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- Representatives from Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Inc., Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and Deloitte Consulting LLP Take New Board Seats - 

- Charles Morton Becomes New Venable LLP Representative on Board while Mike Baader Stays on as Board Member (Now as Greenspring Associates Representative) -

ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, August 11, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced today the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors. Dave Lemus, Chief Executive Officer, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Joel S. Marcus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (Alexandria Venture Investments); and Beth Meagher, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, have joined the BHI Board of Directors, effective August 7, 2014, based upon their organizations’ newly committed support of BHI. Charles “Chuck” Morton now represents Venable LLP on the Board, as another new Board member, while Mike Baader, formerly with Venable, will continue to hold a seat on the Board, but now as a representative of Greenspring Associates. Cynthia L. Collins, CEO, Clarient, who had served on the BHI Board since early 2013, is stepping down from her Board position after relocating to the West Coast

“The expansion of and continued diversity within the BHI Board, based upon new key industry and service provider representatives who are all deeply involved in life sciences, is a testament to the positive impact BHI has made on the Central Maryland biohealth community to date,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. 

“We look forward to the contributions from the new Board members representing these organizations. We’re also pleased to welcome a new Venable representative to the Board and that Mike Baader will continue to add value to the organization now that he is on the Greenspring Associates team,” said Douglas Liu, Chair, BHI Board of Directors, and Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Qiagen. “And, on behalf of the BHI staff and Board, I would also like to offer gratitude to Cynthia Collins for her service and contributions to the BHI Board over the last year and half.”

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, today announced the launch of a new service offering: the Startup Package for Client Companies. The new package is designed to provide early-stage biohealth companies in Central Maryland with access to critical professional services – including corporate legal guidance, intellectual property, banking, accounting, payer and strategy, and grant support – as an enhanced benefit to working with BHI.

"We are proud to offer this service to our startup clients seeking to commercialize biohealth products," said Richard Bendis, President & CEO. "BHI aims to facilitate the development of commercially viable health-related products and companies. Providing access to these professional services is a critical step towards helping our biohealth startup clients in achieving this goal."

BHI has partnered with a supporting network of professional service providers that share the same vision for growing Maryland's biohealth sector, including Venable LLP, M&T Bank, Aronson, Miles & Stockbridge, InHouse Patent Counsel, Science Sherpa, Center for Medical Technology Policy, ADVI, and BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting. These firms understand the nature and needs of startup companies, and offer preferred rates for client companies.

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– BHI offers program that guides biohealth startups in securing federal funding –  


ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, June 10, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced today that two local biohealth companies to which it has provided strategic assistance, N5 Sensors, Inc. and BioDatomics, have secured Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. N5 Sensors, a BHI client, received two awards: one from the Enivronmental Protection Agency (EPA) and one from the National Science Foundation (NSF). BioDatomics, which participated in a federal funding assistance program offered by BHI, secured an SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)1.  The U.S. federal government’s SBIR program encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research and development that has the potential for commercialization. The SBIR program empowers these companies to develop their trade and provides a path to profitability.  

“BHI is dedicated to supporting start-up biohealth companies in Central Maryland in their submission of competitive SBIR applications,” said Ethan Byler, Director, Innovation Programs, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. “We congratulate N5 Sensors and BioDatomics on receiving SBIR grants from the EPA, NSF and the NIH, respectively.”

N5 Sensors of Rockville, which is developing a new generation of chemical sensors that can detect harmful chemicals mixed in air in very small quantities, recently announced that the EPA has issued a SBIR Phase I grant to the company for its low-power, small form-factor benzene sensors for exposure monitoring using mobile devices. The $100,000 grant will support N5’s work developing sensors that can detect small amounts of benzene in the air. A University of Maryland, College Park spin-off, N5 Sensors, Inc. has engaged BHI to support its commercial strategy. N5 has also recently been awarded a Phase I SBIR from the NSF to develop chip-scale carbon monoxide and ammonia sensors.

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BHI Appoints Shady Grove Adventist Hospital President John A. Sackett to Board of Directors

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 21, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) announced today the appointment of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital President John A. Sackett to its Board of Directors. Mr. Sackett is filling a vacancy on the BHI board left by William G. “Bill” Robertson, who recently announced that he was leaving his post as President and Chief Executive Officer of Adventist HealthCare for a position in Washington state. 

“The addition of John to the BHI Board of Directors affords us with another strong healthcare leader who provides a perspective from the health system side of the business,” said Rich Bendis, President & CEO, BioHealth Innovation, Inc. “His decades of experience as a healthcare administrator will be an asset to BHI as we work with startups who are seeking to commercialize biohealth products and gain acceptance within the healthcare system.“

In April of 2013, Mr. Sackett became President of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. He began his career at Boulder Memorial Hospital in 1982. He served as Vice President for General Services from March 1984 until being named President of Avista Adventist Hospital, formerly Boulder Memorial Hospital, in June of 1989.  In 1996, when Avista Adventist Hospital became a member of Centura Health, he was named Senior Vice President for Mission and Ministry, in addition to his responsibilities as Administrator for Avista.  He most recently served Centura as the Chief Executive Officer for Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Colorado. 

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– Effort designed to help revolutionize access to genomic interpretation services in hospitals,
molecular diagnostics companies and academic medical centers throughout the U.S. –

ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, MARCH 25, 2014 – Strand Genomics Inc. (Strand) and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) today announced a strategic partnership designed to expand the Strand Centers for Genomics & Personalized Medicine into the U.S. This effort is intended to help revolutionize access to genomic interpretation services in cardiovascular disease, oncology, rare diseases, and many other indications. Strand Genomics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Strand Life Sciences, a Bangalore, India-based bioinformatics, clinical genomics, and diagnostics company.

Strand operates clinical genomics and diagnostics laboratories in India that perform end-to-end clinical genomics services, such as testing and diagnostics, to healthcare systems in that country. Strand now provides diagnostic tests based on next-generation sequencing to more than 50 major hospitals in India. Strand is expanding globally and is actively seeking partnerships with hospitals, molecular diagnostic companies and academic medical centers looking to offer genomics-based diagnostics tests. In December 2013, Strand had announced its collaboration with El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA. BHI, a Maryland-based innovation intermediary, will be integral in supporting the market penetration of Strand’s services into the U.S. healthcare system by connecting Strand with key market channels, thus providing access to genomic services to more patients and healthcare providers.

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ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, February 18, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) and China Fortune Land Development Co., Ltd. (CFLD) announced today that they have signed an agreement to jointly manage a newly created Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) position to be located at the BHI headquarters in Rockville, Maryland. This first-of-its-kind position will lead in the scouting of technologies and partnership opportunities in life science hubs in the U.S. and China. 

“We're very pleased to advance our partnership with BHI,” said Mr. Hu Zhen Yu, Vice President for CFLD, a company specializing in investment and operation of industrial areas in China, including science parks. “Our organizations first had a chance to connect in person when BHI’s CEO Rich Bendis traveled with a delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland, to China. Now, we look forward to filling this new EIR position, which will help to identify talented businesses and commercial prospects for our collaborative efforts.”

The new EIR will evaluate life science technologies in both China and the U.S. markets; provide a strategic plan for start-up companies; advise on opportunities for new ventures; and lead the commercial strategy for mature assets. This would be BHI’s 5th EIR since the program’s inception two years ago.

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ROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, January 6, 2014 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) and MIMETAS announced today that Todd Chappell, MBA, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for BHI, has been named General Manager, U.S. Affairs for MIMETAS. A Netherlands-based company, MIMETAS is establishing its offices within BHI's headquarters in Rockville. MIMETAS and BHI created a U.S. subsidiary of MIMETAS to access the clinical, regulatory and scientific resources available in Central Maryland and to access the U.S. marketplace, the largest life sciences market in the world.

"We're very pleased to add Todd to the MIMETAS team," said Jos Joore, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer of MIMETAS. "Todd couples a vast experience in business creation with a profound understanding of biology and disease mechanisms. Most importantly, Todd shares our sense of urgency around enabling better medical treatment by using more predictive cell culture models."

Previously, Mr. Chappell was the Vice President of Operations for Shape Pharmaceuticals, a portfolio company of HealthCare Ventures, LLC, where he oversaw all day-to-day operations involved in the development of a novel HDAC inhibitor for Cutaneous-T-Cell-Lymphoma. Prior to that, he was at CombinatoRx Inc. for eight years and served as Director of New Products. Mr. Chappell will be combining his role at MIMETAS with his existing EIR position at BHI.

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, announced today that Reg Seeto, M.D., has been appointed to the BHI Board of Directors. Dr. Seeto currently serves as Vice President, Head of Partnering & Strategy at MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.  

"It is a pleasure to welcome Reg to the BHI Board of Directors," said Doug Liu, Chair, BHI Board of Directors, and Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Qiagen. "Reg’s background in business development and partnering strategy will be an important asset to our Board as we give counsel to BHI in its fostering of startups in Central Maryland. We look forward to his contributions to this Board, to the BHI organization, and to the biohealth startup community."

Dr. Seeto rejoined the MedImmune Leadership Team in 2013 to lead the Partnering and Strategy Group after having spent a year as an executive abroad for AstraZeneca. He is responsible for MedImmune’s Business Development and Strategy teams, which deliver external partnership strategy for the organization. 

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Partnership with Johns Hopkins and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. will speed 10 healthtech startups to market

Baltimore, MD and Philadelphia, PA — September 18th, 2013—DreamIt Ventures is pleased to announce the launch of DreamIt Health Baltimore, a partnership with The Johns Hopkins University and BioHealth Innovation, Inc. to recruit, invest in, and speed the growth and success of a select group of early-stage health IT companies. The program comes on the heels of a successful health IT program in Philadelphia also built on strong industry partnerships that give participants access and advantages typically out-of-reach to startups.

"The key to making health care more accessible is innovation, and the most fertile focus for health care innovation is in acquiring, storing, analyzing and sharing information," said Ronald J. Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins. "This accelerator project will have important implications for the future use of information as we use technology to find solutions for the most pressing health problems of our day. Just as important, it sets up Baltimore to become even more central to the health care information revolution through the rapid validation of solutions."

"Technology holds the potential to transform the way in which we approach health care in this country and around the world," said Paul Rothman, MD, Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Johns Hopkins has been at the forefront in developing innovative solutions to the most pressing health care challenges. The partnership with DreamIt presents an exciting and unrivaled opportunity to develop the most cutting-edge solutions at the crossroads of information technology and medicine."

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Richard Moore, BD DiagnosticsROCKVILLE AND BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, August 26, 2013 – BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, announced today its selection of Richard Moore, M.D., Ph.D., as a new Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). BHI and BD established this position in July 2013. Dr. Moore, an executive with decades of experience in diagnostics development and technology strategy, will help support the development of new start-up companies and product commercialization based upon innovative technologies selected via OTT license agreements.

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BHI Also Announces Agreement With BD to Create Entrepreneur-in-Residence Position

Rick Ivey, BD Diagnostics

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) today announced the fiscal year 2013-2014 election of officers and a new appointment to its Board of Directors. BHI also announced it has entered into an agreement with BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) to establish an entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) position at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer. In conjunction with this agreement, BD is entitled to a voting position on the BHI Board of Directors, which will be held by Richard M. “Rick” Ivey, Worldwide Vice President Research & Development, BD Diagnostics - Diagnostic Systems.

 

"I am pleased to welcome the new roster of officers and a new member to the BHI Board of Directors," said Richard Bendis, BHI President and CEO. "The officers are a committed group of individuals who already have contributed to the steady growth of BHI, and will continue to be important leaders as the organization further develops."

 

"Rick Ivey joins the Board on behalf of BD as part of the terms of an agreement between BHI and BD to establish an NIH EIR position,” added Mr. Bendis. “He represents an important new addition to our Board as he is a seasoned medical technology executive who can offer experience and insights to the growing cadre of start-up diagnostics companies in the State of Maryland."

 

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, today announced its selection of Ram Aiyar, Ph.D., M.B.A., as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for BHI at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Dr. Aiyar will help advance fundamental research discoveries to new therapeutics, diagnostics and devices that can be used clinically and commercially.

“We’re pleased to add Dr. Aiyar to our roster of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence,” said Rich Bendis, BHI President and CEO. “He is now our third EIR – joining Todd Chappell, who is EIR at NIH, and Ken Malone, our EIR working with the University of Maryland Ventures. The growth of this program will be a benefit to BHI and our partner organizations for years to come, and will result in transitioning more early-stage biomedical technologies to commercial potential. ”

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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, today announced its selection of Ken Malone, Ph.D., of Early Charm Ventures, as the first BHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) assigned to work directly with UM Ventures. Dr. Malone, a serial entrepreneur who has founded or been an officer of five biotechnology or advanced materials companies, will help advance the commercialization efforts of new start-up companies based upon innovative discoveries coming out of research programs at the University of Maryland (UMD) College Park and Baltimore.

“We’re thrilled to name Ken Malone as an EIR,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President & CEO. “Ken and I have a long history of working together, so I know first hand that he has the experience, drive and perspective to be a true asset to BHI and to the many start-ups he’ll serve from University of Maryland in support of the newly launched UM Ventures initiative.” Dr. Malone will assist any interested UM start-ups once they have been launched.

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- Technology Company Awarded Prize at Invest Maryland Challenge Ceremony -

BALTIMORE, MD, April 16, 2013 – University of Maryland (UM) Ventures, an ambitious joint research commercialization effort of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), announced today that it has awarded the first UM Ventures Start-Up Prize to VisiSonics, an Investment Maryland Challenge Semi Finalist company that was founded on intellectual property owned by the University. VisiSonics was recognized during the Invest Maryland Challenge Award Ceremony on Monday, April 15, 2013 at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland.

"Identifying customers and having sales is, of course, a major hurdle for university start-ups," said James L. Hughes, Director of UM Ventures, and President, Research Park Corporation, University of Maryland Baltimore. "With the significance of achieving more than half a million dollars in sales in 2012, VisiSonics is a worthy recipient of this inaugural prize."

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- Multiple SBIR/STTR Submission Deadlines Quickly Approaching -

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, announced today the launch of its Commercial Relevance Program (CRP). BHI's CRP is designed to help life science companies navigate the complicated process of preparing applications for federal funding, inclusive of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), and other federal government awards.

"The federal grant application process can be very complex. Based on 2012 data released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Maryland ranks 32nd out of 50 states with regard to SBIR award success rates. We would like to improve on this – and are confident that the CRP will help companies be more successful with their submissions," said Ethan Byler, Director, Innovation Programs, BioHealth Innovation, Inc.

"At the end of the day, it's about helping Central Maryland companies to get the best results possible as they seek out federal grant awards as a means of non-dilutive funding," he added.

The CRP incorporates a pre-proposal review by knowledgeable BHI staff and advisors prior to a life science company's submission of a full proposal. Through this review process, applicants will receive a set of recommendations and tips for troubleshooting their proposal for federal funding.

Interested life science companies in Central Maryland should This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today for more information. The following federal agency SBIR/STTR deadlines are fast approaching:

About BioHealth Innovation, Inc.
BioHealth Innovation, Inc., is a regional innovation intermediary focused on commercializing market-relevant bio-health innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Maryland. Learn more at www.biohealthinnovation.org.