BeneVir Biopharm, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a pipeline of cancer immunotherapies, today announced it closed a Series A investment round with Pansend, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HC2 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: HCHC).
BeneVir’s core technology was licensed from New York University (NYU) and originally developed by Ian J. Mohr, Ph.D., NYU Langone Medical Center.
Rockville, MD, November 19, 2014 – BeneVir BioPharm, Inc. today announced it closed a Series A investment round with Pansend, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of HC2 Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: HCHC). BeneVir’s core technology was licensed from New York University (NYU) and originally developed by Ian J. Mohr, Ph.D., NYU Langone Medical Center.
BeneVir used this core technology to develop a pipeline of cancer immunotherapy drug candidates that affect antigen presentation in both tumor cells and antigen presenting cells. BeneVir’s pipeline consists of oncolytic viruses delivered locally or systemically. Once inside tumors, the viruses selectively destroy cancer cells, evade elimination by the immune system, and activate multiple classes of anti-tumor immune cells. This multi-mechanistic approach builds upon key elements of both oncolytic virus and immune-checkpoint inhibitor approaches to cancer treatment and is designed to block the major methods that tumors use to subvert the immune system. Proceeds of the financing will be used to conduct initial proof- of-concept clinical studies of BeneVir’s lead product, further develop the pipeline, and establish partnerships to test promising combination therapies in a diverse set of metastatic solid tumors.
Thomas Kucharski (IEDC) – Ethan Byler (BHI) – William C. Sproull (IEDC)
BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) was selected as an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award recipient. BHI is receiving the award in the Public-Private Partnerships category for its work to assemblethe partnership that sponsored DreamIt Health IT Baltimore accelerator program. The award, which recognizes outstanding and innovative development projects that have significantly enhanced the economic revitalization of distressed communities, states, or regions, was formally presented to BHI on Monday, October 20, during the 2014 IEDC Annual Conference in Fort Worth, TX.
“BHI is honored to be acknowledged with this award for our work with DreamIt Health in support of the DreamIt Health Baltimore program in 2014,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “This reinforces the dedication to entrepreneurship and innovation in the biohealth arena that we are constantly striving for in Central Maryland.”
Vheda Health, a digital health company that seeks to help people with chronic conditions, is one of a handful of healthcare startups that have received backing from a commercialization fund from Maryland’s Technology Development Corp. They were part of a list of 15 companies that received $1.5 million. It follows a funding allocation from earlier this year.
Mobile Internet companies raked in a total of $19.2 billion in new investment over the last year, more than double the previous period, according to investment advisory firm Digi-Capital.
The big winner? Mobile commerce, with $4.2
Strand Life Sciences (Strand) representatives will demonstrate new capabilities of the company’s variant interpretation and reporting software, StrandOmics at the Association For Molecular Pathologist (AMP) 2014 Annual Meeting to be held from November 12th to 15th in National Harbor, Maryland. The 20th anniversary meeting’s theme is “Realizing the Dream of Precision Medicine,” with a special address by Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institute of Health. At AMP, Strand will host a workshop on the innovative developments and application of its StrandOmics software, plus new expansion efforts in Personalized Medicine.
Strategic Adviser for BioHealth Innovation Inc.
Tania Fernandez came to the biotech initiative through the venture capital world, where she worked in Silicon Valley and spent 16 years managing investments in companies.
What is the biggest way your day will change in your new role? My day won’t really change. I am a classified workaholic. I will continue to do what I have always loved doing: working with entrepreneurs, building companies and looking for good investment opportunities in the biotech/life sciences/health care sectors. BioHealth Innovation has built a very commendable ecosystem for startups, and I look forward to the opportunity to build out that ecosystem with them as we get ready to fund raise for the BioHealth Gap Fund.
One thing you wish everyone knew about your job? I founded DreamCatcher Ventures after having spent more than 15 years in hard-core academics and a decade in venture capital financing. I have watched people get burnt either because they were not grounded enough (which translates into operational weakness) or had their head way above the clouds (which translated to being unrealistic about long-term success and sustainability of business models). I created DreamCatcher Ventures with a simple goal to “Build the foundations for dreams.” That’s what I want people to know about my job. This quote by Henry David Thoreau, which is the tagline for DreamCatcher Ventures, says it all: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” For entrepreneurs there is a fine line between being stubborn and being persistent, an even finer liner between being a visionary and having unrealistic expectations. In my day-to-day job, I work with clients to bridge that. It is great to dream but you need to have your feet planted on the ground. I believe in the power of dreams combined with the excellence of execution.
BioHealth Innovation clients Alex Lai (Speed BioSystems), Matthew Mulvey (Benevir), David Cetlin (MockV Solutions), and BHI Entrepreneur-in-Resident Ram Aiyar meet with Bahija Jallal.
Dr. Bahija Jallal is Executive Vice President, MedImmune, responsible for biologics research, development and clinical activities. As part of AstraZeneca’s Senior Executive Team, Bahija is tasked with advancing the biologic organisation’s pipeline of drugs targeting cancer, infections, respiratory and inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders and pain. (Astrazenica Bio)
Join us in welcoming two new interns to our team!
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Vanessa Sorto Vanessa Sorto joined BHI on September 2014 as an accounting and human resources intern. She is responsible for supporting the director of finance and human resources in assembling monthly expense reports for BHI senior staff, reconciling bank accounts, preparing monthly financial reports, assisting in audit preparation, and maintaining payroll. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at The University of Maryland, College Park in Accounting and Information Systems. She is a Hillman Entrepreneur scholarship recipient. |
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Kurt Herzog Kurt Herzog joined BHI in 2014 as a Business & Research Analyst. He assists BHI’s client companies with market entry strategies for their products by engaging with clients to understand current products, researching existing and potential markets, and analyzing business strategy. His work includes developing executive summaries, investor slide decks, tailored presentation materials, and creating financial models for presentation to investors. Kurt also works with Tania Fernandez on the BioHealth Gap Fund, a $50 million fund announced October 2014 in partnership with the EAGB to support early-stage therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and health IT companies in central Maryland. Kurt has experience in investment banking, international micro-lending, renewable energy project finance and project development, forest carbon sequestration monitoring, institutional investing in hedge funds, and working for a non-profit startup accelerator. Kurt holds a BA in Economics and Environmental Studies with a Natural Science concentration from Bowdoin College. He also completed substantial coursework in chemistry. |
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To attend a NICE/UKTI Scientific Advice Seminar for developers of devices and diagnostics.
Learn how to prepare for an evaluation by NICE, the UK’s health technology assessment body.
The seminar will cover:
Who should attend?
The seminar program is funded by UKTI to allow you free event registration (standard event rate – $550)
