Vaccines may be available for pneumococcal infections, but none of them, including the widely used Prevnar 13, can cover all strains. SutroVax is one of the startups trying to solve that problem, and today raised $64 million to test its approach in humans.

New investors Frazier Healthcare Partners and Pivotal bioVenture Partners led the Series B financing round for Foster City, CA-based SutroVax. Also participating in the round were earlier investors Abingworth, Longitude Capital, Roche Venture Fund, and CTI Life Sciences Fund. In addition to the $60 million Series B investment, SutroVax says the earlier investors are also putting another $4 million into the company.

The National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provides small business with equity-free funding to conduct research and development (R&D) work and de-risk technology for commercial success. The NSF SBIR program accepts innovative proposals that show promise of commercial and societal impact in almost all areas of technology.

SBIR Phase I proposals are expected to undertake R&D with the aim of establishing technical feasibility or proof of concept. Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to $225,000 over a period of 6 to 12 months (the period to be decided by the company).

Successful SBIR proposers will receive funding about 6 months after the solicitation deadline. Companies that receive a Phase I award are eligible to apply for a Phase II award (award amount up to $750,000; duration 2 years).

In order for America to maintain its innovative and technological competitive advantage, it is imperative that current policy design favor high growth formation through the catalytic means of institutional financing. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs have historically served as crucial financing to help de-risk early-stage technology development and enable validation that encourages follow-on private institution capitalization. With new trends in the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, genomics, environmental sustainability, renewable energy, national security, and many other areas evolving over the years ahead, national governments bear the responsibility for helping seed the inventive fire that enables economic growth as we move forward.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017, 8:30 AM - 12 PM | WASHINGTON, DC

If you do business with the government, you are a target for cyber-attacks!

If you are a government contractor, join us to learn how to implement a strong and cost effective cybersecurity program that will strengthen your company's cybersecurity posture and help you meet requirements necessary to do business with the federal government. As an attendee, you can receive two customized assessments to help identify your company’s level of exposure: (1) a mini cyber-risk review from CyberRx that will assess your company’s cyber capabilities within the Cybersecurity Framework; and (2) a threat intelligence assessment from Wapack Labs that can help to identify if your organization has been or will be the victim of an attack. Space is limited. Register today.

Pulmocide raised $30.4 million in a Series B round of financing to support the early clinical development of its lead inhaled drugs against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pulmonary aspergillosis. The fundraising round was led by new investor SR One and included the Longwood Fund and existing investors SV Life Sciences, F-Prime Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation–JJDC, and Touchstone Innovations.

The National Cancer Institute has picked the Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus as the site for a new laboratory building for its epidemiology and genetics researchers.

The planned 70,000-square-foot building will bring together about 134 scientists and employees now working in separate facilities in Gaithersburg and Frederick, about 25 miles apart.

The University of Maryland University College is tearing itself apart -- on purpose.

The university, which gets nearly all of its funding from tuition revenue, has long relied on enrolling large numbers of students associated with the military for financial stability. After teaching students at military bases across Asia and Europe for decades, the university was quick to realize the potential of the internet and became a pioneer in the field of distance education.

Friday, April 14, 2017 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM

Bethesda Marriott - 5151 Pooks Hill Road Bethesda, MD 20814

With the transition to the Trump administration, change is coming rapidly in the form of legislative proposals, regulations (or repeal thereof), and policy statements. How will all this affect the ability of tech companies to raise the capital they need to grow. Amid this shifting ground, we’ve asked an expert panel of our own Maryland technology companies to talk about their recent successes and challenges in raising capital and their outlook for the ability of Maryland technology companies to do the same. Our panel, moderated by David Straut of Wells Fargo, includes two long-time local tech CFOs who have had recent success raising money and the Director of the Maryland Venture Fund, which oversees investments in approximately 50 local technology ventures

Financial Executives Forum: FEF is devoted to peer-to-peer connections and programs that highlight the latest topics of interest for the region’s leading business and financial executives. FEF encourages participants to connect as well as learn from some of the area’s preeminent executives, policymakers and thought leaders.

May 18, 2017 - 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Hilton Baltimore

Join Governor Hogan for the first Maryland Governor’s Business Summit. Explore topics on human capital, global trends and business strategy. Connect with a wide array of Maryland’s business leaders.

Newsflash: The Association of University Technology Managers met in Hollywood, Fla., and had its own Final Four last week.

All of the finalists of the conference’s pitch competition had a common bond: They each had ties to Maryland universities such as Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland. All four also received funding from TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) today announced the appointment of Marco Chacón, PhD, as Assistant Vice President, Industry Alliances. In this role, Dr. Chacón, a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive and entrepreneur, will work with the Office of Research and Development, UM Ventures, and University of Maryland BioPark teams, leading special projects to grow the BioPark tenant base and strengthen the University’s research collaborations with industry.

 “Marco is a distinguished scientist, entrepreneur, and biopharma CEO who has spent many years working as a valued member of the UM BioPark community,” said James L. Hughes, Vice President and Chief Enterprise & Economic Development Officer and president of the corporation that manages the UM BioPark. “His accomplishments leading a successful contract development and manufacturing organization, along with his deep industry and government connections, make him a superb addition to our team at UMB.

Pharmaron, a fully integrated contract research organization offering R&D services to the life sciences industry, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement under which Pharmaron will acquire a majority stake in Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories Clinical Pharmacology Center, Inc. (“SNBL CPC”) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. This clinical center is a leading provider of moderate and highly complex Phase I/II clinical development services for the life sciences sector. Current shareholder Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (SNBL) (TSE:2395) will retain a minority stake in the business following the transaction.

On an afternoon in early February, Richard May, the head of a new Baltimore nonprofit, stands braced against the wind and sketches out a vision for West Baltimore. It begins here, on a blighted section of North Avenue not far from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where a graveyard of a public housing project, unoccupied for almost two years, is currently being torn down.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) today announced that it has signed a two-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response, valued at $100 million for the delivery of BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). This contract satisfies BARDA's notice of intent to sole source BioThrax that was issued on December 8, 2016 and is separate from and in addition to the company’s $911 million BioThrax procurement contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BioThrax pricing under this BARDA procurement contract is the same as BioThrax pricing under the CDC follow-on contract.

“Emergent is pleased to support BARDA in its efforts to enhance the nation’s preparedness against the threat of anthrax,” said Adam Havey, executive vice president and president biodefense division at Emergent BioSolutions. “Emergent is committed to developing and manufacturing preparedness solutions that address our customers’ needs to protect against a broad spectrum of public health threats.”

Monday, April 3, 2017 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM EDT

SMC Campus Center 621 West Lombard Street Elm Room A & B Baltimore, MD 21201

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network (EIN) is pleased to present the 1st annual Entrepreneurship and Innovation Expo at University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Join us for a half day event celebrating all of the entrepreneurial and innovative endeavors at UMB. Events will include talks entrepreneurs at the student, faculty and student levels as well as a keynote presentation from the UMB Presidents White Paper Fellows. Other events will include tabling sessions from local entrepreneurial entities and groups.

The 2017 Maryland Incubator Company of the Year Awards publicly recognizes achievements by current clients and graduates of Maryland incubators and provides a forum for the nominees to increase their visibility in the business, technology and investment communities.

Business incubators support new and early-stage businesses in Maryland. In 1986, the first public incubator was established at the University of Maryland in College Park. Recognizing the economic challenges facing new companies, business incubators are facilities that provide reasonable market rents, shared services and technical assistance to start-ups and early-stage companies, including manufacturing, biotech, service and technology firms.

A growing tech industry is often considered the ultimate sign of a healthy local economy. By that measure, the Bay Area still stands at the top of the heap in the United States, but our survey of the metropolitan areas with the strongest tech job growth turns up some surprising places not usually thought of as tech meccas.

A pair of medicine and nursing alumni have made a $1.5 million gift to the University of Maryland's Health Science & Human Services Library to establish a health care innovation center.

The center intends to provide an encouraging environment where doctors, medical students, nurses and other practitioners think in new ways about how to improve the doctor-patient relationship as a means of improving health care delivery, according to university officials who announced the funding Thursday.

The Da Vinci Surgical System is a set of four robotic arms that are controlled by a surgeon, mimicking and miniaturizing their hand gestures. 

It allows for more precision and dexterity, while reducing blood loss and tissue damage. 

University of Maryland Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union April 12, 2017 4:30-6:30 pm

Please join us to honor inventors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and partners.

When Americans think about U.S. leadership in the world, they often think of military power, famous presidents, or economic achievement. But they might be less likely to name an area in which the United States has led the world for decades: science.

From lifesaving vaccines for devastating diseases like smallpox and polio, to novel materials like semiconductors and superconductors, to robotic rovers that can explore Mars, science has made possible discoveries that revolutionized the world, and much of it started right here in the United States.

To increase new company creation and commercialization of its leading-edge research, the University System of Maryland (USM) is launching a $25 million early-stage investment fund to be known as the Maryland Momentum Fund.

The money-raising process for start-up companies typically is an uneven one. Therefore, the Maryland Momentum Fund will concentrate on filling gaps in the funding pipeline to push USM's most innovative ideas into the marketplace.

The Trump Administration’s skinny budget proposal released today calls itself, “A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.” From the information contained in the document, it is clear the Administration does not view science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship and the economic development efforts built around those activities as the path forward to making “America great again.” The program eliminations and drastic cuts are not the way to move the country forward economically. So what is behind this proposal? Two things: 1) a fight over the proper role of the federal government in the economy, and 2) a negotiating tactic to attempt to lull advocates into thinking program survival or lesser cuts are a victory. A full community response is needed and all of us must get off the sidelines and on to the playing field.

Digital health leader WellDoc® and the Healthy Trucking Association of America (HTAA) announced today their partnership to help truckers living with diabetes. Additionally, WellDoc unveils its consumer diabetes health app, BlueStar® C, which is designed to aid individuals living with diabetes to manage their chronic condition.

Both organizations, through this initial launch, will introduce BlueStar C to truckers and fleets at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky, which takes place from March 23-25. Renegade Radio Nashville (RRN) is also partnering with HTAA and WellDoc, as the national media partner for BlueStar C. RRN’s President and COO Jack Aponte (also known as on-air personality “Captain Jack”) will join the HTAA and WellDoc teams at the MATS Booth (#76 173) to help introduce BlueStar C to truckers and fleets in attendance at the meeting. Access to and set up for BlueStar C will be available at MATS for the trucking audience.

Amid the uncertainty surrounding immigration laws, five of the city's colleges are teaming up in an effort to help foreign student entrepreneurs stay in Chicago to build their startups.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to announce this afternoon that Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University Chicago and Northwestern University each will adopt global entrepreneur-in-residence programs.

Wed, Mar 29, 2017 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM EDT

USDA ARS and the USDA SBIR program formed a partnership to encourage USDA SBIR applicants to develop research collaborations with ARS scientists and/or to license ARS technologies. The purpose is to increase the likelihood of success by providing both money and technologies to small U.S. businesses. The relevant language in the SBIR’s “Request for Application” states: "Additional factors that will be considered in the review process include whether an application involves a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with a USDA laboratory, or a license to a USDA technology, or is a resubmission.”

This webinar will include an overview of the USDA SBIR program and crafting a competitive SBIR proposal. Also an overview of ARS and how to develop a successful research collaboration (CRADA) with an ARS scientist and/or license an ARS technology will be discussed. The webinar will address coordinating the statement of works in an ARS CRADA and a USDA SBIR proposal.

A new 40,000-square-foot accelerator space for Johns Hopkins is officially online in East Baltimore, and set to be home to nine startups by April.

FastForward is housed in the newest, $65 million building in the Hopkins biotech park, at 1812 Ashland Ave. It was designed to help young companies with all of their growing business needs, from conference rooms to office space to lab space. The new space replaces the former six-office hub near the Hopkins medical campus.

SineWave Ventures wants to bring money and ideas together. Vornado’s got the office space to make it happen. And Arlington County wants to back the pairing to boost jobs, tax revenue and the economy.

The three are working together on The Venture Hub, which will locate at Vornado Realty Trust’s (NYSE: VNO) 2231 Crystal Drive in Crystal City — the same building where stalwart incubator 1776 leases space.

Under Armour has hired a former General Motors executive to serve as chief innovation officer.

Clay Dean, who will help the Baltimore sports apparel brand shape its global innovation vision and strategy, will work from the Baltimore headquarters and report to Kevin Haley, president of category management and innovation, the company said Monday.

The University of Maryland is planning to expand entrepreneurship space and activities at its campus in Baltimore, and a new innovation center on the southwest side of the city is part of the plans.

The aim is to open a new space during the summer, UM Ventures Director Jim Hughes said at a President’s Symposium event at the UMB campus. The location of the new space has yet to be finalized.

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program provides funding for university-based research projects that help Maryland companies develop technology-based products, combining the creative expertise of Maryland's university faculty with the drive of the state's entrepreneurs and companies. Up to $100,000 per year is available for each project.

If you are a seed, early stage or start-up high technology company in the areas of Life Sciences, Biotech, Alternative Energy or Cyber Security, then you do not want to miss this seminar. This year the MWBC is rolling out a new Advanced Technology Program, and we want you to join us for our FREE introductory session on the resources that will help you grow. We will feature a panel discussion with representatives from TEDCO, MTECH, and MD Department of Commerce to discuss competition, alternate sources of funding, tech transfer/licensing, and commercialization. Also to be featured are incubator programs and their services in Montgomery, Frederick and Prince George’s Counties. This informative seminar will acquaint you with resources and programs that will help lay out a strategic approach for your company to take it to the next level. Register today as space is limited.

Bill Schmidt, Managing Partner of Cultivation Capital’s Life Science Fund, is optimistic about the future of Life Science investment in St. Louis. He said,  More capital is flowing in St. Louis, with us, BioGenerator, RiverVest Venture Partners, Lewis & Clark Ventures, Ascension Ventures, iSelect Fund, St. Louis Arch Angels, Missouri Technology Corporation, and others. And, we are starting to get attention from upmarket VC firms on the coasts, which is great, as our companies are going to need it.”

For industries that depend on innovation, sustaining it is a constant challenge. This is particularly the case in biopharmaceuticals, where turning molecules into medicines is notoriously fraught with risk, and failure.

When one of us (Vivek) and his team launched Roivant Sciences in 2014 and began developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease — they were determined to learn from the pharma industry’s innovation issues and build a more sustainable innovation engine. After extensive assessment, they settled on two initiatives: realigning incentives for employees and systematically introducing outside talent and practices.

I’m in the process of writing an e-book for publication this summer called A Bold Approach to Grants Research. This book encourages grantseekers to challenge their thinking when it comes to identifying funders for a particular program or project.

I am writing this book because I think we often get stuck in a rut when it comes to seeking support. We tend to drift toward those grantmakers who have supported us in the past, or grantmakers we think should have supported us! We rely on the regional community foundation, or the family fund that is most active in our area. We turn to those two or three businesses that seem to support everything (even if it is a small amount). It is hard to break out of this mold not only because we are familiar with these grantmakers, so approaching them seems easier, but also because we really don’t know where else to look or how to think about funding in a different way.