News

Maryland biotechnology company creating methods for more efficient and reliable research

COLUMBIA, Md. (June 8, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) investment of $300,000 into Nanocrine, a biotechnology company.

“Without a steady and reliable foundation, research can be unreliable and unpredictable,” said Patrick Calhoun, president and chief science officer of Nanocrine. “Unfortunately, this is where many researchers are when studying living cells; many surfaces that cells interact with are uncharacterized or not made with appropriate lab-specific protocols—Nanocrine is working to change this and advance the scientific research and exploration of living cells.”

New agreement will allow more collaboration to advance technology and life sciences innovations across the state

COLUMBIA, Md. (June 7, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the signing of a Partner Intermediary Agreement (PIA) with the National Cancer Institute Technology Transfer Center (NCI TTC).

“NCI and TEDCO have collaborated for more than a decade on a variety of initiatives to bring the latest advancements in cancer research and technology to the public through Maryland businesses. These collaborations have helped create a thriving innovation ecosystem that benefits both patients and the economy,” said Tom Stackhouse, PhD, director, NCI TTC.
This agreement will codify the relationship between NCI and TEDCO, allowing the two organizations to help promote and foster more opportunities for Maryland’s life sciences community to work together with NCI on cooperative research.

Recently recognized as a Great Place to Work in the US for the second consecutive year, PQE Group, the woman-owned global consulting company, announces its mission towards innovation in the development of therapies for women’s health challenges.

A year after the foundation of GQC, an internal start-up of the Group focused on medical cannabis therapy solutions, Gilda D’Incerti – CEO and Founder of the company – is now dedicating her interest to FemTech (Female Technology) and the so-called SHEconomy: these primary market trends forecast tremendous growth in terms of profit and growth in the next decade, accelerating drug development for women’s health and well-being.

Maryland biotech company revolutionizing point-of-care testing for viruses and environmental toxins

COLUMBIA, Md. (June 7, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a $500,000 State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) investment into Hememics Biotechnologies, Inc., a biotechnology company. The investment came through TEDCO’s Venture Funds.

“I am extremely proud of what the company has achieved,” said John Warden, Jr., CEO and co-founder of Hememics Biotechnologies, Inc. “We have generated favorable results from more than 100,000 biosensor tests in the past nine months. The new funding will allow us to put the final touches on our product, and continue to develop early commercial customers.”
Hememics Biotechnologies, Inc., based in Gaithersburg, Md., is using graphene monolayer biosensors to revolutionize point-of-care testing for viruses and environmental toxins. The HemBox™, a cellphone-sized reader and chip platform, allows users to test for multiple viruses and toxins from samples as diverse as soil, water, saliva and blood.

Maryland healthcare technology company receives additional funding to support their efforts to improve patient outcomes

COLUMBIA, Md. (June 6, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent investment of $350,000 into Tao Treasures LLC, DBA NanoBioFAB, a woman- and minority-led healthcare technology company. The most recent funding for NanoBioFAB comes from TEDCO’s Builder Fund.

This recent investment, combined with previous TEDCO funding, resulted in another opportunity for NanoBioFAB—$550,000 in Phase II enhancement funding from the Defense Health Agency (DHA) SBIR office. Xiaonao Liu, PhD, founder and CEO of NanoBioFABThe Department of Defense used the two TEDCO investments to deploy a funding match, providing NanoBioFAB with more support to continue their research and innovation.

ROCKVILLE, Md., May 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OpGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPGN, “OpGen” or “the Company”), a precision medicine company harnessing the power of molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics to help combat infectious disease, today announced the closing of its previously announced public offering of an aggregate of 4,495,825 shares of its common stock (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) and common stock purchase warrants to purchase up to 4,495,825 shares of common stock at a combined public offering price of $0.7785 per share (or pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof) and accompanying warrant. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.7785 per share, will be exercisable beginning on the effective date of stockholder approval of the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants, and will expire five years from the date of stockholder approval.

It was an extraordinary achievement. In less than one year, the biomedical ecosystem helped bring to life an mRNA vaccine with the power to stave off severe disease and death during the worst pandemic since 1918. Of course, this wasn’t really a miracle. It was just one example of what government and partners can do when challenged to develop disruptive innovations.

Government has been a disruptive force for innovation across many sectors, from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) laying the foundation for the internet in the 1960s, to the role of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) and US Department of Energy in the Human Genome Project, which mapped the full genome for the first time in 2003 with an international consortium of thousands of researchers, to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief initiative that has saved more than 25 million lives from HIV/AIDS across the globe.

Charlottesville, VA – June 2, 2023 – The Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) has awarded AMPEL BioSolutions, a leading data science company, with the prestigious “Innovator-of-Year” title. The recognition was given to AMPEL BioSolutions for the outstanding AMPEL Genomic Platform, which utilizes RNA analytics and Machine Learning for dynamic disease management, including flare prediction and personalized decision support for drug options.

AMPEL BioSolutions is currently in commercialization mode and making significant progress in executing its platform technology. This year, AMPEL is set to make LuGENE, a blood test, available nationwide in the United States through ReLATE. The CBIC award ceremony was a moment of celebration for the AMPEL team, who thanked Angel Williams Derricott, for her unwavering Advocacy for Lupus & celebrating with the AMPEL team at CBIC unwavering advocate for Lupus, joined.

Three entrepreneurial leaders discuss the support available through the MII program

COLUMBIA, Md. (June 5, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, released a new episode of its innovation series, TEDCO’s The Leading Edge. Throughout this series, TEDCO thought leaders host a fireside chat with entrepreneurs discussing their experiences, providing advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, and more.

In this episode, TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII), UM Ventures and Innovate Maryland come together at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) for a live fireside chat. The discussion included Arti Santhanam, PhD, MII executive director; Ken Porter, UM Ventures, College Park director and MII Board member; and Srinivasa Raghavan, PhD, MII awardee, UMCP professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and entrepreneur.

Throughout the discussion, the three leaders dove into the MII program and the various support avenues it provides, as well as the success Raghavan has seen throughout his time with MII.

“It’s really important [during] those early stages to have sources of support, not just funding…” said Raghavan. “That is [what’s] amazing about MII… you reach out to people who can support you… MII is a wonderful program… it is there for you, and it could really open doors and take you in a new direction.”