BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives Archives - Page 23 of 65

Mar 22 2021

Love0

438th Edition, March 23, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

March 23, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

EIR Feedback (BHI) (tomorrow March 24th only one spot left)

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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.

Rich Bendis Featured on CAUSEPODS to Discuss Connecting the World of Biohealth

“Who do you know that others need to know?

We are always one conversation away from changing our lives, and Rich Bendis of BioHealth Innovations started the BioTalk podcast to connect the world of biohealth better.

In a world where medical science advances are growing at the fastest pace in human history, we can still run into a problem where the people who know each other don’t get connected to advance therapy, new medicine, or new approaches.”

Key Topics:

What is the goal of Biohealth Innovations (1:44)

How has the medical research changed as a result of COVID (3:24)

How was the COVID vaccine researched (8:06)

What made podcasting the right next step for BioHealth (10:22)

Who has benefited from the podcast (12:29)

Visit https://causepods.org/podcast/the-more-we-know-with-rich-bendis-of-the-biotalk-podcast/ to listen.

Statement on the passing of José Baselga

BIoHealth Innovation is sad to hear of the passing of Jose Basegla, the Head of the ASTRA Zeneca Oncology R&D business and the Gaithersburg Site Head. Jose was a strong proponent for making the BIoHealth Capital Region a leading BIoHealth hub with a connected ecosystem. AZ was also a founding member of BIoHealth Innovation and continues to support us today.

An outstanding scientific leader, José leaves a lasting legacy in the scientific community and here at AstraZeneca. He set our Oncology R&D function on a remarkable trajectory, and his visionary leadership, deep scientific expertise and strategic insight have delivered so many achievements that we can all be proud of and that will benefit patients’ lives in the years to come.

Leading Children’s Hospitals and Phlow Corp. form an Unprecedented Coalition to Deliver Essential Medicines to Address Pediatric Drug Shortages – Children’s Hospital Coalition

RICHMOND, Va., March 18, 2021 – Phlow Corp., a U.S.-based, public benefit corporation committed to a bold mission of providing every American with access to affordable, high-quality essential medicines, today joins in announcing the launch of a groundbreaking Children’s Hospital Coalition: Powered by PhlowTM (CHC). This first-in-kind coalition brings together some of the top children’s hospitals across the nation, in collaboration with Phlow, to provide certainty in availability and access for key medicines necessary to sustain life and conquer disease and to address the nation’s broken essential medicines supply chain.

Here is a summary and thank you to all participants and speakers of the VIRTUAL SBIR and OTHER NON-DILUTIVE FUNDING SOURCES WORKSHOP with 1:1 PARTNERING – March 17-19, 2021

More than 160 entrepreneurs attended last week’s BHI Virtual Non-Dilutive Funding Workshop with 1:1 Partnering cohosted by BioHealth Innovation and Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC). Attendees learned about funding opportunities, resources and best practices from program officers at NIH, NSF and the University of Maryland, and also about additional resources and tips for winning applications from experts at MCEDC, the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland Department of Commerce, and BioHealth Innovation. More than 460 partnering meetings were requested. Many took place during the event last week, and others will happen in the near future. Most of the panelists have agreed to share their presentations and panel recordings. These will be available through BHI within the next two weeks. BHI would like to thank the participants who took the time to prepare, present, and/or partner at the event. They include:

Henry Ahn – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Lynne Stein Benzion – Director, Economic Development, Montgomery County Econ. Dev. Corp. (MCEDC)
Katie Bratlie – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Christie Canaria, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Judy Costello – Managing Director, Economic Development, BioHealth Innovation (BHI)
Stephanie Davis, PhD – Small Business Program Coordinator, NIH Nat’l Heart Lung & Blood Inst. (NHLBI)
Sharon Disque, Economic Development Manager, City of Gaithersburg, Maryland
Stephanie Fertig, HHS Small Business Program Lead, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Jonathan Franca-Koh, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Inst (NCI).
Armineh Ghazarian – Senior Program Analyst, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Colleen Gibney, SBIR Deputy Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Dev. Command (USAMRDC)
Luis Gutierrez – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Todd Haim, PhD – Chief, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA – Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI), NIDA SBIR/STTR Coordinator, NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Director
Ashwin Kulkarni, COO, miRecule; Associate, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Natalia Kruchinin, PhD – SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator, RTSP, DEA, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Carla Merritt, Senior Business Development Representative, Maryland Department of Commerce
JR Myers, SBIR Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC)
Mike Minicozzi, PhD, Senior Program Officer, DAIT, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Alastair Monk – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Deepa Narayanan – Program Director and Team Lead, NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR Development Center (NCI)
Rini Pek, PhD – Senior Analyst, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Erik Pierstorff – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Victor Prikhodko – Senior Business Dev. Mgr., SBIR/STTR NIH National Inst. of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Monique Pond, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Reema Railkar, PhD – Program Manager, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Saroj Regmi, PhD – Health Science Administrator, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging
Andrea Renner – Technical Assistance Advocate, US Army Medical Research & Dev Command (USAMRDC)
Ethel Rubin, PhD – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Anthony Saleh, PhD – CEO, miRecule
Ben Schrag,PhD – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
John Sullivan – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Onur Unal, Manager, Life Sciences Projects, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTech), University of Maryland

Register (no fee) today! www.tinyurl.com/2021SBIR Questions: BHI@BioHealthInnovation.orgNOTE: Different institutes are available to meet at different times during the March 17-19th period. You will be able to request meetings once you have registered and received the partnering log-in.

Click here to view the agenda.

Sucampo founders’ VLP Therapeutics raises $16M – Washington Business Journal

The 8-year-old vaccine maker focuses on addressing unmet medical needs.

Vaccitech Completes $168 Million Series B Financing to Advance Three Clinical Programs Through Phase 2 Results

OXFORD, United Kingdom, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vaccitech Ltd (“Vaccitech”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel immunotherapeutics and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and cancer, today announces that it has raised $168 million in a Series B financing. This includes $43 million in convertible loan notes previously issued by Vaccitech that converted into Series B shares.

The Series B financing round was led by M&G Investment Management (part of M&G plc), with further participation from new investors including Tencent, Gilead Sciences, Monaco Constitutional Reserve Fund, and Future Planet Capital among others. The Series B financing round was also supported by existing investors, including Oxford Sciences Innovation.

Baltimore’s Galen Robotics is ready to raise money and grow in 2021 after year of delays – Baltimore Business Journal

“We lost about nine months in time,” said Galen Robotics CEO Bruce Lichorowic.

Image: David Saunders (left) and Bruce Lichorowic are the co-founders of Baltimore-based medical robotics startup Galen Robotics. GALEN ROBOTICS

Biohealth Capital Fund Introductory Video

AstraZeneca says COVID-19 vaccine found 79 percent effective in US trial with no safety concerns | TheHill

AstraZeneca announced on Monday that its vaccine was 79 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in Phase III U.S. testing with no safety concerns found.

The company said in a statement that the vaccine was also found to be 100 percent effective in preventing serious cases of the disease and hospitalizations.

AstraZeneca said it will submit the findings to the Food and Drug Administration in a bid for emergency use authorization in the U.S.

Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center to lead innovative new lab space model in Southwest Virginia | VT Corporate Research Center

Blacksburg, VA – March 18, 2021 — The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (VTCRC) in partnership with the Virginia Tech Foundation (VTF) has been awarded a grant from the GO Virginia program to fund the evaluation and design of new lab concepts to serve southwest Virginia’s growing life and health sciences industry. The award is part of the Enhanced Capacity Building program that will support Virginia’s Region 2.

“We’re honored to be selected to lead this project. The VTCRC is dedicated to making flexible lab space more accessible for smaller startups as well as some of our high-growth companies. This effort will lead to much-needed resources that will help us grow our biotech industry, recruit new companies, and create valuable jobs for our local economy,” said Brett Malone, Ph.D., CEO of the VTCRC.

Image: https://www.vtcrc.com

One Year In: Visualizing Key Events in the COVID-19 Timeline

Visualized: Key Events in the COVID-19 Timeline It’s been a long and eventful year since COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.

The tangible and intangible costs of COVID-19 have been severe. In this visual COVID-19 timeline, we delve into some significant milestones that have occurred around the world.

NIH statement on the departure of Dr. Christopher Austin | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

It is with immense gratitude and sincere best wishes that I announce National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Director Christopher P. Austin, M.D. will be departing NIH. His last day will be April 15, 2021. After nearly a decade of bold leadership as the founding director of NCATS, Chris will become CEO-partner at Flagship Pioneering, a life science platforms company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Image: NCATS Director Christopher P. Austin, M.D.Daniel Soñé Photography, LLC

Stefanie Tompkins Appointed 23rd DARPA Director

Stefanie Tompkins takes the reins today as the 23rd director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

With nearly eleven years of DARPA service under her belt, Tompkins, a former military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, has an exceptional understanding of the agency’s culture. From 2007 through 2017, she held multiple positions, including program manager and deputy director of the Strategic Technology Office, a systems-oriented technical office; DARPA chief of staff; and director of the Defense Sciences Office, a highly exploratory office that identifies and accelerates new technologies. In 2017 and into the beginning of 2018, she served as the acting deputy director of the agency.

How Johns Hopkins’ coronavirus dashboard came to be – CNET

As COVID-19 became a growing concern around the world early last year, Lauren Gardner tapped into her research expertise as an infectious disease modeler. Gardner, director of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, along with her Ph.D. student, were motivated to create a dashboard to track the spread of the novel coronavirus. During a panel Tuesday at this year’s virtual South by Southwest conference, she shared how the journey unfolded.

Image: https://www.cnet.com/

Amalgam Rx Appoints Medicare COO Jennifer Main as COO and CFO

Amalgam Rx, Inc., the leader in connecting healthcare providers and life sciences companies through a SaaS-enabled digital marketplace and product platform, is announcing the appointment of Jennifer Main as chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO). On April 5, 2021, Ms. Main will join Amalgam Rx from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) where she has served as COO, responsible for a wide range of functions, including financial management, information technology, acquisition, human capital, facilities, strategic planning, and enterprise risk management. Prior to that, she held senior executive titles, including that of CFO, in five different public and private organizations over the span of her 25+ year career.

Meet the newest grantees of the Bisciotti Foundation Translational Fund | Hub

Four Johns Hopkins professors have received grants for their research through the Bisciotti Foundation Translational Fund.

Established with a generous multiyear gift from the Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, the fund provides $300,000 annually in seed money to advance Johns Hopkins discoveries on a commercial path. Recipients are awarded from $25,000 and $100,000 to conduct their work during a period of up to nine months.

Image: The faculty winners of prizes from the Bisciotti Foundation Translational Fund are (clockwise from top left) Vivek Kumbhari, Xingde Li, Sung Hoon Kang, and Alan Cohen

Phlow announces national coalition with children’s hospitals | Virginia Business

Richmond-based Phlow Corp. announced Thursday the launch of a coalition that will help ensure that children’s hospitals across the country receive key medications. The Virginia Commonwealth University-affiliated Children’s Hospital of Richmond is one of 11 founding hospital members.

Children’s Hospital Coalition (CHC) aims to provide certainty in availability and access to medicine and address supply chain issues. Citing a 2019 survey of 330 American hospitals — including 29 children’s hospitals — Phlow says that medicine shortages disproportionately and uniquely impact children’s hospitals. The company also says that the pandemic has further exposed the vulnerabilities of the supply chain.

Image: Dr. Eric Edwards, co-founder and CEO of Richmond-based Phlow Corp.

Startup Behind AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Raises $168 Million in Step Toward IPO – WSJ

LONDON—The Oxford startup behind AstraZeneca PLC’s Covid-19 vaccine has raised $168 million in new funding, which it plans to use to adopt its vaccine technology for the treatment of other diseases.

The move is a step in Vaccitech Ltd.’s preparations for going public as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the plans. The moves were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Image: Royal Navy personnel administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at a center in Bath, England. PHOTO: BEN BIRCHALL/ZUMA PRESS

Innovators: How Diversifying Your Network Can Help Ignite Ideas – Blog Post | JLABS

Launching an innovative product or technology takes more than a good idea, and there are many actions startups can take to strengthen their offering and overall chance of success as they develop the latest innovations to bolster health security, including battling COVID-19. Over the last year, the global scientific community has proven critical to our collective ability to combat the pandemic, and BLUE KNIGHT™ offers a new way to build the kinds of partnerships needed to advance potentially life-saving technology during public health emergencies.

8 recent health IT, innovation partnerships

Here are eight recent health IT vendor contracts and go-lives accelerating digital transformation efforts at healthcare organizations.

1. Highmark Health, the parent company of Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, is building upon its tech partnership with Google Cloud through a new six-year collaboration with the tech giant’s sister company Verily.

2. The Department of Veterans Affairs, in partnership with T-Mobile, is deploying 5G technologies to the Miami VA Healthcare System.

Sens. Coons, Durbin announce legislation to expand federal R&D, extend tech economy to more cities across America – IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law

WASHINGTON, MARCH 19, 2021 – This week, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Competitiveness Caucus, reintroduced the Innovation Centers Acceleration Act, a bill which would expand research and development (R&D), targeted to reach a broader portion of the country. The legislation would complement a nationwide effort to compete with China economically by placing renewed emphasis on sectors key to economic resiliency and productivity, including biomedical technology, advanced manufacturing, and more.

Horizon Europe launch events | RVO.nl

In March 2021, the Dutch government celebrates the start of Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe is the new European framework programme for research and innovation. During a series of online events, we will inform you about the possibilities within this large funding programme.

The National Contact Points from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency organise these events.

The series of events starts with an online kick-off event about the importance of Horizon Europe for the Netherlands. This event focusses on the policy aspects of the programme and is in Dutch. Find out more about the kick-off event (in Dutch).

Mar 15 2021

Love0

437th Edition, March 16, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

March 16, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Marina Massingham, CEO, Aifred Health, & Laurent Waessa, Sr. Business Development Advisor, Québec Government Office in New York, Virtually Visit BioTalk

Marina Massingham, CEO, Aifred Health, and Laurent Waessa, Senior Business Development Advisor, Québec Government Office in New York, join BioTalk to discuss their backgrounds, Ecosystems for Entrepreneurs, and how Quebec can find partnerships in the BioHealth Capital Region

Listen via Apple http://apple.co/3lfW7q5, Google http://bit.ly/3qJm2HP, Spotify http://spoti.fi/30LaoSc, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/30JHq4Z.

VIRTUAL SBIR and OTHER NON-DILUTIVE FUNDING SOURCES WORKSHOP with 1:1 PARTNERING – March 17-19, 2021 (2)

Partnering meeting slots now are full with more than 450 1:1 partnering meetings requested with Program Officers from NSF, NIH and its individual institutes (NCI, NIA, NIAID, NIDA, NHLBI) and the University of Maryland MIPS. Do not miss the opportunity to hear from these program leaders. Learn how to write compelling Research Aims and Commercialization Plans, current areas of focus for nondilutive funding resources, additional government resources, and best industry strategies to support your firm’s growth. Confirmed speakers/partnering meeting participants include:

Henry Ahn – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Lynne Stein Benzion – Director, Economic Development, Montgomery County Econ. Dev. Corp. (MCEDC)
Katie Bratlie – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Christie Canaria, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Judy Costello – Managing Director, Economic Development, BioHealth Innovation (BHI)
Stephanie Davis, PhD – Small Business Program Coordinator, NIH Nat’l Heart Lung & Blood Inst. (NHLBI)
Sharon Disque, Economic Development Manager, City of Gaithersburg, Maryland
Stephanie Fertig, HHS Small Business Program Lead, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Jonathan Franca-Koh, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Inst (NCI).
Armineh Ghazarian – Senior Program Analyst, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Colleen Gibney, SBIR Deputy Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Dev. Command (USAMRDC)
Luis Gutierrez – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Todd Haim, PhD – Chief, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA – Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI), NIDA SBIR/STTR Coordinator, NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Director
Ashwin Kulkarni, COO, miRecule; Associate, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Natalia Kruchinin, PhD – SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator, RTSP, DEA, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Carla Merritt, Senior Business Development Representative, Maryland Department of Commerce
JR Myers, SBIR Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC)
Mike Minicozzi, PhD, Senior Program Officer, DAIT, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Alastair Monk – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Deepa Narayanan – Program Director and Team Lead, NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR Development Center (NCI)
Rini Pek, PhD – Senior Analyst, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Erik Pierstorff – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Victor Prikhodko – Senior Business Dev. Mgr., SBIR/STTR NIH National Inst. of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Monique Pond, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Reema Railkar, PhD – Program Manager, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Saroj Regmi, PhD – Health Science Administrator, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging
Andrea Renner – Technical Assistance Advocate, US Army Medical Research & Dev Command (USAMRDC)
Ethel Rubin, PhD – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Anthony Saleh, PhD – CEO, miRecule
Ben Schrag,PhD – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
John Sullivan – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Onur Unal, Manager, Life Sciences Projects, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTech), University of Maryland

Click here to view the agenda.

Digital Health Forum Presented by EAGB and BioHealth Innovation Registration, Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite (3)

A free, virtual Forum focused on the growing Digital Health industry in the Baltimore/Washington region and beyond, presented by EAGB & BHI.

The Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore (www.greaterbaltimore.org) and BioHealth Innovation (www.biohealthinnovation.org) have partnered to host a Forum focused on the growing Digital Health industry in the Baltimore/Washington region and beyond. The Forum is free and will be held virtually on March 25, from1 – 3:00 pm. There is no fee and all are welcomed, but you must register in order to receive the link to the event.

The Digital Health Forum features two panel discussions and a moderated conversation. Brief welcome comments by Rich Bendis and Michele Whelley, CEO of BHI and EAGB, respectively, will open the Forum.

PANEL ONE: The Role of Academia in Digital Health
PANEL TWO: Digital Health in Healthcare
CLOSING CONVERSATION: International Collaboration in Digital Health

Visit https://bit.ly/DigitalHealth21 to learn more and register for this FREE Event today.

Sponsored by: First National Bank, Olive, and TEDCO

Top 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters (BHCR number 4 but metrics improved over 2020)

BIoHealth Capital Region Ranked 4th and metrics improving towards goals of Top 3 by 2023

Charles Dickens’ opening line of A Tale of Two Cities—“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”—was evoked recently by the head of the nation’s largest life sciences real estate owner to describe the past year for the industry served by his real estate investment trust.

“With respect to the industry, 2020 is the ultimate paradox: The worst year of our lives, yet the greatest year ever for the life science industry,” Joel S. Marcus, Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ executive chairman and founder, told analysts February 2 after releasing fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 results. “[There’s] much work to do to rebuild businesses and lives so devastatingly impacted, and I would say, it’s going to take a good part of this decade to do that for many people who’ve been really so devastated.”

Innovation Showcase – American College of Cardiology (April, 1)

The American College of Cardiology is hosting its first Innovation Showcase in partnership with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). They have selected six healthcare start-up companies to present. Each presentation will end with a brief Q&A with our panelists, including BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Renee Arnold, Luis Gutierrez, and Kwame Ulmer. Immediately following the showcase, audience members will have an opportunity to attend breakout sessions with each company and representatives from the NHLBI. Full details (schedule, presenting companies, registration, etc.) are available at: https://www.acc.org/InnovationShowcase.

After merger, College Park startup IonQ plans to go public with $2 billion valuation

IonQ, a quantum computing startup born in College Park, announced Monday that it would likely soon become the first publicly traded company to specialize in commercialized quantum computing.

The company plans to file paperwork with the Securities Exchange Commission in the next week, which will allow it to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through an acquisition deal that would set the valuation of the combined entity to nearly $2 billion.

Image: The IonQ headquarters in College Park on Nov. 9, 2020. (Kurt Leinemann/The Diamondback)

VLP Therapeutics names seasoned biotech venture capitalist Miwa Toyoda as CBO | National News | kpvi.com

GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — US-based biotech company VLP Therapeutics, Inc. (VLPT) announced that it has named Ms. Miwa Toyoda, formerly a venture capitalist specialized in pharma and biotech at JAFCO Group Co., Ltd., as chief business officer, effective March 15, in a bid to accelerate its vaccine research and development projects and expand the portfolio.

Novavax Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine is 96% Efficacious | Time

Novavax reported on March 11 that its COVID-19 vaccine is 96% efficacious in reducing mild, moderate or severe disease. The Maryland-based company joins the handful of manufacturers that have reported encouraging data on a COVID-19 vaccine; three, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, have already received emergency use authorization for their shots from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

J&J plans to produce up to 3 billion doses of vaccine next year, United States News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

CHICAGO/FRANKFURT • The chief scientist of Johnson & Johnson said the company expects to produce up to three billion doses of its Covid-19 jab next year, after the European Union (EU) approved the one-shot vaccine on Thursday.

The company is bringing on three manufacturing plants to produce the key drug substance for the vaccine. It will also have seven plants globally to handle the “fill and finish” – the final production steps and bottling into vials.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Human Health (Rich Bendis will Facilitate)

This free webinar will feature a fireside chat-style conversation with Dr. Robert Scharpf (Delfi Diagnostics) and Dr. Christie Bergerson (Exponent). Drs. Scharpf and Bergerson will discuss how machine learning and artificial intelligence are impacting biomedical engineering and the wider world of human health.

Rich Bendis (BioHealth Innovation/BioTalk podcast) will facilitate the discussion. View the speaker bios for more information.

Opinion | A Vaccine Maker’s Investment: Emergent BioSolutions Responds – The New York Times

The past year has been the most important in Emergent BioSolutions’ history. We’ve had the honor of helping our country address Covid-19, manufacturing vaccines in a way few companies can. Deploying longstanding pandemic preparedness capabilities to shorten timelines and ramp up large-scale manufacturing, we can now make more than a billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine a year.

SPAC Alexandria Agtech/Climate Innovation Acquisition files for a $250 million IPO | Nasdaq

Alexandria Agtech/Climate Innovation Acquisition, a blank check company formed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities targeting agtech and climate innovation, filed on Thursday with the SEC to raise up to $250 million in an initial public offering.

Rockville-based Pediametrix receives $1M from National Science Foundation for R&D – Technical.ly DC

A Rockville, Maryland-based startup bringing AI and computer vision tools to pediatric health received nearly $1 million for R&D in a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award, which is for $982,500, will help Pediametrix as it continues to develop SoftSpot, a digital cranial measurement tool.

PediaMetrix was founded in 2018 by Dr. Fereshteh Aalamifar, who earned her Ph.D. at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, and a group of scientists and entrepreneurs who are alumni of Johns Hopkins, Harvard University and Princeton University.

Image: Dr. Fereshteh Aalamifar is CEO of PediaMetrix. (Courtesy photo)

Researchers in a Virginia Lab Lay Groundwork for U.S.-Made Drugs – Bloomberg

One thing both the Trump and Biden administrations have agreed on is that the U.S. needs to expand domestic manufacturing, and soon.

The pharmaceutical industry in particular has outsourced much of its manufacturing to take advantage of lower costs and more lax environmental laws in other countries. This has left Americans reliant on overseas drugmakers, largely in India and China, and vulnerable to gaps in the supply chain when quality issues or a pandemic halts production.

Image: Ronald T. Piervincenzi – Source: United States Pharmacopeia

Cartesian Therapeutics Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Trial of First RNA-Engineered Cell Therapy for Frontline Cancer · BioBuzz

Gaithersburg, MD, Feb. 22, 2021 – Cartesian Therapeutics, a fully integrated, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering mRNA-engineered cell therapy in and beyond oncology, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 2a clinical trial of its mRNA chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, Descartes-11, in patients with newly diagnosed, high-risk multiple myeloma. Based upon the company’s research and analysis, this program is understood to be the first RNA-engineered cell therapy to enter clinical development for a frontline cancer. Descartes-11 is the third product candidate to be evaluated in clinical trials resulting from Cartesian’s RNA Armory℠ engineering platform.

BioHealth Capital Region Women Making Waves in Venture Capital · BioBuzz

Improving access to venture capital for life science entrepreneurs and emerging biopharma companies in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) is a top priority. However, elevating the region’s funding profile is not the only type of access undergoing a transformation in recent years.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

5 Questions with Destinie Burgan, Upstream Supervisor of Manufacturing, Emergent BioSolutions · 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. March is WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH and BioBuzz will celebrate by featuring Women in the BioHealth industry all month, especially in “5 Questions With…”. This week we continue the series with Destinie Burgan, Upstream Supervisor of Manufacturing, Emergent BioSolutions.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Inova and University of Virginia School of Medicine open new campus | Headlines | insidenova.com

After four years of extensive planning, Inova Health System and the University of Virginia School of Medicine this week opened the UVA Inova Campus, welcoming its first class of 36 UVA medical students. An additional 36 students will join the campus next year to complete a full complement of students for two years of clinical training.

Innovation alliance unveils new name and strategic plan for Western Virginia | Business Local | roanoke.com

Astrategic alliance has a new name — Verge — and a new vision of acting as the front door for an innovation economy that stretches from Lynchburg to the New River Valley.

Formed last year, the alliance is a joint mission of the Valleys Innovation Council, the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program, known as RAMP.

At a virtual news conference Monday, organizers said the unified strength of the three organizations will help solidify connections and better leverage emerging opportunities for the region’s technologists, innovators and entrepreneurs.

How Remote Work Is Reshaping America’s Urban Geography – WSJ

A year ago, just before the start of pandemic lockdowns, some 10% or less of the U.S. labor force worked remotely full-time. Within a month, according to Gallup and other surveys, around half of American workers were at distant desktops. Today, most of them still are. And surveys of employers and employees alike suggest a fundamental shift. While forecasts differ, as much as a quarter of the 160-million-strong U.S. labor force is expected to stay fully remote in the long term, and many more are likely to work remotely a significant part of the time.

Image: ILLUSTRATION: JAMES GULLIVER HANCOCK – https://www-wsj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/how-remote-work-is-reshaping-americas-urban-geography-11614960100

Welcome New Members (AMRIE GRAMMER)— Join SIBF

SIBF welcomes new members. See the list here.

What’s Next for COVID-19 Tech in Healthcare? – HealthTech Magazine

When the pandemic hit in full force last March, healthcare organizations had to pivot overnight. What was once impossible became necessary, and what was once unlikely became an everyday occurrence. While this disruption came with growing pains — health organizations faced supply, staff and support shortages for months on end — the World Economic Forum notes that “the industry’s response has vividly demonstrated its resilience and ability to bring innovations to market quickly.”

Quality, Speed & Equity: Delivering COVID-19 Vaccines to the World – Webinar Registration – Zoom

All eyes are on the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Achieving the broad uptake needed to reach population immunity and curb the virus’s spread will require an unprecedented effort among health workers, scientists and stakeholders at every step of the supply chain.

During this 90 min event, experts from organizations central to vaccine development and delivery, regulatory oversight and quality assurance will discuss over the course of two high-level panels what’s needed for the global COVID-19 vaccination campaign, how to build public trust in the quality and effectiveness of vaccines, and how these investments can build better systems for the future.

Children’s National leaders provide expertise and support to advance SHIP-MD pediatric innovation initiative | Children’s National

The advancement of children’s medical devices in the U.S. continues to significantly lag behind adult devices for many reasons. A dedicated group of public and private sector healthcare leaders are working together to change that trend. In culmination of its first stage of work, the System of Hospitals for Innovation in Pediatrics – Medical Devices (SHIP-MD) initiative recently held a dynamic 3-day public workshop to further develop this groundbreaking public-private partnership, which is currently in its pre-consortium/conceptual phase.

MARYLAND KNOWS THE FUTURE IS QUANTUM

The University of Maryland is a powerhouse of discovery, with decades of experience advancing a field that will help define our nation’s—and the world’s—future.

Image: https://quantum.umd.edu/

Inova Health System, University of Virginia open Northern Virginia campus – Washington Business Journal

The program, first conceived in 2016, puts the Charlottesville institution in Greater Washington and creates a new talent pool for the Falls Church-based organization.

Image: The Claude Moore Health Education and Research Center, part of the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, houses medical school classrooms and offices for curriculum, student affairs and faculty affairs. COURTESY INOVA HEALTH SYSTEM

Quantum computing company IonQ plans to go public. Here’s what it could mean for College Park – Technical.ly Baltimore

That’s the path for technology being developed by IonQ. The College Park-based company on Monday made official a deal to merge with special purpose acquisition company dMY Technology Group, Inc. III. When the merger closes and it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IONQ, the company is poised to be the first “pure-play” quantum computing company that is publicly traded, leaders said.

Image: Inside IonQ’s College Park quantum computing work. (Courtesy photo)

Mar 08 2021

Love0

436th Edition, March 9, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

March 9, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Digital Health Forum Presented by EAGB and BioHealth Innovation Registration, Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite (2)

A free, virtual Forum focused on the growing Digital Health industry in the Baltimore/Washington region and beyond, presented by EAGB & BHI.

PANEL ONE: The Role of Academia in Digital Health
PANEL TWO: Digital Health in Healthcare
CLOSING CONVERSATION: International Collaboration in Digital Health

Visit https://bit.ly/DigitalHealth21 to learn more and register for this FREE Event today.

Sponsored by: First National Bank, Olive, and TEDCO

VIRTUAL SBIR and OTHER NON-DILUTIVE FUNDING SOURCES WORKSHOP with 1:1 PARTNERING – March 17-19, 2021

Are you a biohealth company with innovative technology seeking funds to advance your commercialization activities? Do not miss a unique opportunity to discuss your innovation research and commercialization plans directly with Program Officers from NSF, NIH and its individual institutes (NCI, NIA, NIAID, NIDA, NHLBI) and the University of Maryland MIPS. Learn how to write compelling Research Aims and Commercialization Plans, current areas of focus for nondilutive funding resources, additional government resources, and best industry strategies to support your firm’s growth. Confirmed speakers/partnering meeting participants include:

Henry Ahn – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Lynne Stein Benzion – Director, Economic Development, Montgomery County Econ. Dev. Corp. (MCEDC)
Katie Bratlie – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Christie Canaria, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Judy Costello – Managing Director, Economic Development, BioHealth Innovation (BHI)
Stephanie Davis, PhD – Small Business Program Coordinator, NIH Nat’l Heart Lung & Blood Inst. (NHLBI)
Sharon Disque, Economic Development Manager, City of Gaithersburg, Maryland
Stephanie Fertig, HHS Small Business Program Lead, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Jonathan Franca-Koh, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Inst (NCI).
Armineh Ghazarian – Senior Program Analyst, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Colleen Gibney, SBIR Deputy Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Dev. Command (USAMRDC)
Luis Gutierrez – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Todd Haim, PhD – Chief, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA – Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI), NIDA SBIR/STTR Coordinator, NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Director
Ashwin Kulkarni, COO, miRecule; Associate, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Natalia Kruchinin, PhD – SBIR/STTR Program Coordinator, RTSP, DEA, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Carla Merritt, Senior Business Development Representative, Maryland Department of Commerce
JR Myers, SBIR Project Manager, US Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC)
Mike Minicozzi, PhD, Senior Program Officer, DAIT, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Alastair Monk – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Deepa Narayanan – Program Director and Team Lead, NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR Development Center (NCI)
Rini Pek, PhD – Senior Analyst, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Erik Pierstorff – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Victor Prikhodko – Senior Business Dev. Mgr., SBIR/STTR NIH National Inst. of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Monique Pond, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Reema Railkar, PhD – Program Manager, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Saroj Regmi, PhD – Health Science Administrator, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute on Aging
Andrea Renner – Technical Assistance Advocate, US Army Medical Research & Dev Command (USAMRDC)
Ethel Rubin, PhD – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Anthony Saleh, PhD – CEO, miRecule
Ben Schrag,PhD – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
John Sullivan – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Onur Unal, Manager, Life Sciences Projects, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTech), University of Maryland

Click here to view the agenda.

Dr. Dipanjan Pan and Phil Robilotto of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, join Rich Bendis on BioTalk

Dr. Dipanjan Pan and Phil Robilotto of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, join BioTalk to discuss RNA Disease Diagnostics, UM Ventures, and the commercialization of new medical technologies

Listen via Apple http://apple.co/3bsUsda, Google http://bit.ly/38l26Vd , Spotify http://spoti.fi/38kp9zu, and TuneIN http://bit.ly/2MVFqDp.

EIR Feedback (BHI)

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

IonQ, a quantum computing startup, will go public – Washington Business Journal

The 6-year-old company will merge with a blank-check firm to go public.

BioHealth Capital Fund – Video PitchBook

BioHealth Capital Fund – AlphaMaven Video PitchBook

GMU, University of Maryland join Melinda Gates-backed effort to boost tech diversity – Washington Business Journal

They are joining a program that plans to expand in the D.C. region with a new leader.

Image: Melinda Gates’ incubation and investment firm, Pivotal Ventures, is funding a new initiative at the University of Maryland and George Mason University to draw more women to their tech degree programs. THE NEW YORK TIMES/KYLE JOHNSON

Ceres Nanosciences adding manufacturing facility, 50 jobs to improve Covid-19 tests – Washington Business Journal

The 12-year-old George Mason University spinout has taken over 12,000 more square feet, not far from its headquarters.

Image: Ross Dunlap is co-founder and CEO of Ceres Nanosciences. COURTESY ROSS DUNLAP

Montgomery County Updates: Inaugural ‘Bio Boot Camp’ Classes Graduate as Part of Innovative County Workforce Initiative That Will Help Fill Jobs in Life Sciences Sector

Montgomery College and the Universities at Shady Grove (USG), in conjunction with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), have completed two intensive pilot training programs designed to create a skilled talent pipeline to support the life sciences sector in Montgomery County. The four-week “Bio Boot Camp” program—a public-private effort announced in November 2020—was created to help kickstart recovery from the COVID-19 health crisis.

Image: https://montgomerycomd.blogspot.com

TEDCO’s Seed Fund Invests $400K in Maryland HR Technology Start-ups | TEDCO

COLUMBIA, Md. (March 8, 2021)—TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced today its Seed Fund invested $400,000 in two technology start-ups. TEDCO’s Seed Fund invests in early-stage, technology and life sciences companies and includes gap financing.

FASTER (Federal Authority for Science, Technology, Engineering and Research) Federal Labs: Leveraging Place, Talent and Technology

The federal lab system is an enormous $50 billion-plus enterprise of internal research and development taking place in federal facilities across the United States. As other governments around the world, including China, pour billions of dollars into government labs and research parks focused on advanced technologies, it is imperative that we use all aspects of country’s own innovation ecosystem in the most creative ways possible, including our federal labs.

Click here to download the PDF

This research executive has done a lot to bring small businesses into the fold | Federal News Network

The National Institutes of Health funds what it calls extramural research in a wide variety of fields. Our guest has for many years worked to ensure that small enterprises got their share of the grants. Now she’s the recipient of a Tibbets Award from the Small Business Administration for advancing the Small Business Technology Transfer and Small Business Innovation Research programs. For more, the director of the Office of Clinical Policy and Programs at the FDA., Dr. Jodi Black, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodi_Black#/media/File:Jodi_Black.jpg

Emergent Biosolutions Seeks New Talent to Support Global COVID-19 Vaccination Push, Expanding Project Portfolio · BioBuzz

SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are accelerating across the U.S. with approximately 66 million first doses having been administered as of February 25th, representing 13.6% of the country, according to NPR. The vaccination effort received another boost with the Food and Drug Administration’s recent Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single-dose vaccine.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

GSK to receive CARB-X funding to develop superbug vaccines – EPM Magazine

GSK Biologicals and its affiliate GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH) are currently working on two vaccine projects. The first is to prevent Group A Streptococcus infections, commonly known as Strep Throat, which is a major reason for antibiotic prescriptions and cause of immune-mediated diseases.

The second project GSK is working is a vaccine to prevent infections caused by Salmonella enterica, which cause Invasive nontyphoidal salmonellosis (iNTS) disease and typhoid fever, major causes of death among children and significant health challenges primarily in sub-Saharan African countries.

Emergent BioSolutions can make 1 billion Covid vaccine doses annually

As the U.S. makes headway in its coronavirus vaccination campaign, Emergent BioSolutions CEO Bob Kramer appeared on CNBC Wednesday to explain his company’s role in manufacturing doses.

The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based contractor last year landed a multi-year deal to be the domestic producer of the Covid-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, whose single-dose shot was cleared for use in the U.S. over the weekend. It also has a multi-year contract production contract for a vaccine developed by a British-Swedish biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca.

Image: https://www.cnbc.com/ – From Video

QIAGEN Launches QIAsphere Cloud-Based Connectivity Solution to Enhance QIAstat-Dx Capabilities in Digital Diagnostics | Business Wire

HILDEN, Germany & GERMANTOWN, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) has launched its QIAsphere cloud-based platform that will allow labs and QIAstat-Dx users to monitor tests and instrument status remotely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

QIAsphere sets new standards for syndromic testing digital health, providing users with remote visibility of their testing routine. It can monitor a nearly unlimited number of instruments, providing visibility of testing routine across different hospitals or satellite labs. The continuous connectivity to QIAGEN service reduces systems downtime and enabling fast and accurate syndromic testing. Digital diagnostics and remote analytics will be crucial to bring syndromic testing closer to patients in the coming years.

Children’s National Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, Virginia Tech launch health innovation campus

Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National Hospital, Virginia Tech and Johnson & Johnson Innovation have partnered to launch a new healthcare technology and research innovation campus, according to a March 1 news release.

The Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus will feature research into new pediatric medical treatments and technologies as well as a life sciences incubator for about 50 startups across the pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and health tech sectors.

Power Moves: Biotech entrepreneurs donate $5M to create the University of Maryland law school’s Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice – Technical.ly Baltimore

The entrepreneurs behind an exited Baltimore biotech company are creating a new center for immigration law in the city.

A $5 million gift from Marco and Debbie Chacón to the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law will help to establish the Baltimore-based school’s new Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice.

The couple founded Paragon Bioservices, the contract manufacturing and development company that was acquired by Catalent in 2019 for $1.2 billion. Marco Chacón served as CEO and Debbie Chacón served as VP when the company moved to the University of Maryland BioPark in 2009. Now known as Paragon Gene Therapy, it still has a base at the BioPark, and Marco Chacón founded Irazú Bio, which is also based in the BioPark.

Image: Marco and Debbie Chacón founded Paragon Bioservices. (Photo courtesy of University of Maryland School of Law)

Quality, Speed & Equity: Delivering COVID-19 Vaccines to the World

Johns Hopkins Launches COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker For Teachers – CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — As students and staff return to the classroom, state leaders are working to get every teacher vaccinated. Now, there’s a way to track the progress.

Johns Hopkins University is launching its teacher vaccination tracker.

Image: https://baltimore.cbslocal.com – From Video

The United States Of Venture Capital: The Most Active VC In Each State | CB Insights Research

Despite recent challenges, venture capital firms are still seeking out investment opportunities across the country. Since our last analysis of most active VCs in October 2020, we’ve seen shake-ups across 9 states. Our graphic maps out the most active VC investor in every US state.

Although startups based in California, New York, and Massachusetts have traditionally accounted for the majority of VC tech investment in the US, VCs are spurring other hotbeds of innovation across the country.

Image: https://www.cbinsights.com

Mar 01 2021

Love0

435th Edition, March 2, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

March 2, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Conley Jones, Senior Associate at Alexandria Venture Investments, Guests on BioTalk

Alexandria Venture Investments Senior Associate, Conley Jones, virtually sits down with Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss Venture Trends, Investment Goals, and their National Footprint

Listen now on Apple http://apple.co/3sCbtaH, Google http://bit.ly/3kG3MgX, Spotify http://spoti.fi/3kKNGmt, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/3uGvJtJ.

VIRTUAL SBIR and OTHER NON-DILUTIVE FUNDING SOURCES WORKSHOP with 1:1 PARTNERING – March 17-19, 2021 (2)

Don’t miss a unique opportunity to discuss your biohealth technology innovation directly with Program Officers from NSF, various institutes at NIH, the University of Maryland MIPS program, and others. Learn the latest about the current areas of focus for nondilutive funding resources, tips for submitting successful applications, and additional resources to support your early-stage company. Confirmed speakers and partnering meeting participants include:

Henry Ahn – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Lynne Stein Benzion – Director, Economic Development, Montgomery County Econ. Dev. Corp. (MCEDC)
Katie Bratlie – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Christie Canaria, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Judy Costello – Managing Director, Economic Development, BioHealth Innovation (BHI)
Stephanie Davis, PhD – Small Business Program Coordinator, NIH Nat’l Heart Lung & Blood Inst. (NHLBI)
Sharon Disque, Economic Development Manager, City of Gaithersburg, Maryland
Stephanie Fertig, HHS Small Business Program Lead, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Jonathan Franca-Koh, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Inst (NCI).
Armineh Ghazarian – Program Analyst, NIH National Institute of Aging (NIA)
Colleen Gibney, SBIR Deputy Project Manager, USAMRMC (DoD)
Todd Haim, PhD – Chief, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute of Aging (NIA)
Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA – Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI), NIDA SBIR/STTR Coordinator, NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Director
Ashwin Kulkarni, COO, miRecule; Associate, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Carla Merritt, Senior Business Development Representative, Maryland Department of Commerce
JR Meyers, SBIR Project Manager, USAMRMC (DoD)
Alastair Monk – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Deepa Narayanan – Program Director and Team Lead, NIH National Cancer Institute SBIR Development Center (NCI)
Rini Pek PhD – Senior Analyst, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Erik Pierstorff – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Victor Prikhodko – Senior Business Dev. Mgr., SBIR/STTR NIH National Inst. of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Monique Pond, PhD – Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Reema Railkar, PhD – Program Manager, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute
Saroj Regmi, PhD – Health Science Administrator, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute of Aging
Andrea Renner – SBIR Deputy Project Manager, USAMRMC (DoD)
Ethel Rubin, PhD – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Anthony Saleh, PhD – CEO, miRecule
Ben Schrag, PhD – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
John Sullivan – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI)
Onur Unal, Manager, Life Sciences Projects, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTech), University of Maryland

Register (no fee) today! www.tinyurl.com/2021SBIR

To see the full agenda, Click here.

Digital Health Forum Presented by EAGB and BioHealth Innovation Registration, Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

A free, virtual Forum focused on the growing Digital Health industry in the Baltimore/Washington region and beyond, presented by EAGB & BHI.

PANEL ONE: The Role of Academia in Digital Health
PANEL TWO: Digital Health in Healthcare
CLOSING CONVERSATION: International Collaboration in Digital Health

Visit https://bit.ly/DigitalHealth21 to learn more and register for this FREE Event today.

Sponsored by: First National Bank, Olive, and TEDCO

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Human Health (March 19) (Bendis to Moderate)

Rich Bendis (BioHealth Innovation/BioTalk podcast) will facilitate the discussion. View the speaker bios for more information.

After the main session, participants will have the opportunity to join one of three, smaller breakout sessions:

Meet and Greet with the Featured Speakers – Continue the conversation with Drs. Scharpf and Bergerson for an informal Q&A session about their work and the field.
Careers at the Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology – Join Rich Bendis and other industry representatives in exploring career opportunities in the emerging biotechnology, data science, and public health fields.
What is Biocomputational Engineering? Learn about UMD’s new bachelor’s degree – Join program staff to learn about the exciting new University of Maryland degree aimed at preparing students for careers in the data science and biotechnology sector. Launching in Fall 2021 at the Universities at Shady Grove, this program is conveniently located in Rockville, MD – a biotech powerhouse just outside the nation’s capital.

Phlow Corp. and USP announce strategic alliance focused on Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing to increase supply of essential medicines for U.S. patients

Richmond, VA., February 22, 2021 – Phlow Corp., a public benefit essential medicines solutions provider, and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) today announced a strategic alliance to develop a new laboratory that will certify and validate Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing processes resulting in affordable, high-quality, U.S.-manufactured essential medicines. Throughout its 200-year history of setting standards for medicine quality, USP has been providing validated scientific methods used by manufacturers and regulators to determine what “good quality” looks like. The methods developed through this strategic alliance will be available for use by other domestic generics manufacturers to encourage broader adoption of Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing in order to strengthen the U.S. drug supply.

USP, a global, scientific not-for-profit organization located in Rockville, Maryland, develops public standards that establish the quality expectations for medicines, collaborating with scientific experts from the academic, industry, and healthcare practitioner communities along with the U.S. FDA. The alliance will facilitate Phlow’s application of “flow” chemistry and other continuous advanced manufacturing processes to produce the crucial ingredients that enable domestic, end-to-end drug manufacturing of essential medicines that have been or are at risk of being in shortage thereby contributing to a more resilient medicines supply chain.

Emergent Rallies to Meet COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Challenge · BioBuzz

Emergent BioSolutions’ contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) business is playing a crucial role in supporting the battle against COVID-19. The company has contracted with multiple vaccine makers, including AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, to manufacture the preventative medications.

It’s a critical role not taken lightly by the employees in the company’s two Baltimore-based facilities. Sean Kirk, executive vice president of Manufacturing and Technical Operations at Emergent, said the importance of the work taken on by Emergent, as well as the biopharma industry at large to battle the pandemic is not lost on him.

Altimmune starts enrolling early-stage trial for its nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine candidate – MarketWatch

Shares of Altimmune Inc. ALT were down 4.8% in trading on Thursday after the company said it started enrolling participants in a Phase 1 clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Altimmune is developing a single-dose nasal spray vaccine. The study is expected to enroll up to 180 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 55 years old, who will receive one of three doses of the experimental vaccine. The company said it expects to share the first batch of clinical data from this trial in the second quarter of this year. Altimmune’s stock has soared 969.9% over the past 12 months, while the broader S&P 500 SPX is up 21.7%.

INOVIO and QIAGEN expand collaboration to develop next generation sequencing (NGS) companion diagnostic for INOVIO’s VGX-3100 for advanced cervical dysplasia

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. and GERMANTOWN, Md. and HILDEN, Germany, Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) and INOVIO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) today announced an extension of their partnership with a new master collaboration agreement to develop liquid biopsy-based companion* diagnostic products based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology to complement INOVIO’s therapies. (*Complementary when referring to the US regulatory pathway.)

GlycoMimetics Promotes Dr. Eric Feldman to Chief Medical Officer – GlycoMimetics, Inc.

ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 23, 2021– GlycoMimetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLYC) today announced the promotion of Eric Feldman, M.D., to Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Feldman joined the Company in 2019 and was previously Vice President, Global Clinical Development.

“Eric is internationally recognized for his work in the development of new therapies for the treatment of leukemias and related bone marrow disorders, and in the past two years, has established himself as a leader in our management group as well as in the trenches with our clinical operations team. Having spent his career dedicated to patients with hematologic malignancies, he is especially well positioned to lead our uproleselan program as it advances through Phase 3 clinical trials. In addition, his extensive clinical research background will serve us well as we drive forward other programs in our pipeline,” said Rachel King, Chief Executive Officer.

New Chief Investment Officer to Lead TEDCO’s Investment Activities | TEDCO

COLUMBIA, Md. (February 24, 2021)—TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced today the appointment of Jack Miner as the chief investment officer. He begins his tenure with TEDCO on March 1, 2021.

“Jack brings many years of venture capital and leadership experience to fill this critical role at TEDCO,” said Troy LeMaile-Stovall, TEDCO’s CEO and executive director. “Leveraging his extensive knowledge of the entrepreneurial and venture capital community, we’re looking forward to the impact he will make in fostering TEDCO’s mission to better serve our entrepreneurs.”

Meet the Daily Record’s Power 100 – Maryland Daily Record

Congratulations to the BHI Board-members who made the list.

Pete Briskman – Executive Managing Director Maryland , JLL
Ron Daniels – President, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Jay Perman – Chancellor of the University System of Maryland

Biographer Robert Caro, in discussing his craft, wrote that “power reveals.” It reveals the true character of people, the nature of their endeavors, their goals and ambitions.

Welcome to The Daily Record’s inaugural Power 100 List.

We are recognizing the men and women across Maryland who are shaping our businesses, governments, nonprofits, law firms and other critical institutions. In essence, they are playing an outsize role in the culture, lifestyle, civic conversation and economic fortunes of Maryland.

Novel Microdevices Joins Baltimore’s LaunchPort™ Medtech Venture Center

The LaunchPort™ announced today that Novel Microdevices (http://www.noveldx.com) has moved to their Medtech venture center in Port Covington, Baltimore, and has established The LaunchPort™ as its primary location for their GMP development efforts.

Georgetown Ranks Second Among Top Universities in Women Graduates Who Enter Venture Capital

Georgetown University ranks second among the nation’s colleges and universities in graduating women who go on to lead venture capital firms, according to a report published by the investment company Different Funds.

Image: https://thehoya.com

New Funding Can Support Academic Post Doc to Industry Transition

Are you a BioHealth entrepreneur working with an academic institution on your oncology R&D? The NCI SBIR Development Center has announced a new funding opportunity to support academic post-doc transitions to industry. This new and unique Fast-Track only award structure comprises a Phase I STTR that transitions to a Phase II SBIR. An STTR award is a collaborative award made to small businesses working closely with a university deadline to apply by 3/25. For more information, check online: Small Business Transition Grant | NCI: SBIR & STTR (cancer.gov)

Image: https://sbir.cancer.gov/funding/sbtg From Video

GMU establishes President’s Innovation Advisory Council | Virginia Business

George Mason University President Gregory Washington on Monday announced he has formed an advisory roundtable of nearly 30 regional business executives and community leaders to focus on the university’s innovation initiative.

The President’s Innovation Advisory Council will focus on issues such as GMU’s efforts to increase the pipeline of tech workers. George Mason’s innovation initiative includes $235 million in General Assembly funding to produce approximately 30% of the 25,000 undergraduate and graduate majors as part of the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program.

Image: Concept rendering of George Mason University’s Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA) in Arlington

SoPE + GW Startup Pitch Application

SoPE + GW Startup Pitch Application Apply now to pitch at our March 24th Event: Pitch Perfect II: In Action!

Application is limited to SoPE members or those affiliated with George Washington University (students, staff, licensees, etc). Limited spots available. Submission does not guarantee acceptance.

Submission deadline: March 5th, 2021.

Meet the woman who helped develop Johns Hopkins’ coronavirus map | Coronavirus | kctv5.com

Many policy decisions on the pandemic — in Washington and locally — are driven by an online data tool developed at Johns Hopkins University. Correspondent David Begnaud spoke to one of the people behind the site.

Image: https://www.kctv5.com – From Video

New lab space in the works for downtown Richmond as pharmaceutical development company Phlow forms strategic alliance | Business News | richmond.com

Richmond-based pharmaceutical development company Phlow Corp. has formed a partnership with a nonprofit organization that will involve opening new laboratory operations in downtown Richmond.

Phlow, which is working to build the supply of medicines that face shortages in the U.S. market, said Monday that it has formed a strategic alliance with United States Pharmacopeia to develop a new laboratory operation in the Virginia Bio+Tech Research Park.

Image: Daniel Sangjib Min – Times-Dispatch

DARPA opens door to more private equity-backed firms — Washington Technology

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will now allow small businesses that are majority owned by private equity firms to bid on both Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer opportunities.

IP Costs Associated with SBIR and STTR | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP – JDSupra

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) small business programs, which include the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, are the largest source of early stage capital for life sciences startups in the United States. The grant money helps startups accelerate their discoveries and put their discoveries into clinical trials. The grants awarded are just that, a grant and not a loan; there is no requirement to pay back the money. The NIH grants $1.2 billion dollars every year in the combined SBIR and STTR programs.

Feb 22 2021

Love0

434th Edition, February 23, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

February 23, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

John Mumm, CEO of Deka BioSciences, joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk

Deka BioSciences CEO, John Mumm, CEO of Deka BioSciences, virtually guests on BioTalk to discuss his history in the BioHealth Capital Region, Precision Medicine, and Funding Strategies.

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/3aIy6Ew, Google http://bit.ly/3sfEysd, Spotify http://spoti.fi/3aJq8ei, and Tunein http://bit.ly/2Me25ut.

VIRTUAL SBIR and OTHER NON-DILUTIVE FUNDING SOURCES WORKSHOP with 1:1 PARTNERING – March 17-18, 2021

Don’t miss a unique opportunity to discuss your biohealth technology innovation directly with Program Officers from NSF, various institutes at NIH (including NIA, NCI, NIDA, and NHLBI), the University of Maryland MIPS program. Learn the latest about the current areas of focus for these funding resources, Tips and Tricks for submitting successful applications, and Additional Resources to support your early stage company. Confirmed speakers and partnering meeting participants include:

Stephanie Davis, PhD – Small Business Program Coordinator, NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Stephanie Fertig, HHS Small Business Program Lead, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Armineh Ghazarian – Program Analyst, NIH National Institute of Aging
Colleen Gibney, SBIR Deputy Project Manager, USAMRDC
Henry Hahn – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Todd Haim, PhD – Chief, Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute of Aging
Elena Koustova, PhD, MBA – Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI), NIDA SBIR/STTR Coordinator, NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Office of Director
JR Meyers, SBIR Project Manager, USAMRDC
Victor Prikhodko – Senior Business Dev. Manager, SBIR/STTR NIH National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Saroj Regmi, PhD – Health Science Administrator Office of Small Business Research, NIH National Institute of Aging
Andrea Renner – SBIR Deputy Project Manager, USAMRDC
Ben Schrag, PhD – Program Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Onur Unal, Manager, Life Sciences Projects, Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), University of Maryland

Additional participants from the NIH National Cancer Institute and other resources TBA.

Click here to.. Reserve your spot (no fee) today!

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. – 2/24 Entrepreneur in Residence Feedback Sessions

Are you a 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 here: www.tinyurl.com/EIRfeedback. These take place by videoconference via Zoom. Pre-registration and forwarding of a power point deck one week before the session is required. For questions, more information, or to be added to the wait list, please contact BHI.

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to register. Thank you!

Gaithersburg’s NexImmune completes $126.5M IPO – Washington Business Journal

The Montgomery County biotech joins a handful of other local companies to recently debut on the public markets.

AstraZeneca’s Joe Sanchez Shares Vision for Growing the BioHealth Capital Region · BioBuzz

When AstraZeneca (AZ) announced in 2019 that it was officially retiring the MedImmune brand, questions naturally arose about whether the U.K. pharma giant would continue the legacy MedImmune support for the BioHealth Capital Region’s (BHCR) life science ecosystem.

Since its founding in 1998, MedImmune had been an anchor life science company in the region, and starting around 2014, it was a key force behind the creation of BHCR brand, as well as the region’s collective push to be a top-three biotech cluster by 2023.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Novavax Preps to Distribute 1.1 Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Worldwide | BioSpace

Something of the dark horse in the race to get a COVID-19 vaccine out to the public, Novavax announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to provide 1.1 billion doses of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, for the COVAX Facility. The vaccine will be manufactured and distributed around the world by Novavax and Serum Institute of India (SII). SII has an existing deal with Gavi.

Image: https://www.biospace.com

Qiagen Launches ‘Digital Partner’ Program to Expand Bioinformatics Reach | GenomeWeb

NEW YORK – Qiagen on Thursday said that it has launched a “Digital Insights Partnership” program designed to expand the market for its bioinformatics products through various third-party collaborations and deals.

Cartesian Therapeutics Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Trial of First RNA-Engineered Cell Therapy for Frontline Cancer – Cartesian

JAMA Highlights Success of BrainScope’s EEG-based Concussion Index As Reliable Indicator of Concussion

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — JAMA Network Open has published “Validation of a Machine Learning Brain Electrical Activity-Based Index to Aid in Diagnosing Concussion Among Athletes,” a ground-breaking study on the accuracy of the BrainScope FDA-cleared biomarker, the Concussion Index, to indicate the likelihood and severity of concussive brain injury and to aid in evaluating an athlete’s readiness to return to play.

This Office REIT Is Helping Beat Back the Global Pandemic | Millionacres

Most office buildings around the country have remained empty over the past year as companies quickly pivoted to working remotely to help slow the pandemic’s spread. However, many office campuses owned by office real estate investment trust (REIT) Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE) have been buzzing with activity during the outbreak. That’s because many of its tenants have been working around the clock waging war against the virus, and they needed the company’s specialized lab space to develop solutions aimed at defeating the pandemic.

2/28 Deadline to Apply for $ (oncology innovation)…

for The Rockville-based National Foundation for Cancer Research is accepting applications through Sunday evening, February 28, from academic laboratory and early stage start-up-based promising oncology technology projects for its 2021 Salisbury Award Competition for Entrepreneurial Translational Research. In addition to increased exposure, insight from a world-class judging panel and access to NFCR’s network, cash prizes totaling $10,000 will be provided to three category winners, the first one of which who will also be introduced to the AIM-HI Accelerator Fund for consideration of investment. Learn more and apply here: https://www.nfcr.org/salisbury-award/.

Avhana Health Is Acquired by Amalgam Rx | Los Angeles Business Journal

Local incubator member and digital health company Avhana Health Inc. has been acquired by Wilmington, Del.-based digital medicine products company Amalgam Rx Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Under terms of the purchase, which was announced Jan. 13, Avhana Health will maintain its operations in Los Angeles as a stand-alone subsidiary of Amalgam. Avhana’s chief executive, Noah Weiner, will stay on as general manager of the unit.

Image: Avhana’s Noah Weiner is focused on EHR integration.

Eyedea Medical Joins Baltimore’s LaunchPort™ Medtech Venture Center

The LaunchPort™ announced today that Eyedea Medical (https://www.eyedeamedical.com/) joined the Venture Center and will make the Port Covington, Baltimore location their HQ and engineering site.

Eyedea Medical is an early-stage, ophthalmic medical device company that was spun out of the Wilmer Eye Institute and the Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design at Johns Hopkins University. Eyedea Medical was formed by a group of ophthalmologists and biomedical engineers in 2019 to alleviate the burden of corneal blindness globally through development and commercialization of a series of devices with potential to improve outcomes and access to vision-restoring corneal procedures.

Novavax Completes Enrollment of PREVENT-19, COVID-19 Vaccine Pivotal Phase 3 Trial in the United States and Mexico | Novavax Inc. – IR Site

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, today announced the complete enrollment of PREVENT-19, its pivotal Phase 3 study in the United States and Mexico to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Novavax has previously reported positive interim efficacy results of NVX-CoV2373, its recombinant protein-based vaccine candidate, in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial taking place in the United Kingdom.

Seven Successful BioHealth Companies Led by African-American Entrepreneurs and Industry Leaders · BioBuzz

As we noted in our previous story, “Diversity in Biotech, Industry’s Next Big Challenge,” there is a deep, rich, underappreciated history of African-American innovation in the life sciences and STEM fields.

There is still much work to be done to improve equity across the industry, however. From transdermal diabetes patches and life-saving hemorrhage control systems to advanced biomanufacturing and revolutionary diagnostic testing, this history’s lineage can be traced across the Mid-Atlantic biotech clusters well as throughout the country.

Image: https://biobuzz.io/

Pitch Perfect II: In Action! Tickets, Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

As a follow up to our last event Pitch Perfect: Communicating with Investors Before AND After Funding, we’re excited to bring you Pitch Perfect II: In Action.

We’ll be showcasing four startups from the SoPE and GW community. Each will give a 10 minute pitch followed by a 5 minute Q&A to our panel of experienced venture capital and angel investors.

Maryland Business Innovation Challenge Release: Healthworx Tickets, Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

Join the conversation with Emily Durfee, Program Manager at Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst. Healthworx’ Challenge focuses on improving health equity at the community level .Learn about Healthworx’ mission and vision, as Emily shares insights, answer questions and explains the intention of this terrific opportunity to connect with a very important leader in Maryland’s healthcare and innovation community.

Avoro Ventures Adds Sara Nayeem, MD, as a Partner | Business Wire

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Avoro Ventures announced today that Sara Nayeem, MD, has joined the firm as a Partner, focused on its venture capital investment efforts.

Dr. Nayeem joins Avoro Ventures after 12 years with New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), where she was a Partner in the firm’s biopharma investment practice serving on numerous company boards, in addition to providing support to fundraising, recruiting, and diversity and mentoring initiatives. She will source and manage private market investments within the biotechnology sector spanning early stage to late stage and cross-over, joining Behzad Aghazadeh, PhD, Managing Partner of Avoro Ventures and Avoro Capital Advisors, and Dr. Garheng Kong, Avoro Ventures Advisory Partner.

5 Questions with Paul Nolde, Fund Manager/Managing Director, Riverflow Growth Fund · BioBuzz

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Internship pipeline helps close the equity gap during pandemic | Hub

Lubna Azmi sees herself as a laidback person, but even she isn’t immune to the pressures and anxieties that come with planning for the future.

“I’ve seen how fast people’s professional lives can fall apart, especially during the pandemic,” says Azmi, who is a second-year international studies and sociology major at Johns Hopkins. “During quarantine, I was asking myself, have I been too selfish thinking about doing what I want to do? Should I be thinking about how to better support my family, including the family I create in the future?”

Image: Alia Poonawala (left), executive director of Hire Hopkins, and Alayna Hayes, senior director of life design for diversity, equity, and inclusion – https://hub.jhu.edu

Prostate Cancer-Detecting Dogs’ Olfactory Capacity Trains Neural Network for Combination Diagnostic Approach

Research by an international team of investigators has demonstrated the ability of trained dogs to detect aggressive prostate cancer from urine samples, and suggests that an artificial neural network could learn from this olfactory capability. The scientists say findings from the study, which is reported in PLOS One, could feasibly be used to help direct the development of novel, machine-based tools for detecting prostate cancer, which integrate canine olfaction with the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urine, microbial profiling, and artificial neural network (ANN)-assisted examination. Study lead Claire Guest, from Medical Detection Dogs, in the U.K., and colleagues in the U.K. and U.S., claimed, “We’ve shown it is possible to replicate the dog’s performance as sensors and brains, it is now time to put this technology in every smartphone.”

Image: https://www.genengnews.com

Salisbury Award for Entrepreneurial Translational Research – NFCR

The National Foundation for Cancer Research is proud to present the Salisbury Award in honor of the Salisbury family’s vision and legacy of funding “high risk, high impact, and high reward” cancer research. Over 80 years of service, the three Salisburys galvanized NFCR into a significant force in cancer research worldwide.

The Salisbury Award encourages and promotes innovative scientists and early stage startups to translate their discoveries into therapies that can improve the lives of cancer patients. The initiative is designed to catalyze and advance promising research innovations onto the path of commercialization. Download the flyer and help spread the word!

Maryland Today | Pandemic Fighter’s Priorities

One of the nation’s leading scientists in the desperate campaign to develop coronavirus vaccines—and in the Hollywood-esque triumph of succeeding within a year—grew up just across the street from the University of Maryland. Underlying all that work is her hope of returning to campus.

“I’m fighting the pandemic partly so I can get back to my Terps season tickets,” said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil ’83, lamenting a men’s basketball season played in a mostly empty Xfinity Center.

Image: Dr. Kathleen Neuzil ’83, director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, designs and oversees U.S. vaccine trials. An avid athlete and Maryland sports fan, she played softball as a UMD undergrad (below) and recently tailgated on campus with her husband and three children (bottom). (Portrait courtesy of University of Maryland, Baltimore; softball and family photos courtesy of Dr. Kathleen Neuzil ’83)

Novavax Expands COVID-19 Collaboration and License Agreement with SK Bioscience | BioPharm International

On Feb. 15, 2021, biotechnology company Novavax and SK Bioscience, a vaccine business subsidiary of SK Group, announced an expanded collaboration and license agreement for SK Bioscience to add significant production capacity for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, currently in Phase III clinical trials.

This new agreement follows an already existing manufacturing arrangement under which SK Bioscience obtained a license to manufacture and commercialize NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, for sale to the Korean government. Novavax recently reported positive interim efficacy results for the vaccine candidate in an ongoing Phase III clinical trial in the United Kingdom and is also currently conducting a Phase III trial in the United States and Mexico.

Feb 16 2021

Love0

433rd Edition, February 17, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

February 17, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Troy A LeMaile-Stovall, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of TEDCO Guests on BioTalk

Troy A LeMaile-Stovall, CEO and Executive Director of TEDCO, joins Rich Bendis BioTalk to discuss his background, the local ecosystem, and their vision for the future here in Maryland

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/3tMsGQ4 , Google http://bit.ly/372QPs5 , http://spoti.fi/3tV2vXI , and TuneIn http://bit.ly/3aOuuzC.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. – 2/24 Entrepreneur in Residence Feedback Sessions

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to register. Thank you!

Seraxis Announced Closing of $40M Series C Financing Round

Germantown, MD, February, 9, 2021 – Seraxis, a biotech company developing a cell replacement therapy for insulin-dependent diabetes today announced the successful closing of a $40M Series C private financing round. The financing was led by Eli Lilly and Company, with participation from Frazier Healthcare Partners, Polaris Ventures, JDRF T1D Fund, and other investors.

NexImmune Announces Pricing of Upsized Initial Public Offering

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NexImmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to employ the body’s own T cells to generate a specific, potent and durable immune response that mimics natural biology, today announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 6,471,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $17.00 per share. The gross proceeds to NexImmune from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $110 million.

PGDx becomes latest Baltimore biotech to raise mega-deal, with $103M Series C – Baltimore Business Journal

Luis Diaz, co-founder of PGDx, said the new funding will allow the company to “go out and sell” the cancer diagnostics tech it has been working on for a decade.

Image: Baltimore’s Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) has raised about $214 million in funding to date. CARLEY MILLIGAN

Novavax Vaccine Demonstrates Strong Immune Response – UMB News

The vaccine was found to generate a robust immune response in animals exposed to the vaccine with strong data indicating safety and efficacy, according to the study published recently in the journal Nature Communications. The results have been used to begin testing the vaccine in human trials in the United States with a Phase 3 trial that recently launched at UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD).

The factory that’s racing to make Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine – CBS News

U.S. drug maker Emergent BioSolutions began speeding up its acquisition of drug supplies beginning early last year, as the coronavirus outbreak was erupting in China. In addition to producing drugs like the opioid overdose-reversing Narcan nasal spray, the firm develops vaccines and antibody therapeutics and had scored lucrative contracts for key biodefense medicines over the decades.

Qiagen is interested in organic growth and acquisitions – CEO | Reuters

(Reuters) – Genetic testing specialist Qiagen’s Chief Executive Thierry Bernard said the company is interested in organic growth and “bolt-on” acquisitions, when asked about recent merger and acquisition speculation during a results conference call on Wednesday.

These 6 pandemic fatigue-fighting creative campaigns won University System of Maryland’s Public Health Challenge – Technical.ly Baltimore

University System of Maryland (USM) asked members of its community to get creative with approaches to educating the public on COVID-19 safety ahead of vaccination.

Among the top submissions: a puppet show, an action film parody and, because this is Maryland, a crab.

USM, which oversees a dozen public higher education campuses in the state, issued a Public Health Challenge through its research and innovation task force in December. It called for videos and images “to highlight how USM students, members of the broader university community, and all Marylanders can stay safe and healthy while waiting for a vaccine.”

Image: From “Pandemic Puppet Fatigue.” (Screenshot via University System of Maryland)

CarrTech raising funding to reach FDA finish line as Covid creates demand for needle filter system – Washington Business Journal

The Montgomery County startup is raising new funding — and eyeing an eventual sale of the business.

Image: Sue Carr designed an alternative to the traditional system used for liquid pharmaceuticals. ANDREW BROOKES

Johns Hopkins again tops research and development spending list as University of Maryland jumps over 30 spots – Baltimore Business Journal

Maryland is now one of only six states with more than one university entity spending $1 billion or more per year on research, according to the latest rankings from NSF.

Image: A large portion of Johns Hopkins University’s total research and development spending can be attributed to the school’s Applied Physics Laboratory based in Laurel. COURTESY OF JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY

WHO approves AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use | Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world.

“We now have all the pieces in place for the rapid distribution of vaccines. But we still need to scale up production,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, told a news briefing.

Image: FILE PHOTO: A vial of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is pictured at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, February 14, 2021. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

For mRNA vaccines, COVID-19 is just the beginning | Hub

Easy to manufacture and update, these new vaccines may be a powerful tool against emerging variants and other infectious diseases

Even the experts were startled by the remarkable success of the two first-of-their-kind messenger RNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech against COVID-19.

United Therapeutics considering RTP, NC for future expansion | Raleigh News & Observer

Last month, biotechnology company United Therapeutics began tearing down the historic Elion-Hitchings building in Research Triangle Park, a Mid-Century, Brutalist structure built by the famed architect Paul Rudolph.

While the move was met with dismay from architecture lovers, the demolition could portend a large expansion on the building’s 132-acre property in the coming years.

Image: United Therapeutics currently employs more than 400 people in Research Triangle Park. UNITED THERAPEUTICS.

AURP Virtual Seminars

Creating university communities of innovation is AURP’s core expertise. And as university innovation communities evolve, AURP announces university innovation community builders’ latest professional development opportunity — Innovation U Virtual Seminars. We’ll be featuring information and knowledge about the latest trends in innovation and university districts — the why, the how-to and “the who is doing it and where?”

1.1 Million SF of Vertical Construction Set to Begin in Port Covington • Port Covington

The Port Covington Development Team consisting of lead investors Sagamore Ventures and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and lead developer Weller Development Company, today announced that financing for the next development phase has been finalized. The capitalization totals more than $650 million, including approximately $137 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bonds. The closing of the financing marks a significant milestone for one of the largest urban revitalization efforts in the country, signifying vertical construction is underway. In conjunction with the closings, the Port Covington Development Team funded more than $9 million to the South Baltimore 7 (SB7) Coalition, as part of its Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).

Image: https://pc.city/chapter-1b-underway/

Lessons learned from Johns Hopkins’ high-profile COVID-19 website | Healthcare Finance News

Here’s a look at how Johns Hopkins’ COVID-19 website was created and how it grew visits to more than 38 million in seven months.

Image: https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com

Novavax Announces Expanded Collaboration and License Agreement with SK Bioscience for 40 Million Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine for South Korea

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, and SK Bioscience, a vaccine business subsidiary of SK Group, today announced an expanded collaboration and license agreement. In addition to the already existing manufacturing arrangement, SK Bioscience has obtained a license to manufacture and commercialize NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine, for sale to the Korean government. SK Bioscience will add significant production capacity under this new agreement. Novavax recently reported positive interim efficacy results for the vaccine candidate in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom and is also currently conducting a Phase 3 trial in the U.S. and Mexico.

How American universities can promote innovation: My long-read Q&A with Korok Ray | American Enterprise Institute – AEI

A key component of America’s ability to innovate is its world-renowned system of higher education, which is the envy of the world. owever, there’s room for improvement. Universities can do more to promote the inventive talents of their students and faculty. Recently, I discussed this potential — and the steps higher education institutions should take in order to realize it — in an interview with Korok Ray.

Korok is an associate professor at the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University and the director of the Mays Innovation Research Center. He’s also the author of the recent National Affairs article, “The Innovative University.”

Image: KOROK RAY – https://mays.tamu.edu/directory/korok/

AI Can Increase Efficiency in Healthcare, Even in a Pandemic | HealthTech Magazine

Artificial intelligence is often depicted in popular movies and TV dramas as technology that is determined to take over the world. Just a few weeks ago, a new series on Fox premiered, highlighting “a rogue AI with the ability to constantly improve itself that may spell doom for humankind.”

Solicitations – CAPCaT – CIMIT

The Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) in Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders (U54HL143541) announces the 2021 solicitation of grant applications focused on developing, adapting, or validating point of care technologies that can be rapidly applied to heart, lung, blood, or sleep disorders, with additional interest in projects that incorporate complementary and integrative health approaches. We plan, based on the receipt of meritorious applications, to fund up to four awards of up to $100,000 over 12 months, with one or more award(s) focused on complementary and integrative health.

Johns Hopkins leads nation in research spending for 41st consecutive year | Hub

Johns Hopkins University led all U.S. universities in research and development spending for the 41st consecutive year in fiscal year 2019, spending a record $2.917 billion.

The university’s total R&D expenditure for fiscal year 2019—the most recent year for which nationwide data is available—rose 9.6% from the previous year, according to the annual National Science Foundation report on higher education R&D.

Image: https://hub.jhu.edu

Winners Selected for University System of Maryland Public Health Challenge – USM

Baltimore, Md. (Feb. 11, 2020) – The University System of Maryland (USM) COVID Research & Innovation Task Force today announced the six winning teams for its Public Health Challenge. Undertaken with the generous support of several local organizations, the Task Force in mid-December invited members of the USM community to take part in this multimedia challenge, seeking creative ways to highlight how USM students, members of the broader university community, and all Marylanders can stay safe and healthy while waiting for a vaccine.

Enormous ancient fish discovered by accident | EurekAlert! Science News

Fossilised remains of a fish that grew as big as a great white shark and the largest of its type ever found have been discovered by accident.

The new discovery by scientists from the University of Portsmouth is a species of the so-called ‘living fossil’ coelacanths which still swim in the seas, surviving the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs.

The discovery was purely serendipitous. Professor David Martill, a palaeontologist from the University’s School of the Environment, Geography and Geosciences, had been asked to identify a large bone in a private collection in London.

Image: IMAGE: AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A COMPLETE FISH FOSSIL COELACANTH LOOKS LIKE. THIS ONE IS FROM THE JURASSIC OF GERMAN. view more CREDIT: PROFESSOR DAVID MARTILL, UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

Feb 08 2021

Love0

442nd Edition, February 9, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

February 9, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Brett Malone, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Guests on BioTalk

Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center President and CEO, Brett Malone, Ph.D., joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss regional expansion plans, strategic partnerships, and success stories.

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/3cPyW3t, Google http://bit.ly/3a1kP9m, Spotify http://spoti.fi/3cSwQ2Q, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/3a1kYJW

BioHealth Innovation Adds Four NIH New Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

Renée JG Arnold, John Reinhart, Don Rose, and Kwame Ulmer join Diverse Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) Team

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, February 8, 2021 – BioHealth Innovation Inc., (BHI), announces the addition of Renée JG Arnold, PharmD, RPh, President & CEO, Arnold Consultancy & Technology, LLC, John P. Reinhart, CPA, MBA, Co-founder and Board Member of the Thrive Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Don Rose, Ph.D., Special Advisor to Hatteras Venture Partners, and Kwame Ulmer, Principal at Ulmer Ventures to the growing Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program at BHI aims to ensure 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. These four additions to the team will be working with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute on Aging (NIH).

“I am honored to welcome Renée, John, Don, and Kwame to our EIR Program,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “Our relationship with NIH is very important and these four immensely talented individuals will help us support our commitment to the NIH and the Biohealth Capital Region.”

Sensei Biotherapeutics’ IPO hits $133M – Washington Business Journal

It’s the latest in a series of public offerings for Greater Washington life sciences companies.

Image: John Celebi is CEO of Sensei Biotherapeutics RICHARD PASLEY

Vigene Biosciences grows in Montgomery County | Maryland Business News

Vigene Biosciences is planning a major expansion in Montgomery County, where it will add up to 245 new jobs by the end of 2025.

A global leader in gene therapy development, Vigene will expand into a new facility to accommodate industry demand for its gene and cellular therapy products. In addition to its existing headquarters, R&D and manufacturing locations in Rockville, the company will lease 52,000 square feet of manufacturing space at 14200 Shady Grove Road, bringing the total lab and manufacturing space of the company to 110,000 square feet. Vigene currently employs 125 workers in the county.

RNA Disease Diagnostics, Inc. Takes Exclusive License to Cutting-Edge Molecular RNA Diagnostic Platform Technology from UMB and UMBC

BALTIMORE, Maryland, February 4, 2021 — RNA Disease Diagnostics, Inc. (RNADD) has secured an exclusive global license to a cutting-edge sensor technology jointly owned by University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). RNADD’s first product will be a rapid point-of-care (POC) COVID-19 test with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity that is comparable to the gold standard RT-PCR lab diagnostic.

Dipanjan Pan, MSc, PhD and his teams at UMB and UMBC developed the sensor technology, which will be used to support RNADD’s development and manufacture of proprietary molecular disease diagnostic testing kits, enabling the Company to quickly and accurately detect multiple infectious diseases, helping to lead to the prevention of their transmission and spread.

Landos Biopharma Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering | BioSpace

BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –Landos Biopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,250,000 shares of common stock at the public offering price of $16.00 per share, for total gross proceeds of $100 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by Landos Biopharma. All of the shares of the common stock are being offered by Landos Biopharma.

AstraZeneca set to weather Covid in better health than rivals | Pharmaceuticals industry | The Guardian

Before the pandemic, AstraZeneca was highly regarded in the business and pharmaceutical world – seen as one of the UK’s best companies. Now, thanks to Britain’s successful vaccine programme, it is a household name.

University of Maryland Research Enterprise Ranked Among Top 10 Publics in NSF Higher Education R&D Survey | UMD Right Now :: University of Maryland

BALTIMORE and COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland achieved its highest ranking ever in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey for fiscal year (FY) 2019, placing 14th overall nationally and 8th among all public institutions in Research & Development (R&D) spending. For the first time, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore were linked together as one research enterprise in the ranking, with combined research expenditures of $1.1 billion.

Immunomic Therapeutics’ CEO to present at the BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference – Bloomberg

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company, announced today that the company will present at the BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference, February 16-18, 2021. Chief Executive Officer at ITI, Dr. Bill Hearl, will present a talk titled, “ITI-1000-A Novel Immunotherapy for GBM.” Dr. Hearl will discuss ITI’s investigational UNiversal Intracellular Targeted Expression (UNITE) platform and its application in immuno-oncology, specifically glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). ITI’s technology platform has the potential to utilize the body’s natural biochemistry to develop a broad immune response and is currently being employed in a Phase II clinical trial as a cancer immunotherapy.

Exclusive: Johns Hopkins professor and biotech colleagues tout new tech to test Covid-19 vaccine response – Endpoints News

Vari ants to the SARS-CoV-2 virus have emerged of late as yet an oth er threat to a pan dem ic that’s al ready killed over 2.2 mil lion peo ple world wide.

The Covid-19 vac cines al ready on the mar ket have so far man aged to re tain at least some lev el of ef fi ca cy in treat ing new, more in fec tious strains of the res pi ra to ry virus — but con cern about oth er mu ta tions re mains pal pa ble as a slow, churn ing vac cine roll out con tin ues across the globe.

Image: Linda Marbán, Capricor CEO

IBM, CareFirst, SC&H look to Maryland entrepreneurs to help solve business challenges – Baltimore Business Journal

The Maryland Business Innovation Association (MBIA) has partnered with the Maryland Department of Commerce to launch the inaugural Maryland Business Innovation Challenge, which will aim to break down barriers and create opportunities for collaboration between Maryland’s corporate and innovation communities.

Betsy O’Neill Collie, senior director of operations and programming for MBIA, said the challenge is aimed at companies looking to “to tap into the kinds of brilliance we have in Maryland.” As opposed to other kinds of challenges, such as startup pitch competitions, O’Neill Collie said this will offer the chance for more direct business collaborations.

Baltimore venture capital investor Catalio Capital Management launches new funding option – Baltimore Business Journal

The new funding operation will be led by a pair of investment industry veterans who previously worked at Brown Advisory.

Image: George Petrocheilos (right) and R. Jacob Vogelstein are the co-founders and managing partners of venture investment firm Catalio Capital Management LP. MARK DENNIS

GSK, CureVac to develop next-generation COVID-19 vaccines | Reuters

FRANKFURT, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and German biotech firm CureVac struck a deal to develop next-generation vaccines against COVID-19 that target several variants in one product.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the partners said they were targeting a possible launch in 2022.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Announces Pricing of Public Offering of $900,000,000 of Senior Notes due 2032 $850,000,000 of Senior Notes due 2051

PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (“Alexandria” or the “Company”) (NYSE: ARE) today announced that it has priced a public offering of $900,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 2.000% senior notes due 2032 and $850,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.000% senior notes due 2051 (the “notes”). Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc. and BBVA Securities Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers in connection with the public offering and BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Capital One Securities, Inc., Fifth Third Securities, Inc., PNC Capital Markets LLC, Regions Securities LLC, TD Securities (USA) LLC and Truist Securities, Inc. are acting as co–managers in connection with the public offering.

AURP IC2021 Call for Presentation Proposals

The Association of University Research Parks (AURP), the world’s leading network of research community professionals, invites you to share your knowledge, expertise and experience by presenting at this year’s International Conference.

Important Deadlines to Remember:

Fri, April 2: Submissions Due  
Fri, June 1: Notification of Acceptance Mon,
Oct 4: FINAL Presentations

Due for Review and Address DUE TO VIRTUAL FORMAT, NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

The name and photo associated with your Google account will be recorded when you upload files and submit this form.

Any files that are uploaded will be shared outside of the organization they belong to.

New Tech and Venture Capital Companies Move to Port Covington

The Port Covington Development Team announced last week that four additional companies have joined the roster of businesses located at office buildings City Garage and Impact Village.

The companies are:

Olive, an AI-as-a-Service company designed specifically for healthcare
Conscious Venture Lab, an early-stage business accelerator
LINQ, a managed service provider for corporate cellular communication needs
CoFactor Ventures, an Opportunity Zone private equity firm investing in local technology companies

Image: https://www.southbmore.com

Pandemic Thriving // 12 Organizations that Prospered in 2020

At the beginning of 2020, the proposed most profitable businesses to open in Kenya ranged from photography, mobile money shops, travel agencies, cake & snack suppliers, bodaboda riders, printer/computer sales, and garbage collection. However, once it became clear that we would be in the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future; winners & losers of the pandemic started to emerge.

The immediate winners were those that experienced performance improvement due to the pandemic. Examples of these have been fin-techs like Mpesa whose revenue moved to top gear once the decree was made to reduce or avoid handling of cash altogether.

Image: https://nairobigarage.com

Research & Innovation Campus | Children’s National Hospital

When a child is seriously sick or injured, an entire lifetime hangs in the balance. Yet, nationally, funding for pediatric research continues to trail efforts targeted for adults. Children deserve innovation inspired by their needs.

That’s why Children’s National Hospital is creating a one-of-a-kind pediatric research and innovation hub. Located on a nearly 12-acre portion of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus, we will combine our strengths with those of public and private partners who share our vision. Here, breakthrough discoveries can more quickly be translated into new treatments and technologies benefitting kids.

Salisbury Award Competition – Spring 2021

The Rockville-based National Foundation for Cancer Research is accepting applications through February 28 from academic laboratory and early stage start-up-based promising oncology technology projects for its 2021 Salisbury Award Competition for Entrepreneurial Cancer Research. Top-rated submissions will be invited to participate as finalists in a Zoom-enabled mid-year event judged by a panel of world-class cancer research, technology and investment figures. In addition to increased exposure, insight and access to NFCR’s network, cash prizes totaling $10,000 will be provided to the top three finishers and the winner will be introduced to the AIM-HI Accelerator Fund for consideration of investment. A newly formed spin-off company associated with the 2019 Salisbury Award Competition winning project of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Bert Vogelstein, Emily Han-Chung Hsiue and Jacqueline Douglass is receiving AIM-HI investment. Learn more and apply here: https://www.nfcr.org/salisbury-award/.

5 People in the BioHealth Capital Region You Should Know In 2021 – BioBuzz

2020 brought about a lot of growth across the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) as dozens of organizations responded with urgency to address the COVID-19 pandemic. With 20% of the world’s vaccine leaders residing in the region, the BHCR has played a critical role in the pandemic response. In Maryland, nearly $8 Billion in federal, private, and foundational funding has been invested in life sciences companies for coronavirus vaccine research and other immunotherapeutic developments.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

Maryland’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Highlights

The latest on innovation and entrepreneurship in Maryland

TEDCO’s Rural and Underserved Business Recovery from Impact of COVID-19 (RUBRIC) Program is a $5M economic relief initiative to benefit socially and economically disadvantaged and rural early-stage technology-based businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia designs unveiled: the Helix

Amazon has unveiled the design for HQ2, its futuristic new campus in northern Virginia.

The new headquarters will be home to 2.8 million square feet of office space across three buildings and 2.5 acres of public space. The centerpiece of the campus will be the Helix, a glass structure with walking paths winding around the outside of the building.

Image: The Helix at Amazon’s new HQ 2 in Virginia. NBBJ/Amazon

AURP is celebrating its 35th anniversary of supporting places advancing innovation and economic growth,
AURP is celebrating its 35th anniversary of supporting places advancing innovation and economic growth

Thirty-five years ago, there was no Internet as we know it. No Facebook. No Twitter. And no Zoom meetings!

But in 1986 a group gathered in Arizona to form a non-profit international association to advance outreach, innovation, and corporate partnerships through research parks and what would later be called innovation districts. Among those gathered in the Arizona sun were Stanford University Research Park, Arizona State University, Edmonton Canada Research Park Authority, RPI from New York, Research Triangle in North Carolina, Texas A&M, and Central Florida University.

University tech transfer offices were then in their infancy. The Bayh-Dole Act allowing universities to own intellectual property from federally sponsored research had passed only a few years earlier. Few university incubators existed. Entrepreneurship as an academic discipline or interest among student or faculty groups was just beginning. Venture and angel capital was emerging as a financing tool. AUTM had not been formed. iNBIA did not exist. Research parks then had a narrow focus on financial returns from leasing property.

Feb 02 2021

Love0

441st Edition, February 2, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

February 2, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

Viela Bio to be acquired by Horizon Therapeutics for $3.1 billion – Washington Business Journal

The move comes less than three years after the Gaithersburg biotech spun out of MedImmune.

Image: Viela Bio CEO Bing Yao, pictured here on the company’s IPO day at the Nasdaq. LIBBY GREENE

Emergent BioSolutions unveils 7th pandemic CDMO contract, this time for Humanigen’s late-stage antibody hopeful | FiercePharma

Manufacturing powerhouse Emergent BioSolutions unveiled its seventh COVID-19 CDMO tie-up Monday, this time to help crank out Humanigen’s late-stage antibody hopeful lenzilumab.

Emergent will hustle along fill-finish work on lenzilumab at its Camden plant in Baltimore, boosting supplies ahead of a possible emergency nod early this year. Humanigen’s monoclonal antibody, designed to treat and prevent the immune hyper-response known as cytokine storm, is currently in a phase 3 trial in hospitalized patients, and the company says it expects to file for an emergency use authorization in 2021’s first quarter.

Image: Emergent recently completed a new filling line at its Camden plant in Baltimore, pictured above. (Emergent BioSolutions)

On Demand Pharmaceuticals picks Rockville for new HQ – Washington Business Journal

The move solidifies the company’s local presence about four months after it secured a temporary occupancy permit in September.

Image: Ben Wu is CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. EMAN MOHAMMED

Novavax Reports Varying Success vs. COVID-19 Variants

Novavax electrified investors last night by announcing that its COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373 showed efficacy of 89.3% in the company’s first analysis of data from a Phase III trial in the U.K., where a variant strain (B.1.1.7) accounted for about half of all positive cases.

However, NVX-CoV2373 achieved only 60% efficacy in a Phase IIb trial in South Africa, where that country’s escape variant of the virus (B.1.351, also known as 20H/501Y.V2) was seen in 90% of cases, Novavax said.

“NVX-CoV2373 is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against COVID-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging U.K. and South Africa variants,” Stanley C. Erck, Novavax’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

GetWellNetwork scoops up Docent Health | MobiHealthNews

Patient engagement platform GetWellNetwork announced it has acquired patient-messaging company Docent Health for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal, GetWellNetwork will be able to offer Docent Health’s tool as a combined offering with its other services. The messaging service uses artificial intelligence to message patients about their care. Additionally, its platform is able to collect patient data and, in turn, triage patients and find them the right place of care to seek.

Image: https://www.mobihealthnews.com

European Medicines Agency recommends conditional marketing authorisation to ChAdOx1 coronavirus vaccine – Vaccitech

Oxford, UK – Vaccitech Ltd announces that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has today recommended the conditional marketing authorisation of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford with its partner AstraZeneca. Distribution will begin across all 27 member states once the decision is ratified by the European Commission. The vaccine was co-invented by Vaccitech and The University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute.

Biden White House Strikes $230M Deal for At-Home Coronavirus Testing Kits | Health News | US News

THE BIDEN administration announced Monday that it is investing $230 million in Ellume, an Australian company, for millions of its at-home coronavirus testing kits.

The deal, struck by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, ensures 100,000 over-the-counter test kits will arrive in the U.S. starting this month through July, acting Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Andy Slavitt said Monday during a White House briefing.

Engenious Selected For Development Of New NTrainer System®

Medical device engineering firm, Engenious Design, partners with Innara Health to design the 2nd generation of their ground-breaking technology designed to improve feeding outcomes in premature infants. Prairie Village, KS: Engenious Design, a 39-person creative product development firm specializing in electronic medical device design, has partnered with Kansas City-based start-up Innara Health to develop Innara’s next-generation NTrainer System ®, designed to improve access to more patients by reducing the size and cost of the system, enabling Innara to expand into new markets and provide better access to life-changing therapy and assessment tools for infants.

RIC welcomes Rare Disease Institute as first occupant | Children’s National

The Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus (RIC), the first-of-its-kind pediatric research and innovation hub located in Washington, D.C., now has its first occupant – the Rare Disease Institute (RDI).

The institute, which includes the largest clinical group of pediatric geneticists in the nation, focuses on developing the clinical care field of the more than 8,000 rare diseases currently recognized and advancing the best possible treatments for children with these diseases.

Image: https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/

$125M pharmaceutical plant to be built in Petersburg will create 200 jobs – Richmond BizSense

Two young pharmaceutical companies are teaming up to bring a sizable new facility and nearly 200 new jobs to Petersburg.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that Civica Inc., a Utah-based drug manufacturing nonprofit, will build a $124.5 million pharmaceutical plant along North Normandy Drive in Petersburg.

Image: The proposed $125 million pharmaceutical plant in Petersburg will total 120,000 square feet. (Courtesy of Phlow)

LifeBridge Health, Healthworx launch innovation incubator for health tech startups

Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health is partnering with Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, to launch a new incubator for startup companies developing healthcare technologies and innovations.

The incubator, dubbed 1501 Health, will provide companies participating in the program up to $100,000 in investment as well as access to mentorship and support from payer and provider experts, according to a Jan. 26 news release emailed to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Wilmington digital health company Amalgam Rx acquired Avhana Health – Technical.ly Delaware

Wilmington’s Amalgam Rx, a digital medicine and patient support company, has acquired Baltimore-based Avhana Health.

With the acquisition, which closed this month, Avhana’s seven employees will join Amalgam’s 100-member team, which already has a presence in Baltimore. The acquisition is Amalgam Rx’s first. Terms were not disclosed.

Image: (Image via linkedin.com/company/amalgamrx)

Baltimore’s Catalio partners with New York investment firm HealthCor Management to launch blank check IPO – Baltimore Business Journal

A new “blank check” company created through a partnership between Baltimore venture capital firm Catalio Capital Management and New York investment firm HealthCor Management launched a $180 million IPO Wednesday.

It’s not too soon to start thinking about the next pandemic | LinkedIn

One of the questions I get asked the most is when I think the world will get back to normal. I understand why. We all want to return to the way things were before COVID-19. But there’s one area where I hope we never go back: our complacency about pandemics.

The unfortunate reality is that COVID-19 might not be the last pandemic. We don’t know when the next one will strike, or whether it will be a flu, a coronavirus, or some new disease we’ve never seen before. But what we do know is that we can’t afford to be caught flat-footed again. The threat of the next pandemic will always be hanging over our heads—unless the world takes steps to prevent it.

Image: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-too-soon-start-thinking-next-pandemic-bill-gates/

Emergent BioSolutions to make J&J COVID-19 vaccine in Baltimore

The Johnson & Johnson one-shot coronavirus vaccine is expected to be a game-changer in fighting COVID-19 — and it will be made in Baltimore.

Six Biotechs to Watch in 2021 – BioBuzz

2020 was an interesting year for the biotech industry and the BioHealth Capital Region as we adjusted to continue moving forward during the COVID-19 Pandemic. While the biggest stories in terms of dollars were related to the Coronavirus and funding to create a vaccine in record time, that didn’t stop other biotech companies from working hard to develop their research, science, and/or devices.

Task Force Recommends Regional Hydrogen Center; Discusses Delivery of Strategic Initiatives

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2021 – Connected DMV’s COVID-19 Strategic Renewal Task Force held its seventh meeting on Thursday, adopting a recommendation to proactively address climate change through the establishment of a regional Hydrogen Center that affirms Greater Washington as a leader in the hydrogen economy. Task Force members agreed that collaboration across borders and disciplines to tackle climate change, using hydrogen energy, is a national and regional imperative, and by utilizing the significant assets of the DMV region, an achievable goal.

The Apollo Program for Biodefense – Winning the Race Against Biological Threats – Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense

The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark wake-up call for the United States to take biological threats seriously. The virus is on track to take the lives of more than 400,000 Americans and cost our economy trillions of dollars. The risks of future pandemics increase as technological progress eases barriers to modifying pathogens, raising the specter of novel biological agents causing diseases much worse than humanity has ever faced. Meanwhile, U.S. vulnerabilities to biological attacks have never been clearer to our adversaries.

However, there is a path forward. The Apollo Program for Biodefense would provide the United States the opportunity to mobilize the nation and lead the world to meet these challenges: a world where we detect and continually trace any new pathogen from the source; where we can distribute rapid point-of-person tests to every household in the country within days of that detection; where effective treatments are already in-hand; where vaccine development and rollout occur in weeks rather than years; and where pandemics will never again threaten the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world.

Meet the 9 ventures in Halcyon’s latest incubator program this spring – Technical.ly DC

Georgetown-based Halcyon Incubator has announced the 14th cohort for its incubator for early-stage social impact entrepreneurs. The 18-month fellowship welcomes nine ventures, majority of which are minority-owned, to scale their business models.

Image: Halcyon House in Georgetown. (Photo via Halcyon on Facebook)

Workers Producing the Vaccine Need Vaccination – WSJ

In the race to vaccinate people for Covid-19, everyone agrees front-line health workers, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions should get priority. But one vital group is being overlooked. Even worse, some are criticizing efforts to vaccinate them as some sort of effort to “cut the line.”

Here are some of the fascinating predictions from Kurt Newman

Recently a colleague asked me to predict the future of pediatric #medicine in 30 years. To help develop my list, I tapped many of the smartest people I know: Leaders from Children’s National Hospital. Here are some of the fascinating predictions.

1) Healing children and keeping them healthy will be an international priority, which is reflected in increased attention and funding for pediatric medicine and #research.

New Johns Hopkins report details plan for digital equity in Baltimore | Hub

The lack of reliable access to broadband internet service for many in Baltimore, particularly the poor, has profound economic and social consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this painfully clear with its abrupt shifts to online learning, remote work, and telemedicine. A new analysis from Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities Initiative says the city could move towards digital equity, with a roadmap of recommendations built on existing knowledge of Baltimore’s digital assets and the experiences of other cities.

Healthworx and LifeBridge Health Launch Startup Incubator: 1501 Health

Newswise — Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShieldis partnering with LifeBridge Health to launch 1501 Health, an incubator for healthcare startups. 1501 Health will provide investment and resources to help early-stage companies, located regionally or nationally, develop their healthcare solutions.

Companies participating in the program will receive up to $100,000 in investment and have access to unique mentorship and support from payer and provider experts, along with networking and educational events with other startups, investors and stakeholders.

Image: Healthworx 1501 Health in Baltimore, MD

Pharma Giant Roche Partners for Quantum Drug Discovery

Earlier this month we posited the idea that 2021 could be the year of quantum computing-led drug discovery and predicted that partnerships like those of Google and European pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim would be more common with more quantum hardware makers tying the knot with drug manufacturers.

Jan 26 2021

Love0

440th Edition, January 26, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

January 26, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

New “Virginia Bio-Connect” Statewide Consortium and Scale-Up Initiative Featured on BioTalk

Amy Adams with George Mason University. Nikki Hastings with CvilleBioHub, and John Newby with Virginia Bio join Rich Bendis to discuss the new “Virginia Bio-Connect” statewide consortium and scale-Up initiative.

Listen now via Apple http://apple.co/39ZDl0M, Google http://bit.ly/3iRzmHO, Spotify https://spoti.fi/2MqHTVJ, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2Yelr58. #innovation #biotalk #university #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech #research #biotech

EIR Feedback (BHI) (Only Two Slots Left!)

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Nonprofit eyes Montgomery County for global pandemic prevention center

A nonprofit is considering Montgomery County as the site of a global pandemic center that would focus on prevention, research and response.

The Global Pandemic Prevention and Biodefense Center would serve as the “world’s epicenter” for pandemic prevention and biodefense ecosystem coordination.

County Council Member Hans Riemer proposed a $500,000 special appropriation to help fund the strategy phase of the project, which began in December. The appropriation was introduced at the council’s meeting on Tuesday.

Gaithersburg biotech NexImmune files for IPO – Washington Business Journal

The company, which is developing cancer treatments, plans to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market.

Germantown’s Precigen Announces Pricing of $112.5 Million Public Offering of Common Stock – BioBuzz

GERMANTOWN, Md., Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Precigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGEN) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $7.50 per share. Precigen has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 shares of its common stock. Gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $112.5 million, excluding any exercise of the underwriters’ option. The offering is expected to close on January 26, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

COVID-19 Vaccine Handling Toolkit

Recent challenges around preparing, transporting, and administering COVID-19 vaccines have received national and international attention. As part of our ongoing COVID-19 response, the U.S Pharmacopeia (USP) rapidly engaged stakeholders and convened experts to identify and help address operational efficiency gaps to help increase COVID-19 vaccinations.

Money Moves: Bethesda healthtech biz Aledade closed a $100M Series D – Technical.ly DC

Bethesda, Maryland-based Aledade, manager of a tech platform to help healthcare providers join forces to reduce Medicare costs, closed a $100 million Series D funding round. This latest investment round was led by returning investor Meritech Capital.

The tech company plans to use the fresh funding to expand its value-based care model and secure more strategic partnerships with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to benefit seniors. Through MA contracts, the company serves more than 100,000 patients, per a news release.

Image: The Aledade team. (Photo via @AledadeACO on Twitter)

Cerecor Announces Proceeds from Option to Purchase Additional Shares of Common Stock Bringing Public Offering Proceeds to $40.7 Million :: Cerecor, Inc. (CERC)

ROCKVILLE, Md. and CHESTERBROOK, Pa., Jan. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cerecor Inc. (“Cerecor”; NASDAQ: CERC), a biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in development and commercialization of treatments for rare pediatric and orphan diseases, announced today the exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 1,648,812 shares of Cerecor’s common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”) at a price to the public of $2.60 per share, increasing the total offered through the previously announced underwritten public offering to 13,971,819 of Common Stock and 1,676,923 of prefunded warrants. The gross proceeds to Cerecor from this exercise were approximately $4.3 million, resulting in approximately $40.7 million total gross proceeds from the offering. Cerecor intends to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes and working capital, primarily to support the ongoing clinical development of key assets within its pipeline and for general and administrative expenses.

Rockville contract research organization Emmes creates biopharma and public health business units, acquires Neox – Washington Business Journal

In the last four months, this Rockville life sciences services firm has gotten a new CEO, purchased a company and split the business in two to brace for more growth.

Image: Dr. Christine Dingivan took over as president and CEO of Rockville contract research organization Emmes at the end of September. COURTESY EMMES

Alexandria Launch Labs

Alexandria LaunchLabs™ in Maryland, will provide fully equipped, affordable laboratory/office space with flexible lease terms, supporting infrastructure, access to amenities, and supporting services and programming through the project’s consortium of world-class partners, including Alexandria Venture Investments, BioHealth Innovation, Montgomery County, and the City of Gaithersburg. This unique, startup environment will accelerate the growth of local early-stage life science companies.

QIAGEN confirms effectiveness of its SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests in the face of mutations of the coronavirus

Germantown, Maryland, and Hilden, Germany, January 20, 2021 – QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests remain accurate and effective in detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections – and will continue to closely monitor their performance as global concerns mount regarding the detection of new viral variants by established testing methods.

QIAGEN has successfully assessed its SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests against genetic mutations of the virus uploaded to the GISAID and GenBank public databases since May 2020. A latest round of assessments conducted in January 2021 again confirmed that no recorded mutations affected the sensitivity of QIAGEN assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2. Surveillance of genetic variations will continue on a biweekly basis.

Veralox Therapeutics Announces FDA Orphan Drug Designation for VLX-1005

FREDERICK, Md – January 26, 2021 – Veralox Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class small molecule therapeutics that treat the underlying pathologies of diseases with significant unmet medical needs, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for VLX-1005 for the treatment of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).

“We are pleased the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation for VLX-1005 for prophylaxis of thrombosis in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia,” said Jeffrey W. Strovel, PhD., Chief Executive Officer of Veralox Therapeutics. “This is a significant regulatory milestone for our company, and in the development of this investigational new drug product and recognition of the clear unmet medical need for patients who suffer from this devastating disease.” “

The World’s Top Ten Quantum Tech Universities and Research Institutions

University research labs are playing a central role in the development of quantum technologies, such as quantum computers and quantum communication devices. Universities often approach quantum science from a number of angles. Some are good at theoretical approaches to quantum science. Some are strong at applied quantum science. Some focus on the educational and outreach of quantum physics.

Image: Research labs, like this one at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing, are the heart of the world’s growing quantum industry.

Senseonics adds EmblemHealth to insurer list, initiates offering while facing FDA delays – Washington Business Journal

The moves come after an uncertain period for the Germantown biotech.

Image: Tim Goodnow is president and CEO of Germantown-based Senseonics. JOANNE S. LAWTON

CCF FY2021 Solicitation

CIT is conducting a competitive solicitation for young Virginia companies that have strong potential to drive economic growth in Virginia, including revenue and job creation, in strategically important industry sectors. The CCF FY21 round will provide grants up to $100,000 to advance companies and their highly promising technologies that have seen traction, for instance through revenue and/or investment, and would be catalyzed by support to commercialize the technologies or access the market. Up to $7 million has been allocated for the single FY21 round. Projects are anticipated to be 6-12 months and CCF funding can supports companies’ commercialization goals through product or service development, pilots, intellectual property protection, marketing, and more.

Black Innovators in Skin Health QuickFire Challenge – Challenge | JLABS

For too long, the face of skincare has reflected only SOME of the faces we see within our communities. We know there are a lack of consumer products available tailored to the needs of the Black community.

As the world’s largest healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson recognizes and embraces our responsibility for enacting change. Within our consumer business, our products must reach, have a positive impact on, and most importantly, serve everyone. Looking to the future of healthcare, we must seek out and support innovators from diverse backgrounds in order to generate inclusive solutions.

Science Takes Center Stage in the Biden Administration

The number of changes being implemented by the new administration in the White House are likely too many to count. And while many are significant, one strikes a chord with the scientific community in a very meaningful way. In the days leading up to his inauguration, President Biden made it clear that science is a priority. He has backed that up with several recent announcements.

STEM Talent Challenge Awardees Announced

EDA is pleased to announce today that seven organizations from across the United States have been awarded a total of $2 million in grants through the inaugural STEM Talent Challenge, which aims to boost local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent.

Grant projects are building STEM workforce readiness while fueling innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging and transformative sectors, such as space commerce, aeronautics, digital manufacturing, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and cybersecurity. Click here for more about each project.

Jan 20 2021

Love0

439th Edition, January 20, 2021

By admin BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

BioHealth Innovation

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

January 20, 2021

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

United States Pharmacopeia CEO Ronald T. Piervincenzi, Ph.D. Joins Rich Bendis on the BioTalk Podcast

Ronald T. Piervincenzi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, United States Pharmacopeia virtually sits down with Rich Bendis to discuss the over 200 year old Organization, the services they offer, and their goals for the future.

Listen now on Google http://bit.ly/2NjX8As, Apple http://apple.co/3irukRQ, Spotify http://spoti.fi/35UfM8B, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2XRFEgD.

Amalgam Rx Announces Acquisition of Avhana Health (BHI client acquired participant in our Dreamit Health Accelerator)

Amalgam Rx, Inc., a leading Digital Therapeutics and Patient Support company, announces the acquisition of Avhana Health, a privately held clinical decision support (CDS) company, which has deep integrations with the leading electronic health records (EHR). Amalgam Rx will expand Avhana’s CDS tools to multiple therapeutic areas and combine them with other digital solutions to simplify doctors’ workflows.

Avhana Health is a CDS company used by doctors to support real-time adoption of and adherence to clinical quality guidelines. Avhana’s SaaS-based CDS tool has been implemented in more than 150 provider groups and identifies over $120 million a year in cost savings. Enabling real-time two-way interactions within the EHR, Avhana optimizes provider workflow beyond simple data integration.

Immunomic Therapeutics raises another $16M for cancer programs – Washington Business Journal

The latest funding comes on top of $61.3 million in new funding the local biotech raised in April.

Image: Bill Hearl is CEO and founder of Immunomic Therapeutics in Rockville. COURTESY IMMUNOMIC THERAPEUTICS

EIR Feedback (BHI)

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

For questions/more information, contact BHI.

Inventions Boosting Health in the Developing World | The Borgen Project

More often than not, girls in developing countries either cannot afford or do not have access to menstrual products. This makes it extremely difficult for them to go about their day, particularly if they are in school. Flo is a menstrual product that allows the user to wash, dry and carry a reusable menstrual pad with dignity. The concept was developed by Mariko Higaki Iwai. The Flo menstrual kit was designed with the following issues in mind:

Immunotherapy Veteran Robert Knight, MD, Joins NexImmune as Chief Medical Officer

GAITHERSBURG, MD – January 18, 2021 – NexImmune today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert (Bob) Knight as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Knight is a seasoned executive with extensive experience leading early- and late-stage immunotherapy product development teams. Prior to joining NexImmune, Dr. Knight led the Yescarta® clinical program at Kite Pharmaceuticals (a Gilead Company) and, prior to that, spent 16 years at Celgene Corporation as a Vice President in Clinical Research. During his tenure at Celgene, he helped lead the development of the company’s IMiD and targeted therapy programs, including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and enasidenib. In addition to his roles at Kite and Celgene, Dr. Knight also led the cancer immunotherapy development program at Sorrento Therapeutics as the company’s Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Research.

Md. Department of Commerce eyes changes to to tax credit programs – Baltimore Business Journal

After a bitter battle with Democratic lawmakers last year, the Department of Commerce is looking to alter the biotech, cybersecurity and research and development tax credits.

Image: Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz wants the legislature to pass four bills that would alter tax credit programs including the cybersecurity and biotechnology tax credits. ERIC STOCKLIN

NexImmune Appoints Healthcare Innovator Grant Verstandig as New Board Member

GAITHERSBURG, MD – January 19, 2021 – NexImmune, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to employ the body’s own T cells to generate a specific, potent, and durable immune response that mimics natural biology, today announced the appointment of Grant Verstandig to its Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to welcome Grant to the NexImmune Board,” said Sol Barer, PhD, Chairman of NexImmune’s Board of Directors. “Grant is a recognized innovator and leader in the evolving fields of digital health and artificial intelligence (AI). We believe that better understanding the intersections of biology, big data and artificial intelligence is a clear trend in our industry and will greatly help the Company design, implement and collect outcomes on clinical trials that may truly transform the way we develop novel therapeutics. We look forward to working with him as we continue the development of our product candidates and technology platform.”

Novavax taps Baxter for commercial production as COVID-19 vaccine nears finish line – BioBuzz

With a phase 3 data readout on its COVID-19 vaccine looming, Novavax has already started stockpiling doses ahead of an authorization. Now, thanks to a fresh manufacturing tie-up, the company’s ex-U.S. supplies just got a little more secure.

Novavax tapped Baxter BioPharma Solutions to handle commercial-scale vaccine manufacturing at its facility in Halle, Germany. Once production work kicks off, Baxter will be on deck to crank out supplies for the European and U.K. markets, the companies said.

United Therapeutics Announces New England Journal of Medicine Publication of the INCREASE Study Evaluating Tyvaso® in Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Interstitial Lung Disease

SILVER SPRING, Md. and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) today announced that results from the INCREASE clinical study of Tyvaso® (treprostinil) Inhalation Solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) have been published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Results from INCREASE, the largest and most comprehensive completed study of adult patients with PH-ILD, showed that treatment with inhaled Tyvaso was well tolerated and improved the exercise capacity measure of six-minute walk distance (6MWD) by 31 meters relative to placebo at Week 16 (p

If You Bought Alexandria Real Estate Equities In 2001, Are You Smiling? – My Morning Joe Stock Watch

A key lesson we can learn from Warren Buffett, is about how to think about a potential stock investment in the context of a long-term time horizon. Every investor in a stock has a choice: bite our fingernails over the short-term ups and downs that are inevitable with the stock market, or, zero in on stocks we are comfortable to simply buy and hold for the long haul — maybe even a twenty year holding period. Heck, investors can even choose to completely ignore the stock market’s short-run quotations and instead go into their initial investment planning to hold on for years and years regardless of the fluctuations in price that might occur next.

Image: Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Tips for Life Science Job Seekers Heading Into 2021 – BioBuzz

The pandemic changed everything. We live differently, behave differently, and have come to appreciate the little things we might have taken for granted before COVID-19 took hold in the BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR).

We saw a move to nearly 100% remote work within the life sciences industry, companies pivoting to join the fight against SARS-CoV-2, and telemedicine finally earning more widespread acceptance and usage. The region became an epicenter for COVID-19 vaccine development and funding, requiring a host of companies to recruit and hire new talent to support the fight against the pandemic while also advancing their own pipelines.

Image: https://biobuzz.io

WEBINAR: Reducing Barriers to Federal Partnerships

Join MCEDC and the FLC for a free virtual seminar. Learn about proposed policies for obtaining federal R&D funding, licensing federal technologies and accessing federal resources. The Department of Commerce has proposed new rules and legislation to provide extended protection for proprietary information, allow the licensing of government produced software, authorized more flexible grant terms – and more.

In 2020, Maryland saw most VC funding dollars since 2001 – Technical.ly Baltimore

Venture capitalists invested $1.159 billion into Maryland companies, according to data from the MoneyTree Report by PwC/CB Insights. It marks the third-highest VC dollar total in a year since 2000, and the highest since 2001.

The funding was invested over 79 deals that included a pair of megadeals over $100 million, which typically drive yearly totals up.

“Maryland not only had a good year in 2020 but the upward trend in funding over the last 20 years in Maryland is quite encouraging as well,” said Brad Phillips, a director in PwC’s emerging company services practice.

Image: (Photo by Flickr user Austin Kirk, used under a Creative Commons license)

Apply, Enroll & Explore Course Catalog

The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) at the NIH will host a Virtual Open House on Monday, March 1 for its online Spring 2021 Academic Programs, including the several courses for its “Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer Program”. The Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer is a low-cost, open enrollment program with class credits transferable into various university graduate degree programs. Online registration for these classes is now open:

Online Courses

TECH 514 | Technology Transfer: Transitions, Processes, and Players (Starts March 22)
TECH 540 | Introduction to Life Sciences Licensing (Starts March 22)
TECH 566 | Building a Biotech Company: Business Leadership and Management Strategies (Starts March 22)
TECH 582 | Intellectual Property and Patent Prosecution for Scientists (Starts March 22)
TECH 607 | Capstone Course in Technology Transfer (Starts February 1 and March 22)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Antigen Test as First Over-the-Counter Fully At-Home Diagnostic Test for COVID-19 | FDA

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules. The test detects fragments of proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a nasal swab sample from any individual 2 years of age or older.

“Today’s authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19. By authorizing a test for over- the-counter use, the FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. “As we continue to authorize additional tests for home use, we are helping expand Americans’ access to testing, reducing the burden on laboratories and test supplies, and giving Americans more testing options from the comfort and safety of their own homes.”

Maryland companies raised highest amount of venture capital ever in 2020 – Baltimore Business Journal

Maryland’s growing companies raised a record $1.16 billion in VC dollars last year.

United Therapeutics Sponsors Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Registry

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) announced that United Therapeutics will sponsor the PFF Registry.

The Registry is a research resource that tracks clinical data, samples, and patient-reported outcomes from people living with pulmonary fibrosis in the U.S.

According to the PFF, United Therapeutics’ sponsorship of the Registry will aid researchers who are working to develop better treatments for people with pulmonary fibrosis and secondary pulmonary hypertension (PH, when the blood pressure in the lungs is abnormally high).

COVID-19 One Year Later: The Biology and the Business

The days are long, but the years are short.” This bittersweet saying, which is often shared with new parents, may apply to everyone who has been living through the COVID-19 pandemic—although what we’re experiencing is almost entirely bitter and not at all sweet. Over the past 12 months, SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus that carries a mere 29,903 nucleotides, has devastated our communities, disabling economies and taking far too many lives. However, as we hit the grim one-year anniversary of COVID-19, we may anticipate a measure of relief.

EY Firepower Report: Biopharma M&A Poised to Rebound in 2021

A significant volume of new M&A deals during 2021 are expected to involve cell and gene therapy developers as in recent years—but with an emerging twist resulting from some recent clinical disappointments for autologous treatments . . .

HHS expands COVID-19 public health emergency until April, preserving key telehealth flexibilities | FierceHealthcare

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the public health emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic until April, extending key waivers for regulations on a variety of topics such as telehealth.

The public health emergency declaration was originally scheduled to expire Jan. 21. HHS Secretary Alex Azar extended the emergency Thursday, according to a notice.

15 Biggest Vaccine Companies in the World

In this article, we are going to list the 15 largest vaccine companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest vaccine companies in the world. Vaccination is the most simple and effective way of prevention of many diseases. It provides immunity to infectious diseases and it is the most cost-effective method to protect the world population. The first-ever vaccine was introduced for smallpox to treat the deadly cowpox virus in 1796. This virus killed many people and developing a vaccine for it saved many lives. But the concept of vaccines existed even before 1796. Pharmaceutical companies around the globe have worked to develop vaccines for diseases such as Malaria, HIV, cholera, influenza and tuberculosis.

Connect Media: CRE – Boston Commercial Real Estate News

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase 401 Park Drive and 201 Brookline Ave. from Samuels & Associates for $1.5 billion. The office and research campus is located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood and will include 1.8 million square feet of rentable space.

The 401 Park property was built in 1928 as a Sears, Roebuck and Co. distribution center and is home to a number of office and life science tenants. It is 93% occupied across 973,000 rentable square feet. The property is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a retail and restaurant hub. The property at 201 Brookline is a 510,000-square-foot, 14-story office and lab development currently under construction with an estimated completion date of next year.

Harvard, MIT and Boston-area hospitals get $76M for health innovation center

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s joint biological innovation center has secured $76 million and signed a lease for a new facility in Watertown, Mass., according to a Jan. 14 news release.

Harvard and MIT partnered with several Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals including Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s in November 2019 to launch the Center for Advanced Biological Innovation and Manufacturing.

The new funding will go toward building the 40,000-square-foot facility and support 40 full-time employees. The center expects to begin operations in early 2022.

BIA | US investors flock to UK biotech as sector delivers strong outperformance in a turbulent 2020

Biotech companies on London stock markets delivered market-beating returns in 2020 and attracted new investors looking for growth in a turbulent year, according to new analysis published today by the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Radnor Capital Partners.

The study reveals 24 new American and 16 new European finance houses invested in the UK biotech sector for the first time, showing global recognition for UK innovation. 20 new UK institutional investors also entered the sector as other sectors of the economy were hit by the impacts of the pandemic. The findings show the importance of including biotech and healthcare in investment portfolios as part of both risk management and growth strategies.

Venture Capital Funding Report Q4 2020 – CB Insights Research

2020 INVESTMENTS HIT NEW ANNUAL RECORD DESPITE THE PANDEMIC

US-based, VC-backed companies raise nearly $130B in 2020, up 14% year-over-year (YoY) from 2019, despite the impacts of Covid-19 around the world.

However, annual deal activity is down YoY, falling to 6,022 deals, a 9% decline from 6,599 in 2019.

Image: https://www.cbinsights.com

SBA Announces Recipients of Tibbetts Awards for Demonstrating Significant Economic and Social Impact from R&D Funding

Washington, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced 38 companies, seven organizations and 14 individuals as the winners of the prestigious Tibbetts Award for their accomplishments in creating cutting-edge technologies. The Tibbetts Awards, named after Roland Tibbetts, the founder of the SBIR Program, honors these awardees for the exceptional successes they achieved through SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

BHI Weekly Newsletter Archives

About BioHealth Innovation

Contact

Connect

Search