financial management experience. He will serve as a member of REGENXBIO’s Audit Committee.

Children’s National, Cerner name 5 winners of pediatric digital health innovation accelerator

Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National Hospital and Cerner unveiled the five winners of their first annual Bear Institute Pediatric Accelerator Challenge for Kids, the organizations recently announced.AA

Children’s National and Cerner launched the Bear Institute in 2013 to support pediatric healthcare technology and innovation. The organizations kicked off the accelerator in June as a way to increase technology innovation and treatments for pediatric healthcare.AA

Join JLABS @ Washington, DC: Providing a Best in Class Experience for Biotech Companies

At Johnson & Johnson Innovation Acaa� JLABS (AcaAJLABSAcaA), we value great ideas and are passionate about removing obstacles to success. We help innovators unleash the potential of their early scientific discoveries, by:

Providing you with state-of-the-art infrastructure (lab and offices) if neededAA
Assigning you a mentor to help you on your journey and connect you to our network of professionalsAA
Giving you access to our investor communityAA
Offering you the training and skills you need Part of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation family

JLABS is part of the largerAA Johnson & Johnson InnovationAA family of companies, which includes ourAA deal teamsAA and therapeutic experts for early-stage development, our establishedAA venture capital arm,AA ourAA business development groupAA focusing on later-stage development.AA

Women Building Bio 2021 | VirginiaBio

Join us on September 30th for the 6th year of the Women Building Bio conference. DonAcaact miss an event where women converge to advance the industry with all stakeholders, men and women, front and center joining forces.

Pediatric COVID-19 Data Challenge | Challenge.gov

While most children with COVID-19 are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, healthcare providers have difficulty determining which of their pediatric patients will progress to moderate or severe COVID-19 early in the progression. Some of these patients develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a life-threatening inflammation of organs and tissues. Methods to distinguish children at risk for severe COVID-19 complications, including conditions such as MIS-C are needed for earlier interventions to improve pediatric patient outcomes.

BARDA seeks partners to develop agnostic diagnostic assays

On August 23, 2021, BARDA’s Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) opened a new area of interest (AOI) under the EZ Broad Agency Announcement (EZ-BAA) solicitation to expand the capabilities of existing next-generation sequencing diagnostics to agnostically detect any pathogenic respiratory RNA virus including new, emerging and existing viruses.

Next-generation sequencing diagnostics have been established for oncology and some genetic disorders, and such technology also is needed for infectious diseases due to growing health security challenges and threats. In a viral outbreak or pandemic, having agnostic tests Acaa� especially those which can detect any respiratory RNA virus and can be implemented rapidly without the need for additional regulatory approvals Acaa� is crucial.

World University Rankings 2022 | Times Higher Education (THE)

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 include more than 1,600 universities across 99 countries and territories, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institutionAcaacs performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Can European biotechs achieve greater scale in a fragmented landscape? | McKinsey

EuropeAcaacs biotech industry continues on a trajectory of growth fueled by innovations from cell and gene therapies to antisense, messenger RNA (mRNA), and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), with more emerging technologies and techniques on the horizon. The industry has made considerable progress in improving access to capital and talent gaps in the past few years. However, its future growth will depend on whether it can continue to scale up innovation and keep up with the pace of change in other regions. Biotechs, investors, and other stakeholders will need to play their part in the industryAcaacs next act if the promise of a golden age of biotech is to become a reality.

Machine learning tool detects genetic syndrome risk | Children’s National

A Pandemic CanAcaact Stop Bayh-DoleAcaa�But Politicians Might

What would you say about a technology commercialization system that kept on performing even through the worst pandemic in over a century? How about if it improved its performance over the previous year and was a critical factor in developing desperately needed therapies to protect people around the world? Would it seem reasonable that this was something that all of us should highly value and want to protect? You might think so, but some in Washington apparently donAcaact agree.

2021 BPI Readers’ Choice Awards – Downstream Nominees

Regardless of molecule, the goal of biopharmaceutical downstream processing is to reduce process- and product-related impurities while maintaining the highest possible process yield. However, emerging modalities such as those based on gene-edited human cells, transgenes carried by viral vectors, and proteins transferred by exosomes all are pointing out limitations in current downstream strategies, which by and large have been developed around purification of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). This year’s nominees in the BPI Readers’ Choice downstream category highlight technologies and processing strategies that biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturing organizations are developing to address the separation and purification demands raised by innovative therapies.

Aug 31 2021

Love0

471st Edition, August 31, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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August 31, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Maryland State Delegate, Lily Qi, Returns to BioTalk with Rich Bendis

Lily Qi, Representative for the 15th legislative district in the Maryland House of Delegates. Joins BioTalk to discuss her career, Biotech in Montgomery County, and being a supporter of the BioHealth Capital Region

Listen now on Google https://bit.ly/3sW3iHE, Apple https://apple.co/3yvdkR4, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3yxKRdw, TuneIn https://bit.ly/3zz8gww

NIA Fellow Daniela Lecca Joins BHI as New Postdoc Fellow

Daniela Lecca completed her education in Italy, where she received her Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Cagliari for her research on the neuroprotective and immunomodulatory actions of a PPAR-γ agonist in MPTP mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. During her Ph.D. program, she spent a short-term period as a visiting Ph.D. student at the Dept of Neuroscience of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. She carried out a project on non-motor symptoms onset in a MPTP chronic model of Parkinson’s disease. After completing her Ph.D., she won a fellowship from her University that allowed her to join as a special volunteer the Synaptic Plasticity section of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore, Maryland; here, she worked on a research project on the role of L-DOPA-mediated neuroinflammation in the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, by a 6-OHDA mouse model.

2021 BioHealth Capital Region Mon, Sep 13, 2021

ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT TO REGISTER

Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC set the bar high for biotech innovation. Join us for the 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum that will highlight the accomplishments of today and chart our successes of tomorrow.

BioNTech selects Maryland for U.S. manufacturing facility | Maryland Business News

German-based BioNTech has announced that they will soon be joining Montgomery County, Maryland’s growing list of world-renowned international companies in the “Immunology Capital Next to the Nation’s Capital.” BioNTech is acquiring a Gaithersburg manufacturing facility and cell therapy R&D platform from Kite, a unit of Gilead Sciences, to support the development of BioNTech’s expanding pipeline of novel cell therapies.

University of Maryland | NSF Awards UMD $15M to Lead Mid-Atlantic…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected the University of Maryland to lead one of five multi-institutional hubs that will provide entrepreneurial training to academic researchers in science and engineering in order to foster and maintain U.S. global leadership in innovation.

The $15 million I-Corps Hubs, funded over five years, will extend the foundation’s Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, program that helps researchers commercialize their technologies and translate the impact of their work to the broader public. Each regional hub will include at least eight universities.

Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions begins trials of its plasma-derived therapy for COVID

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is conducting phase clinical 3 trials of its plasma-derived therapy for outpatient treatment of COVID-19, the company announced this week.

The randomized clinical trial will assign participants to receive infusions of either a placebo or the plasma treatment. Emergent is one of two companies providing hyperimmune globulin products for the trial, which plans to enroll 820 patients across the U.S. and abroad.

Health Tech: Harsha Rajasimha On How JEEVA’s Technology Can Make An Important Impact In Our Overall Wellness | by Dave Philistin, CEO of Candor | Authority Magazine | Aug, 2021 | Medium

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I had an introverted childhood growing up in an orthodox Hindu family with my caring parents, two brothers, and paternal grandparents. My father was a bank officer all his life and has been my major inspiration. He had his master’s in mathematics and was a child prodigy at it. He could do 6-digit multiplication and division faster than I could crunch the numbers in a calculator.

Image: https://medium.com

JLL assists in Montgomery County’s real estate transformation

Home to the National Institutes of Health and operations of nearly every leading biopharmaceutical company, Montgomery County, Maryland, has been on the frontlines of coronavirus vaccine research and other life-saving developments. Its thriving life sciences sector is among the diverse industries that had brought steady population growth to the County. Over the past decade, demand for housing and retail services—as well as land prices—had grown dramatically. In response to growing constituent needs, Montgomery County set out to transform its real estate management.

New biomanufacturing lab space to be built in Frederick | Maryland Business News

State-of-the-art biomanufacturing-ready office space is coming to Frederick County.

Matan Companies recently broke ground on the new Progress Labs at Riverside I in Frederick. Located in Riverside Research Park, the 215,000 square-foot project is adjacent to the National Cancer Institute’s Frederick National Laboratory and just four miles from Fort Detrick.

This project is a significant addition to Maryland’s biohealth cluster, which is home to numerous leading companies and federal agencies and where office and laboratory space for bio companies remains in high demand.

Image: https://open.maryland.gov

Machine learning in cardiovascular trials

Automating adjudication of events in cardiovascular trials Clinical trials for cardiovascular (CV) disease are time consuming and expensive to run, often requiring large patient populations to meet the statistical requirements needed to demonstrate efficacy.1 These trials require robust data packages to achieve market approvals and registrations in order to get essential new medicines to patients.

Image: https://www.astrazeneca.com

COVID-19 Research: Studying SARS CoV-2 Variants of Concern

Since its emergence in December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide, causing a global pandemic (coronavirus disease-19 or COVID-19) with more than 188 million confirmed infections and more than 4 million fatalities (as of July 19, 2021) (https://covid19.who.int). While the majority of the infections are asymptomatic or manifest in mild to moderate forms, a small percentage of people develop severe respiratory illness with a fatal outcome.

Image: Figure 1 Key mutations in the spike protein of SARS-CoV Variants of Concern (VoC) (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, B.1.1.248, and B.1.617.2) and Variants of Interest (B.1.526, B.1.427, and B.1.429). Mutations occur on all spike protein subunits. Mutations in other areas of the genome have been identified and are currently under investigation.

NCATS Small Business Funding: Resources and Tips to Commercialize Your Translational Science Innovation

Join the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in collaboration with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021, for a webinar to learn about the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs for researchers and entrepreneurs in translational science.

NIH Applicant Assistance Program – Eva Garland ConsultingEva Garland Consulting

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Applicant Assistance Program (AAP) is designed to assist small businesses with an interest in preparing and submitting a Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) application to any of the following Institutes and Centers:

The National Cancer Institute (NCI SBIR)
The National Institute on Aging (NIA SBIR)
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI SBIR)
The National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke (NINDS SBIR)
The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR SBIR)
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH SBIR)
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS SBIR)
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS SBIR)
New this cycle! The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD SBIR)
New this cycle! The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA SBIR)

A public-private partnership is needed to develop new antivirals – STAT

The U.S. government’s announcement that it is investing $3 billion into research on antiviral medicines for Covid-19 is a step in the right direction and comes at a critical moment in the pandemic — though earlier, of course, would have been better.

But based on my experience with drug development, in particular with antivirals, in both government and the private sector, I know that the process takes longer and is more expensive than anyone ever anticipates. I believe that $3 billion in federal funds is not nearly enough, and that at least $10 billion in clinical research funding is needed to discover and develop the new antiviral medicines that patients desperately need and that physicians have been asking for since the start of the pandemic.

BioHealth Innovation Adds Diane Ignar, Ph.D. and Dr. Loleta Robinson as NIH New Entrepreneurs-in-Residence · BioBuzz

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, August 23, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) announces the addition of Diane Ignar, Ph.D., and Dr. Loleta Robinson to the expanding Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program at BHI ensures that disruptive technologies receive all the resources required to transform the technology from a discovery into a commercially relevant product and eventually have a measurable impact on human health. The program was created to support scientists, early-stage startups, and licensed technologies to provide them with access to these resources. Diane will work with NIH’s National Institute on Aging, and Loleta will work with their Office of Extramural Research.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

JCI Insight – Human antibody recognition of H7N9 influenza virus hemagglutinin following natural infection

Avian H7N9 influenza viruses cause sporadic outbreaks of human infections and threaten to cause a major pandemic. The breadth of B cell responses to natural infection and the dominant antigenic sites recognized during first exposure to H7 HA following infection are incompletely understood. Here, we studied the B cell response to H7 HA of two individuals who had recovered from natural H7N9 virus infection. We used competition-binding, hydrogen-deuterium mass spectrometry, and single-particle negative stain electron microscopy to identify the patterns of molecular recognition of the antibody responses to H7 hemagglutinin.

AURP 2021 – Innovation Elevated

Ranked among the top US states for thriving business climates for over six years, according to Forbes, Utah’s tech prowess, unicorn startups and public-private development makes the University of Utah Research Park the key location to begin the new decade. The University of Utah Research Park, dubbed Bionic Valley in the 1980’s, residing in the region identified as Silicon Slopes, is a sleeping giant housing more than 48 companies alongside 81 academic departments and employs a workforce of more than 14,000 has a staggering annual impact to the regional economy. In addition, the Milken Institute’s 2018 State Technology and Science Index ranked the state of Utah fifth in the US for its “capabilities and broader commercialization ecosystems that contribute to firm expansion, high-skills job creation and broad economic growth”.

The Secret’s Out: Mason is an economic driver | George Mason University

George Mason University boosts the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region economy by supplying an educated, skilled, and multifaceted workforce, by partnering with key employers, and through the Mason-based Virginia Small Business Development Center.

In 2020, the Small Business Development Center network assisted 9,500 businesses, resulting in $86 million in new capital received and 1,167 loans obtained.

Mason incubated and supported or accelerated more than 1,600 Virginia companies in fiscal year 2019.

Investing in our local economy means cultivating Mason’s existing private and public partnerships—and forging new ones—to drive innovation.

QIAGEN receives FDA authorization for rapid portable test

QIAGEN has announced it has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its QIAreach® SARS CoV-2 Antigen Test, which is designed for environments that require a high volume of fast and accurate test results.

The rapid portable test can detect SARS-CoV-2 antigen in people with active infections in 2 to 15 minutes and can process an average of around 30 swab samples per hour, providing digital test results that do not require subjective interpretation. Clinical studies have shown the test to have a sensitivity of at least 80% and a specificity of 98.0%.

9603 MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE Alexandria Center® for Life Science at Shady Grove

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an S&P 500® company, is an office REIT uniquely focused on collaborative life science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in life science and technology campuses that provide its innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. For more information, please visit www.are.com.

Discover Frederick Maryland

In April of 2019, Kite, a Gilead Company, announced their decision to locate to Frederick County, MD and open a new manufacturing facility on a 20-acre site located at the Urbana Corporate Center. A lot of progress has happened since then; Kite finished their brand new 279,000 SF biologics manufacturing facility in April 2021. To learn more, Solash Aviles and Jodie Bollinger from the Frederick County Office of Economic Development met with Chris McDonald, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Manufacturing at Kite and Jim Jackson, Vice President, Manufacturing Operations and Site Head at Kite.

Image: http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com

Qiagen N.V. – QIAGEN reaches milestone with its kits used to process more than three billion biological samples to date

GERMANTOWN, Md. & HILDEN, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)– QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that the number of biological samples processed with consumables kits has passed the three billion mark – a record that underlines its leadership in enabling molecular laboratories to gain valuable insights in research, combatting diseases and forensics.

This milestone particularly underscores QIAGEN’s standout position in sample preparation, the most crucial stage of molecular testing at which DNA, RNA or proteins are extracted from human samples. QIAGEN’s sample prep kits have become the gold standard in sample extraction and earned over 200,000 references in academic studies. With more than 500 consumable kits and automated systems such as QIAsymphony, QIAcube Connect, QIAcube HT and EZ1, QIAGEN is the most trusted brand in sample preparation.

Cartesian Therapeutics Announces Clinical Responses in First Cohort of Phase 1b/2a Trial in Myasthenia Gravis | Cartesian

Gaithersburg, MD, August 24, 2021 – Cartesian Therapeutics, a fully integrated, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering RNA cell therapy in and beyond oncology, today announced clinical data from the first cohort of an ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial of Descartes-08 in patients with generalized Myasthenia Gravis (gMG). Descartes-08 is an mRNA-modified, autologous CAR T-cell product directed against B-Cell Maturation Antigen (BCMA).

The cohort was intended to test safety and tolerability. Descartes-08 was well tolerated, with no cytokine release syndrome (CRS) or other serious product-related adverse events. Of note, all patients experienced at least a full class improvement on the MGFA Clinical Classification. Patients also showed marked improvement on the Myasthenia Gravis Composite (MGC) scale, a standard measure of overall disease severity. About three months after Descartes-08 administration, mean improvement in MGC scale was over 50%.

Aug 24 2021

Love0

470th Edition, August 24, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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August 24, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

BioHealth Innovation Adds Diane Ignar, Ph.D. and Dr. Loleta Robinson as NIH New Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Biohealth and Entrepreneur Experts Joins Robust Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Team

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, August 23, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) announces the addition of Diane Ignar, Ph.D., and Dr. Loleta Robinson to the expanding Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program at BHI ensures that disruptive technologies receive all the resources required to transform the technology from a discovery into a commercially relevant product and eventually have a measurable impact on human health. The program was created to support scientists, early-stage startups, and licensed technologies to provide them with access to these resources. Diane will work with NIH’s National Institute on Aging, and Loleta will work with their Office of Extramural Research.

“BHI is pleased to welcome Diane and Loleta to our growing group of EIRs working with the National Institutes of Health,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “Their backgrounds in healthcare, venture capital, and helping early-stage businesses are key to our mission for the program nationally, and regionally.”

GlycoMimetics CEO Rachel King steps down, successor named – Washington Business Journal

The exec has been at the helm of the company for 18 years.

Alexandria Chairman Joel Marcus On Emerging Cities, Megacampuses And ‘Hucksters’

When Joel Marcus, a trained accountant and biotech industry lawyer, started lab real estate giant Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 1990s, the sure bet many see in biotech wasn’t visible to many. The company’s first leases in San Francisco charged lab tenants just $6 per SF. Now, the REIT’s average tenant pays just shy of $70.

Image: Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Alexandria Real Estate Equities Chairman Joel Marcus

50 Over 50 2021: Vision

Armed with brilliant ideas, experience and a determination to disrupt, these 50 women are making an impact on society and culture through healthcare, robotics, music, dance, and so much more. It’s the third chapter of our 50 Over 50 project, launched in June and produced in partnership with Mika Brzezinski’s Know Your Value initiative.

Gain Therapeutics: A True Revolution In Drug Development (NASDAQ:GANX) | Seeking Alpha

With so many new public biotechnology companies minted in the last 18 months, it has become more difficult to sift out the winners from the losers. During 2020, the biotech industry gave birth to an unprecedented 89 new public companies, and 2021 is on pace to beat this record-setting year. Of all the strong-performing IPOs and biotech companies out there, companies focused on precision medicine, or compounds that directly affect disease-causing genes or proteins, continue to be the subsector getting significant attention, with high valuations being assigned to early- and mid-stage companies.

Empower Therapeutics Inc. Granted Exclusive License to Develop Digital Therapeutics Platform for Neuromodulation of Pain Sensitivity

BALTIMORE, Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Empower Therapeutics Inc., a Baltimore-based startup, has secured worldwide, exclusive rights to a simple, reliable brainwave biomarker for pain sensitivity. Empower plans to leverage the technology, which is jointly owned by the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Birmingham, U.K., to develop a cutting-edge digital therapeutics platform to determine and modify pain sensitivity for chronic pain therapy.

Implementing GMP For Early-Phase Development With Cartesian Therapeutics Co-Founder And CEO Dr Murat Kalayoglu

A key factor in the success of a developing drug or therapy is the success of early clinical trials. A focus on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards for phase 1, first-in-human trials is critical to maximize the chances of success from a project’s start. For cell therapy development, where even small errors can make a big difference, it’s even more important.

Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures startups saw $1B in investment in fiscal 2021 – Baltimore Business Journal

Startups with ties to Johns Hopkins ties have contributed significantly to the highest-ever amounts of capital being raked in across Maryland and beyond. For example, three spinout companies raised mega-deals in fiscal 2021, or venture deals worth $100 million or more.

Image: Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures operates several FastForward startup accelerator programs for student-led ventures and other growing spinout companies. KAITLIN NEWMAN

Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures – Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report

I’m pleased to share with you JHTV’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2021. The pandemic made FY21 an unusual one, but the JHTV team made it an extraordinary one, as the report demonstrates. We took full advantage of the momentum that had been building prior to the pandemic and used our digital connectivity to continue bringing the benefits of academic discovery to the world. Among our FY21 achievements:

BXP Life Sciences Expands with Montgomery County, Maryland Acquisition – BioHealth Capital Region

BOSTON – July 27, 2021 – Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of Class A office properties in the United States, announced today that it has agreed to purchase the Shady Grove Bio+Tech Campus in Rockville, Maryland. The property includes seven existing buildings comprising approximately 435,000 square feet across 31 acres in the Shady Grove life sciences cluster, a highly desirable location for leading and emerging companies in the biotechnology sector.

Sonosa Medical Spins Out of the MDC Studio

The MDC Studio is pleased to announce the spin-out of the company, Sonosa Medical, Inc., as an independent entity. Founded in 2019, Sonosa Medical is developing next-generation devices poised to transform the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The company is led by Dr. Stephen Restaino as Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Jeffrey Wolf as Medical Advisor, and Dr. Gil Blankenship as Chairman of the Board. Dr. Restaino and his team have been developing novel technology for the detection and treatment of OSA using a wearable device. Their work has been funded by a $3.35 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Gain Therapeutics – Protein Misfolding

Since the precise 3D structure of a protein is essential for its function, misfolding can result in significant downstream consequences. If this misfolding occurs to an enzyme, oftentimes the catalytic reaction can no longer take place, leading to substrate accumulation to toxic levels and subsequent cellular dysfunction.

There are many reasons why enzymes misfold. The most obvious is a genetic mutation in which a change to the amino acid sequence leads to an incorrect folding pattern. However, there are other causes of misfolding that can affect even wildtype enzymes, including states that increase cellular stress such as aging and inflammation.

Novavax taps new execs in windup to Covid-19 vaccine launch – Washington Business Journal

The appointments are just the latest in a series of additions the company has made throughout the pandemic.

Image: Stanley Erck is president and CEO of Novavax.

BHI’s Rich Bendis Interviewed by Anne Khademian on “This is USG” Video Podcast

“This is USG” is a video podcast series launched by the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in October 2020. The series features Dr. Anne Khademian, USG’s Executive Director, interviewing guests who are closely connected to USG and the greater community. Guests include students; alumni; staff; faculty; members of the USG Board of Advisors; business, community and university leaders; and others.

https://youtu.be/0pe8g47_f-o

Aug 18 2021

Love0

469th Edition, August 17, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here

August 17, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Connected DMV Formally Launches Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center and will be headquartered in Montgomery County, Maryland

August 11, 2021 (Washington, D.C.) – A bold new public-private partnership to prevent future viral outbreaks from becoming pandemics has moved one step closer to realization, as the Greater Washington cross-sector nonprofit, Connected DMV, has announced the formal launch of a Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center (GPPBC). The Center will serve as a vehicle to foster greater collaboration among pandemic prevention stakeholders to deliver on strategic projects needed to advance pandemic preparedness and avoidance. The signature initiative of the Center accelerates the development of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to treat the world’s top 100 pathogens across 25 pathogen families most likely to result in disease outbreaks.

Dr. Anne Khademian ,Executive Director, The Universities at Shady Grove, Welcomes Rich Bendis to #ThisIsUSG Podcast”

In this episode of #ThisIsUSG, BioHealth Innovation President and CEO Rich Bendis joins Dr. Anne Khademian for a discussion about BioHealth Innovation’s role in advancing the biotechnology/life sciences industry in Montgomery County and the capital region as a whole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pe8g47_f-o

Medcura raises $7.4 Million to Expand FDA-Approved Line of Hemostatic and Wound Treatment Products

RIVERDALE, Md., Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Medcura, Inc., a commercial-stage medical device company, today announced it has raised $7.4 million in private equity to support its growing product line and development of its lead surgical candidate for clinical evaluation. The financing includes the sale of Series A Preferred stock as well as common stock based, in part, from certain investors benefitting from a Maryland Investment Incentive Program.

“Medcura has reached a pivotal point in our growth,” said Larry Tiffany, CEO of Medcura. “Our products are positively impacting the lives of patients and our community. With these funds we can accelerate product development, expand our commercial footprint and bring the company’s potentially lifesaving technology to operating rooms and battlefields worldwide.”

EMA Endorses Track-and-Trace Recommendations

On August 6th, 2021, FDA released an update on various matters related to COVID-19. Among these topics was an update on Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturer who has come under fire for their mishandling production of COVID-19 vaccines.

However, FDA has now approved certain lots of the AstraZeneca vaccine made at the facility suitable for export. While the AstraZeneca vaccine is not approved for use within the United States, it is used by various countries overseas.

QIAGEN and OncXerna Therapeutics Sign Licensing and Master Companion Diagnostic Agreements | Business Wire

HILDEN, Germany & WALTHAM, Mass. & GERMANTOWN, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–QIAGEN (NYSE:QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) and OncXerna Therapeutics, Inc. (“OncXerna”), a precision medicine company using an innovative RNA-expression based biomarker platform to predict patient responses to its targeted oncology therapeutic candidates, today announced signing a master companion diagnostics (CDx) agreement to develop a NGS CDx for OncXerna’s product candidate, Navicixizumab, and a non-exclusive license to the Xerna™ TME panel.

Life Sciences Employee Return to Office Survey Results | August 2021 · BioBuzz

One of the top questions that employers in the Life Sciences community within the Capital Region are asking is how companies are approaching bringing employees back to the office. That’s why we asked nearly 30 top employers in the area to share their strategies in a recent survey conducted by BioBuzz Media.

BHI EIR Feedback Day August 18th. Register Now!

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

How A Disconnected Biohealth Ecosystem Became The Next Big Thing – YouTube

Jeff Galvin, CEO of American Gene Technologies and Rich Bendis, CEO and President of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. have a fireside chat about the rapid evolution of the BioHealth Capital Region.

On the heels of Silicon Valley’s branding as one of the world’s largest tech hubs, the BioHealth Capital Region aims to brand the DMV region as one of the most prominent BioHealth clusters in the Mid-Atlantic. BioHealth Innovation, Inc. was founded 11 years ago in an effort to drive ideas from labs into markets through innovation-driven economic development organizations and initiatives.

Galvin and Bendis discuss the abundance of opportunities for growth within the region as it is home to a wide variety of research institutions, top scientists, and annual grants. Additionally, they discuss how BioHealth Innovation, Inc. cultivates success for companies within the competitive region.

Alexandria Center for Life Science at Shady Grove | Rockville’s Newest Premier Life Science Opportunity

Brand new office / lab suites. Flexible suites that can be combined for larger uses. Full third floor available for customization.

Approximately 47,000 BRSF.

Click here to download a brochure.

2021 Technology Showcase | NCI Technology Transfer Center | TTC The 2021 Technology Showcase will highlight technologies under development at the National Cancer Institute and the Frederick National Laboratory to encourage technology licensing and collabo

OVERVIEW:

Free, half-day virtual event.
Hear from inventors from the National Cancer Institute and the Frederick National Laboratory about technologies primed for commercialization and/or collaboration; great opportunity for biotech stakeholders and companies of all sizes, including start-ups.
Panel sessions focused on technology commercialization.
Lightning Pitch & Poster Session highlighting additional NIH technologies available for licensing and collaborative development presented by the NCI Technology Transfer Ambassadors Program.

UMBC graduates more Black students who go on to earn doctorates in natural sciences and engineering than any other U.S. college – UMBC NEWS

As a trifecta of crises upended life in 2020, the need for a diverse scientific and medical community grew ever more clear. George Floyd’s murder elicited worldwide protests against racial injustice. COVID-19 affected all of our lives and had an outsize impact on Black and brown communities. And COVID-19’s economic fallout only exacerbated extreme wealth inequality.

How these 50 innovators on our DC Inno on Fire list are heating up the startup universe – Washington Business Journal

We’re taking a closer look at each of the 50 winners of our 2021 Inno on Fire honorees.

FDA new drug applications to cost more than $3M in 2022

Starting in 2022, drugmakers filing new drug applications with clinical data will have to pay the FDA $3.1 million.

The FDA’s fee for new drugs with clinical data has risen from a little more than $2 million in 2017 to $3.1 million in 2022.

The 2022 fee for FDA approval applications not requiring clinical data will be about $1.6 million in 2022, which is about $200,000 more than the previous two years.

Drugmakers pay these fees to ensure the FDA responds to applications within 10 months for standard applications and within six months for expedited reviews.

FZata Announces First-in-Class “Live Biologics In A Pill” Platform Entering Manufacturing Phase · BioBuzz

FZata, Inc. is developing our ground-breaking “Live Biologics In A Pill” platform for oral delivery of live biologics. Live Biologics In A Pill will open up a new route of oral administration for innovative live biologic therapeutics. FZata is pleased to announce that our lead drug, FZ002, has advanced to manufacturing stage and IND-enabling studies. FZ002 is a first-in-class live biotherapeutic product (LBP) yeast for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection. C. diff bacteria can cause life-threatening diarrhea. Infections occur most often in people who have taken antibiotics for other conditions. It is the most common healthcare-associated infection and the CDC has labeled it at the highest urgent threat level.

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NCI Technology Transfer Center (TTC) Communications for Industry Partners

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This is what it is ALL about – the largest 3D printed hydrogel. This lung model can be perfused and ventilated and this blueprint replicates the entire conducting airway and large vasculature of the lung. Blueprint by Gregory Hurst. BioInk Formulation by Aman Kaur. Huge #DreamTeam Effort!

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