Biohealth Innovation
Billionaire physician-entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong seems to be orchestrating an entire M&A ecosystem within his own entities.
Two more Nant companies reporting mega-funding: NantOmics has raised $150 million and NantCell has raised $100 million, both from a single investor, according to two SEC filings (here and here). These startups fall under the umbrella company NantWorks that was launched by Soon-Shiong in Los Angeles in 2011.
Research involving editing the human genome, including research with human embryos, is essential to gain basic understanding of biology and germ cells and should be permitted, according to one of the first global meetings to debate the controversial new techniques.
The bold statement was published today (Thursday, Sept. 10) by the Hinxton Group, a global network of stem cell researchers, bioethicists, and experts on policy and scientific publishing, who met in Manchester, England, September 3–4.
Six new research professorships have been endowed with $14.9 million in private donations and state funding, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) announced Wednesday. The state funds were committed through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative, which matches private donations to universities for basic and applied research in scientific and technical fields.
The University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Baltimore; and Johns Hopkins University each received $2.1 million through the program to be split among a pair of new professorships at each school.
AstraZeneca, in a move to increase its biologics manufacturing capacity in the United States, has acquired a high-tech biologics bulk manufacturing plant in Boulder, Colo., from Amgen Inc.
MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, and Cancer Research UK today said they have opened a new laboratory focused on the discovery and development of new biologic cancer treatments and diagnostics.
The CRUK-MEDI Alliance Laboratory in Cambridge, UK, on Granta Park, was opened this week by UK Life Sciences Minister George Freeman, MP. The new lab reflects an alliance involving MedImmune, Cancer Research UK, and its commercialization and development subsidiary Cancer Research Technology.
University System of Maryland (USM) schools once again have been recognized among the nation's top universities in recent rankings by multiple publications.
The U.S. News & World Report 2016 edition of America's Best Colleges released this month recognizes several USM institutions for academic excellence.
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center on Thursday will break ground on its planned $100 million, 184,00-square-foot cancer center.
The Skip Viragh Outpatient Cancer Building, named for Maryland mutual fund investment leader and former Hopkins patient Albert P. “Skip” Viragh Jr., is expected to open in 2017 at the northeast corner of Fayette Street and North Broadway. Hopkins first announced the project in May 2014.
After more than a year, MOVE continues to bring business to the county
The MOVE program continues to offer financial incentives to companies moving to Montgomery County a little more than a year after it was inaugurated. The county launched the program in February 2014 following its announcement by County Executive Isiah Leggett. It was actively marketed on both the our websites, through direct mail, with digital and print ads, along with a radio advertising campaign.
The first company to take advantage of the program was computer pioneer L-Soft. In October 2014, L-Soft’s Founder and CEO Eric Thomas moved his company’s operation from Virginia to Montgomery County.
Global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) today announced the appointment of Stephen Oesterle, MD, as Venture Partner. Dr. Oesterle is a former Senior Vice President for Medtronic, Inc., the world’s largest medical device company, and brings to NEA more than two decades of experience spanning health technology investment, corporate strategy, and general management.
“Dr. Oesterle is one of the most widely known and respected leaders in the medical device industry, and it is an honor to welcome him to the NEA team,” said Dr. Josh Makower, NEA General Partner and founder of several medical device companies. “Steve brings with him a vast global network of relationships across the academic, technical, clinical, entrepreneurial, and venture communities. His experience in the health technology investment space coupled with his business development and general management background will be invaluable resources to the companies in our portfolio and to the NEA partnership.”
On September 11, 2015, at 10 a.m. the University of Maryland's (UMD) Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), in the A. James Clark School of Engineering, will celebrate the opening of the Texas Instruments Discovery Lab, where first-year engineering students are being exposed to basic electrical and computer engineering concepts in a revolutionary, hands-on way. This lab opening at UMD is part of a company-level commitment by Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) to ensure young engineering students are engineering- and industry-ready by inspiring them at the inception of their academic careers.
The Texas Instruments Discovery Lab is the setting for a unique approach to engineering curriculum. The Lab will house "ENEE 101: What's Cool in ECE." This course, being piloted this semester, is an introductory course meant to anchor students in the A. James Clark School's electrical and computer engineering program. ENEE 101 features hands-on activities that highlight the role of electrical and computer engineering in the real world. Required for all incoming freshman students, it will allow them to understand the relevance of the technical subjects they will study and their relationship to the profession.
Rockville-based RegenxBio Inc. has priced shares for its initial public offering, which could raise as much as $121 million.
RegenxBio will offer 5,555,555 shares of common stock, with a planned price range of $17 to $19 per share. Underwriters also have the option to buy an additional 833,333 shares.
After 16 years, Johns Hopkins University returned to the top 10 on the U.S. News and World Report list of best national universities.
Hopkins ranks No. 10 on the 2016 list, up from No. 12 last year.
Fifteen Maryland technology startups and one medium-sized company are partnering with faculty members from the state's public universities for projects that bring new products closer to market, University of Maryland officials announce today.
Approved through UMD's Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program, the research and development projects, worth $3 million, span the state, its universities and technologies, including products that advance clean or efficient energy, biotechnology, software, construction, chemical sensors and aquaculture.
Relative to other affluent countries, the United States devotes disproportionate resources to health care with disappointing results. Complex insurance rules and distorted market signals create massive inefficiencies, frustrated patients, and providers burdened by excessive paperwork. Recognizing these problems, entrepreneurs are increasingly applying information technology to health care equipment, monitoring, treatment, and service delivery, creating a sector known as digital health. These technologies, once embedded and distributed around the country, hold the potential to substantially alter the efficiency and quality of health care through the better generation, processing, and use of information; the reduction of overhead costs; and the empowerment of patients.
The Buzz of BIO at the BIO Investor Forum competition featured 19 nominees pulling in over 3,000 votes. Winners receive one complimentary registration to the BIO Investor Forum, a complimentary Company Presentation and promotion to industry leaders including a spotlight in BioCentury Extra.
The Buzz of BIO contest drew a record breaking 3,000 collective votes. This year's winners will join more than 120 companies presenting at the BIO Investor Forum. New presenters are continuously being added. For updates on the list of presenting companies, please visit here. If you are interested in becoming a presenter, please submit an application here. The typical audience for company presentations features public, institutional and private equity investors, research analysts, investment bankers and industry executives.
October 13, 2015, 2-3 pm ET
No one chooses to spend their time or resources on a project that is destined to be unsuccessful; but, 99% of innovative project ideas will indeed fail. While trial and error is a fundamental component of scientific investigation, recent retrospective analyses of biopharmaceutical project failure have determined that in at least 50% of the cases failure could have be predicted prior to experimentation. The objective of this webinar is to identify some of the most common causes for biopharmaceutical project failure, how they can be recognized, scored and, potentially, worked around before they occur. Not only is project success and timely tractability dependent on understanding and avoiding these, but also the attractiveness of one’s project to potential investors and partners.
The Johns Hopkins University and Luminox Health, a digital health startup hub based in Israel, have signed a multi-year deal to work together to co-develop new digital health technology products. The pair expect to be able to enhance funding access and accelerate development for the resulting companies.
The collaboration will include a program to bring Israeli entrepreneurs to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to pair them with multi-disciplinary teams of medical, computer science, and engineering faculty for an intensive three-month program. During that time, the team is expected to develop IP, perform rapid prototyping and conduct sponsored research.
BHI is a public-private partnership with a mission of fostering commercialization of health and life sciences assets with a focus on the Central Maryland region that stretches from Baltimore to the suburbs of Washington, DC. BHI is known for providing commercial assistance to scientists and founders in the early-stages of forming new ventures and supporting the early growth of these ventures. Our goals are aimed at infusing a new class of growth companies in the vibrant biohealth ecosystem in Central Maryland and support the continued growth to be one of the leading clusters of biohealth economic activity in the world. BHI realizes this mission through our partnerships with the leading institutions from industry, government, academia and investment communities with a record of prominence and success within the industry. Our distinguished partners include MedImmune, Qiagen, Becton Dickinson, Roche, Emergent Biosolutions, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Adventist HealthCare, SR One, NEA, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, M&T Bank, Greenspring Associates, Johns Hopkins University, and the University System of Maryland.
In the growing age of virtual reality (VR), a startup launched by University of Maryland researchers has designed new technology to help transport your senses from wherever you are to wherever you want to be—a music concert or sporting event far away—in a way that will make you believe you are actually there.
The co-founder of VisiSonics Corporation (link is external), Professor of Computer Science Ramani Duraiswami of the University of Maryland Institute of Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) (link is external), explained that it all started with some key inventions in the general area of 3D sound.
Don't miss out on this UNIQUE and FREE networking happy hour.
Meet Rockville business owners and learn more about the resources available to your business.
Some of our resource partners in attendance will be:
Please join us and take advantage of this opportunity to find out what REDI can do for you.
You will want to also be there when this year's "Rockin' in Rockville" award is presented!
Planning is officially underway for the 2016 FLC national meeting scheduled for April 26-28 at the Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago. This year, a new technology 'pitch' session is under development with The Defense Innovation Initiative – Experimental (DIUx) that will feature a panel of investors who are familiar with early stage technologies, including lower Technology Readiness Level (TRL).
Pitching Ideas
All laboratories are invited to pitch their technologies to the panel of investors! The most promising ideas will be given the opportunity to receive additional support and resources to further assess and develop their concepts for commercialization through licensing, identification of potential collaboration partners, etc. Don’t miss the chance to interact with investors and gain valuable exposure of your lab’s technologies in front of an investment audience.
To submit your technologies for the ‘Pitch’ session, please download and follow the instructions on the attached flyer! For additional questions about tech submissions, contact Program Chair Kathleen McDonald at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Cerecor, a Baltimore pharmaceutical firm planning an preliminary public inventory providing, has launched a brand new medical research of an antidepressant it says will help sufferers who aren’t responding to plain remedies.
The corporate is conducting a randomized double-blind experiment to check a drug generally known as CERC-301 on 104 topics who’re experiencing extreme depressive episodes regardless of receiving different remedies. It’s a Part 2 medical trial, which suggests it’s in search of to show the drug triggers a organic response and has some effectiveness in comparison with a placebo.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Maryland is the top state in the nation on its “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” index. Despite this strong environment, the first few years of a startup can be a financial headache.
If you are like many startups and in need of funding, or if you are looking to stretch the funding that you do have, one of the most effective strategies is to take advantage of one of the tax incentives that Maryland has created for technology companies.
In 2002, Scott Dylla, a skinny postdoc with a Minnesota accent, answered a Craigslist ad for a room for rent in Palo Alto. Although he couldn’t afford to move in with Brian Slingerland, then an up-and-coming technology banker at Credit Suisse, the two got to talking.
Two of Slingerland’s aunts had died of cancer. One, only a year after she retired. The other of lung cancer. She’d always smoked Kents.
Are you an entrepreneur and thinking of starting your own company? Are you a small start-up looking for local resources that will help your company succeed? Are you a small company looking to expand and enter the next stage of commercial success? If you said “Yes” to any of these questions, then this WIB event is for you!
Our panel of industry experts from MD TEDCO, BioHealth Innovation, and the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development will provide you with invaluable information about resources their organizations provide to the local business community, including idea/product development, early and late stage funding, and business accelerator programs.
Application Deadline: September 11, 2015
An Information Session Webinar about the NIH-CAP is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 2:00 pm EDT (11:00 am PDT). For more information and to register for the info session, please click here. This session is open to small businesses for which HHS SBIR and STTR Phase II, Phase IIB, or Phase II portion of Fast-Track award is or was active in the past 5 fiscal years. Projects that ended before August 2010 are not eligible. Awardees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can also attend.
In a message to the Johns Hopkins community today, university President Ronald J. Daniels outlined recent initiatives the university and health system are undertaking to "help bend the trajectory of our city."
As he welcomed students, faculty and staff to the start of a new academic year, Daniels recounted connections that Johns Hopkins has made with Baltimore residents through the Summer Jobs Program, school uniform drive, and ex-offenders hiring program. He also highlighted a new public school partnership, research projects, workforce training, and the upcoming launch of the HopkinsLocal economic inclusion initiative.
Roche said on Friday it had won breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an experimental haemophilia medicine, aiming for a piece of the $11 billion haemophilia drug market.
The Swiss drugmaker said its U.S.-based Genentech unit's ACE910 secured the fast-track designation as the company prepares separate Phase III trials in 2015 and 2016, the first in patients with haemophilia A with factor VIII inhibitors and the second for patients without inhibitors.
Cross border deals involving digital health startups in Israel are on the rise. In the most recent example, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures has inked a multiyear agreement with Israeli digital health business Luminox that will set up an accelerator for Israeli digital health startups, among other things.
Luminox refers to itself as a digital health hub. It helps connect early stage companies with U.S. institutions, corporates and strategic partners.
Free, Open Entrepreneur Office Hours for University of Maryland Students, Faculty and Staff, and Regional Entrepreneurs with Bio or Tech-Based Startups or Ideas Get answers now from experienced entrepreneurs and legal/business professionals on how to build a successful startup company. Receive free and impartial advice, brainstorm business strategies, investigate funding opportunities and learn about the vast resources available to entrepreneurs.
emocha Mobile Health, a digital health startup that’s using telemedicine as a way to confirm medication adherence, has won the support of the South Africa department of health to roll out its program for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis patients across the country following a pilot, according to a company statement.
The program, referred to as miLINC, was developed to identify, track and support these patients. For patients in primary care clinics, healthcare professionals collect critical data such as a national identification number, medical record number, mobile number, and specimen barcode. Lab results are matched against enrollment data from the clinic on emocha’s cloud-based server. Linkage Officers check results and follow up with patients. Specialized nurses check patients into specialized clinics for MDR TB.
Funding and Research Opportunities
The following funding opportunity announcements from the NHLBI or other components of the National Institutes of Health, might be of interest:
Notices:
Requests for Applications:
Please note that most links to RFAs, PAs, and Guide Notices will take you to the NIH Web site. RFPs will take you to FedBizOpps. Links to RFPs will not work past their proposal receipt date. Archived versions of RFPs posted on FedBizOpps can be found on the FedBizOpps site using the FedBizOpps search function. Under “Document to Search,” select Archived Documents.
Many American cities are distinctly shaped by ties to other parts of the world. Washington has its Ethiopian community, and the restaurants that have come with it. Chicago has its Mexican neighborhoods, Minneapolis its Hmong culture, Miami its links to Cuba.
These differences — products of proximity or history or happenstance — are part of what makes New York feel culturally different from Atlanta. And they reflect the fact that New York and Atlanta look different to people living abroad.
Baltimore's tech scene will get some time in the spotlight later this month when Steve Case's "Rise of the Rest" tour rolls into town. The five-city roadshow, through which the AOL co-founder and former CEO plans to invest $1 million in early-stage technology ventures, kicks off in Baltimore on Sept. 28.
The bus tour, which is designed to bring attention and funding to startups beyond traditional tech hubs like Silicon Valley or New York City, will also give Johns Hopkins University a chance to show the part it plays in supporting Baltimore's bubbling culture of tech innovation.
Preparations are underway for a new hackathon focused on health and technology.
The first edition of MedHacks will be held Oct. 2-4 at the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy on the JHU Homewood Campus.