News Archive

A new research initiative by the University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) and the University of Pittsburgh could finally uncover how T-cells—the “killer cells” that defend the body from microbes—are alerted to hazardous invaders in the body.  Funded by a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the research will be the first to combine X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for a unique view of the cell’s alert system, which could lead to innovative therapeutics to fight viruses and tumors.

gel-e Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage medical device company, announces the 510(k) clearance of its adhesive bandage by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) use.

This new bandage clearance expands the Company’s label to include the management of moderately to heavily exuding chronic wounds and acute wounds. Under medical supervision, this new adhesive bandage may be used for the management of pressure sores, diabetic ulcers, leg ulcers, donor sites and graft sites, surgical wounds, skin abrasions and lacerations, 1st and 2nd degree burns and traumatic wounds. No medical supervision is required for usage in the management of minor cuts, minor scalds and 1st degree burns, and minor abrasions and lacerations. This newly cleared bandage complements gel-e’s existing vascular closure device cleared for the “management of bleeding wounds such as vascular access sites and percutaneous catheters or tubes.”

On the evening of Nov. 7, Steffanie Strathdee sent out a cryptic tweet: “#Phage researchers! I am working with a team to get Burkholderia cepacia phages to treat a 25 y old woman with CF whose infection has failed all #antibiotics. We need lytic non-lysogenic phage URGENTLY to find suitable phage matches. Email if you can help!” The message was retweeted nearly 400 times.

Humans and bacteria have been clashing for as long as both have inhabited the Earth, and for decades now, humans have had the upper hand. Starting with penicillin in 1942, antibiotics have brought previously untreatable maladies like tuberculosis under control and made surgery far safer.

MockV Solutions, Inc. (MockV or the Company), a biotechnology company developing non-infectious viral clearance prediction products that address the unmet needs of process development scientists as they establish biopharmaceutical manufacturing platforms, announced today the receipt of a Phase I grant from the National Center for Advancing Translations Sciences under auspices of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Institutes of Health. The $250,000 grant under the Award Number R43TR002231 is focused on demonstrating the utility of a non-infectious Minute Virus of Mice-Virus Like Particle for predicting viral clearance during biopharmaceutical process development.

Andreessen Horowitz, a Menlo Park, CA-based venture capital firm, has launched its $450m second bio fund.

Bio Fund II will focus on investing in companies at the intersection of biology and engineering.

Immunotherapy draws the lion’s share of attention from top VCs, but startups focused on other types of cancer therapies, such as protein targeting, are also starting to gain recognition.

Scientists at George Mason University have developed a nanotechnology that for the first time can measure a sugar molecule in urine that identifies tuberculosis with high sensitivity and specificity, setting the stage for a rapid, highly accurate and far less-invasive urine test of the disease that could potentially prove to be the difference between life and death in many underdeveloped parts of the world.

Governor Larry Hogan today announced a series of new initiatives to spur job creation and economic growth in Maryland and further establish the state’s leadership in key STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) industries. The governor was joined by Commerce Secretary Mike Gill, Labor Secretary Kelly Schulz, University System of Maryland Chancellor Robert Caret, Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver, and numerous officials from the counties benefiting from the governor’s expanded jobs initiative.

Tech firms leased more office space in D.C. over a recent 12-month period than the prior year, while coworking spaces signed on for fewer square feet.

Those trends come according to the latest DC Development Report, which was released by the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership at the organization’s annual meeting on Tuesday. WDCEP partners with commercial real estate services firm CBRE on the report, and the results come from a “development census” taken in August.