The Medicines Co on Wednesday said it will receive up to $132 million in U.S. government funding for development of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections, seen by health officials as a critically important need.

At Microsoft’s research labs around the world, computer scientists, programmers, engineers and other experts are trying to crack some of the computer industry’s toughest problems, from system design and security to quantum computing and data visualization.

It would raise the stakes even higher, but that didn't stop Jay Flatley, Illumina's then chief executive, from sending in vials of his own saliva and blood to the company's newly opened lab. It was January 2009, and Illumina's scientists were about to embark on their first mission to sequence a whole human genome.

TEDCO announced today its Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) program has awarded $18 million to more than 180 commercialization projects and 45 start-up companies since its inception in late 2012. Awards were given across a variety of industries, including therapeutic, software, medical devices and engineering.

“MII is the only program in Maryland that supports the transition of technology from the academic research laboratory through product development to commercialization in a start-up company,” says John Wasilisin, President and COO. “The program has been a game changer for innovators at Maryland’s research universities to take the next step in becoming entrepreneurs.”

Date: September 30 – October 1, 2016 - 20200 Observation Drive, Germantown, MD 20876

Collaboration and Innovation in Bio, Medical, & Pharmaceuticals

You are cordially invited to the Korea – US Cooperative Conference for Life Science (KUCCLS). The main goals of KUCCLS 2016 are to:

1. Promote the partnership between Korea and US companies in Life Science industry
2. Explore life science growth opportunities in Korea and the US Learn innovative forefront technology and trends in
3. Life Science

The two-day conference will attract over 250 biotechnology and life science leaders in Korea & US, who join together for networking and partnering meetings to discover new opportunities and promising partnerships in the area of R&D, commercial business of Bio, Medical, and Pharmaceuticals. Seats are limited. Register today!

A Pasadena-based real estate company that has grown into a world-class developer for science and technology campuses is expanding its reach into the life science industry.

Alexandria Real Estate equities — an urban office real estate investment trust that was founded in 1994 — has put up buildings in virtually every major city where life sciences are studied in the United States, according to Xconomy.

You and your company team will be competing against other biotech companies to win the coveted BioBowl Trophy and bragging rights! Come out, Team Build and Network with some friendly competition!

Date: Thursday, October 13, 2016 Time: 4:00 - 6:30 PM (TBC) Location: Bowlmor – 15720 Shady Grove Rd, Gaithersburg MD 20877

For more info, please contact Sarah Meisheid at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-398-2431

Innovation. What does it mean to you?

That's a great question — and one that we are setting out to answer in several ways at the Washington Business Journal.

2016 INNOVATION SHOWCASE

Joint Annual Meeting Johns Hopkins Alliance for Science & Technology Development and the University of Maryland, Baltimore Commercial Advisory Board

October 6, 2016 / 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Helping patients means transparency and clarity

Every day, thousands of Americans hear the dreaded “c word” from their doctor. I know the fear and the numbness that sets in with the cancer of a loved one.

What happens next can make the difference between life and death. If there’s a treatment that can help, there’s hope. But for some people, hope is a clinical trial that will ultimately determine whether a new therapy can slow or stop their cancer.

The only thing that’s been consistent for digital health accelerators in the past couple of years is that most of them have been tweaking their model. That’s no less true of the New York Digital Accelerator, which is run by the New York eHealth Collaborative and the Partnership Fund for New York City.

The Gaithersburg research and development arm of AstraZeneca said it would begin filing a new request for Food and Drug Administration approval for its biologics annually starting this year.

The National Institutes of Health plans to consolidate several locations in suburban Maryland into a pair of adjacent buildings in Bethesda after wrapping up a roughly nine-month search for alternatives in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Two Maryland-based companies are racing to get a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to market--and one just picked up a regulatory boost.

MedImmune, AstraZeneca's ($AZN) biologics research and development arm, announced on Thursday that the FDA is fast-tracking its RSV vaccine, MEDI8897. It joins Novavax ($NVAX), which received FDA fast-track designation for its candidate in November.

The next CONNECTpreneur event is September 28 at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda.  More info at connectpreneur.org

There’s a 40% discount code just for eBiz Alert subscribers:  Enter CODE:  MOCO when you register at http://connectpreneursept2016.eventbrite.com.

This event’s Fireside guest is Seth Goldman, Founder and TeaEO, Honest Tea.

There will be a terrific VC panel including Moderator: Eric Koefoot, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Public Relay, CEO and Publisher, US News Ventures, Founder and CEO, Five Star Alliance; AJ Jaghori, CEO Solebrity; Founder HelloLoCo; Beth Johnson, Founder and CEO, RP3 Agency; Jeannette Lee, Founder and CEO, Cyper; Founder and CEO, SYTEL.

GlaxoSmithKline's experimental vaccine to prevent the intensely painful condition known as shingles remained 90 percent effective in people over age 70 even four years after receiving the injection, according to data published on Wednesday.

California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) today announced the appointment of Heather Shane to build and lead the CLSI CARB-X accelerator, which will provide non-dilutive funding, business support and subject matter expertise to companies with innovative antibiotic product candidates. The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is the world’s largest public-private partnership focused on tackling one of the greatest modern threats to public health — antibiotic resistance. CARB-X will commit $50 million during the first year, and at least $350 million over five years, toward preclinical research and development with the aim of accelerating antibiotic product development over the next 25 years. CLSI is the non-profit partner of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), and supports the foundations of innovation – workforce development, STEM education and entrepreneurship – that have made California home to the world’s most prominent life sciences ecosystem.

Crosstown rivals Novartis ($NVS) and Roche ($RHHBY) will be neck and neck for the No. 1 spot in pharma sales till 2022, with Roche ahead by a nose at the finish line, according to a new market analysis. Along the way, a 6.3% annual growth rate industrywide will take global prescription drug sales past the $1 trillion mark.

Accenture has announced the creation of the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge, which aims to bring together startup firms and prominent life sciences and health companies to address challenges including access, affordability, transparency and security.

Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE:ARE) is about as successful a Wall Street story as you'll find. Started in 1994 as what management fondly recalls as a garage startup, the company now is one of the most successful and unique REITs on the market today. What makes the company so special is that Alexandria was the first REIT to focus exclusively on life science and biotechnology clients, specifically in the most prime real estate markets: Boston, San Francisco, New York City, etc.

Former New York mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg is giving $300 million to the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health to help fight drug addiction, obesity and gun violence.

From Mark Suster:

"I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. I spent a bunch of time thinking about this position — especially since Beezer is an investor in Upfront Ventures. There are a lot of things I think entrepreneurs should care about when raising from a VC:"

From Mark Suster:

"I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. I spent a bunch of time thinking about this position — especially since Beezer is an investor in Upfront Ventures. There are a lot of things I think entrepreneurs should care about when raising from a VC:"

IDT Biologika, a globally integrated manufacturer of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, announces today the one-year anniversary celebration of its first U.S. contract manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. The state-of-the-art facility offers custom, end-to-end solutions to support the manufacture of viral and microbial vaccines (live and attenuated), gene and cancer therapies, and therapeutic proteins. IDT commemorates its first anniversary with a special program and tours of its facility for local political leaders and members of the biopharmaceutical industry.

Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a partnership that will enable Finland to utilize Watson cognitive computing to help doctors improve the health of its citizens, and strengthen and develop the Finnish innovation and business ecosystem in the fields of health and well-being. To facilitate the collaboration, IBM intends to establish a Watson Health Center of Excellence in Finland, the first Nordic Healthcare Competence Center, and the first National Imaging Center of Excellence outside the United States in Finland. These centers are expected to employ 150 people over the next few years.

At first glance, Moderna Therapeutics looks like the most enviable biotech startup in the world. It has smashed fundraising records and teamed up with pharmaceutical giants as it pursues a radical plan to revolutionize medicine by transforming human cells into drug factories.

But the reality is more complicated.

David Petr, who has been hired to guide economic development in Montgomery County, said the county has what it needs to compete against rival Fairfax County: a quality work force.

“The true benefit of doing business here is the quality of talent,” Petr said Tuesday after a meeting with the Montgomery County Council.

Verily, Alphabet's life sciences group, is investing big in developing technologies for the millions of people worldwide with diabetes.

Verily announced today that it is teaming up with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to fund and spin out a new venture, Cambridge, Mass.-based Onduo, which is focused on helping clinicians and their patients manage the disease. The companies have tapped a new CEO to lead the startup, trained emergency-medicine physician Joshua Riff, from United Healthcare-owned Optum.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine tested out its first Zika vaccine shots Tuesday, in hopes to further research that could lead to a vaccine used around the world.

The vaccine was developed by the National Institute of Health, which chose three places to test, first in their labs in Bethesda, then at the U of M School of Medicine, and finally at Emery University in Atlanta.

The University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore announced details Tuesday of a joint national security academy.

Officials said the academy, which would be located in College Park, will enable them to expand their current programs in cybersecurity, law, criminology and counterterrorism.

Recently there have been numerous articles and editorials understandably scrutinizing the increases in pricing of EpiPen produced by Mylan, a generic drug company. The strong reaction to the behavior of Mylan and a few other companies is threatening to impede the ability of R&D-focused innovator companies to provide innovative, life-changing new therapies to patients.

Tech star and billionaire Steve Case has been hammering home one idea for the last few years — that the future of tech and startups rests outside of the traditional Silicon Valley ecosystem and in the fertile plains of America’s heartland.

Now, with less than a month until his fifth “Rise of the Rest” tour, he sees that idea gaining traction.