News Archive

Without much fanfare, Congress recently passed legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and President Biden quickly signed it into law. The reauthorization of this critical program builds off of important pieces of recent economic legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the American Rescue Plan. While many Americans, including small business owners and entrepreneurs, may not be aware of either of these U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) efforts, their reauthorization is a big deal for innovation.

Image: 1982: President Ronald Reagan, surrounded by Rep. John LaFalce, D-N.Y., and Sen. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., after signing the Small Business Innovation Development Act into law in the Rose Garden. – BETTMANN ARCHIVE

FOSTER CITY, Calif. & ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) and MacroGenics (NASDAQ: MGNX) today announced an exclusive option and collaboration agreement to develop MGD024, an investigational, bispecific antibody that binds CD123 and CD3 using MacroGenics’ DART® platform, and two additional bispecific research programs. The collaboration agreement grants Gilead the option to license MGD024, a potential treatment for certain blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

A leader in the bispecific antibody space, MacroGenics has extensive experience applying its proprietary DART platform to develop novel therapeutics. MGD024 is a next-generation, bispecific that incorporates a CD3 component that is designed to minimize cytokine-release syndrome (CRS), a potentially life-threatening toxicity, while increasing the magnitude of antitumor activity with a longer half-life to permit intermittent dosing.

Neuroene Therapeutics Co-Founder and CEO Sherine Chan, Ph.D., joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss winning the 7th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Crab Trap, their drug discovery platform and being located at JLABS @ Washington, DC.

Listen now via Google bit.ly/3D5tm9O, apple.co/3eGzXy7, or Spotify spoti.fi/3D6lgOx.

“The 2022 venture capital market” is nearly a misnomer, as each quarter that passes seems to bring with it a new normal for startup investment. The pace of quarterly change in how venture investors are disbursing capital is making full-year numbers almost misleading.

The change inside of 2022, in other words, may at times mask just how much things have been evolving more recently; January and February feel like years ago in startup time, not merely a few quarters back.

Image: https://techcrunch.com/

We are so thankful for our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs), who provide free business development guidance and counsel to assist #SmallBiz awardees with progress toward #commercialization objectives and ensuring success in the market. Each EIR brings unique expertise and experience from the field. Learn more and connect with an EIR today: https://bit.ly/3Ov55gH #Entrepreneur

Venture-capital firms are jumping into the stock market, buying up battered shares in publicly traded tech companies at a time when they are investing less in the startups that have long been their focus.

Some major venture firms including Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners have purchased more stocks of companies they first backed as startups this year, defying the industry norm of selling those shares soon after public listings.

Image: One of Amplitude’s largest shareholders when the data-analytics firm went public was Sequoia Capital.
PHOTO: ANDREW KELLY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oct 10 (Reuters) – California-based diagnostics company Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO.N) is in talks to merge with Qiagen NV (QIA.DE), the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Talks between the two companies have been going on for a while but an agreement is unlikely for another few weeks, the report said.

U.S-listed shares of Qiagen rose 8% while Bio-Rad fell nearly 10% after the report.

Biotech and life sciences companies can benefit from partnering with the federal government in many ways, from funding to increased access to resources and manufacturing. But lesser-known than its counterparts at the National Institute of Health and National Cancer Institute is the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA.

Image: https://biobuzz.io/

What does the Zulu word “ubuntu” have to do with a successful science and tech fund at Maryland’s TEDCO? To start, it’s been a guiding force for that fund’s leader.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) has an important mission in Maryland: “enhance economic empowerment by fostering an inclusive and entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. Identify, invest in, and help grow technology companies in Maryland.”

Image: https://www.tedcomd.com/about-tedco/staff/arti-santhanam-phd