Scientists have created a new soft robot that successfully reanimated several pigs’ hearts after they failed. The technology could one day keep an ailing human heart pumping as a patient waits for a transplant.
PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE MKT: PIP) and Altimmune, Inc., a privately-held immunotherapeutics company targeting infectious diseases, announced today the signing of a definitive agreement for the merger of PharmAthene and Altimmune in an all-stock transaction. Altimmune’s current investors include Novartis Venture Fund, HealthCap, Truffle Capital and Redmont Capital. The combined company will be a fully-integrated and diversified immunotherapeutics company with four clinical stage and one preclinical stage programs. The proposed transaction does not affect PharmAthene’s previously announced special one-time cash dividend of $2.91 per share of common stock.
One new member of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is from Baltimore, and part of his job will involve tech policy.
Reed Cordish, a real estate (not software) developer who is a principal with the Cordish Companies, will serve as an assistant to the president on “intragovernmental and technology initiatives,” the Trump transition team announced.
The Maryland Cybersecurity Awards Celebration is designed to honor the companies, organizations, and individuals that have protected businesses and government agencies with their cutting-edge technologies; thwarted cyber criminals with their outstanding cybersecurity services; demonstrated exemplary knowledge, expertise, leadership and innovative thinking; or made a significant contribution to Maryland’s cybersecurity ecosystem. Help us celebrate the best and brightest of the Maryland cyberscurity community by nominating yourself or another individual, company, or organization for one of the prestigious Maryland Cybersecurity Awards. The nomination process is quick and easy, and will only take a few moments. Multiple nominations are encouraged.
Nomination Deadline: January 31st.
Last week’s 35th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco was packed with thousands of healthcare investors, analysts, large multinational healthcare companies, startups, and everything in between.
In a week that saw countless broken umbrellas and end to the Bay Area’s prolonged drought, the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco featured what it always does: set the fertile ground for healthcare and life sciences dealmaking and networking. From the buzz around Vice President Joe Biden’s appearance to talk about the Cancer Moonshot to Illumina’s partnership with IBM Watson Health, there were plenty of headlines generated at the main conference and the satellite events that accompany it. Here were the biggest stories that emerged from them:
A multicenter study led by investigators at Johns Hopkins University just reported on a full genomic analysis of tumor samples from a small number of people who died of pancreatic cancer. The new data suggests that epigenetic changes control how DNA operates to confer survival advantages on subsets of pancreatic cancer cells. Those advantages, the researchers say, let such cancer cells thrive in organs like the liver and lungs, which receive a sugar-rich blood supply.
Tuesday, January 31 at 2:00 PM ET
You’ve got an amazing idea for a new medical product, it’ll save lives, speed recovery, be less expensive, more accurate and durable than the product already available on the market – or it may fill a gap where there is no product available. You have an amazing team, strong IP, an understanding of the regulatory and reimbursement coverage data requirements – all you need to get to market is MORE MONEY! In this Small Biz Hangout one of NHLBI’s funded companies will demonstrate how to deliver a strong pitch to investors and our Investor-in-Residence will comment on the most effective and impactful aspects of the delivery.
In a dream Brian Hanley told me about, he’s riding a bus when he meets a man in dark leather clothing. Next thing he knows, he is splayed across a tilted metal bed, being electrocuted.
A half-dozen student-run startups at Johns Hopkins are getting some funding and help with developing their ideas.
Through the O’Connor Fund, the undergraduate student teams get a $5,000 grant plus access to mentors and other resources. There’s also an opportunity to receive another $5,000 if the teams reach specific business milestones. The program is run by Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures.