News Archive

Friday, June 11, at 10:30 a.m.

Universities at Shady Grove,
Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building
9631 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville
(Parking in Lot 2, directly in front of BSE building)

Montgomery County, the University System of Maryland and Montgomery College will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create the Montgomery/Maryland Life Sciences Education and Innovation Partnership to facilitate collaboration among industry and the academic partners on cutting-edge research, and allow students from across Maryland opportunities to gain work experience and conduct translational research with Montgomery County’s industry leaders. It is envisioned that the Montgomery/Maryland Life Sciences Education and Innovation Partnership will guide the future of post-pandemic education leveraging existing assets to create an economic development powerhouse for Maryland in life and regulatory sciences.

The year 2020 tested the biotech industry and the entire nation. Maryland’s life sciences community can be proud that it passed those tests with distinction. As COVID-19 spread across the globe, Maryland companies stepped up to help save millions of lives. Maryland-based leaders such as AstraZeneca; Becton, Dickinson and Company; GlaxoSmithKline; Emergent BioSolutions; Novavax; Pfizer; and Qiagen Sciences were among the Maryland companies involved in these efforts.

Image: https://www.fiercebiotech.com

The quantum-computing power of IonQ Inc. could eventually be put to work in some of SoftBank Group Corp.’s portfolio companies as part of a recently-announced strategic partnership with the tech investor.

SoftBank Investment Advisers, which runs its SoftBank Vision Funds 1 and 2, has taken a “large” equity stake in the College Park, Md.-based startup, though not a majority stake, said Peter Chapman, chief executive of IonQ, without giving specifics.

IonQ is SoftBank’s first investment in quantum computing, said Kirthiga Reddy, partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Image: IonQ’s trapped-ion chip, pictured above, will eventually be placed in a quantum-computing device about the size of an Xbox video-game console, expected to be completed by 2023. PHOTO: IONQ

Gaithersburg, MD (June 8, 2021) – miRecule, Inc. (“miRecule”), an emerging biotech company focused on the development of cutting-edge RNA therapeutics, announced the hiring of Fu-An Kang, Ph.D. to serve as its Vice President of Research. Dr. Kang joins miRecule after serving for 6 years as the Senior Director of Chemistry at Abzena, a leading chemistry, biologics and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) research organization.

Image: https://mirecule.com

Maryland is offering a new program to match international prospects with local incubators throughout the state. The Maryland Soft Landing Program, announced by Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz at the 2021 SelectUSA Investment Summit, will promote existing “soft landing” programs in the state’s various business incubators, while growing Maryland’s hub of international companies.

NEWARK, Del., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) is pleased to announce funding for 10 new projects in technology, workforce development, and their Global Health Fund initiative, resulting from the Institute’s Project Call 4.1, and with a total value of approximately $4.6M.

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (PRNewsfoto/National Institute for Innovati) “Since our inception five years ago, we have been able to fund many great projects that have resulted in significant advancements in the biopharma industry, and this year is no different. The eagerness and ambition this industry has to continuously improve is always encouraging, and I am looking forward to seeing how our newest projects will contribute to accelerating the industry’s manufacturing process,” states Kelvin H. Lee, Institute Director.

The efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine accelerated the already strong demand for life sciences real estate in Maryland, and tenants now want lab space faster than developers can build it. 

The market’s vacancy rate has fallen so low that life sciences companies often can’t find space that meets their time-sensitive needs, experts say, leading them to look to other markets. 

Image: Courtesy of Matan Cos. A rendering of one of Matan Cos.’ Progress Labs buildings on the I-270 corridor.

In 1976, an Atari engineer named Ron Wayne took a 10% ownership stake in a new technology startup created by a pair of fellow co-workers, meant to serve as the tiebreaker in the ambitious triumvirate.

The enterprise showed early potential, but Wayne became concerned that should the young venture flounder, he would be personally liable for the company’s debts as well. So, he cashed out his 10% stake for $2,300. 

This episode is the first of a new podcast series, where we will visit with different leaders striving to grow economic development in their areas or regions of interest. We will be discussing new initiatives, new models, the interest and investment in Technology Parks, Incubators and Accelerators as well as other creative economic development platforms being implemented throughout the country within public and private initiatives.