News Archive

The digital revolution continues to transform healthcare fundamentally, and many people believe that a tipping point is finally within reach. In 2014, digital health investments topped $6.5 billion, compared with $2.9 billion a year earlier.

The critical question now for pharmaceutical companies is how to stay ahead of these changes. To answer it, we sought to learn the trends and implications of digital health by interviewing 20 thought leaders across a variety of segments, including analytics, biotech, data, pharma, providers, technology, and venture capital. 

Baltimore will be well-represented at a “Shark Tank”-inspired event focusing on teacher professional development this week.

The virtual competition, organized by Edsurge and the Gates Foundation, is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Three companies will pitch four educators. But it’s the audience who decides the winner.

Virginia’s Mach37 cybersecurity accelerator gained an important endorsement this week with a four-year platinum sponsorship from General Dynamics Mission Systems.

The agreement will help further Mach37’s public-private partnerships that leverage Virginia’s university, industry and government cybersecurity assets to produce new innovative products and companies.

University of Maryland (UM) Ventures and Pataigin, LLC, announced today that the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has granted Pataigin worldwide, exclusive licensing rights to UMB patents and technology to develop a method to quickly and accurately identify dangerous pathogens. Robert Ernst, Ph.D., professor of microbial pathogenesis at University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and David Goodlett, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences at University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, are patent inventors. The University of Washington is also a co-owner on one of the patents Pataigin (the Irish word for pathogen) is licensing. Erik Nilsson, who has headed software and mass spectrometry companies for nearly 20 years, will serve as Pataigin’s CEO and President.

Infectious diseases remain a major global killer, responsible for 18 million deaths worldwide every year. And yet, detecting potential infectious agents remains hampered by current technological methods that are slow, require cell culture and are expensive and labor-intensive. The licensed technology exploits the presence of lipids in the outer membranes of pathogens that are unique to each pathogen strain. A “barcode” for each lipid coating is created that allows laboratory staff to quickly use available mass spectrometry methods to identify specific strains of bacteria, fungi and yeast that cause disease. The technology will allow pathogen identification directly from tissues like blood, urine, and wounds, without the need for cell culture. And importantly, the technology can differentiate between drug-susceptible and drug-resistant variants; thereby allowing for quicker medical treatment decisions as well as containment of dangerous pathogens.

Biopharmas come and go, but the places to find jobs remain largely the same 10 regions highlighted by GEN last year and in 2013. The cornerstones of their success are hardly secrets: they include strong research universities, anchor biopharmas, younger startups, and networks that connect those budding businesses to expertise and, especially, capital.

Physician entrepreneurs come in several basic flavors and medicine needs to change to make room for them.

The young and the restless  These are the millenials and others who are medical students, residents, fellows and those who have been in practice less than 5 years. While I think stereotyping generations is stupid , work-life balance, debt repayment and lack of loyalty to an employer or career seems to figure into the psychographic calculus

GlycoMimetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLYC) announced that preclinical data on its novel E-selectin antagonist drug candidate GMI-1271, shared via an oral presentation at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, showed the compound could be used in combination with G-CSF (filgrastim) to mobilize and enrich progenitor T cells known as T memory stem (Tscm) and T central memory (Tcm) cells, which provide improved reconstitution and persistence. The company also announced that the first healthy participant has been treated with an intravenous (IV) formulation of GMI-1271 in a Phase 1, multiple-dose clinical study to evaluate the investigational drug’s ability to mobilize and enrich Tscm or Tcm cells. In addition, the trial will evaluate safety and tolerability of the drug, alone and in combination with filgrastim, a treatment for neutropenia that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Google Life Sciences got a rebrand today: It’s now called Verily. A new site is up as well to illustrate the company’s emphasis on wielding technology “to create a true picture of human health” – and “effecting prevention.”

Just as Google formed parent company “Alphabet” earlier this year, it’s clearly sticking to a literary theme with “verily,” which is a florid, Shakespearean way to say “truth, truly, confidently.”

Paris-based venture capital firm, Sofinnova Partners, has closed its Sofinnova Capital VIII fund with €300 million ($324 million) that will be dedicated toward adding 15 to 20 more biotech companies to its portfolio, two thirds of which will reportedly be in Europe, the rest in North America.

Back in 2012, the firm raised €240m, and with this new fund it brings the current amount under management at Sofinnova Partners to €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).  The company’s focus will remain in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

Holiday Celebration Time is Coming! Join us as we remember this amazing year of WIB-DC/Baltimore on December 15, 2015, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar in Rockville. Food, drinks, and music will be provided – and of course networking opportunities with all our members and guests. Also the WIB scholarship award winner sponsored from our chapter will be announced!

Not only are we thankful for all you members’ support and engagement, we are also looking forward to hearing your feedback for what we can do better in 2016!