Qiagen has published its financial results for the second quarter of 2012, during which it experienced a strong increase in sales.

The company's net sales rose by nine percent year on year to reach a total of $307.2 million (197.67 million pounds), with growth observed across all regions and customer classes.

Molecular diagnostics and applied testing product sales were noted as being particularly robust, while the firm was also able to expand through the acquisition of Cellestis, Ipsogen and AmniSure.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE: GSK) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) for US$3.6 billion on an equity basis, or approximately US$3 billion net of cash and debt. All outstanding shares of HGS were acquired for US$14.25 per share in cash.  

The subsequent offering period for GSK’s tender offer for HGS shares expired at 5:00 pm, New York City time, on 2 August 2012.  The depositary for the tender offer has advised GSK that approximately 174,430,970 shares were validly tendered and not withdrawn during the initial and subsequent offering periods (including shares that had been tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery and subsequently delivered), all of which have been accepted for payment and purchased.  Such shares, together with shares otherwise beneficially owned by GSK, represent a total of approximately 87% of HGS’ outstanding shares.

What do I do after I graduate? That is never an easy question, but the July 19 Diamondback article, “Students struggle to find jobs after graduating with Ph.D.s in sciences,” suggests it might be even harder to figure out.

The article cited a recent survey showing 45 percent of computer, mathematical and natural sciences school graduates had accepted full-time employment after graduation. It stated, “CMNS Associate Dean Robert Infantino said job shortages coincide with the health of the economy and that the government must increase its investments in research and technology.”

A Review of the Federal Government's Entrepreneurial Initiatives
Monday, August 13, 12:00 pm to 12:30pm ET

Richard Bendis and Nish Acharya will talk about the innovation and entrepreneurship programs in Federal Government today. Nish will also discuss briefly the status of the EDA i6 competition and the noticeable increase in the quality of the proposals.

They will speak about the paradigm shift in the EDA programs from a "Bricks and Mortar" focus (hard) to a more innovative programmatic focus (soft) on innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship.

They will also discuss the convergence of Universities, Government/ NIST and industry in the formation of private/public/partnerships to implement strategic innovation based economic development initiatives on a regional basis.

If you thought buying stock in mobile health (mHealth) companies was a good idea, it is. But if you decided to invest in the overall digital health sector - which includes mHealth, B2B apps and consumer services such as ZocDoc – you’d be brilliant. And, probably very rich.

Private financing by venture capitalists more than tripled in the first half of 2012, according to a study by financial services company Burrill & Company, as reported by Richard MacManus at ReadWriteWeb. This follows a June report from nonprofit foundation Rock Health that showed "skyrocketing" VC funding in the healthcare sector.

Did you know that the first business incubator was started in Batavia, N.Y., in 1956? Joseph Mancuso was the founder, and after seeing newly hatched chicks running around from one of his portfolio companies, he coined the business “incubator”. From there on out business incubators started gaining popularity. There are currently 1,200 in the U.S. They have caught the attention of local governments and universities interested in retaining entrepreneurial talent. An example of this is LaunchHouse’s partnership with the city of Shaker Heights.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has removed all of the executive officers of Human Genome Sciences Inc. as part of its $3.6 billion acquisition of the Rockville-based biotech, including President and CEO Tom Watkins.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has removed all of the executive officers of Human Genome Sciences Inc. as part of its $3.6 billion acquisition of the Rockville-based biotech, including President and CEO Tom Watkins, according to a securities filing on Monday.

Whether Glaxo would keep the local company's management in place was the subject of great speculation after the buyout was announced earlier this month. Watkins, who had helmed the Maryland drugmaker since 2004, has been replaced by Deirdre Connelly, GSK's president of North America Pharmaceuticals.

Scheer Partners Inc. and The JBG Cos. are reviving a $100 million real estate fund they established in 2008 to invest in life science properties.

Rockville-based Scheer, a broker for biotech and medical real estate, and the Chevy Chase developer had set up the Greater Washington Life Sciences Fund just as the recession kicked into gear. After buying one 53,000-square-foot property at 21 Firstfield Road in Gaithersburg, the partnership essentially went into hibernation.

County Executive Ike Leggett (center) and Councilmembers Nancy Floreen (second from right) and Hans Riemer (right) visited BioHealth Innovation's Open House on July 23. BioHealth Innovation (BHI) was established as a public-private partnership to accelerate the technology transfer and commercialization of biohealth research in the Central Maryland region. At the event were BHI Chairman Scott Carmer (left) and CEO Rich Bendis (second from left).

I was happy to help celebrate the opening of the BioHealth Innovation’s new headquarters at the historic Wire Hardware Building in Rockville. BHI was established as a public-private partnership to accelerate the technology transfer and commercialization of biohealth research in Maryland, and that’s a great thing for Montgomery County. Congratulations BHI. We're glad to have you in Rockville.

-Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Council Member

Technology job openings surged by 8.2% in June, according to job-search site SimplyHired, but some places remain better than others if you’re looking for a tech job. The site's top and bottom five contain a few surprises.

SimplyHired bases its ranking on the number of tech job openings compared to the number of people who are working in the region. The numbers below are based on metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. census bureau.

1. Baltimore, Maryland (46,150 people employed, 14,093 tech job openings): Hunter Sherman, the chief engineer at Sparks, Maryland-based BizBrag, Inc., said the company is struggling to find qualified people to fill its jobs. As a result, BizBrag is planning to move. “A big part of our issue is that we're just north of the city, and a majority of the engineers are located to the south, closer to the D.C. area,” Sherman said. “This is one of the major reasons that we plan on moving our business into the city in the coming months.”