News Archive

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced that it has received a task order from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) valued at up to $30.5 million to develop monoclonal antibody therapeutics for viral hemorrhagic fever. This task order will utilize the company’s Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) facility located in Baltimore, Maryland. Using monoclonal antibodies from Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., the company will conduct technology transfer of process materials and information, perform process and analytical method development, execute small-scale production runs, and perform cGMP cell banking leading to cGMP manufacture of bulk drug substance. The task order consists of a 36-month period of performance with a base task order valued at $7.4 million and options that, if executed, will bring the total task order value over three years to up to $30.5 million.

Scientists are no strangers to having their work questioned by lawmakers, and now they are fighting back.

On April 22, scientists and their supporters will hold a March for Science to advocate for science and evidence-based research in policies. The main march will be held in Washington, D.C., and satellite marches will be held in other cities, as they were with the Women’s March the day after the inauguration. And the march’s organizers say they aren’t just fighting for more funding for science, or more influence in policy, but also to raise awareness about the type of research they’re doing.

The recent flurry of activity around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has many people confused about where it stands, and what the employer’s obligations are. The following summarizes the activity so far.

Legislative Repeal Activity

A popular meme suggests that the Senate voted to eliminate virtually all of the provisions of the ACA, including the ability to obtain insurance in spite of pre-existing conditions, the requirement to cover adult children up to the age of 26, etc. This is not the case.

President Donald Trump’s new health secretary took office Friday after becoming the latest Cabinet nominee to eke out a confirmation victory in the bitterly divided Senate.

Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Tom Price, of Georgia, at the White House hours after the Senate confirmed him 52-47 in a party-line vote. That roll call came in the dead of night, thanks to Democrats’ tactic of forcing prolonged debates to broadcast their opposition to Trump and his team.

Researchers from the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) and Baltimore (UMB) campuses have developed a blood test that could help doctors more quickly diagnose schizophrenia and other disorders. Their study, “Redox Probing for Chemical Information of Oxidative Stress,” was recently published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

“We hope our new technique will allow a more rapid detection and intervention for schizophrenia, and ultimately lead to better outcomes,” said Gregory Payne, one of the authors and a joint professor with UMD’s Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR).

Gynecological surgery device developer SurgiGyn said today it inked an exclusive license arrangement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore for laparoscopic surgical device technology developed at the University.

The Baltimore, Md.-based company said it also closed a seed round of funding from UM Ventures and a private investor, with funds slated to support accelerated development of its uterine electrosurgical device

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s comments today supporting biopharmaceutical innovation:

“We look forward to working with President Trump and his team to enact policies that ensure better access to and affordability of today’s medicines and the vision the President laid out in his inaugural address ‘….to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.’ The ideas the President laid out in his meeting today–policies that would cut unnecessary regulation, enforce fair trade, increase competition, support small companies’ ability to attract capital and strengthen and promote market-based solutions–are ideas that BIO has been advocating for and working to build consensus on with others in the healthcare system.  They will go a long way toward ensuring that patients have affordable access to today’s innovative medicines and that our companies have the policy and regulatory environment they need to bring a new generation of breakthrough medicines to our children and grandchildren.

Thursday, February 23, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST

Johns Hopkins University – Montgomery Campus 106-110 A&R Building 9601 Medical Center Drive Rockville, MD 20850

Washington DC/Baltimore Chapter of Women In Bio is presenting a program to learn about how bioscience discoveries move from the bench to the market. The route from discovery to market is not linear. Our panelists will relay their experiences with clinical trials, manufacturing, and marketing and will discuss how each of these aspects interacts along the way. Whether you are looking to enter the world of bench to market or are just curious about the process, this will be an informative and fun event. Moderated by Lynn Johnson Langer, Program Director, Sr. Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University, our panel includes the following individuals:

• Neta Nelson – Associate Director, Clinical Operations & Project Management, Technical Resources International, Inc.
• Maura Kahn – Vice President, Business Development and Marketing, Noxilizer, Inc.
• Kathy Webb – Senior Director GMP Operations, Paragon Bioservices, Inc.

On the first two days of February, I testified before Maryland legislative committees in support of Governor Larry Hogan’s FY 2018 budget proposal for the University System of Maryland (USM).

Governor Hogan has proposed state support for USM of $1.35 billion. This is an increase of $26.6 million — or approximately 2 percent — over the final FY 2017 budget, which includes the November Board of Public Works reduction of $14.2 million.

Thursday February 16, 2017 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST 

Join BioBuzz and founding sponsor The Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus at Growlers in Gaithersburg on February 16th for our 1st networking event of 2017. The Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus offers part-time graduate courses in several disciplines, including education, biotechnology and liberal arts. Students attend classes in the evenings and on Saturdays, enabling them to hold full-time jobs during the day. Depending on the degree area, students can fully complete their coursework in Montgomery County. Other students take some courses in Baltimore and/ or online.