News Archive

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.

Johns Hopkins University was among seven research institutions selected by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi to play a larger role in helping decide which projects it should fund.

Sanofi on Wednesday unveiled a new grantmaking program that will support up to $2.4 million in research grants a year. The program aims to encourage collaboration among research groups to advance the development of new drugs. A scientific steering committee with representatives from seven research institutions will review proposals for the Sanofi Innovation Program, which will award grants of about $100,000 each.

There are a couple of common analogies for startups wooing potential investors, said entrepreneur Brian Razzaque — it’s like herding cats, or getting one lemming to lead the others. Most investors are wary of bankrolling an unproven company without someone else’s seal of approval.

When Open Works makes its debut in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District next year, Will Holman hopes it will become just the kind of place where he can set up shop. An architect by training and furniture maker, Holman is also the project director for Open Works, a $10 million incubator Baltimore Arts Realty Corp. is developing in a warehouse across from Greenmount Cemetery.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: PIRS), a biotechnology company advancing its proprietary Anticalin® biotherapeutic technologies, announced today the completion of enrollment of healthy subjects in a blinded, placebo-controlled Phase I clinical trial for the Company’s PRS-080 program, a hepcidin antagonist to treat anemia. This study was conducted at a single site in Germany.

The event will focus on the most innovative life sciences clusters in Europe. It will bring together top level representatives from universities, research labs, science parks, incubators, venture capital, hospitals, start-ups and government agencies, all having a role to play in these regional innovation ecosystems.