With a massive influx of new funding, Frederick pharmaceutical company Vaccinogen Inc. is preparing to make big moves that leaders hope will put it on the map.
Vaccinogen announced Aug. 25 it had secured $80 million in funding from Stockholm investors and closed the first $10 million tranche of the funding. The funding will support late-stage clinical studies needed to make Vaccinogen’s OncoVAX commercially available. The drug is designed to reduce recurrence of colon cancer.
BHC Center of Financial & Investment Business (“BHC”), an Atlanta based affiliate of Bao Hao Investment Management Co., Ltd. of Shanghai, has announced the first of what it expects to be several equity investments in 20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. (“20/20”). In making the investment BHC is seeking to help advance the introduction in China of 20/20’s blood test for the early detection of lung cancer (see www.BloodTestforLungCancer.com).
20/20 currently produces and markets this innovative blood test for the early detection of lung cancer in the United States. Primary care physicians employ the blood test to help detect lung cancer in patients who are smokers and former smokers. It is known as “PAULAs test.”
Date: September 18 – 19, 2014
Location: Baltimore, MD
This highly interactive course lets participants work in small teams to help understand the complexity of strategic planning and its challenges. Economic developers must build consensus among board members, stakeholders and the community as a whole, creating a unified vision for the future. Learn techniques to build consensus among stakeholders who represent different values and interests. Also, participants will learn the quantitative techniques used to better understand their community including: location quotients, shift share, input-output and cluster analyses. Explore project assessment methods for setting priorities and measuring your plan’s impact.
Get on the Bus!
Are you an entrepreneur ready to pitch your company? Register for your chance to film a 3-minute video pitch that will be seen online by VC, angel investors and voted on by fans around Maryland!
The Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce are hosting two Pitch Across Maryland stops in Montgomery County on Wednesday, October 1. Learn More Want to get on the bus and film your pitch? Apply Here.
The Montgomery County application deadline is Monday, September 15.
ATCC, the premier global biological materials resource and standards organization, and bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced today their collaboration to expand and solidify the bioMérieux VITEK® MS microbial identification database for the industrial market. Recently, ATCC acquired the bioMérieux VITEK® MS system to make this innovative MALDI TOF technology a fundamental component of their authentication and quality control processes.
Strengthening the database with additional strains continues to increase the robustness of the VITEK® MS micro-organisms library while increasing the size and enhancing the utility for customers as a solid quality assurance tool.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM (EST)
The 7th Annual Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium, hosted by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and Montgomery County will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at the Silver Spring Civic Center, Silver Spring MD. The Symposium is the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund premier event that delivers comprehensive scientific talks, poster presentations, and networking time, enabling cell therapy basic research and technologies from the lab to pre-clinical and to commercialization. With a powerful line-up of speakers and many opportunities for you to present your work in concurrent or poster presentations, the Symposium will follow the format and style of previous meetings with additional networking time and an intimate environment.
Abstract Submission:
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) is now accepting abstract submissions for poster and oral presentations for the 7th Annual Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium. We encourage you to take full advantage of this opportunity to share your research results with our community. Multiple abstract submissions are welcomed.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Please Click Here to submit your abstract today!
Roche has just announced the acquisition of the U.S. biotech company InterMune for $8.3 billion. The driver for Roche was to gain access to InterMune’s drug, pirfenidone (trade name, Esbriet), which is already approved in Canada and Europe for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a deadly lung-scarring disease which affects 50,000 – 70,000 people in the U.S. and 80,000 to 110,000 in Europe. While still under review by U.S. regulatory authorities, Roche’s acquisition signals its belief that pirfenidone will also gain U.S. approval. How big a product can pirfenidone be? Consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters Pharma peg annual sales at greater than $1 billion in 2019 – a nice addition to Roche’s stable of pulmonary compounds including Xolair (asthma) and Pulmozyme (cystic fibrosis).
Roche Holding AG said Sunday it would pay $8.3 billion for a California biotech firm that has yet to turn a profit on a new drug to treat a deadly lung disease—the latest gamble by a pharmaceutical giant to buy its way into a lucrative corner of the industry.
The takeover would allow the Swiss company to expand its presence in the treatment of respiratory disorders, one of the world’s biggest drug markets. Roche’s offer of $74 a share represents a 38% premium over InterMune’s closing share price on Friday of $53.80, and a 63% premium before takeover speculation surrounding the biotech started circulating this month.
The interest in using health IT tools as a way to improve healthcare delivery and efficiency has produced many rapidly growing healthcare companies, many of which can trace their origins within one or two years of Obamacare’s passage. These companies have reached a stage of their development to accelerate growth and that has coincided with a readiness by healthcare providers and payers to adopt or ramp up their technology.
With a nod to the top healthcare company on Inc’s 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies, molecular diagnostic companies with smartphone-enabled technology have also become more attractive as investment and acquisition targets.
The 2014 Steering Committee of the Montgomery County Executive Hispanic Gala (MCEHG) announces the first of three awards to be presented during the gala celebration on September 18, 2014 to take place at The Fillmore Silver Spring.
University of Maryland President, Dr. Wallace D. Loh, will be the 2014 recipient of the “Advocate of the Year Award”.
