March 22, 2023 - The BioHealth Capital Region (BHCR) with The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia are making a name for themselves as some of the most innovative states in the nation, according to a new study by WalletHub. All three have secured spots in the Top 10 of WalletHub's 2022 rankings of the Most Innovative States. This recognition highlights the region's strength as a hub for innovation and technological advancement.

The study compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 24 key indicators of innovation-friendliness, including research and development spending per capita, the share of STEM professionals, and tech company density. The District of Columbia took the top spot overall, with Maryland coming in at number 5 and Virginia rounding out the top 10 at number 9. These strong rankings reflect the region's commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and investing in developing cutting-edge technologies.

In a long-awaited decision, the National Institutes of Health rejected a petition urging the agency to use a controversial provision of federal law to widen access to a cancer drug by forcing the manufacturers to license their patents.

GAITHERSBURG, MD / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2023 / BullFrog AI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFRG; BFRGW) ("Bullfrog AI" or the "Company"), a digital technology company using machine learning to usher in a new era of precision medicine, announced today the closing of its initial public offering of 1,297,318 units (each, a "Unit," collectively, the "Units") at a price of $6.50 per unit for a total of approximately $8.4 million of gross proceeds to the Company. Each Unit consists of one share of the Company's common stock, one tradeable warrant (each, a "Tradeable Warrant," collectively, the "Tradeable Warrants") to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $7.80 per share, and one non-tradeable warrant (each, a "Non-tradeable Warrant," collectively, the "Non-tradeable Warrants"; together with the Tradeable Warrants, each, a "Warrant," collectively, the "Warrants") to purchase one share of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $8.125.

Hot off the press: TSESSEBE Technologies Won $5,000 at the #NCBCP Black Women's Roundtable event. Our sincere appreciation to #bwrsummit23 leadership and The Coca-Cola Company for investing this seed award in us this #womenshistorymonth! #TSESSEBETech is taking it to the TOP leveraging technology to empower, liberate, and revolutionize the personalized health landscape and the health data ownership paradigm. First stop, #ooTANOBC for Breast Cancer Health, and soon breaking ground in other diseases and spheres of life REIMAGINing paradigm and practice as we ACT! Dee C. Marshall, Tameka M. Ramsey, MPA, BSW, Melanie Campbell, Tonya Tyson - we couldn't have done it without you, THANK YOU. For my SiStars and our Women around the world, we remain undaunted! #technology #innovation #leadership #breastcancer #health #healthequity

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has recently opened its first Agency-wide Open Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which seeks funding proposals for research to improve health outcomes across patient populations, communities, diseases, and health conditions. The BAA calls for proposals that outline breakthrough research and technological advancements, investigate unconventional approaches, and challenge accepted assumptions to enable leaps forward in science, technology, systems, or related capabilities. ARPA-H also encourages concepts that advance the objectives of President Biden's Cancer Moonshot initiative, as well as more disease-agnostic approaches.​

Join us for a lunch and learn to hear how new technologies in quantum computing will be utilized to power scientific research and the life science companies already taking advantage. Shahar Keinan, CEO, and Maurice Benson, Lead Software Engineer at POLARISqb, will give a presentation on how the innovations in the quantum computing industry will directly impact the future of drug design, clinical research, and precision medicine. POLARISqb has created one of the first platforms for the life sciences industry that can cut the drug discovery research process timeline from its traditional time of 5 years down to 4 months. Shahar and Maurice will also discuss how quantum computers are beginning to be made ready for commercial use and all of the recent case studies on their performance.

Image: https://www.eventbrite.com

The tragic and shocking demise of SVB and bailout of its depositors is a watershed, “Too Big to Fail” event for Silicon Valley that will reverberate for years to come, if not longer, bringing significant new challenges to the industry in both the short and long term.

For the small but critically important world of startups and venture capital, things have gone from bad to worse. After a year of upheaval—plummeting stock valuations, dormant M&A and IPO markets, and massive layoffs—the tech industry now bears the indignity of losing a cherished institution that nearly sparked a national financial panic.

Image: Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash, Jesse Bowser/Unsplash

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday, March 10, sent shockwaves through the tech and biotech world. But it does not appear to have had a major effect on the BioHealth Capital Region and the Philadelphia region’s life sciences industry, at least not so far.

On about March 8, SVB, a major supporter of tech, biotech and venture capital funds, indicated it was facing a cashflow problem. Initially, it attempted to raise money by selling shares. Then it attempted to sell itself. Investors were alarmed by these efforts and began pulling their funds from the bank, causing a run on the bank, leading to shares plunging on Thursday, March 9. On Friday, March 10, regulators shut down the bank.

Image: https://biobuzz.io/

FREDERICK, Md., March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- RoosterBio Inc., a leading supplier of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs), highly engineered media, development services, cell engineering, and advanced therapy bioprocess solutions, today announced that it has selected Repligen Corporation, a life sciences company focused on bioprocessing technology leadership, as a collaboration partner to advance scalable exosome bioprocessing.

RoosterBio's goal, in collaboration with Repligen, is to deliver solutions for manufacturing of exosomes using scalable and low shear technologies that enable cost-effective commercialization of these advanced therapies.

Save the date for the 9th Annual BioHealth Capital Region Forum on September 19th and 20th, 2023! Join us for two days of highlighting innovation and entrepreneurship as we bring together the best of our region and beyond to collaborate and shape the future of healthcare. Location and registration information coming soon.

The deal stands to drive hundreds of millions more to the local company over time.

Image: Scott Koenig is president and CEO of Rockville's MacroGenics. JOANNE S. LAWTON

Join us and guest speaker John Newby, CEO of Virginia Bio, who will be highlighting strategic goals for Virginia Bio and Virginia Bio-Connect as well as discussing the future of biotech collaborations and partnerships in the DMV region. Enjoy an evening of networking, drinks, and fun!

Want to be on the cutting edge of disease treatment? Learn how companies like Immunyx Pharma are changing the landscape of immune modulation in the battle against diseases with the JLABS/BARDA Blue Knight program on this episode of BioTalk with Rich Bendis.

Also Available on popular podcast platforms like Apple https://apple.co/3LlbxIy, Google https://bit.ly/3l6O6ba, Spotify https://spoti.fi/405ln5B, Amazon Music https://amzn.to/3J58kde, TuneIn https://bit.ly/3JA8MBO, and even YouTube https://bit.ly/3LhYZS6.

LEIDEN, the Netherlands, March 07 / B3C newswire / -- MIMETAS, a leading company in the field of organ-on-a-chip-based disease models, announces that it has launched its Adult Stem Cell (ASC)-derived tubular organoids in an assay-ready format. As part of its OrganoReady® product line, MIMETAS offers two organoid-based products: ASC-derived Colon1 and Kidney2 Organoid tubules.

“We are thrilled to offer this cutting-edge technology to the research community,” says Jos Joore, co-CEO of MIMETAS. “We’ve worked for several years to optimize these OrganoReady® organoid products. As a result, our early-access users will be the first in the world to have license-free access to ready-to-use, donor-relevant organoid tubules of consistent quality.”

In the field of artificial intelligence, there are winters and there are springs—barren stretches followed by exhilarating bursts of innovation and funding. Right now, we find ourselves definitively in the midst of an AI spring, says Johns Hopkins engineer Rama Chellappa, a veteran of the industry for more than four decades.

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, March 8, 2023 – BioHealth Innovation Inc. (BHI) is pleased to welcome Mona Suliman, Ph.D., as a new Life Sciences Business Strategist. In this role, Mona will evaluate the commercial potential of clients’ emerging technologies and assist start-ups with their go-to-market strategies. Her work will also focus on helping biohealth companies to secure non-dilutive funding.

Mona Suliman has been a consultant in the business and science sectors for over eight years. Her specific areas of focus are entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy, and marketing. She obtained her Master’s in Business Administration from George Mason University and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. As a consultant, she supported companies in developing marketing strategies and creating product launch plans and development strategies.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mona to BHI,” said Richard Bendis, BHI President, and CEO. “I am confident Mona will bring a unique perspective and energy to our team and BioHealth Partners.”

About BioHealth Innovation, Inc. 

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is a public-private nonprofit organization focused on accelerating biohealth (therapeutic, diagnostic, medtech, and health IT) commercialization in the BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, DC, and Virginia).

www.BioHealthInnovation.org

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Media contacts:
Rich Bendis
Phone: 301-637-6439, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lucy Alexander, Capabilities Lead, Global Supply Chain & Strategy with AstraZeneca, joins Rich Bendis on BioTalk to discuss leading world-class supply chain operations, developing new strategies, and the continued growth of AZ in the BioHealth Capital Region.

Listen via Apple https://apple.co/3Zov7b7, Google https://bit.ly/3JfYiav, Spotify https://spoti.fi/3ZGPekn, Amazon Music https://amzn.to/3ZqknsP, and TuneIn http://bit.ly/2M60Wmx.

The BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) team would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Sarah Miller, Vice President of Economic Development, for her invaluable contributions to the organization as she moves on to a new opportunity. Sarah has played an integral role in BHI's mission to accelerate the commercialization of BioHealth technologies and worked tirelessly to build and maintain strong relationships with industry stakeholders and partners. Her dedication and hard work will be greatly missed, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

The Shady Grove Innovation District is a planned mixed-use, transit-served innovation ecosystem of more than 1.3M SF located in Maryland’s premier life sciences cluster.

BXP, formerly Boston Properties, recently unveiled plans at its pre-application community meeting to develop the Shady Grove Innovation District (“SGID”), a world-class, amenity-rich, mixed-use district catering to the dynamic life science industry in the heart of the Shady Grove cluster in Rockville, Maryland.  SGID will initially include 150,000 square feet of lab/R&D space in a five-story building and 315 luxury apartments. The district has the potential to grow to more than 1.3M square feet of lab/R&D space across a total of nine buildings.  Construction could begin as early as mid-2024.

Join us for a lunch and learn to hear how new technologies in quantum computing will be utilized to power scientific research and the life science companies already taking advantage. Shahar Keinan, CEO, and Maurice Benson, Lead Software Engineer at POLARISqb, will give a presentation on how the innovations in the quantum computing industry will directly impact the future of drug design, clinical research, and precision medicine. POLARISqb has created one of the first platforms for the life sciences industry that can cut the drug discovery research process timeline from its traditional time of 5 years down to 4 months. Shahar and Maurice will also discuss how quantum computers are beginning to be made ready for commercial use and all of the recent case studies on their performance.

Join Maryland Technology, a division of the Maryland Tech Council, for our fourth annual Digital Transformation Summit on March 16, 2023. The event will be held in-person at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve, Hanover, Maryland.

The Digital Transformation Summit brings Maryland-based technology organizations and professionals together to educate one another regarding the newest and most exciting technologies of the day, and to discuss and find ways to collaborate on the most relevant emerging or growing technologies and industry trends.

The Evolution of Gap Assessments, Remote Audits, Inspection Readiness and Remediation during the Covid 19 Pandemic

The Covid 19 pandemic created immense challenges for the Pharmaceutical, Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries, and for companies researching, developing, and manufacturing Rx products around the world. In 2020 and 2021 (and to some degree, continuing today) all processes were dramatically impacted by the pandemic as many employees, consultants, and others were restricted from physically working in the office or manufacturing facility, resulting in skeleton crews and largely remote workers.

Transform the Future of Health If you have a bold, ambitious idea and feel you would be a good fit for ARPA-H, please complete the form below and submit your cover letter, CV, and idea or concept that addresses the ARPA-(H)eilmeier Questions.

ARPA-H will support concepts brought to life directly from Program Managers that have not only identified a key problem in health today, but are also passionate about a vision to bring forward revolutionary solutions to solve the problem, and do so in an equitable way. ARPA-H embraces a culture of open innovation and empowers its program managers to fearlessly pursue health breakthroughs that cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.

The Center for Innovative NeuroTech Advancement (CINTA) & NeuroTech Harbor (NTH) announce the 2023 Spring Award Competition supported by the NIH Blueprint MedTech Program

Seeking collaborative projects aimed at developing emerging technologies into commercially viable, clinically focused solutions for disorders of the nervous system that are aligned with the mission and interests of the participating institutes and centers

The current solicitation is open and accepting pre-proposals until March 16th, the next solicitation is expected to be announced in July 2023

The Maryland Department of Commerce is seeking companies to join the Maryland delegation at the BIO International Convention in Boston, MA, June 5-8, 2023.  Our goal is to identify companies that would benefit the most from participation.  If selected, your company will receive one complimentary Premier Access pass, including access to One-on-One Partnering in the Business Forum and Exhibitor Booths, educational content, and networking receptions, as well as inclusion in promotional content.  Selected companies must be registered to do business in Maryland.

I walked into the conference room, eager to hear a presentation on the same topic as my ongoing Ph.D. project. But my enthusiasm didn’t last long. As a scientist with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the text-laden slides were difficult for me to process while I simultaneously tried to listen to what the presenter had to say. My mind began to wander, only to snap back to the talk when I heard the sound of clapping. Afterward, I was faced with awkward conversations during the coffee break as colleagues asked for my opinion on the research and I had no real answer to give them. The experience was frustrating, but it also helped me think about how I can craft my own presentations to interest all scientists—including audience members with ADHD.

Image: https://www.science.org/

Six and a half years ago, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, announced a $3 billion commitment to basic science research over a decade, including $600 million to create a biomedical research hub in San Francisco in collaboration with researchers from the University of California at San Francisco, the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. In late 2021 they promised another $3.4 billion toward science.

Image: Angela Detweiler, a scientist in the genome sequencing laboratory at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in San Francisco, briefs Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, cofounders and co-CEOs of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), on the lab’s instruments.CODY PICKENS FOR FORBES

The Covid 19 pandemic created immense challenges for the Pharmaceutical, Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries, and for companies researching, developing, and manufacturing Rx products around the world. In 2020 and 2021 (and to some degree, continuing today) all processes were dramatically impacted by the pandemic as many employees, consultants, and others were restricted from physically working in the office or manufacturing facility, resulting in skeleton crews and largely remote workers.

Theradaptive, a Frederick-based biotechnology company specializing in therapeutic delivery platforms, Wednesday announced a $4 million Technology & Therapeutic Development Award (TTDA) from the Department of Defense through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

The contract will fund its OsteoAdapt regenerative therapeutic product for spine and trauma repair to first in human clinical studies.

Theradaptive’s OsteoAdapt product was granted three breakthrough medical device designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 and 2022 for various spinal indications. OsteoAdapt is created by combining AMP2 protein, a novel bone regenerative biologic, with ReBOSSIS, a 510K-approved implant material. OsteoAdapt has the capability to precisely direct bone regrowth where it is needed in the body.

The funds from the DOD contract will enable Theradaptive to continue its work to meet regulatory requirements and scale up Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant manufacturing of the OsteoAdapt product in preparation for clinical studies. After a request for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) is submitted to the FDA for approval, Theradaptive will initiate human clinical trials.

Click here to read more via The Daily Record

“I told Bruce Jarrell, I had told Jennifer [Litchman], please don't do this. You know, don't put me on the wall yet!” pleaded University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD, to the laughter of nearly 100 friends, colleagues, and former colleagues at a Feb. 23 ceremony held to unveil his official portrait as a past president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). “For God's sakes, I'm an active faculty member here. I'm not done,” he continued to more laughter.

After Perman and current UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, unveiled the portrait together, Perman agreed artist Jacqueline Jasper’s work was “beautiful” and thanked her, still appearing very self-conscious.

A "biocomputer" powered by human brain cells could be developed within our lifetime, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers who expect such technology to exponentially expand the capabilities of modern computing and create novel fields of study.

The team outlines their plan for "organoid intelligence" today in the journal Frontiers in Science.

Image: Thomas Hartung with brain organoids in his lab at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. CREDIT:WILL KIRK/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

If you have a bold, ambitious idea and feel you would be a good fit for ARPA-H, please complete the form below and submit your cover letter, CV, and idea or concept that addresses the ARPA-(H)eilmeier Questions.

ARPA-H will support concepts brought to life directly from Program Managers that have not only identified a key problem in health today, but are also passionate about a vision to bring forward revolutionary solutions to solve the problem, and do so in an equitable way. ARPA-H embraces a culture of open innovation and empowers its program managers to fearlessly pursue health breakthroughs that cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.

Program managers at ARPA-H will serve a term-limited appointment of three years, and no more than six years total, to ensure a constant rotation of new ideas and diverse perspectives.

MARYLAND - February 22 2023 – Today, Theradaptive, a leading biotechnology company specializing in therapeutic delivery platforms, announces a Technology & Therapeutic Development Award (TTDA) of $4 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The contract will fund its OsteoAdapt regenerative therapeutic product for spine and trauma repair to first in human clinical studies.

Theradaptive’s OsteoAdapt product was granted three breakthrough medical device designations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 and 2022 for various spinal indications. OsteoAdapt is created by combining AMP2 protein, a novel bone regenerative biologic, with ReBOSSIS, a 510K-approved implant material. OsteoAdapt has the capability to precisely direct bone regrowth where it is needed in the body.

COLUMBIA, Md. (February 28, 2023) – TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a recent $250,000 investment in NasaClip, a woman- and minority-led startup which created a new device to assist in a painless, hands-free method for stopping nosebleeds. This investment came from TEDCO’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

“Oftentimes, nosebleeds are non-life threatening, but patients will still go to the emergency department for them,” said Elizabeth Clayborne, MD, CEO and founder of NasaClip. “Unfortunately, the care for nosebleeds can be invasive, painful, and costly; that’s why we created NasaClip. Using NasaClip, patients can treat themselves while remaining in the comfort of their own home. TEDCO’s financial investment will help advance this much needed medical device. ”

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., February 28, 2023 -- AMPEL BioSolutions today announced a genomic precision medicine test for chronic kidney diseases, such as Lupus Nephritis, that could save lives by predicting kidney damage before it is irreversible and providing decision support for prophylactic therapies.  Genes that drive the inflammatory pathways characteristic of different stages of kidney damage are revealed in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Immunology.  AMPEL's breakthrough approach identified markers in kidney biopsy samples that drive pathways that can be targeted by drugs.  The NephroGENE^® lab test, only a concept for the last few years, is now ready for development for practical use as a decision support biomarker test to manage kidney disease.

AMPEL's innovation is crucial to provide decision support for day-to-day patient care as well as effective drug development.  Currently, physicians rely on microscopic examination of kidney biopsies to assess the severity of disease and there is no current way to predict drug options.  Today's publication identifies the molecular pathways at every stage of damage leading to end stage renal disease as well as targets of medications to slow down the immune driven damage.  And translation of key genes in animal models used for Lupus Nephritis drug development with human patients is essential to increase the success rate of clinical trials and provide earlier confirmation of the applicability of pre-clinical work to human disease.