News Archive

Startup Maryland today announced dates (September 9 – 27) and the rough route for the Pitch Across Maryland 2.0, the second annual state-wide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and startup companies.

Referred to by CBS News affiliate WBOC-TV 16 as “Opportunity on Wheels,” the inaugural Pitch Across Maryland tour was an overwhelming success last year. The bus traversed the state all in the name of celebrating entrepreneurship. A sampling of details, key data and results from last year’s tour follow:

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has partnered with Barclays Bank to develop a youth entrepreneurship program with the Bloomberg School’s Center for American Indian Health. The new initiative is aimed at designing an evidence-based program to inspire American Indian youth to stay in school and create business and social entrepreneurship opportunities.

As part of the partnership, Barclays will provide a total of $1.2 million in program funding over the course of the next three years. Additionally, Barclays employees will lend their business expertise and serve as mentors to program participants.  Program efforts will first concentrate on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona with the ultimate goal to implement youth entrepreneurship programs in poverty stricken communities throughout the world. 

Chandra Duggirala, maker of an experimental device for type two diabetes, is on the verge of giving up.

Duggirala’s company, Novobionics, raised a small amount of funding for a noninvasive technology that mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgery. The device tricks the gastro-intestinal tract into thinking it is full, which slows the rate of nutrient absorption, thereby easing suffering for diabetes patients.

Ingenuity Systems, a 15-year veteran of the biological software business, showed today that you can make money not just by generating DNA data, but by helping scientists figure out what it means.

Redwood City, CA-based Ingenuity said today it has agreed to be acquired by Netherlands-based Qiagen for $105 million in cash. Ingenuity, a private company, was able to fetch that price after it closed last year with about $20 million in net sales, the companies said in a statement. The deal is expected to start adding to Qiagen’s profits in 2015, the companies said.

President Barack Obama dropped in on the National Academy of Sciences today to help it celebrate its 150th birthday.

The president said he’s committed to increased public investment in scientific research, contending this is necessary in order for the U.S. to retain its technological edge. Under sequestration, however, federal spending on research is being cut, not increased.

A Columbia University administrator is taking over a top post at Johns Hopkins University.

Robert C. Lieberman will take on the role of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hopkins July 1. Lieberman is currently the interim dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Last year AstraZeneca’s ($AZN) MedImmune did about 20 biologics deals, not counting the academic pacts it assembled. This year, MedImmune R&D chief Bahija Jallal tells me, there will be no letup in talent scouting. “If we do as little or more than last year,” says Jallal, “I would be happy.”

Echoing late-stage R&D chief Briggs Morrison–who spoke with me at BIO last week–Jallal singled out cardiovascular/metabolics, respiratory and cancer as key fields for new deals. She noted particular interest in brown fat, a focus for weight-loss fans, and immunotherapeutics, which has emerged as one of the hottest sectors in oncology R&D.

Google Ventures has been backing startups through its venture capital fund since 2009 and offers a pretty diverse range of services to entrepreneurs. Here’s a look at the eight healthcare and life science businesses among its portfolio companies spanning DNA analysis, accelerated drug development, and oncology analytics.

23andMe The startup has helped make personal genetics and DNA analysis much more accessible to consumers. The company, co-founded by Anne Wojsicki, offers DNA test kits that for $99 and a little saliva help people better understand what conditions they are at risk for developing, whether they are carriers for any diseases that they could unwittingly give to their children. It can also provide information on whether people’s genetic makeup makes them particularly sensitive to certain drugs. It also uses results from user queries, with their consent, to conduct in-house research.

May 7, 2013, 8:00am – 5:30pm (EDT)

NCI Shady Grove, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

This workshop will include opportunities for one-on-one meetings with representatives of many of the presenting federal organizations. Please indicate your interest and top three choices below for one-on-one meetings. NCI SBIR Program Directors will also be available to meet on the afternoon of May 6. If you are interested in setting up a meeting on May 6, please mark the appropriate selection on the registration form below.

On May 6 at 6pm (EDT), NCI SBIR will host an informal, optional meet and greet at the Cafe Deluxe in the Rio Entertainment Center (9811 Washingtonian Boulevard Gaithersburg, MD 20878 – Terrace Room). Due to government restrictions, the meet and greet will be self-pay. Please RSVP below, as space for the meet and greet is limited.

Due to space limitations, priority will be given to current or recent NCI SBIR or STTR awardees, with a maximum of two (2) representatives allowed per company. This workshop is provided free of charge to attendees (excluding food and transportation expenses).

Once again we’re stepping into spring with more exciting programming in health entrepreneurship.  Our Rock Health Skillshare series is open to the public and provides a unique opportunity to get an in-depth look at critical issues in health innovation, as well as a peek at Rock Health HQ in Chinatown (Dim sum anyone?).  Classes generally range from $25-$30 and we provide snacks, refreshments, and ample opportunity for networking afterward.  Our teachers have extensive real-world domain expertise that they are enthusiastic about sharing with others.