News Archive

Paragon Bioservices, Inc. (“Paragon”), a privately held contract research and manufacturing organization whose mission is to accelerate the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, announced today that it has raised $13 Million in a Series A Preferred Stock financing led by NewSpring Capital and Camden Partners.

NewSpring Capital, headquartered in Radnor, PA, invests in dynamic companies, partnering with management teams to accelerate growth and develop their businesses into market leaders. Camden Partners, located in Baltimore, MD, operates private equity funds that provide growth capital to emerging companies in the Technology-Enabled Business Services, Healthcare, and Educational sectors. 1st BridgeHouse Securities and Evergreen Advisors, LLC, Columbia, MD acted as advisors to Paragon Bioservices.  All securities transactions were conducted through 1st BridgeHouse Securities, LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC.

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene officials announced early Tuesday that the patient tested negative for Ebola. The department said that person will continue to receive the appropriate treatment.

A patient who was being isolated at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore for Ebola testing Monday evening does not have the deadly virus, officials announced Tuesday.

New Enterprise Associates is preparing to raise the largest venture capital fund in history, Fortune has learned.

The 37 year-old firm has told investors to expect formal documents by year-end for its fifteenth fund, which is expected to target approximately $2.8 billion. That’s nearly a 10% increase from the $2.6 billion NEA raised for Fund 14 in the summer of 2012, which itself was the industry’s record-holder (just edging out a $2.56 billion fund raised in 2006 by Oak Investment Partners). It also told prospective investors that longtime partner Scott Sandell will be promoted to co-managing partner, alongside Peter Barris.

Two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine rocked the world of celiac research, both proving that scientists have a ways to go in their understanding of celiac disease, which affects about 1% of the population, whether they know it or not.

One Italian study wondered if the age at which gluten is introduced into the diet could affect a person’s likelihood of developing the autoimmune disease—so they kept gluten away from newborns for a year. To the shock of the researchers, delaying exposure to gluten didn’t make a difference in the long run. In some cases it delayed the onset of the disease, but it didn’t stop people from developing the disease, for which there is no cure.

Montgomery County has chosen two partners to begin planning a “kitchen incubator” to provide business training and commercial kitchen space to budding local culinary entrepreneurs.

The county is partnering with Union Kitchen, which runs a for-profit commercial kitchen space in the District, and Streetsense, the Bethesda-based design and development firm, to plan how the incubator will be set up.

Cancer’s become a core area of venture capital interest, particularly given the rise of personalized medicine. But in a cluttered marketplace it’s tough to differentiate the worthy from the chaff. Here are some observations from a panel of investors said at the Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit Monday:

When it comes to deadly infections, Ebola is certainly the virus du jour. But in the U.S., the risk of contracting the Ebola virus is minuscule compared to the risk of becoming infected with one of several antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes known as “superbugs.”

Saturday, November 8, 2014 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

University of Maryland, College ParkVan Munching Hall/ Smith School of Business

Advancing Tomorrow’s Leaders + STEM (ATLAS) is a one-day college and career symposium hosted by the MdBio Foundation and Tech Council of Maryland, in partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), the University of Maryland’s Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations and Elizabeth Seton High School. This inaugural Prince George’s County-based symposium is the third ATLAS event in Maryland, and is part of a larger initiative and formal partnership with PGCPS to encourage interest of high school juniors, seniors and college undergrads, who are typically underrepresented in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

Baltimore health IT startup Emocha Mobile Health Inc. is partnering with Baltimore City to test out its medication adherence application with tuberculosis patients.

Emocha’s miDOT records video of patients taking their medication, notes symptoms and sends a report to doctors. The company is letting Balitmore’s health department use the program for free in an effort to begin building market interest and credibility for the program.

Antti Korhonen – NIST-TEDCO* Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Thursday, November 6, 2014 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon Admin Bldg (Bldg 101), Lecture Room A

Recognize an invention’s value by developing its “Value Proposition”

Learn about discovering the “Value Proposition.” Something every NIST researcher and manager needs to know

• Inventions can be 
• smart and clever—and stay in the lab forever
• scientific breakthroughs—but still have no commercial value
• Inventions that are patented are well protected in the market—assuming they have market value that needs protection
• Inventions with the greatest social and economic impact are those having clearly defined market value