News Archive

As members of a life sciences advisory and investment banking group, my partners and I have often noted that life sciences companies fall victim to the same mistakes and misconceptions, repeated again and again. These failures mostly hinge upon company management misunderstanding the fundamentals of market dynamics and failing to appreciate the importance of the exit—the sole event where company investors receive a return on their investment, either through an initial public offering (IPO) or a company sale. Unfortunately, the biotech industry’s track record on exits is disappointing. According to the National Venture Capital Association (Washington, DC), between 2005 and 2014, only one in five US biotech and medical device companies achieved liquidity after six years. And from my perspective over the past 20 years, that low success rate does not appear to be improving.

Women of the Virginia bioscience community from across the state will lead this first-ever full day event offering examples of working together to build a stronger bioscience industry, stronger companies and institutions, stronger teams and networks, and stronger individuals.  

When: Thursday, September 29, 2016 10:00AM-5:00PM

Where: Inova Center for Personalized Health 3225 Gallows Rd Fairfax, Virginia  22037 United States

Disruptors are a special type of innovator who go outside the box and attempt to change preconceived notions and practices. If you take a look at the meaning of the word, “to disrupt” means to “rupture” or break apart, and essentially disruptors do this – discarding the old ways to bring in new ones. We might even take it a step further and look at as the commonly used root of “dis” which means to “do the opposite of” – and see the idea that disruptors are “fixers” essentially putting the pieces of something broken back together. Here’s a look at three disruptors in Boston Biotech who are revolutionizing traditional pharma to radically change the ways cures are being brought about for disease.

Betamore personally invites BioHealth Innovation companies to apply to pitch and/or demo at Beta City 2016

Details

BetaCity (9/29/2016) celebrates Baltimore’s place as a global destination for entrepreneurship

Seeking the Best + Brightest to Pitch + Demo

• Pitch Competition: 3 PM – $75K+ to be awarded
• Demo Companies showcase products/services to VIP’s, investors, and the broader community
• Focus: Cybersecurity, Health IT, Other Technology

Other Notes

• In addition to the Pitch Competition + Company Demos, the event will feature a VIP Reception, Awards Ceremony, Live Music + Merrymaking

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has exercised a contract option valued at $11.6 million over 12 months under contract 200-2012-52242 for the supply of Vaccinia Immune Globulin (VIGIV) into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. VIGIV is a therapeutic licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of complications due to smallpox vaccination. The contract option will require Emergent to conduct manufacturing runs and additional activities in support of maintaining FDA licensure of VIGIV.

Digital Counties Survey award considered a top measures of government technology performance

For the fifth year in a row, Baltimore County is ranked among the top ten counties in the nation according to the Center for Digital Government’s 14th annual 2016 Digital Counties Survey in conjunction with the National Association of Counties (NACo).

PathoVax was founded in late 2014 and is currently managed by myself (Weijie Poh, PhD) and Joshua Wang, PhD. We are both Singaporeans who were awarded fellowships to attend the Pathobiology graduate program at Johns Hopkins University, which is where the RGVax platform was developed. 

We also received training in Singapore under esteemed A*STAR investigators Dr Axel Ulrich (Weijie Poh) and Dr Lisa Ng (Joshua Wang). My research background included infectious diseases and cancer, and I have previously managed a biotech startup (Vector BioLabs) in Philadelphia where I oversaw business development, marketing and product expansion.

Maryland officials announced Tuesday that William Kirwan will chair the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education.   The panel will follow up on the work of the Thornton Commission, which resulted in 2002 legislation that set K-12 education aid formulas. Those have increased public school funding in Maryland by more than 100 percent over the past decade.

The Women In Bio (WIB) Washington DC/Baltimore Chapter and Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Bethesda Chapter invite you to a networking happy hour at La Tasca, Rockville, MD. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet and connect with industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and researchers, while enjoying sangrias and tapas at the lounge. This event is open to both members and non-members.

All guests will enjoy complimentary appetizers and two drink tickets

Submit your nominations for the Verl Zanders Emerging Business of the Year! Nominate your choice for an emerging company that is leading innovation in Metro-Maryland.

• See the award criteria and past winners here.
• Nominees do not have to be MCCC members.
• Self-nominations are welcome.

Nomination Deadline: Friday, August 26, 2016