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AstraZeneca and MedImmune, in Partnership with BioHealth Innovation, Inc. and Tech Council of Maryland, Convene Life Sciences Leaders from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to Support Growth of Regional Biotech Ecosystem

Gaithersburg, Md., March 30, 2015 – Today and tomorrow, more than 400 leaders from life sciences companies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, investment funds and government entities across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. will convene for the first Maryland Regional Biotech Forum. This event, hosted by AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, in partnership with BioHealth Innovation (BHI), Inc. and the Tech Council of Maryland, will be held at MedImmune’s corporate headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was launched as part of a collective effort to grow the region’s biotech ecosystem and chart a course toward becoming one of the top three biotech hubs in the nation by 2023.

The Maryland Regional Biotech Forum agenda boasts an impressive lineup of more than 100 speakers and panelists, including Gerd Binnig, a Nobel Prize laureate in physics and Founder and CTO of Definiens; Rachel King, Chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of GlycoMimetics; more than 25 regional CEOs, including Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca; five university presidents from across the region; and leaders from federal institutions.

In addition, the region’s first Leaders of Tomorrow Summit will be held in parallel with day two of the Maryland Regional Biotech Forum, also at MedImmune’s headquarters. This event is the Mid-Atlantic region’s first student- and postdoc-led, cross-functional and inter-generational leadership summit, and is designed to engage and influence the next generation of biotech leaders and ignite innovation in the future bioeconomy.

The story of MedImmune, the Maryland startup that British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca bought for $15.6 billion in 2007, is an example for entrepreneurs striving for their own blockbuster deals. But MedImmune leaders say they want to go beyond leading by example.

MedImmune taps federal institute for research partnership The company, now responsible for half of AstraZeneca’s pipeline of drug candidates, has signed a flurry of partnerships with federal and nonprofit labs in recent months, including deals to share resources and researchers with the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University. Through the partnerships, the company can tap the labs’ brainpower and expensive equipment, and share its own resources.

The Montgomery County Department of EconomicDevelopment (MCDED) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2015 Life Sciences Impact Grant Awards. The program, introduced in December of 2014, was created to provide financial assistance to life sciences employers to retain jobs and stimulate the organic growth of the life sciences industry in Montgomery County.

“The county is committed to supporting the innovation economy,” commented Sally Sternbach, Acting Director, Department of Economic Development. “The Life Sciences Impact Grant is just one example of the comprehensive portfolio of programs that make up the MC Squared initiative.”

BHI to Provide Qualified EIRs to NHLBI and NINDS

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced today that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has signed an agreement to extend and expand its entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) program with BHI. Under the terms of the new agreement, BHI is providing the services of five EIRs to the NIH starting with two lead institutes: the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

“BHI is excited to extend its existing relationship with NIH. By adding new EIRs within multiple institutes, we expand our ability to both support breakthrough technologies and to help identify new commercial opportunities working with national scientific experts,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “These new breakthroughs can then turn into new health-related products, many of which will come from the cutting-edge startup companies fostered by BHI that are focused on further enhancing the future of healthcare for all.”

July 8 – 9, 2015, Boston, MA, USA

The first ever Organ-on-a-Chip World Congress focuses on Organ-on-a-Chip technology, Biofabrication and 3D-Bioprinting in the life sciences. The conference will be held on 8-9 July 2015 in Boston, organized by Selectbio.

MIMETAS is corporate sponsor of this inaugural conference.

Oral Presentation Abstract Submission Deadline: February 27, 2015

Poster Submission Deadline: June 30, 2015

We are pleased to announce that emocha Mobile Health launched its video-based directly observed therapy application, miDOT, in Harris County, Texas. miDOT will be used to bridge the distance between healthcare workers and the tuberculosis (TB) patients that are dispersed across the nearly 1,800 square miles surrounding Houston, which has one of the nation’s highest Tuberculosis rates. The roll-out began in early February after emocha won a competitive bidding process based on a head-to-head pilot with competing technologies.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC PINK: PIRS) (formerly Marika, Inc.), a Nevada corporation, announced today its successful completion of a share exchange transaction with Pieris AG, a German stock corporation pursuant to which Pieris AG became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The combined entity is named Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and will focus solely on the business of Pieris AG, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of its proprietary Anticalin® class of biotherapeutics. The share exchange transaction was effected on December 17, 2014, and beginning on December 18, 2014, Pieris will trade under the symbol “PIRS” on the OTC Markets.

– BHI Entrepreneurs-in-Resident Help Drive Client Progress –

ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, December 16, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, today announced recent highlights of funding achievements for clients, BeneVir Biopharm, Inc., and Perceptive Navigation, LLC. The significant progress poises both companies for clinical and/or commercial advancement in 2015.

BeneVir Biopharm, recently announced that it closed a Series A investment round with Pansend, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HC2 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: HCHC). BeneVir is a Maryland-based company founded in 2011. Based on technology developed by New York University, BeneVir is developing an advanced immunotherapeutic platform for the treatment of solid tumors that can both directly kill tumor cells and also activate the human immune system to target tumor metastases and prevent recurrence of tumors. Currently, the company is focused on advancing its lead program into human trials for ovarian, breast, and bladder cancer. BHI’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., worked as a member of the BeneVir team to enhance the commercial potential of the company by building novel intellectual property, expanding the therapeutic pipeline and identifying potential development partners.

Noble Life Sciences (Gaithersburg, MD), a provider of preclinical drug development services, today announced the acquisition of Spring Valley Laboratories (Sykesville, MD), a full service, GLP (Good Laboratory Practice)-compliant, preclinical contract research organization (CRO) for the development of drugs, vaccines, and medical devices.   

The acquisition greatly expands Noble’s services to include GLP regulatory standards, studies in small and large animals, and testing capabilities for vaccines and medical devices. Combined with Noble’s recognized strength conducting studies directed at early-stage products, the acquisition of Spring Valley Laboratories extends the Company’s suite of offerings across the full continuum of preclinical studies from initial product discovery through regulation-compliant studies for submission to FDA and other similar agencies.