The National Science Foundation plans to expand its innovation ecosystem by funding new hubs of what it calls the Innovation Corps — a set of training programs and other initiatives to rapidly translate progress made in labs to the commercial world.

In testimony to the U.S. International Trade Commission, Stephen Ezell explained why the biotech industry is a key driver of the U.S. economy and global life sciences innovation, and he argued that robust intellectual property standards in the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be critical to both. Ezell notes that the U.S. provides 12 years of IP protection for clinical test data, so it is disappointing that the TPP commits U.S. trading partners to provide eight at most.

Protenus Raises $4 Million Series A to Protect Patient Privacy on a National Scale

Protenus, the leader in next-generation privacy protection solutions for electronic medical record systems, has raised $4 mm in a Series A round led by Arthur Ventures. Protenus is also pleased to receive the support of LionBird Venture Capital, DreamIt Ventures, Cognosante, TEDCO, and the Baltimore Angels.

At Doctor on Demand, a popular online health site, patients can videoconference with physicians on a host of maladies, from skin rashes and flu diagnoses to getting a prescription for an eye infection. On Maven, a telemedicine app targeted to women, nurse practitioners chat with patients on issues such as birth control, breast feeding and postpartum depression. Opternative offers online eye exams that it says are just as accurate as in-person tests. It’s a boom time for telehealth. Just as smartphone apps have revolutionized ride-hailing and apartment-sharing, telemedicine technology is upending health care.

Lunch Talk - Illumina Accelerator: Opportunities for Genomics Entrepreneurs - February 19, 2016 I 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

At Illumina, we’re committed to unlocking the power of the genome, but we know we can’t do it alone. The Illumina Accelerator is our way of accelerating innovation in the entrepreneurial community. With extensive mentorship, financial support, and access to sequencing systems, reagents, and lab space, we’ve created a dynamic genomic ecosystem to help startups launch. Together we’ll advance the solutions that will transform medicine and improve human health.

Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, a division of Pfizer that maintains consumer health brands including Advil, Caltrate, Centrum, ChapStick, and Nexium24 HR, has partnered with education company Galvanize to launch a health tech accelerator.

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) invites Young Women In Bio (YWIB) and area middle school girls to participate in an afternoon of science immersion. WRAIR shares YWIB’s passion for engaging the DC/Baltimore community in science, technology, engineering, and math, and supports numerous educational outreach programs. Through their GEMS (Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science) program, adolescents get to experience firsthand scientific method and valuable experimental techniques.

Come join WRAIR and YWIB for a taste of this exciting curriculum. Middle school girls will first tour the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Next, in the teaching lab, WRAIR scientists will help the girls perform a basic dissection, observe the protists that aid in termite digestion, and learn the math behind pipetting. Registration is limited to 25 girls so please be sure to sign-up early to reserve your place.

Today’s venture capital market is one where a company with less than 200 employees can rake in more than $100 million from investors. But one corner of the market has largely been left behind: companies offering new medical devices.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have successfully created mini-brains by culturing stem cells and neurons. The mini-brains have similarities in functioning to human brain but the size is quite small. They can be used for testing drugs and treatment options for neurological disorders.

Qiagen N.V. announced the introduction of more than 170 new QIAseq Targeted RNA Panels for gene expression profiling, expanding Qiagen’s portfolio of Sample to Insight solutions for next-generation sequencing (NGS). The panels enable researchers to select from over 20,000 human genes and lncRNA to survey expression fold changes and discover interactions between genes, cellular phenotypes and disease processes.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, a network of over 300 government-run labs and agencies that work to make federal technology and expertise available to industry, this week announced the opening of its newly remodeled website, federallabs.org.

Vinita Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, and Nilesh Gupta, Managing Director, Lupin Ltd. have been chosen the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015.

F. C. Kohli, former Vice-Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering contribution towards the Indian software industry and nation-building.

Rockville cancer diagnostics company 20/20 Gene Systems Inc. recently completed a $4.5 million Series A equity funding round led by the venture capital division of China's largest insurance company, Ping An Ventures.

On February 8, 2016, the National Institute of Standards and Technology hosted a ribbon cutting and building dedication ceremony for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence’s (NCCoE) new facility in Rockville, Md. 

Representing the public-private collaboration at the center, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Ben Cardin, Rep. John Delaney, Rep. John Sarbanes, Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Willie May participated in the ribbon cutting.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation’s (TEDCO) core research, technology transfer, and commercialization programs generated nearly $1 billion in economic contributions to the Maryland economy in 2015, according to a new study by the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice released today. Battelle, the world’s largest non-profit research and development organization, also found that TEDCO’s efforts generated a total of 4,358 high-quality jobs, with an average income per job of $74,700. That compares favorably to a statewide average labor income per worker of $63,700.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced the appointment of Victor W. Hwang as vice president of entrepreneurship. Hwang will relocate from California to Kansas City to lead the Foundation’s renowned entrepreneurship programming. He starts on Feb. 29.

The median pay among STEM workers in 2014 was more than $72,000. That’s more than double the median income among all occupations, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Few would argue, however, that STEM workers are generally overpaid. Experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math are key contributors to economic growth. Furthermore, STEM occupations generally require years of rigorous and difficult training.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm getting tired of Steve Jobs. Sure, he was an innovation icon. But, in my view, the media and pundits are creating unrealistic expectations hyping and promoting the Jobs/Branson/Musk iconography.  

Yumanity Therapeutics, a drug developer focused on diseases caused by protein misfolding, has raised $45 million in Series A funding. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the round with participation from Redmile Group, Alexandria Venture Investments, Biogen, Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures and Dolby Family Ventures. 

Bobby Gattuso became a startup founder while an undergraduate at Towson University.

Hop Theory’s sachets that bring beer up to craft levels got early traction through Kickstarter and national press hits.

A senior Google executive, Jeff Huber, will become the CEO of Grail, the high-profile company launched in January to develop and commercialize cancer blood tests.

According to Forbes, Huber’s wife, Laura, died from colon cancer last November, leaving behind two teenage children. “That’s a big part of why I’m taking this up,” Huber told the magazine.

"You are cordially invited to the “SBIR and STTR Federal Funding Mechanisms for Improving the Reach of Behavioral Science” seminar at the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) 2016 Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions. National Cancer Institute SBIR (NCI SBIR) Development Center Program Director Dr. Patricia Weber will be leading the seminar with presenters from NIH, including NCI and NHLBI, a HealthTech investment CEO and a small business entrepreneur. The session will include a range of topics such as an overview of the SBIR/STTR program goals, how NCI and NHLBI work to help with the commercialization process, how SBIR/STTR funding can advance behavioral science, investor perspectives on behavioral health products, and perspectives from an awardee."

It’s comforting to believe that the world of venture funding is a meritocracy.

It’s comforting to believe that a founder has a good idea, pitches successfully and gets money from a VC to turn said idea into a business.

10x Genomics has announced two new sequencing partnerships with Qiagen and Illumina.

Yesterday, 10x said that it is partnering with Qiagen to co-develop and co-market next-generation sequencing and single-cell biology analysis workflows and informatics solutions.

Enterprising startups are disrupting incumbent players in industries as diverse as publishing, entertainment and personal finance. Healthcare is far from immune to this tech-driven business trend— across the industry, young and innovative firms are giving legacy systems a run for their money.

At the heart of the change sweeping across the healthcare business is data.

President Obama’s proposed nearly $4.15 trillion budget for the 2017 federal fiscal year offers small increases for NIH and FDA, sets up a showdown over sources of NIH funding, and directs big dollars to research programs championed by the administration, in a spending plan unlikely to face smooth sailing in Congress.

Obama is seeking $33.1 billion in overall program level funding for NIH, up about $1 billion or 3% from the current fiscal year, during which the president and Congress agreed to a $2 billion spending hike for the agency.

On Feb. 8, 2016, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) celebrated its move to expanded new facilities with a building dedication and expert panel discussions featuring senior elected and government officials and the CEOs and presidents of several large companies.

NCCoE staff and partners demonstrated several of the center’s current projects that address challenges faced by many organizations, such as access control, mobile device security, online identity authentication, data integrity, situational awareness, and IT asset management. The 5,574 square-meter (60,000 square-foot) facility has 22 labs, including two large enough to hold vehicles for cybersecurity testing.

When: Thursday February 25, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST

Where: Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research

Join BioBuzz and our newest ELITE SPONSOR the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research at their newly renovated facilities in Rockville. The Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) is a University System of Maryland joint research enterprise created to enhance collaboration among the University of Maryland College Park, The University of Maryland Baltimore and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The mission of IBBR is to leverage collective research strengths of the partnering institutions in medicine, biosciences, technology, quantitative sciences and engineering, to foster integrated, cross-disciplinary team approaches to scientific discovery and education, and to serve the expanding economic base of biosciences and technology in the state of Maryland and the Nation.

Does your organization have a product or service that could make a difference for people in emerging economies?

Take the Innovation into Action Challenge and earn the chance to compete for $100,000 in prizes, build relationships with development professionals and their firms, and put your innovation into action in one of 100 locations around the world.

The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology has opened its new incubator, called Harbor Launch. The incubator is designed for biotech and environmental science startups, and is looking for its first member companies. The Inner Harbor space can accommodate between 10 and 15 companies and has access to four small wet labs — a crucial resource for the kind of startups IMET wants to attract.

A Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) team, including staff and senior fellows, recently concluded a review of state financing and incentive programs for the Maryland Economic Development Commission and the Maryland Department of Commerce. Thanks to guest blogger Catherine Renault for this project summary.

Johns Hopkins Medicine has recently received approval to perform organ transplants between HIV-positive donors and recipients.

The hospital announced in a news release Monday that it plans to perform the nation's first kidney transplant between an HIV-positive donor and recipient and the first such liver transplant in the world. These transplants could take place as soon as a suitable organ becomes available and a recipient is identified and prepared.

The University Science Center, a research park in Philadelphia, has announced the six startups that will be part of the second class for its health tech accelerator, called Digital Health Accelerator.

The program will run for a year, which is significantly longer than its last program, a 10-week class. When the accelerator is finished, startups receive up to $50,000. The Center adds that startups in the program will also get to network with insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and research institutions. Startups also receive coworking office space during the program.

APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2016 DUE March 1, 2016

At Illumina, we’re committed to unlocking the power of the genome, but we know we can’t do it alone. The Illumina Accelerator is our way of accelerating innovation in the entrepreneurial community. With extensive mentorship, financial support, and access to sequencing systems, reagents, and lab space, we’ve created a dynamic genomic ecosystem to help startups launch. Together we’ll advance the solutions that will transform medicine and improve human health.

Michael Milken, one of the biggest medical philanthropists in the country, on medical research today.