News Archive

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, announced today the appointment of Tom Polen, 43, as president of BD, effective immediately. In his new role, Mr. Polen will oversee all of BD’s operating segments – the Medical and Life Sciences segments, as well as the new Interventional segment, which will include the C. R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE: BCR) businesses following the close of BD’s acquisition of Bard, which was also announced today. Mr. Polen, currently executive vice president and president of the BD Medical Segment, will continue to report to Vince Forlenza, who remains chairman and CEO of BD.

U.S. medical equipment supplier Becton Dickinson and Co will acquire C R Bard Inc, in a $24 billion cash-and-stock deal, adding Bard’s devices to its portfolio in the high-growth sectors of oncology and surgery, both companies said on Sunday.

The deal comes two years after Becton Dickinson acquired CareFusion Corp for $12 billion. It is the latest in a string of deals in the medical technology sector, as manufacturers turn to acquisitions to boost profit margins.

John Kilbourne, professor at Grand Valley State U., in Allendale, Mich., came to the March for Science in Washington, D.C., dressed as Galileo, the founder of modern physics and astronomy who was persecuted for standing by his scientific findings.

When Johns Hopkins oncologist Drew Pardoll first heard about the plans for Saturday’s March for Science in Washington, D.C., he knew immediately that he wanted to rent a bus for the event.

Though an invitation to speak at an academic conference in China will prevent Pardoll—director of the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy—from attending himself, he personally paid for two buses to transport more than 100 colleagues and their guests to the rally.

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc. (ITI), a privately held, Maryland-based biotechnology company, is pleased to announce the winner of their Cancer Discovery Incubator Award, Midissia Therapeutics (Midissia). Midissia is a clinical stage immunotherapy start-up focused on immune intensification.

The Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board (LSAB) today announced a series of strategic recommendations to grow Maryland’s biohealth industry and position the state as a globally recognized Top 3 U.S. BioHealth Innovation Hub by 2023. Maryland is currently one of the most asset-rich states for biohealth in the nation, and is home to top federal agencies, like the National Institutes for Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the National Cancer Institute; key federal research labs and world-class higher education institutions; and a confluence of more than 500 biohealth companies.

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. is launching a $1 million fund to help technology startup firms cover the gap between seed funding and venture capital investments.

G1 Therapeutics, an oncology therapy developer spun out of North Carolina University. has filed for a $115m initial public offering that will provide an exit for MedImmune, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.

The DOD SBIR 17.2 and the STTR 17.B Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) have been pre-released on the DOD SBIR/STTR Small Business Portal. You may now view the topics and ask technical questions through SITIS: https://sbir.defensebusiness.org/topics

The Biohealth Capital Region Forum continued Thursday in Gaithersburg where guests heard from Senator Chris Van Hollen.    One of the topics of the forum was funding for the biotech industry. Many national health companies are headquartered in Montgomery County and are concerned about federal funding. President Trump’s proposed budget would cut six billion dollars from the National Institute of Health.