News Archive

The University of Maryland (UMD) and Siemens Corporation announced today the largest ever in-kind software grant from Siemens PLM Software. The in-kind grant has a commercial value of more than $750 million. Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) software will provide UMD students and researchers with a uniquely valuable and sophisticated design and simulation tool for course work, research, academic projects and team-based competitions.

This in-kind grant from Siemens gives students and faculty access to the same technology that companies around the world depend on every day to develop and manufacture innovative products in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, biotechnology, machinery, shipbuilding, and high-tech electronics, among others.

Fenwick & West LLP, one of the nation’s premier law firms providing comprehensive legal services to high technology and life science clients, today announced the results of its First Half 2013 Life Science Venture Capital Survey.

The survey analyzes the valuations and terms of venture financings for 149 life science companies headquartered in the United States that reported raising capital during the first half of 2013, as well as trends in venture capital financings, fundraising and exit events.

Winning a $1.6 million federal grant to buy a robotic system to store 1 million blood, urine and tissue samples was easy compared to finding space for it at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The “monster” machine, to be known as the university’s “bio bank,” is 13 feet wide, 20 feet deep and 10 feet high, said Dr. Alan Shuldiner, associate dean for personalized medicine.

But free lab space is scarce on the school’s West Baltimore campus.

A report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), “Health IT-Enabled Quality Measurement: Perspectives, Pathways, and Practical Guidance,” outlines experts’ viewpoints on how information technologies are advancing the science of quality measurement. Over the course of the 2-year project, diverse perspectives were identified regarding how to operationalize quality measurement as well how to prioritize iterative advancements in health IT-enabled quality measurement.

Stakeholders agreed on the importance of addressing measure development, implementation, and testing; data elements and data capture; data access, sharing, aggregation, and integration; patient engagement; and collaboration and education. They also agreed that they would like to see quality measurement move beyond “checking the box” to truly support the quality improvement process. They suggested that quality measurement should be actionable and timely to allow patients and providers opportunities to improve care.

While the first half of 2013 saw a surge in initial public offerings (IPOs) by venture-backed biopharma companies, the overall financing environment for privately held life science companies remains slow.

The average valuation increase for life science companies receiving venture capital financing during the first half of 2013 was roughly even with 2012 results, and the percentage of “up round” financings declined slightly. Fundraising by life science venture capitalists continued to decline as well.

In investing, comedy, and business, timing is a key component of success.  It’s not enough to have a sense of where the future is going, directionally – you have to have some sense of when it’s likely to arrive.

In investing, this challenge is perhaps seen most vividly in bubbles, as Gregory Zuckerman details in The Greatest Trade Ever, providing example after example of exceptionally smart people — from Isaac Newton to Stanley Druckenmiller — who were able to correctly perceive a bubble, but who nevertheless lost huge sums of money by inaccurately estimating when it would burst.

Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) has launched the first cyber-security technology startup accelerator program in the U.S. The Mach37 Cyber Accelerator is intended to locate and leverage the wealth of cyber security talent in Virginia to create companies that will develop and launch new products.

Mach 37 represents 37 times the speed of sound, which is approximately the same as the Earth’s escape velocity.

Cars entering UMBC’s campus from I-195 will pass by a collection of nice looking buildings and a Subway restaurant. When temporarily stopped to obey the four-way stop before crossing the intersection, passengers may notice the sign that says bwtech@UMBC.

While the buildings and the sign are a familiar sight to many, their significance may remain unknown to those who pass by. These buildings house part of a research park run by UMBC named bwtech@UMBC.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is interested in fostering communication between eligible small businesses and prime contractors.

The event, held in Rockville MD, will provide information about upcoming subcontractor opportunities for eligible small businesses, while assisting primes with meeting their subcontracting goals. NCI is interested in identifying a variety of small businesses that have expertise and capabilities in a range of specific NAICS codes listed.

University of Maryland Received a 2013 NIH Grant for $219,084 for Age-Related Changes in Renal Morphology and Function in Chronic Kidney Disease. The principal investigator is Yu Chen. The program begain in 2012 and ends in 2014. Below is a summary of the proposed work.

This application is in response to PA-09-166 “Renal Function and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Aging (R21)”. CKD is a growing problem among the aging population. According to the United States Renal Data System, the number of older patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has almost doubled over the last 25 years.