A total of 150 investors are vying for Maryland’s biotechnology tax credit this year, compared with 125 applicants last year.

Maryland’s Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit program gives tax credits to individuals and companies that invest in Maryland-based biotechnology startups. The program will give out $10 million in tax credits for fiscal 2014.

Montgomery County's top biotechnology firms will open their doors and their state-of-the-art laboratories next week to local middle school students interested in the life sciences. In a partnership with MdBio Foundation, Inc., and Montgomery College, preeminent local scientists and executives from MedImmune, Qiagen and Emergent BioSolutions will share their expertise and career stories with students from the Young Science Explorers Program (YSEP), a weeklong science workshop for rising seventh and eighth grade students.

Dressed in lab coats and safety glasses, students will get once in a lifetime exposure to local companies and scientists on the leading edge of medical breakthroughs. Topics will range from microbiology and vaccine research to lab safety and potential career paths for science students.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) SAI +0.46% , Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) announced the third annual 2013 statewide cyber competition, the Maryland Cyber Challenge(TM), will be held October 8 through October 9 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Registration is now open for aspiring cyber warriors from around the nation to compete at the Maryland event, located in the growing epicenter for the cybersecurity industry.

The Maryland Cyber Challenge(TM) is designed to attract more students and young professionals to pursue careers in cybersecurity and is held in conjunction with the CyberMaryland2013 Conference and Cyber Hall of Fame. It is the premier statewide cyber competition showcasing today's students and tomorrow's technologists with three levels of competition: high school, college and professional. Teams will have the opportunity to develop and improve their cybersecurity skills in a real-world environment. Founders of the event include SAIC, UMBC, DBED, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), and the Tech Council of Maryland (TCM).

Creating a new medical device is not an inexpensive exercise. There are development costs, clinical trial expenses, and the lengthy process of getting a piece of new equipment approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Those hurdles are a leading reason why most medical innovations come out of universities or established research firms.

As investments in life science companies have dipped over the past few years, some investors have scaled back investments or walked away from the sector all together. But based on a tally by investment research firm PitchBook in its 2013 Venture Capital Healthcare Report, several firms have made 10 or more investments in pharmaceutical, medical device or health IT companies in the last year and a half.

Due to the many changes that will result from the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act, NIH has set up a new website to keep the small business research community informed.

Applicants and grantees interested in the SBIR program can visit the website as well as the SBIR listserv and Twitter feed for news as the implementation plan rolls out.

1776, the D.C. startup hub that launched earlier this year with District funding, plans to pull together a seed fund that will allow it to make equity investments in early-stage tech companies.

The creation of a fund would turn 1776 into a bona fide "accelerator." The 1133 15th St. NW space, run by Startup DC's Evan Burfield and Donna Harris, is now primarily a co-working operation (some say incubator), with additional programs layered on top of it, like the recently announced Challenge Cup international startup tournament.

Funding for digital health startups is continuing to grow at a steady pace, but is beginning to stabilize.

Health accelerator Rock Health’s midyear report, released today, found that digital health funding for the first half of 2013 represents 11 percent growth in investment and 24 percent growth in deals year over year. In short, it’s still growing, but not as fast as in previous years.

It’s been a slow year for startup fundraising—the investments doled out by venture firms in the first quarter dropped 6 percent compared with the same period of 2012. But at least a couple of sectors have been defying that trend. One is software, where funding for the first half of 2012 was up 38 percent over 2012 levels, and another is digital health, up 12 percent.

In a report issued yesterday (slides embedded below), San Francisco-based digital health accelerator Rock Health delved into the details behind that 12 percent number.

When health IT startups say they’re making a new technology platform for physicians, John Sung Kim has an immediate follow-up question – for what specialty?

That’s a question he learned was critical as he began building and trying to sell the platform developed by his first health startup, DoctorBase. It’s been a series of hits and misses, which Kim isn’t afraid to talk candidly about. In a recent interview, he explained to MedCity News one of the most surprising things he learned when he set out to build a mobile platform that would let doctors, administrators and patients communicate without having to pick up the phone.

It’s good to have friends in high places. Especially friends who can leverage more than 30 years of experience in technology and business to nurture and foster your startup seed.

1776, a new startup incubator based in Washington, D.C., just announced a brand-new partnership with Microsoft, in which leaders from the company will collaborate with startups to guide them from a technical and business standpoint.

“[Microsoft] will help startups to leverage platforms upon which they can build innovative apps with the ability to scale rapidly and efficiently,” says 1776 co-founder Donna Harris. “Through 1776, they're also providing mentorships for architects who can ensure that startups are maximizing the potential of these tools and platforms.”

Registration for the fall semester of Technology Transfer Classes at the FAES Graduate School at NIH is now open. For the semester beginning on September 9th there will be 12 courses offered in the technology transfer program:

· TECH 506 - Research Commercialization Webinar Course: The Essentials

· TECH 513A Introduction to Technology Transfer -- Issues and Processes (given by the Technology Transfer Society)

· TECH 521 - Tools for Technology Transfer

· TECH 565 - Biomedical Business Development for Scientists

· TECH 567 - International Strategic Partnering and Business Development

· TECH 579 - Introduction to Negotiation

· TECH 575 - Business Finance & Accounting Principles for Scientists

· TECH 583 - Patent Research for Non-Legal Practioners

· TECH 587 - Strategic Consulting for Tech Companies

· TECH 607 - Capstone Course in Technology Transfer

· PHAR 328 - FDA Perspective on Drug Development

· PHAR 500 - Principles of Clinical Pharmacology

More details can be found in the new 2013 course catalog (www.faes.org) with enrollment open to the general community. All classes are part of the "Advanced Studies in Technology Transfer" certificate program and can be fully transferred as a block into various MBA & MS degree programs at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Graduate School.

There will also be an open house for the FAES Graduate School on Tuesday, August 20th from 4-7pm at the new FAES Classroom & Bookstore complex in Building 10.

Notice of Change to Earliest Start Date for Applications Submitted to RFA-DA-14-002 "Short-term Mentored Career Enhancement Awards in the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences: Cross-Training at the Intersection of Animal Models and Human Investigation (K18)"

On June 26, 2013, United Therapeutics Corporation (the "Company") held its 2013 annual meeting of shareholders. The Company's shareholders considered three matters, each of which is described in more detail in the Company's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2013. The final voting results for the meeting are as follows:

1. The Company's shareholders elected the following nominees as Class II directors, to serve three-year terms until the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified or their office is otherwise vacated, by the votes set forth below:

Five years ago I built a biotechnology innovation index and I have been using it since tracking global biotechnology innovation in Scientific American’s Worldview. It has been a very rewarding project, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to present my research data at international conferences, business schools, and even National Defense University.

Now, Worldview’s editor Mike May has compared my innovation scores with the Venture Capital and Private Equity Country Attractiveness (VCPECA) index. I was quite pleased to see a relatively strong correlation between my innovation index and the VCPECA index.

We knew that biotech companies were lighting up the stock market this year. Today, the National Venture Capital Association has fresh numbers illustrating Wall Street’s love affair with life sciences entrepreneurs—and the corresponding cold shower awaiting their counterparts in the tech sector.

The new report, comparing venture-backed IPOs with merger-and-acquisition deals, shows life sciences companies accounting for 13 of the 21 public stock listings in the second quarter.

Revolution Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of Steve Case's Revolution LLC, has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a planned $150 million fund. Named in the SEC filing are Case and managing partners Tige Savage and David Golden. Revolution Ventures II LP, as it's named in the filing, follows the formation in 2011of Revolution Growth, which invests in more mature, later-stage companies. Revolution Growth, led by Case, Donn Davis and Ted Leonsis, is operated separately from the venture unit.

Sources inform "Globes" that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE; LSE; OMX: AZN) has teamed with Israeli real estate company Minrav Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MNRV) to bid in the Office of the Chief Scientist's biotechnology incubator tender. AstraZeneca will handle the consortium's professional side, and Minrav will be responsible for financing.

The AstraZeneca-Minrav consortium is bidding against a consortium of OrbiMed Israel and the venture capital arms of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (TSE: 4502).

New Enterprise Associates has increased its focus on companies developing drugs for rare disease, an effort that's paying off. Portfolio company Prosensa Holding BV, which it backed last year, has just gone public on Nasdaq. The company develops therapies for rare conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy and Huntington's disease. 

Johns Hopkins Montgomery County has received the 2013 Visionary Award from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Before an audience of hundreds at the Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner, Campus Executive Elaine Amir thanked the Chamber for the recognition, thanked Montgomery County for having the foresight to establish the campus in 1985 and applauded County Executive Ike Leggett for his encouragement and support.

Governor Martin O’Malley announced today that the State, through the BioMaryland Center, has awarded nearly $1 million to five innovative life sciences companies through its Biotechnology Development Awards program. The companies, which received up to $200,000 each, will use the funding to advance the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, create a less-invasive treatment for tachycardia patients, enhance animal analgesics, control traumatic bleeds and develop high-quality gluten and allergen-free kosher food products.

“These companies are developing products that are changing the way we feed, fuel and heal our planet and have the potential to impact millions of patients around the world,” said Governor O’Malley. “These awards are critical to ensuring that the life-saving research being done here in Maryland has the opportunity to move to the commercial marketplace.”

UMBC recently earned accolades in three college ranking reports.

The Online College Database recognized the high salaries of UMBC graduates in its list of most affordable colleges.  The website used data from the ”2012-2013 PayScale College Salary Report” to rank UMBC as having the second-highest post-graduation starting salary of colleges in Maryland with annual tuition under $20,000.  According to the report, the average starting salary of a UMBC graduate is $50,300.

Sources inform "Globes" that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE; LSE; OMX: AZN) has teamed with Israeli real estate company Minrav Holdings Ltd. (tase:MNRV) to bid in the Office of the Chief Scientist's biotechnology incubator tender. AstraZeneca will handle the consortium's professional side, and Minrav will be responsible for financing.

The AstraZeneca-Minrav consortium is bidding against a consortium of OrbiMed Israel and the venture capital arms of Johnson & Johnson JNJ and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.

The University of Maryland has named Brian Darmody associate vice president for corporate and foundation relations. In this newly-created role, Darmody is charged with leading essential university-wide efforts to develop strategic partnerships between the University of Maryland and the corporate and foundation community.

"Throughout Brian's 30-year career with the university, he has proven to be the perfect candidate to lead this new charge," says UMD Vice President for University Relations Peter Weiler. "His unparalleled ability to develop and nurture mutually beneficial relationships for the university has been integral over the years, and we look forward to the leadership he will bring to this new role."

Taking the helm of EFPIA, Viehbacher says R&D and innovation are the keys to rescuing Europe from its economic slump, but more harmonization across the pharmaceutical sector will be needed too.

Venture capital-backed initial public offerings more than doubled during the second quarter from the previous quarter and rose 90% from a year earlier, with 21 companies raising a combined $2.2 billion during their stock-market debuts, driven by the highest number of biotech venture-backed IPOs in nearly 13 years, according to Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI, TRI.T) and the National Venture Capital Association.

During the quarter, 13 of the offerings were in the life-sciences sector, representing 62% of the total. Biotech offerings, at 11 deals, marked the highest level since the third quarter of 2000, when 13 companies went public.

The venture capital industry is getting rightsized, with less capital raised and deployed, smaller funds, fewer active venture capital firms, and more regulation. The exit climate has picked up, but is still not at the level required. And valuations are overall more rational, with some exceptions at the later stages or in consumer-facing momentum companies.

However, with the confluence of not one but four big market drivers (discussed below), and the rise of a new technology cycle,  we think this is still a great time to be a venture capitalist or entrepreneur.

The following funding opportunity announcements from the NHLBI or other components of the National Institutes of Health, might be of interest:

NIH Guide Notice:

NOT-EB-13-002: Notice To Extend PAR-10-234 Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP) (R01)
The purpose of this notice is to extend PAR-10-234 "Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP) (R01)," which supports partnerships for basic, applied, and translational multi-disciplinary research that addresses important biological, clinical or biomedical research problems. The new expiration date is January 8, 2014.

NOT-RM-13-022: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory - Demonstration Projects for Pragmatic Clinical Trials Focusing on Multiple Chronic Conditions (UH2/UH3)
The National Institutes of Health, Office of Strategic Coordination intends to promote a new initiative by publishing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications for Demonstration Projects for Pragmatic Clinical Trials focusing on the management of multiple chronic conditions, to be conducted as part of the NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory.

Requests for Applications (RFAs):

RFA-CA-13-008: Person-Centered Outcomes Research Resource (U2C)
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support the creation of a research resource infrastructure for the administration of research investigations using person-centered health outcomes, further referred to as the Person-Centered Outcomes Research Resource (PCORR).

RFA-OD-13-010: Tobacco Control Regulatory Research (R21)
The purpose of this FOA is to encourage biomedical, behavioral, and social science research that will inform the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.

RFA-OD-13-011: Tobacco Control Regulatory Research (R01)
The purpose of this FOA is to encourage biomedical, behavioral, and social science research that will inform the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.

RFA-OD-13-012: Tobacco Control Regulatory Research (R03)
The purpose of this FOA is to encourage biomedical, behavioral, and social science research that will inform the development and evaluation of regulations on tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.

Governor Martin O’Malley announced today that the State, through the BioMaryland Center, has awarded nearly $1 million to five innovative life sciences companies through its Biotechnology Development Awards program. The companies, which received up to $200,000 each, will use the funding to advance the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, create a less-invasive treatment for tachycardia patients, enhance animal analgesics, control traumatic bleeds and develop high-quality gluten and allergen-free kosher food products.

“These companies are developing products that are changing the way we feed, fuel and heal our planet and have the potential to impact millions of patients around the world,” said Governor O’Malley. “These awards are critical to ensuring that the life-saving research being done here in Maryland has the opportunity to move to the commercial marketplace.”

Integrated BioTherapeutics (IBT) and Stanford University have been jointly awarded a $300,000 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The goal of the grant is to develop a highly effective immunotherapeutic to prevent Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) reinfection in liver transplant patients based on antibodies that limit the ability of the virus to escape treatment via mutations.

Up to 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV, putting infected individuals at significant risk for cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Chronic infection is poorly controlled by current antiviral treatments though there is new optimism with two recent FDA-approved direct acting antivirals, telaprevir and boceprevir. These drugs, however, are not recommended in the transplant setting due to likely adverse drug-drug interactions.

Baltimore City’s Emerging Technology Centers (ETC) is pleased to announce that two of its client companies were recently honored at the 13th Annual 2013 Maryland Incubator Company of the Year (ICOY) Awards. Curiosityville was chosen “Best Education Technology Company” and ADASHI was chosen “Best New Incubator Company” by the judging panel of venture capitalists, government officials and business leaders.

“The Curiosityville team is thrilled to have been selected for this award,” said Susan Magsamen, CEO of Curiosityville. “Part of the credit must go to our affiliation with the ETC their assistance has helped allow us to focus on building the business.”

“Research for research’s sake” is not a refrain you’ll hear from Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering Dean Nicholas Jones.

Universities have been working on increasing the amount of their research being used for commercially available products and services, but in Maryland the process has been somewhat slow. While Hopkins is the most highly funded university by the National Institutes of Health, it lags behind its peers in terms of patents, new companies and other measures of commercialization.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Bill Corr announced today that the Department is seeking innovators and entrepreneurs to apply for the HHSentrepreneurs Program.  Launched last year, HHSentrepreneurs connects private sector innovators and entrepreneurs with teams of federal employees working on projects that address some of the biggest challenges in health, health care and human services.

The first individuals hired last October through HHSentrepreneurs are working on critical projects including the Affordable Care Act, health resilience technology, and the nation’s organ transplant system.

“By bringing the best in the public and private sectors together, HHSentrepreneurs is creating an environment in HHS that fosters innovative solutions to new and old challenges,” Deputy Secretary Corr said.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) that propose to implement investigator-initiated clinical trials related to the research mission of the NIAID. This program will utilize the cooperative agreement mechanism (U44) to enable support for hypothesis-driven, milestone-driven clinical trials. Although clinical trials not considered high-risk may be proposed, this program encourages high-risk clinical studies. High-risk does not imply human subject or patient risk, but rather defines a study that contains one or more of the following unique features: involves non-routine interventions, administration of an unlicensed product, or administration of a licensed product for an unapproved indication. Mechanistic studies are also encouraged and can be proposed under this program. However, not more than one clinical trial should be proposed within each grant application. The NIAID has a robust infrastructure for conducting clinical studies that includes independently managed resources provided through grants and contracts, as well as resources that are integrated within existing NIAID-supported clinical trial networks. Proposed clinical trials may use NIAIDs independent infrastructure for clinical studies, however, support will not be provided for studies that propose to use dedicated resources that are part of a NIAID-supported clinical trial network. A Commercialization Plan must be included that details plans for promoting further commercialization of the intervention/product/technology to be derived from or associated with the proposed clinical trial, including plans for promoting and establishing partnerships between the SBIR Phase II awardee and third-party investors and/or strategic partners.

A commercialization program to match up provider, payer and pharma technology needs with willing and able healthcare startups has announced its 10 finalists. Each will receive $100,000 tied to meeting certain performance milestones. They have three to six months to work with the healthcare group they’re matched with, depending on the complexity of the program.

PILOT Health Tech NYC, developed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Health 2.0, is holding its demo day today at Blueprint Health’s NYC digs. The program is also supported by StartUp Health.