News Archive

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will visit China next month, leading a delegation of business and civic leaders looking for partnership opportunities in areas such as education and biotechnology.

While final details are still being worked out, Leggett’s group is scheduled to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Benxi and Xi’an, the county’s newest “sister city.” The trip, set for Sept. 15-25, has been jointly organized by the county, the Maryland China Business Council and the state of Maryland’s trade and investment office in Shanghai, which will help with roundtables and other contacts.

BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance and launch of the BD ProbeTec™ Trichomonas vaginalis Qx Amplified DNA Assay for the direct qualitative detection of T. vaginalis DNA in endocervical and vaginal samples as well as neat urine specimens to aid in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis on the BD Viper™ System with XTR™ Technology. This assay has been CE-marked to the In Vitro Diagnostic Directive (98/79/EC).

Trichomoniasis is the most common curable sexually transmitted infection (STI). Worldwide, more than 180 million cases are estimated to occur annually.[i] Genital inflammation caused by trichomoniasis can increase a woman’s susceptibility to HIV infection. In HIV-infected women, trichomoniasis may increase the likelihood of HIV transmission to sex partners. Furthermore, trichomoniasis is often asymptomatic. For these reasons, experts recommend screening for T. vaginalis in women considered to be at high risk for infection (i.e., women who have new or multiple partners, have a history of STIs, exchange sex for payment, or use injection drugs).  

One of the first tenants to lease at Emerging Technology Center’s new Highlandtown location is SameGrain, developer of a social discovery platform that helps people anonymously locate, connect with, and grow new friendships with people who share similar demographics, beliefs, and interests.

One of SameGrain’s goals is making it easier for people who share common interests to find each other, says SameGrain co-founder Anne A. Balduzzi.

ATCC, the premier global biological materials resource and standards organization, announces material deposit agreements with over 30 leading public and private institutions. These institutions will have the option to participate in the new Biomaterial Contributor Network (BCN), and make important research materials available to the research community. ATCC will coordinate with Technology Transfer Offices at each institution to create a simple, streamlined process for adding new microbial strains and cell lines to the ATCC collection. Many of the participants will have an opportunity to receive a share of the revenue from the sale and licensing of materials developed at their institutions. Over 225 unique biological materials are deposited under these agreements to date, with most available to both contributors and others as determined jointly by ATCC and the institution.

“Since 1925, ATCC has set the standard for providing the largest and most diverse collection of authenticated biological materials to the scientific community. The Network enables Contributors to create a lasting impact on science around the globe,” said Dr. Raymond Cypess, CEO of ATCC. “These agreements reinforce ATCC’s Mission to distribute scientifically valuable, authenticated materials, while recognizing the shared financial benefit with participating institutions,” said Matt Klusas, Senior Director of Corporate Development at ATCC.

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a specific protein in nearly 100 percent of high-grade meningiomas — the most common form of brain tumor — suggesting a new target for therapies for a cancer that does not respond to current chemotherapy.

Importantly, the investigators say, the protein — NY-ESO-1 — is already at the center of a clinical trial underway at the National Cancer Institute. That trial is designed to activate the immune systems of patients with other types of tumors that express the protein, training the body to attack the cancer and eradicate it.

AstraZeneca Plc took a further step to bolster its pipeline of new cancer drugs on Monday by agreeing to acquire privately held U.S. biotech company Amplimmune for up to $500 million.

The deal is the second within 24 hours in the cancer drug space, following Amgen Inc’s much larger acquisition of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $10.4 billion.

Amplimmune specialises in developing treatments designed to help the immune system fight cancer and the purchase will give AstraZeneca access to a number of compounds currently in pre-clinical development.

Electronic medical records. DNA sequencing. Big data. These technology trends are changing the way medicine is practiced today — but what’s coming next? I scoured the web, reached out to futurists and drew from past conversations with industry leaders to compile a list of the next generation of disruptive technologies that are on the brink of breaking through in healthcare. What’s missing from this list?

Forum Agenda: 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Jones Day Terrace & Conference Center

51 Louisiana Ave, NW | Washington, D.C.

With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, mobile devices and web-based applications, hackers have more opportunities than ever to infiltrate and crash network systems, especially in healthcare, which is increasingly becoming more vulnerable. The two greatest areas of opportunity for investment capital and the start-up community is in healthcare and cyber security. The nexus of these two sectors provides an even greater and more focused set of opportunities for investment. The Angel Venture Forum brings together all star roundtables of experts to opine and discuss the topics and the opportunities herein.

Novartis International AG / Novartis holds annual healthcare entrepreneur competition to generate insight into healthcare and innovation of tomorrow . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• The International Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) fosters idea exchange with leading scientists as well as entrepreneurship for young talents
• 60 selected students from leading international universities attend to explore science and innovation at Novartis headquarters in Basel, Switzerland
• Novartis CEO presents innovative health care solutions and business approaches to address the evolving need to improve patient outcomes

A new system for visualizing the brain during surgery is helping neurosurgeons more accurately diagnose and treat patients and is even allowing them to perform some procedures that until now have been extremely difficult or even impossible.

Neurosurgeons can use the imaging technology during surgeries that require small objects—biopsy needles, implants, or tubes to deliver drugs—to be placed at precise locations in the brain. The system provides live magnetic resonance images (MRI) that allow surgeons to monitor their progress during the operation.