Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline could reportedly become the latest takeover target in the industry.
According to the Daily Mail, market participants are speculating that the company may face an approach from Switzerland’s Roche or US company Johnson & Johnson at about 1900p per share.
Scientific American has released its list of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology.
I am honored to be included in this exclusive list and recognized for my thought leadership on the business of biotechnology.
There is always talk, sometimes tongue-in-cheek but mostly sort of serious, that a lot of jobs will be replaced by robots or computers. Maybe that new iPhone I just bought will replace me by year end. Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla thinks that the most doctors’ current functions will be replaced by algorithms; many believe that lots of white collar jobs, such as lawyers, accountants, and bankers will be replaced by machines with warmer personalities. Venture capitalists have already been “supplemented” with algorithms and, no doubt, there are plenty of people who would like to see us replaced by nearly anything metal—spatula, can opener–if they had their way. In Iron Man we see a world of robot-based soldiers going to war and in real life the echo of that is not so far off.
Only a year after its founding, Bethesda-based health tech company Aledade Inc. raised $30 million in a Series B fundraising, it announced Monday.
ARCH Venture Partners led the funding round with an investment from Series A investor Venrock, which first invested $4.5 million in Aledade to start the company last June.
Two years ago, a television cartoon in Pakistan made waves for its star, a superheroine named “Burka Avenger,” who promotes positive social change while clad in the titular billowing black silk outfit. With the tagline “don’t mess with the lady in black,” the show presents plotlines promoting gender equality, environmentalism and health.
H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, includes vital resources for the National Institutes of Health and important policy – See more at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/21st-century-cures-renews-commitment-biomedical-research-america#sthash.2aIzVevb.dpuf changes that will allow America’s most promising scientists and researchers to unleash the next generation of cures and therapies. As Greg Satell writes in Forbes, “science is what made America a technological superpower” and the 21st Century Cures Act would help to “renew our commitment to science and competitiveness.” The Alliance for Aging Research adds, “the pace of scientific discovery since the turn of the century has accelerated at a speed that was not possible a generation ago. [H.R. 6] was developed after the realization by leaders in Congress that the current health care innovation infrastructure needed improvement to accommodate those advances in science.”
Entrepreneurs beat long odds when they launch a company, scale it up and sell it to investors. Smith School alumnus Jason Cohen has done it five times in 15 years with brands such as Sensible Portions low-calorie snacks, Rickland Orchards yogurt, SkinnyPop popcorn and Mrs. Thinsters cookies. Now Cohen and his partners are focusing on identifying high-potential startups that need capital and expertise to grow. Their latest project is a jerky company called Chef’s Cut. “If we invest in your business, then we believe it can be a $50 million to $100 million business,” says Cohen, who lives in New Jersey. “And you’ll get a roadmap from an entrepreneur who has been in your shoes.” Part of that roadmap includes the following seven secrets of Cohen’s success.
Startup Maryland (www.startupmd.org), a venture development community forged with Maryland Pride, By Entrepreneurs … For Entrepreneurs, today announced the schedule for the 2015 Raise Your Game entrepreneur bootcamp. Raise Your Game provides the Maryland entrepreneur community with a structured educational program designed to help startup CxOs and founders understand and employ the building blocks of strong startups and startup communities.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today expressed continuing opposition to The Innovation Act (H.R. 9) as amended and reported by the House Judiciary Committee today, and believes that, without substantial changes, the bill will jeopardize America’s leadership in medical, agricultural and environmental innovation.
BIO consistently has urged Congress to proceed cautiously when addressing any changes to the patent system that could unduly shift the legal balance against legitimate patent owners. Despite some improvements to the bill, the latest version of the Innovation Act remains unacceptable in certain respects, and includes new provisions that require additional careful vetting for potentially negative unintended consequences for patent owners. BIO remains concerned that the bill would impose unreasonable challenges for innovative start-up and other small companies seeking to protect their intellectual property in a timely and efficient manner, and could chill the investment and collaboration that is so critical to the biotech innovation ecosystem.
Dubai based startup Fetchr has raised Series A funding worth $11 million led by New Enterprise Associates and participation from Delta Partners, Dhabi Holdings, Triple Point Capital, Ben Narasin, Roland Berger and 500 Startups, reports the Wall Street Journal. Fetchr will use the funds to launch its mobile app on Android and iOS and product development.
