Biohealth Innovation - 338th Edition

BioHealth Innovation

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January 22, 2019

FOUNDING MEMBER OF

William E. Bentley, Professor of Engineering and Founding Director of the Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices joins Rich Bendis for the first BioTalk of 2019

William E. Bentley is the Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Chair of Engineering and the Inaugural Director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. He is appointed in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering as well as the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research. At Maryland since 1989, Dr. Bentley has focused his research on the development of molecular tools that facilitate the expression of biologically active proteins and on materials incorporated into biomedical devices, having authored over 300 related archival publications

He is a fellow of AAAS, ACS, AIMBE, and the American Academy of Microbiology. He has served on advisory committees for the NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, FDA, USDA, and several state agencies and has mentored over 40 PhDs and 25 postdocs, many now in leadership roles within industry (24), federal agencies (5) and academia (26). He co-founded a protein manufacturing company, Chesapeake PERL, based on insect larvae as mini bioreactors.

Listen now on iTunes , Google Play , and TuneIn.

Viela Bio on BioSpace Top 20 Life Sciences Companies to Watch

BioSpace is proud to present its NextGen Bio “Class of 2019,” a list of 20 up-and-coming life science companies in North America that launched* no earlier than 2017.

Alexandria and NEA Number 1 and 2 in List of VC Firms That Made the Most Investments in Healthcare Startups in 2018

To those who have been following the space, it’s no surprise that 2018 has been a record year for venture capital investing in healthcare. With $28.8 billion raised through the end of November (and big deals like the $400 million Series C raised by Relay Therapeutics last week) startups in the sector have raised more money this year than any year before in the last 10 years that VC funding database Pitchbook has tracked investments in the space.

Lupin receives FDA approval for Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets USP – Lupin

Pharma major Lupin announced that it has received approval for its Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets USP, 25 mcg, 50 mcg, 75 mcg, 88 mcg, 100 mcg, 112 mcg, 125 mcg, 137 mcg, 150 mcg, 175 mcg, 200 mcg, and 300 mcg from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of AbbVie, Inc’s Synthroid Tablets, 25 mcg, 50 mcg, 75 mcg, 88 mcg, 100 mcg, 112 mcg, 125 mcg, 137 mcg, 150 mcg, 175 mcg, 200 mcg, and 300 mcg.

Maryland’s Vitus Vet #1 App for Pet Owners

There’s an app for everything these days — including a plethora for people with pets.

Thanks to the streamlined design of most current apps, you don’t have to be technically savvy to know how to download and use them on your smartphones or tablets.

Tax Implications and Accounting Issues for Start-Ups — January 23rd

Join us for the January 23, 2019 for PATHFINDER INNOVATION PROGRAM

Learn more about:

Overview and Reporting Requirements for Type of Entity
Impact of Accounting Methods
Start-up Company Issues
International Investment
Tax Law Changes
State Tax Concerns
Tax Planning

Schedule

12:00 p.m - Networking Lunch

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. - Discussion with Q&A* - Tom Christiana, Partner – Aronson, LLC

1:30 – 4:00 p.m. - One-on-one Meetings**

RSVP by noon, January 22, at BHI@BioHealthInnovation.org

No charge to attend but pre-registration is required.*Attend in person (1 Church St, Rockville) or by videoconference**Attendance at discussion is required to participate in 1:1

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Alexandria Real Estate buys Jazz Pharmaceuticals-leased Stanford Research Park building at 3170 Porter Drive - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Biotech landlord and developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities has purchased an office complex in Palo Alto's Stanford Research Park from Stanford University for $100.3 million.

Maryland companies raised more than $1B in venture funding in 2018 - Technical.ly Baltimore

Maryland’s overall venture capital haul for 2018 totaled crossed the billion-dollar mark for the first time since 2001, according to the PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree report.

MCEDC Welcomes Bill Tompkins — MCEDC

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) and its board are pleased to welcome Bill Tompkins as Chief Operating Officer. Bill brings to Montgomery County a strong corporate and trade association background, having served in multiple senior level roles for Fortune 500 and other organizations.

Johns Hopkins, health tech Emocha win CDC funding to study effect of financial incentives on addiction recovery - Baltimore Business Journal

Study participants will use emocha's platform to video record themselves each day for 24 weeks as they take buprenorphine.

Maryland ranks No. 3 for contribution to tech economy - Baltimore Business Journal

Milken Institute publishes its 2018 State Technology and Science Index.

Popper and Company Adds Diagnostic Industry Leaders as Senior Advisors

Popper and Co., a strategy consulting and transaction advisory firm guiding medical technology and life sciences companies working on the leading-edge of diagnostics and patient management, announced today the addition of Vincent Linder, PhD and Gene Vivino to its growing team of industry and clinical senior advisors. Both Dr. Linder and Mr. Vivino provide strong industry knowledge and extensive operating experience, in addition to broad networks in both Europe and Asia.

Small Business Network: Making Montgomery County Business Friendlier - YouTube

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Council President Nancy Navarro are the guests of Montgomery Community Media’s January Small Business Network (SBN) session.

Well Doc’s BlueStar highlighted on Forbes’ list of Digital Healthcare Growth Drivers

The digital transformation of healthcare will see significant growth in the next 12 months fueled by institutional interest in driving down costs and improving patient engagement. Expect increased pharma investment, improving regulatory status, payer engagement with digital tools and better telemedicine connectivity through consolidation.

Protenus to expand, move HQ to Brown's Wharf in Fells Point - Baltimore Business Journal

The health data security company has outgrown its offices near Little Italy.

Maryland universities propose new programs – Maryland Daily Record

Maryland universities are creating new academic programs they say could help the state adapt to a changing innovation economy and help meet needs for tomorrow's educators. The Education Policy and Student Life committee of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents moved forward this week with eight new programs proposed from system universities.

Hopkins researchers to study whether financial rewards, video monitoring can help opioid addiction treatment - Baltimore Sun

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been awarded $2.1 million by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study whether paying patients to take their medicine and tracking their doses with video software can help patients stick with their treatment for opioid addiction.

Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore taps Michele Whelley as new CEO - Baltimore Business Journal

The hire is well known in the business community for her previous roles at local organizations.

Pappas Capital raises $85.8 mln for venture-capital fund - PE Hub

Pappas Capital has raised $85.8 million toward a venture-capital fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

A. M. Pappas Life Science Ventures V attracted capital from 29 LPs.

Attendees fed up with venue, high prices call to move JPM out of San Francisco | FierceBiotech

While the high cost of living in San Francisco has famously grabbed headlines, the costs of simply meeting there, even for a few days, are becoming untenable for some.

As 9,000 official badge holders—alongside what could feel like three times as many unofficial attendees—swarmed downtown San Francisco for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, much of the opening small talk in the hastily bedless hotel suites-turned-meeting rooms began with, “Can you believe some of these prices?”

BIO launches Innovature, a new platform to support innovation in food and agriculture

BIO, in partnership with the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), is proud to announce today that we are launching Innovature, an initiative to engage people in a dialogue on the promise of innovation in food and agriculture and the tangible benefits it brings to our planet, our health, and our food.

The goal of Innovature is to grow awareness, acceptance and adoption of gene editing in food and agriculture, and seed positive ground for future innovations that address some of society's most pressing challenges, such as climate change, hunger and sustainability.

For CAR-Ts to be successful, figuring out manufacturing is key - MedCity News

To date, the conversation around CAR-T cell therapies in cancers has focused on the most visible considerations: efficacy, toxicity and cost. But while those factors are important, another one deserves equal consideration: manufacturing.

Press Announcements > Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. and Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research on new policies to advance development of safe and effective cell and gene therapies

The FDA is witnessing a surge of cell and gene therapy products entering early development, evidenced by a large upswing in the number of investigational new drug (IND) applications. Based on this activity, we anticipate that the number of product approvals for cell and gene therapies will grow in the coming years, reflecting significant scientific advancement and the clinical promise of these new innovations.

Frederick's diversified life sciences and bio industry | Maryland Business News

Without a doubt, Frederick’s life sciences and biotechnology industry is closing out the year with strong growth, and starting 2019 with a solid foundation built on numerous innovative organizations and several areas of expertise.

BRCA Exchange aggregates data on thousands of BRCA variants to inform understanding of cancer risk | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

A global resource that includes data on thousands of inherited variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is available to the public. The BRCA Exchange was created through the BRCA Challenge, a long-term demonstration project initiated by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) to enhance sharing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 data. The resource, available through a website and a new smartphone app, allows clinicians to review expert classifications of variants in these major cancer predisposition genes as part of their individual assessment of complex questions related to cancer prevention, screening, and intervention for high-risk patients.

Why gene therapies don't work for everyone

Growing up in Devon in the 1980s, brothers James* and Matt* had to be careful with their antics–a cut or bruise could land them in hospital.

New Clinical Trial Aims To Detect Cancer With A Quick Breathalyzer Test

Nowadays ‘liquid biopsies,’ the notion of detecting cancer using only a blood test to detect minute amounts of circulating tumor are fairly well-known. But what if not even a blood test was needed to detect cancer, merely a few lungfuls of air?