When Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan stepped up to address a crowd of more than 1,000 life sciences executives and entrepreneurs on Wednesday, he couldn’t help but take the moment to remember his own brush with their work.

Greater Washington is so much more than a political “swamp.”

But that's the label a group of life science companies and nonprofits — led by Gaithersburg-based MedImmune — said Wednesday they are still fighting against as they try to sell the year-old BioHealth Capital Region brand.

Welcome to the first annual compilation of 50+ Innovation Leaders! AARP and the MedCity News team asked readers to nominate digital health companies, entrepreneurs and initiatives they felt best reflect the wide range of technologies and applications that innovatively support the 50+ population. After reviewing more than 150 submissions and tallying more than 5,000+ votes from MedCity News’s audience, we weren’t disappointed with the results.

Looking for an investment? You're in luck: Chevy Chase-based venture juggernaut New Enterprise Associates is wrapping up its latest $3 billion fund.

The venture firm has completed a “first close,” which means NEA has finalized its capital commitments and can now make investments. The firm can still raise additional money and will probably conduct a final close in a matter of weeks, according to sources familiar with the company’s fundraising efforts.

The startup landscape in Europe is a prime example of how evolving mindsets, hard work and risk-taking can pay off in the form of economic growth and innovation. Investment in European startups is steadily increasing as new tech hubs take shape across the continent and European-headquartered companies expand internationally.

But as startups celebrate their milestones, we should be aware that rules enabling digital growth are giving startups the right environment to grow.

Johns Hopkins University - Montgomery County Campus9601 Medical Center DriveRockville, MD 20850

Learn about Bioscience Careers in Montgomery County, meet area businesses looking for talent, and connect to training opportunities to increase your skills! Open to any individual interested in BioCareers. A joint event hosted by Montgomery College, WorkSource Montgomery, MD BioFoundation, and BioBuzz.

The Startup Maryland bus was parked amid the bucolic brick of Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus for Saturday’s Hatch Innovation Conference.

Along with giving the Hopkins entrepreneurs gathered at the event a chance to pitch on the spiffy in-bus video studio, it was the first stop for the 2017 tour of Maryland’s innovation community.

Summer R.I.S.E. (Real Interesting Summer Experience) is a locally funded initiative led by WorkSource Montgomery in collaboration with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and other partners, that will provide MCPS rising juniors and seniors with enriching summer career development experiences. Students will participate in career shadowing opportunities that will introduce them to the structures of businesses and industries, the role of technology, and the importance of customer service in every profession. They will also earn a stipend, learn about financial literacy, and participate in both online and in person professionalism trainings to help prepare them for college and career.

Mentors, Advisors, and Peers (MAPs) programs offer opportunity for WIB members to meet other women who are in various stages of their career, are on different paths, and have a range of backgrounds, in a professional yet social atmosphere. Through MAPs, members share experiences and give advice on everything from personal challenges to professional topics. With this MAPs networking event, we're bringing these circles together to network and share best practices. What tactics work for running a successful mentoring group? How do you get the most out of your MAPs group? How do groups grow and change, and do they need to? We look forward to seeing everyone there!

This is a members-only event focused on existing MAPs groups and WIB members who are interested in learning more about MAPs groups.

April 25 @ 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm

BDO and Crowell & Moring are proud to present a networking opportunity and a panel discussion on IP Strategy for the BioPharma Industry. This is a “must attend” event for hearing and discussing the company perspective from companies engaged in drug, vaccine, biologic, or medical device research and product development. IP and the strategy to procure and sustain it is one of the most critical aspects to revenue generation and commercial success. Our panel members are admired veterans in this field and will present intriguing case studies that will emphasize lessons learned and practical solutions to creating a successful IP strategy.

University of Maryland, Baltimore County defeated nine other finalist teams to win the 2017 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition to become National Champions. The championship was held in San Antonio, Texas, April 13-15, with the top 10 college and university teams from across the nation facing off to protect a network against constant cyber attacks.

Veni Vidi Vici. It translates into English as “I came, I saw, I conquered.” It also happens to be the name chosen by one of the winners of the recently held America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent Competition.

FDA recognizes that young scientists are our future. Now in its fifth year, America’s Got Regulatory Science Talent is one of a number of initiatives FDA supports to encourage young scientists to pursue careers in the rapidly maturing field of regulatory science.

As my syringe presses against the skin and muscle surrounding a patient’s knee joint, I feel a brief resistance. A gentle increase in pressure, though, and the needle pops through, ready to inject the drug. But this isn’t a real patient or syringe – they’re both virtual.

I am taking part in a training simulation created by a London-based firm called FundamentalVR. It allows me to view my patient in virtual reality and perform knee surgery with a stylus that gives haptic feedback, so I can feel the different layers of tissue. The simulation is designed for surgeons who must learn how to properly inject a drug during surgery to provide post-operative pain relief.

April 13, 2017: All Points, Maryland - Today Startup Maryland announced initial dates and the route for Stage One (April 15 - May 31) of the STRT1UP Road Show, the sixth annual state-wide tour and celebration of entrepreneurship and high-growth innovation-centric startup companies.

Additionally, Startup Maryland is announcing that the first stop on the 2017 tour will be the TCO Labs Hatch Innovation Conference being held on the Homewood Main Campus of Johns Hopkins University from 1:00-5:00pm ET. The event is free and open to the public, however, registration is required. Details and additional information can be found here: http://hatch2017.com/

The Maryland Tech Council (MTC), Maryland’s largest technology trade association, has announced the finalists for its 29th Annual Industry Awards. Winners will be revealed at a celebration on June 1, 2017 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. The event, which draws more than 800 executives from the technology and life science communities, celebrates individuals and companies that have made a significant impact in their sectors.

Strand Life Sciences, a bioinformatics company, introduced liquid biopsy test portfolio called Strand LB that helps in highly sensitive detection of tumour traces from a simple blood draw.

While tumours are usually assessed through invasive biopsies or through radioactive scans, this test will ensure early and precise indication of tumour presence, cancer recurrence, and response to therapy, said the company in a statement.

Inova Health System’s Translational Medicine Institute (ITMI) is betting big on personalized and precision medicine.

And the Falls Church, Virginia, organization is hiring to ensure that bet pays off. Current openings include clinical researchers and genetics counselors, but they’re also looking for a senior cloud systems engineer, a bioinformatics software engineer and a personalized medicine data architect to support researchers and clinicians.

You are cordially invited to FastForward 1812 Grand Opening

WHEN: Wednesday, April 26, 20176:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. 

WHERE: FastForward1812 Ashland AvenueSuite 100Baltimore, MD 21205  

PARKING: COMPLIMENTARY SELF PARKING AT ASHLAND  GARAGE  (CORNER OF ASHLAND AVENUE AND WASHINGTON STREET) 

President Donald Trump has created a new White House office dedicated to applying business practices to government operations, to be headed up by his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

The new Office of American Innovation, codified in a presidential memorandum, is described internally as a sort of “SWAT team” of consultants who bring business practices into government, according to The Washington Post. Its mission is to “improve government operations and services, improve the quality of life for Americans now and in the future and spur job creation,” the memorandum stated—including by fixing problems at the Veterans Affairs Department and modernizing federal IT.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has pumped $6.25 million into the new Center for Engineering Complex Tissues (CECT), a tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting lab that will be run by Rice University, the University of Maryland, and Wake Forest University starting April 15.

Until the myth of the fountain of youth proves true, regenerative medicine is the best hope we’ve got for fixing failed body parts and, as a result, living longer. Scientists won’t be able to bottle forever. They are, however, working on engineering human cells, tissues, and organs that can repair themselves.

Located in Rockville town center, ReveraGen is a fast-growing clinical-stage drug development company with a focus on developing therapeutics for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We run under a venture philanthropy model, through collaborations and partnerships with non-profit foundations and government agencies in both the US and the EU. We are currently looking for self-motived professionals to join our young, energetic and diverse team.

Position Open: Project Coordinator

Main Duties:

• Takes responsibility and manages defined projects
• Keeps track of and coordinates projects by follow up on tasks and results, tracking and recordingthe projects’ progress by proper tools and software, and reports deviations back to the VicePresident of Operations.
• Creates, revises and implements standard operating procedures
• Produces information by transcribing, formatting, inputting, editing, retrieving, copying, andtransmitting text, data, and graphics.
• Represents the the Vice President of Operations in the absence of the Vice President ofOperations.
• Protects operations by keeping information confidential.

Requirements:

• Pharmaceutical or clinical research background preferred
• Excellent communication skills (both oral and written)
• B.S. or B.A. Degree required
• Familiar with Microsoft Office software package (Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel)
• Smartsheet knowledge/experience is a plus

– Winner to be announced during 2017 BioHealth Capital Region Forum – 

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, April 11, 2017 – Five companies have been selected to present in front of a panel of judges consisting of industry leaders during the 2017 BioHealth Capital Region Forum, April 19-20 at the MedImmune campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Founded by BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) and MedImmune in 2016, the Crab Trap Competition focuses on companies in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare services, e-health, mobile health, electronic medical records, health informatics, and biohealth cyber security. The grand prize this year is $10,000, incubation space in either Prince William County, VA or Montgomery Country, MD, and business mentoring. The 2^nd Annual Crab Trap Competition is sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Last year’s winner of the Crab Trap Competition was Sonavex, Inc., a Johns Hopkins University spin-off simplifying point-of-care ultrasound imaging to increase its utility.

With the push to encourage researchers to take steps to commercialize their discoveries, there are grants and awards and tech transfer offices and incubators and competitions and…

But receiving money doesn’t automatically mean that a successful business will appear right away. Like all startups, they need to identify the potential market for a product, and come up with a plan.

With the county’s proximity to the nation’s capital and the federal government, combined with our highly educated workforce, Montgomery County is rapidly growing as a global cybersecurity power hub.

The MCEDC board has identified cybersecurity as a target industry, and commissioned a 2017 report called “Building a Cybersecurity Industry in Montgomery County.”

Standing to address a crowd of biotech business leaders and health experts at a conference hosted by Virginia's biotechnology association this week, Inova Center for Personalized Health CEO Todd Stottlemyer began with a question.

As with many new fields, synthetic biology—which incorporates disparate disciplines like engineering, computer science, biotechnology, and molecular biology—is hard to pin down. But a rough working definition says that it is the application of the principles of engineering to biological systems. Instead of using engineering’s discrete modules of code, transistors, resistors, and capacitors, synthetic biology builds things from sequences of genetic material. The field has remarkable potential and has already been used to aid the production of antimalarial drugs and synthetic flavorings. One researcher used mail-order DNA and a genetic map available online for free to create a live polio virus. The implications could be enormous.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a regional innovation intermediary focused on commercializing market-relevant bio-health innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Maryland, has been awarded a renewal of its contract to extend and expand its entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) program with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). BHI will place EIRs within the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the NIH Office of the Director and other NIH Institutes and Centers.

Unicorns pranced all over Twitter Sunday as users celebrated an imaginary holiday for an imaginary creature. But some Twitter folk weren't in the mood for make-believe. 

After all, who needs unicorns when majestic, spear-headed animals actually exist?

It's not the current product lineups that matter the most for big pharma companies. It's their pipelines.

Three big pharma companies boasting the strongest pipelines are Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Novartis (NYSE: NVS), and Roche (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY). Here's what sets these drugmakers apart from their peers.

Standing to address a crowd of biotech business leaders and health experts at a conference hosted by Virginia's biotechnology association this week, Inova Center for Personalized Health CEO Todd Stottlemyer began with a question.

Much has been written about the role of the creative economy as a key indicator of economic health. The “rise of the creative class” and “creative clusters” are concepts that inform the larger conversation on cities as the economic drivers of regions. As a result, everyone from academics to governments are increasingly looking for ways to measure the scope and size of the creative economy.

When we visit a friend or go to the beach, our brain stores a short-term memory of the experience in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Those memories are later “consolidated” — that is, transferred to another part of the brain for longer-term storage.

The Johns Hopkins University's newest business incubator, set to open formally at the end of April, adds more office and lab space to spur the school's ongoing effort to commercialize research.

FastForward 1812, located in the East Baltimore development area at 1812 Ashland Ave., offers a home to startup companies trying to build products that grow out of research at the univeristy or its medical school. It's also open to other Baltimore-area entrepreneurs.

Social Lab@Light City panelists Michelle Geiss, Darius Graham and Tammira Lucas talked about what it takes to create a sustainable ecosystem of social entrepreneurship.