News Archive

Patients could one day self-administer vaccines using a needleless, pill-sized technology that jet-releases a stream of vaccine inside the mouth, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted at UC Berkeley.

The study did not test vaccine delivery in people, but demonstrated that the technology, called MucoJet, is capable of delivering vaccine-sized molecules to immune cells in the mouths of animals. The technology is a step toward improved oral vaccine delivery, which holds the promise of building immunity in the mouth’s buccal region of cells, where many infections enter the body. When patients hold the MucoJet against the inside of their cheek, the device releases a jet stream that directly targets the buccal region. This region is rich in immune cells but underutilized in immunology because of the challenge of efficiently penetrating the thick mucosal layer in this part of the oral cavity with existing technologies, such as the oral spray often used for influenza vaccination.

Get a sneak peak of the Mobile eXploration Lab (MXLab) – the country’s largest, most advanced mobile STEM laboratory! MdBio is launching the MXLab for the 2017/2018 school year, and we want to give teachers across the state the first chance to see the lab in action and provide feedback on our activities for Maryland high schools.

Join us at one of five events across the state to get a sneak peek of the MXLab plus a hands-on teacher professional development activity for your classroom.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, the University of Maryland (UMD) Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices and RTI International (link is external) welcomed nearly 150 representatives of Maryland’s medical device ecosystem to a daylong event focused on bringing products from invention to market in the state. The event, Medical Device Innovation in Maryland: from Technology to Lab to Market, took place at the UMD campus in College Park, and culminated with a tour of the soon-to-be new home of the A. James Clark School of Engineering: A. James Clark Hall.

“This is the start of an incredibly exciting time for biomedical devices in Maryland – and you’re here at the beginning,” University of Maryland Provost Mary Ann Rankin told attendees.

Symbiomix today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the Company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for its lead investigational product candidate Solosec™ (secnidazole oral granules), an innovative antibiotic designed to treat bacterial vaginosis (BV). In accordance with the FDA’s priority 6-month review designation, the agency has established a user-fee goal date under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) of September 17, 2017. Symbiomix submitted the NDA filing in January 2017.

Solosec™ is a potent, next-generation, investigational 5-nitroimidazole antibiotic with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties, which will be the first and only single-dose oral therapy approved for BV if approved by the FDA. The FDA previously designated Solosec™ as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) for the treatment of BV and granted it Fast Track designation, which made Solosec™ eligible for priority review and at least 10 years of market exclusivity.

What’s next for the pharmaceuticals industry, amid digital disruption and rapid technological advances? McKinsey’s Martin Dewhurst sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with David Epstein of venture firm Flagship Pioneering to explore ways the sector could shift in coming years. In this interview, part of our Biopharma Frontiers series on how the pharmaceutical industry is evolving and how leaders can adapt, Epstein discusses the next horizon of innovation, critical elements of an effective business, and the kind of culture he tries to foster. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.

Dear Friends of CONNECTpreneur:

I hope everything is well! This is a “Last Call” for our April 4 Big Idea CONNECTprenuer SPRING FORUM at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda, MD. We expect over 500 CXOs, founders, entrepreneurs, angel investors, etc., and we will be completely SOLD OUT again. So, please sign up now!

We have unparralled CXO to CXO networking, plus an amazing program:

Fireside chat with DAVID TRONE, Co-Founder and Owner, Total Wine & More

Awesome Entrepreneur “War Stories” Panel (moderated by GLEN HELLMAN (aka Mr. Cranky), angel investor and CEO of Driven Forward) featuring:
· NIGEL JONES, CEO of Koolspan and Managing Director of TWJ Capital
· BETH MALONEY, President of Palladian Partners
· D.P. VENKATESH, VP of Broadsoft and CEO of mPortal

PLUS 9 awesome early stage companies will present their companies.

Host:  UM BioPark & Wexford + Technology

Location:  UM BioPark Life Sciences Conference Center, 801 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland  21201

Date:  March 30, 2017 – 5:00pm to 6:30pm

Please join the BioPark’s Monthly Networking Event along with collegues from the Maryland Proton Treatment Center. Mingle with MPTC leadership and staff, BioPark tenants, and UMB faculty and staff.

The co-founders of a Johns Hopkins-backed startup had personal motivations for developing better health care tracking technology.

The mother of Sathya Elumala, who is CEO of Multisensor Diagnostics, suffers from multiple chronic health conditions and spends time in hospitals almost every month. Gene Fridman, the company’s chief technology officer, lost a sister who had a chronic condition that wasn’t detected soon enough.

Vaccines may be available for pneumococcal infections, but none of them, including the widely used Prevnar 13, can cover all strains. SutroVax is one of the startups trying to solve that problem, and today raised $64 million to test its approach in humans.

New investors Frazier Healthcare Partners and Pivotal bioVenture Partners led the Series B financing round for Foster City, CA-based SutroVax. Also participating in the round were earlier investors Abingworth, Longitude Capital, Roche Venture Fund, and CTI Life Sciences Fund. In addition to the $60 million Series B investment, SutroVax says the earlier investors are also putting another $4 million into the company.

The National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provides small business with equity-free funding to conduct research and development (R&D) work and de-risk technology for commercial success. The NSF SBIR program accepts innovative proposals that show promise of commercial and societal impact in almost all areas of technology.

SBIR Phase I proposals are expected to undertake R&D with the aim of establishing technical feasibility or proof of concept. Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to $225,000 over a period of 6 to 12 months (the period to be decided by the company).

Successful SBIR proposers will receive funding about 6 months after the solicitation deadline. Companies that receive a Phase I award are eligible to apply for a Phase II award (award amount up to $750,000; duration 2 years).