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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.  

Howard County has plans for a new incubator that would aim to develop companies with a socially conscious focus.

The Conscious Venture Lab is a partnership between Howard County and New York-based The Porter Group LLC. The incubator, which will be housed in the county’s Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, could begin enrolling entrepreneurs and budding startups as early as this fall.

AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Amplimmune, a privately-held, Maryland, US-based biologics company focused on developing novel therapeutics in cancer immunology.

This summer marked the inauguration of the DreamIt Health accelerator, a startup boot camp focused on healthcare IT run by DreamIt Ventures and powered by Penn Medicine and Independence Blue Cross. In four short months, ten extraordinary teams of entrepreneurs, including four from Wharton, were brought together from around the country to achieve significant milestones going from concepts to prototypes, products, pilots and revenues. As the program wound down, the investor, startup and healthcare community turned out in force for Demo Day to see a snapshot of each company’s progress and plans for the future.