By Eve Green

Last week, the Baltimore BioPark played host to the Innovation Working Group, which consists of executives from the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission. The commission was founded as a joint venture between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The highly anticipated event is an opportunity for the United States and Russia to find new ways to collaborate on projects in the fields of biotech and science. Members of the group were given a tour of the University of Maryland, College Park and Baltimore BioPark. The event was led by Oleg Fomichev, the Russian Deputy Minister of Economy, and Lorraine Hariton, Special Representative for Business and Commerce of the U.S. Department of State. Among those that joined the three day tour were chief executives of biotech companies from both Maryland and Russia, as well as leaders from the Pushchino BioTech Cluster.

As the provisions of the Affordable Care Act and HITECH Act are rolled out, providers and payers are looking for ways to address pain points varying from improving patient engagement and remote monitoring to helping consumers better understand their insurance options to making better use of patient information in the context of big data.

Some accelerators are helping members of the healthcare ecosystem and entrepreneurs find each other. These four healthcare accelerators are currently looking for applicants.

Version 2.0 of a plan to create an Office of mHealth in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should be out soon. The office of U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, Silicon Valley’s Democratic Congressman who authored the legislation, said the next draft will at the least fine-tune the way the office would work with other federal agencies.

But is the big-ticket item – a new office dedicated to adding more context and understanding of mHealth within the federal agency – the most interesting thing about the bill? I don’t think so. Read through the details and see if you agree.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking companies for financial donations to help implement President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, months before it is due to take effect.

In telephone calls that began around March 23, officials say, Obama's top healthcare adviser has been seeking assistance from companies in the healthcare field and other industries as well as from healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, churches and other charitable organizations.

The University City Science Center is collaborating with the Canadian Consulate General to pilot a business accelerator for health information and communication technology companies from Canada.

Opening on May 13, 2013, the Canadian Technology Accelerator at the Science Center will provide a 3-6 month “market immersion” experience for Canadian health IT companies, leveraging the Science Center’s resources and networks through its Port business incubator.

Venture capital firm Grotech Ventures has raised $225 million that it plans to invest in early-stage technology companies.

The $225 million round, called Grotech Ventures II, is the firm’s eight fund. The firm had originally planned to raise $220 million but expanded to include new investors, said Grotech Managing General Partner and Founder Frank Adams.

It’s true that, geographically speaking, Maryland is a small state. But as the old saying goes, “Good things come in small packages,” and that is especially true when it comes to the resources, advice and technical expertise that Maryland offers inventors and technology entrepreneurs.

From university laboratories and research centers (such as The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Maryland’s Office of Technology Commercialization or University of Maryland – Baltimore City’s ACTiVATE) to state organizations (Maryland Biotechnology Center or the Department of Business and Economic Development), a wide variety of entities are working to help entrepreneurs develop and market their inventions.

If you’re a startup working on a product for the healthcare industry, Boston is the place to be. During a trip to Bean Town, I was curious to hear what startup founders found most challenging in a city so rich with resources. The usual gripes I usually hear elsewhere, like troubles with seed funding or FDA regulation, didn’t come up as much. Instead, these founders seemed to find the more personal elements of entrepreneurship most challenging. Many times, I found myself talking to people who had made a shift from working in tech or research to becoming a business owner.

The community realizes that, though. In addition to numerous startup accelerators and incubators, Boston is home to lots of collaborative startup space.

Local businesses have seen needed venture capital and loans in greater abundance in recent months.

The amount of venture capital investment funneled to Montgomery County and Washington-area companies in 2013’s first quarter jumped by 30 percent from the same period a year ago, according to a recent report.

The $286.3 million invested in local companies in the first three months was the most in the quarter in five years, according to the report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data by Thomson Reuters.

Governor Martin O’Malley today officially launched data.maryland.gov - Maryland’s first statewide open data portal that will provide researchers, entrepreneurs, public servants and citizens with a wide variety of data to support transparency and innovation in government. Data such as vendor payments, vehicle accidents, licensed veterinary clinics, GIS mapping data, and per capita electricity consumption will all be made available and housed in a central place for the public.

The Governor made this announcement at a panel discussion hosted in conjunction with the Future of Information Alliance (FIA) – a transdisciplinary partnership between the University of Maryland, College Park and 10 founding partners. The panel featured “futurists” and over 120 students, entrepreneurs and public servants who spoke about the importance of big data to better serve and inform the public.

Benlysta, a drug to treat lupus, has received approval from European regulators to be marketed in Europe, the drug’s co-makers, Human Genome Sciences Inc. of Rockville, and GlaxoSmithKline, its London-based parent, announced.

The European approval came two days after Benlysta, the first new treatment developed for lupus in 50 years, was approved for use in Canada.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is launching a $500 million fundraising campaign, the largest in the school’s history.

The school plans to officially launch the capital campaign, “Transforming Medicine Beyond Imagination,” at its annual gala May 11. The event is considered a critical fundraiser for the school’s research and clinical programs.

May 15, 2013 8:00am - 10:00am
Tower Club, Tysons Corner

Attracting and retaining key employees is a challenge every business faces, and government contractors know that a valuable contract can hinge on making the right staffing choices. Savvy government contractors also recognize the necessity to maximize human capital within the constraints of sequestration, continuing resolution and lowest price technically acceptable contracts.

You're invited to this breakfast workshop to learn about powerful employee incentive compensation strategies that can provide significant competitive advantages for your business. These often underutilized plans can attract top quality employees through cash, equity and other equity-linked compensation methods. In addition to creating great work environments, innovative incentive plans allow government contractors to be successful amidst the current era of regulatory challenges.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:PSTI) (TASE:PLTR) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pluristem Ltd., has entered into an exclusive out-license agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq:UTHR) for the use of Pluristem's PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells to develop and commercialize a cell-based product for the treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension (PH).

Under the terms of the agreement, United Therapeutics will receive exclusive worldwide licensing rights for the development and commercialization of the future product for treating PH patients. Pluristem will retain all manufacturing rights; participate in the pre-clinical and clinical trial activities, as well as provide the commercial grade product.

UK pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline has unveiled an "open innovation" platform through which it will publish data from its clinical trials online so it can be analysed by external researchers. 

The online system allows scientists to submit a to request access anonymised drug trial data. Each request will be judged a panel of external experts appointed by GSK, and applicants must agree to publish their own findings. 

A Johns Hopkins University faculty member will be helping advise the National Institutes of Health about research topics with the most promise for addressing public health challenges.

Janice E. Clements, vice dean for faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been selected to serve on the Council of Councils for NIH. Clements was among 10 individuals newly selected to serve on the 27-member council. Her term ends in October 2015.

Venture capitalists are pushing to allow more highly educated immigrants into the U.S., saying this is essential to ensuring that the country remains an innovation leader.

One argument they use is that immigrants create jobs by starting companies. Scott Sandell, general partner at New Enterprise Associates who leads the venture firm’s technology investing, wants to support this assertion with better data.

I had the privilege to meet with and speak to the local Healthcare meet-up recently (thanks to Pete Kanee at www.healthcare.mn) and as part of my discussion, I shared a list of things that I'd encourage the local (healthcare) startups to continue to keep in mind as they grow their companies.  

These are relevant to not only healthcare-focused startups but all startups for that matter.  They're pretty common, but in my recent conversations with healthcare entrepreneurs, I found many of these needing to be brought up as part of the dialogue.

Thursday, May 23rd at 5:00 p.m.

Join NFTE Baltimore as an honored guest at out Regional City Wide Business Plan Competition. The top size finalists will present and defend their business plans before a prestigious panel of judges and an audience of top buiness and school leaders. The networking reception will include a Student Showcase and we will also honor NFTE's biggest supporters of youth entrepreneurship.

University of Baltimore
William T. Thumel Sr. Business Center
11 West Mount Royal Avenue

Seating is limited RSVP here by May 20th.

The University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) invites you to participate in the 5th Biennial NMR Day symposium on Friday, May 17, 2013, at our facility in Rockville, Maryland.

IBBR (formerly CARB) hosts a biennial meeting, designed to promote discussion and collaboration among scientists active in the application of biomolecular NMR to modern problems in structural biology and biotechnology. The symposium speakers are internationally recognized in the application of NMR to biological systems

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced its participation in the Defence against Terrorism Programme of Work (DAT POW) workshop conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Emerging Security Challenges Division at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An initial session of the workshop was focused on the future capabilities and protection of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community on areas such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), Biometrics and Forensics, Information Sharing Systems, Tactical Computer, Communications, Command and Control (C4), and Force Protection.

“Emergent strongly supports NATO’s initiatives to educate on protecting those who protect the population,” said Allen Shofe, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Emergent BioSolutions. “NATO DAT POW workshops are highly relevant and informative as they cover various activities undertaken and coordinated by NATO countries.”

TOPIC: 

Leveraging USDA-ARS Partnerships and Capabilities to Help Your Business

PRESENTERS:  

Robert Griesbach, Ph.D.
Deputy Assistant Administrator Office of Technology  

James Poulos, III
Technology Transfer Coordinator  

Cathy Cohn
Technology Transfer Liaison      

Abstract:  

Agricultural Research Services (ARS) is the research arm of the Department of Agriculture that develops and transfers solutions to agricultural problems affecting Americans every day, from field to table.  To accelerate the development of new products and help move technologies into the marketplace, ARS often partners with companies and research institutions early on in the research process.  Working collaboratively alongside ARS, partners are able access and implement ARS technologies, resources and expertise to further develop specific products and create new ones.  ARS conducts research in 800 projects at 90 locations including six pilot plants and six human nutrition centers.  With a long standing commitment to technology transfer, ARS works closely with the private sector to ensure research outcomes are adopted.  Please join us to learn about the wide range of expertise and capabilities from ARS that can be used to grow your business  

The National Capitol Area Local Chapter of SoPE in concert with JHU Carey Business School, MedChi, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Center for Biotechnology Education, Montgomery County Medical Society, and the Medical Society of Northern Virginia presents:

“Working with Industry in the Life Sciences - What does it Really Take?”

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013--6:00PM to 8:00PM

Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery County Campus, Building III – 9605 Medical Center Drive, Room 121

Johns Hopkins says it is working on its largest-ever fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $4.5 billion by the end of 2017.

The university and health system announced the effort Saturday. The idea is to create as many as 300 endowed professorships and generate nearly $700 million for undergraduate financial aid and graduate student fellowships.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 finalists have a lot to celebrate. They've built their dream companies. Expanded. Innovated. And now Ernst & Young is recognizing them for their achievements. Help us congratulate these outstanding entrepreneurs. Join us at this years event and see who will take home top honors.

Somewhere between venture funding and bank loans is a kind of investment that seems to fly under the radar, but apparently over the last several years has become increasingly popular for biotech companies beyond the startup stage looking for growth capital.

Royalty financing is the vehicle that Capital Royalty L.P. will use to invest its new $805 million fund in healthcare products and technologies. But (sorry startups), it’s not looking for early-stage companies. Capital Royalty says it invests in companies with FDA-approved healthcare products that are generating revenue. These are companies looking to make acquisitions, expand into new markets or develop new products with investments of $20 million to $200 million.

Late last week, leaders from across the global vaccine industry gathered at the 6th Annual Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards ceremony during the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C, to honor the industry’s best and brightest.   Immunovaccine is proud to announce that chief executive officer John Trizzino was awarded this year’s Best Biotech CEO prize during the ceremony.  

In considering candidates for the Best Biotech CEO award, judges evaluated a number of important criteria including:  

• Degree of outstanding commitment to disease prevention and treatment
• Level of exemplary leadership throughout the year
• Contribution to company performance, communication and vision
• Influence within the industry
• Achievements made with regards to company positioning and status

The Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) today announces the winners of the inaugural University of Maryland Business Model Challenge.

The two winning UMD entrepreneur teams were selected from among 44 initial entries and 11 finalist teams, six of whom were selected to present the results they achieved through the Challenge's multi-week lean startup workshop to an expert panel of judges on April 26 at the University of Maryland.

Earlier this month, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a trade association representing the U.S. venture capital industry, released the results of its MoneyTree Report on venture funding for the first quarter of 2013.  The report, which is prepared by NVCA and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP using data from Thomson Reuters, indicates that venture capitalists invested $5.9 billion in 863 deals in the first quarter, which constituted a 12% decrease in dollars and a 15% decrease in deals as compared with the fourth quarter of 2012, when $6.7 billion was invested in 1,013 deals (see chart below; data from MoneyTree Reports).

Cyber - Health - Mobile

Thursday, June 6, 2013 8:00am – 1:00pm —UMBC 

Join us as we bring together top leaders and innovators in the fields of Cybersecurity, Health IT, and Mobile Technology. Learn where the technology is leading these 3 sectors and the opportunities that exist for real estate brokers and developers who want to capitalize on these expanding industries.

Hear from leaders including Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, one of Time Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People”, as well as Dr. Mark Doms, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs with the United States Department of Commerce, who serves as a top economic advisor to the Obama Administration and to the Department of Commerce.

Startup Maryland today announced dates (September 9 – 27) and the rough route for the Pitch Across Maryland 2.0, the second annual state-wide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and startup companies.

Referred to by CBS News affiliate WBOC-TV 16 as “Opportunity on Wheels,” the inaugural Pitch Across Maryland tour was an overwhelming success last year. The bus traversed the state all in the name of celebrating entrepreneurship. A sampling of details, key data and results from last year’s tour follow:

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has partnered with Barclays Bank to develop a youth entrepreneurship program with the Bloomberg School's Center for American Indian Health. The new initiative is aimed at designing an evidence-based program to inspire American Indian youth to stay in school and create business and social entrepreneurship opportunities.

As part of the partnership, Barclays will provide a total of $1.2 million in program funding over the course of the next three years. Additionally, Barclays employees will lend their business expertise and serve as mentors to program participants.  Program efforts will first concentrate on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona with the ultimate goal to implement youth entrepreneurship programs in poverty stricken communities throughout the world. 

Chandra Duggirala, maker of an experimental device for type two diabetes, is on the verge of giving up.

Duggirala’s company, Novobionics, raised a small amount of funding for a noninvasive technology that mimics the effects of gastric bypass surgery. The device tricks the gastro-intestinal tract into thinking it is full, which slows the rate of nutrient absorption, thereby easing suffering for diabetes patients.

Ingenuity Systems, a 15-year veteran of the biological software business, showed today that you can make money not just by generating DNA data, but by helping scientists figure out what it means.

Redwood City, CA-based Ingenuity said today it has agreed to be acquired by Netherlands-based Qiagen for $105 million in cash. Ingenuity, a private company, was able to fetch that price after it closed last year with about $20 million in net sales, the companies said in a statement. The deal is expected to start adding to Qiagen’s profits in 2015, the companies said.

President Barack Obama dropped in on the National Academy of Sciences today to help it celebrate its 150th birthday.

The president said he's committed to increased public investment in scientific research, contending this is necessary in order for the U.S. to retain its technological edge. Under sequestration, however, federal spending on research is being cut, not increased.