News Archive

The Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking an outstanding individual to serve as Director of the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), Office of Intramural Research, Office of the Director. The OTT provides support to the technology transfer functions of the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) that manage the patenting and licensing of inventions made by scientists in the NIH intramural research program. The OTT is responsible for negotiating amendments to these licenses and for patent license enforcement activities. OTT also manages the administration of royalties ($138M in FY2014), which are distributed to inventors, ICs where the inventions were made, and to co-inventors under Inter-Institutional Agreements. OTT manages multiple IT systems which track the NIH invention lifecycle including data and documentation workflows. It manages the docketing of all patent correspondence from contract law firms, receiving and processing new invention disclosures, marketing of NIH licensing opportunities, central reporting of NIH-wide technology transfer data, and necessary training in the use of the centralized database. The incumbent has overall responsibility for strategic and tactical operational planning, and financial management for the OTT. The Director of OTT reports to the Deputy Director for Intramural Research, NIH.

Angel investment funding in healthcare increased in 2015, compared with the previous years, according to a new report from the Angel Resource Institute and PitchBook. The 2015 Annual Halo Report found that healthcare deals accounted for 23 percent of angel investment.

When Inova Health System announced it would create a $100 million venture fund— unveiled as part of a splashy White House event last month highlighting precision medicine investments— it was just the kind revelation Inova has gotten so good at making in the last year.

Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis—chronic conditions such as these account for 84% of health care spending. Yet many are preventable. An estimated 40% of all premature deaths can be attributed to lifestyle, such as smoking and inactivity. How can the health care system shift focus (and dollars) from acute to preventative care?

Almost every day, we see announcements about yet another “connected” product that is hailed as creating a “smarter” home environment. These types of products promise an easier, more convenient way of living, but they aren’t always connected to our lives—or all that smart. 

AstraZeneca PLC on Wednesday said its MedImmune research and development arm has secured orphan drug designation for its MEDI-551 drug from the US Food & Drug Administration.

The drugmaker said MEDI-551 is used to treat patients with neuromyelitis optica, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system by which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells, most commonly in the optic nerves and spinal cord.

It was one major issue U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and National Urban League President Marc Morial discussed with entrepreneurs Monday.

AstraZeneca announced that its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, has received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its investigational human monoclonal antibody (mAb), MEDI8852, for the treatment of patients hospitalised with Type A strain influenza. The FDA’s Fast Track programme is designed to expedite the development and review of drugs to treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

It looks like Healthbox is raising a new fund, according to a Form D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The accelerator is keeping schtum about the Healthbox Opportunity Fund I and declined a request for comment.

Still, its website shows that it is poised to bring its Healthbox Studio accelerators to Orlando, as part of a partnership with Guidewell Innovation Center, and Los Angeles later this year. Healthbox and Guidewell had previous accelerator classes in Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville. Los Angeles is home to a few accelerators, including one between Techstars and Cedars-Sinai.

A University of Maryland startup is among the finalists in Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s Cupid’s Cup, a competition offering a $100,000 prize of the winner.